All articles by Railway Gazette International – Page 743
-
NewsAlternatives investigated as NS drops Fyra V250s too
NETHERLANDS: The Dutch government has concurred with the decision by national operator NS to cancel its contract with AnsaldoBreda for 16 V250 trainsets, Deputy Prime Minister Lodewijk Asscher confirmed on May 7. The findings of a review by NS had been presented to the cabinet by the State Secretary for ...
-
NewsCanberra light rail funding included in budget
AUSTRALIA: Government funding for a light rail network for Canberra has been set out in the Australian Capital Territory budget for 2013-14. Announced on June 5, the budget includes an initial investment of A$5m for early design work for the Capital Metro project, as well as A$12m ...
-
NewsCHSRA awards first civil works contract
USA: The board of the California High Speed Rail Authority has selected a consortium of Tutor Perini Corp, Zachry Construction Corp and Parsons Corp to undertake civil works on the first 47 km section of the planned San Francisco – Los Angeles high speed line. The $985m offer by the ...
-
NewsLa Plata university train
ARGENTINA: A lightweight three-section diesel railcar built by Tecnotren has entered service on a 4·5 km route serving seven stops across the university campus in the city of La Plata. Services run from 07.30 to 22.30 during the week, and a fare of 1·5 pesos is charged. Services ...
-
NewsNews in Brief - June 2013
A new working group formed to co-ordinate rail freight policy in Portugal and Spain met for the first time on May 17. CP, Refer, ADIF and RENFE have signed a declaration of intent to co-operate on initiatives including the simplification of border formalities and procedures for staff and rolling stock ...
-
NewsLocal training agreement
POLAND: Mazowieckie regional passenger operator KM has signed an agreement with Woomin municipality to provide railway training classes at a college in Tuszcz. Aimed at recruiting school-leavers to a career in rail, KM hopes the training course will help it to overcome a looming demographic crisis, with a significant proportion ...
-
NewsCSR fleet enters service in Buenos Aires
ARGENTINA: Diesel locomotives and commuter coaches supplied by CSR of China entered service on the Mitre network in Buenos Aires on June 6, providing peak-hour services between Retiro and Tigre. Three five-car formations with a diesel locomotive at each end have been deployed on the route, departing Tigre at 06.56, ...
-
NewsVirgin takes action over West Coast performance
UK: Virgin Rail Group announced on June 7 that it was taking action against infrastructure company Network Rail over ‘sustained poor performance’ which has affected the punctuality of services operated by its Virgin Trains subsidiary on the West Coast Main Line. The matter is to be referred to the industry’s ...
-
NewsBombardier to supply Stockholm Red Line fleet
SWEDEN: Bombardier Transportation announced on June 6 that it had been awarded a contract by transport authority SL to supply 96 four-car EMUs for the Stockholm metro. The firm order is worth SKr5⋅1bn and the contract includes an option for up to 80 additional units. Deliveries from the Bombardier plant ...
-
NewsResearchers to access RFF data
FRANCE: Infrastructure manager RFF signed an agreement on April 30 to share its core database of asset information with the academic community in an effort to improve the lifespan, cost and efficiency of railway infrastructure. The agreement initially covers a partnership with Ifsttar, the national transport technology and science research ...
-
NewsDB Schenker introduces freight shuttle to Turkey
EUROPE: DB Schenker Rail is to introduce an intensive freight service between Germany and Turkey from September 2013, its Chairman Alexander Hedderich announced at the Transport Logistik event in München on June 5. Termed ‘Bosporus Shuttle’, the service will initially comprise three trains each way per week between terminals in ...
-
NewsRZD begins test running on Sochi Olympic branch
RUSSIA: Russian Railways began test running on the new Adler – Alpika-Servis branch line on June 4, using Siemens-built Lastochka EMU ES1-012 which had been transferred from Metalostroy depot in St Petersburg during April for crew training. Under construction since 2009, the 48·5 km branch and a parallel road are ...
-
NewsERS is first customer for AAE’s Twin II pocket wagon
EUROPE: Wagon leasing company AAE announced on June 6 that open access freight operator ERS Railways had become the first major customer for its Twin II intermodal wagon. AAE CEO Karsten Sachsenröder and ERS Railways Managing Director Frank Schuhholz sealed a long-term contract covering the lease of 50 twin-unit wagons ...
-
NewsTransnet to expand heavy haul operations
SOUTH AFRICA: State-owned transport group Transnet has confirmed plans to develop a third heavy haul rail corridor to serve a new deep-water port at Ngqura near Port Elizabeth, in addition to its existing Sishen – Saldanha iron ore line and the Coallink corridor serving Richards Bay. Transnet Freight Rail is ...
-
NewsThree presidents launch construction of international rail link
TURKMENISTAN: President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov was joined by his Afghan counterpart Hamid Karzai and Tajikistan’s Emomali Rahmon in Atamyrat on June 5 for a ceremony to launch construction of the first phase of a railway planned to link the three countries. A time capsule containing a letter ‘addressed to posterity’ by ...
-
NewsADIF assists TCDD
TURKEY: In preparation for the opening of the high speed line between Istanbul and Ankara, 35 TCDD staff are being provided with safety training by Spanish infrastructure manager ADIF. Running from May 20 to July 12, two courses of four weeks each will provide instruction in safety management systems ...
-
NewsALL concessions revoked
ARGENTINA: Minister of the Interior & Transport Florencio Randazzo announced on June 4 that the government was revoking the two freight operating concessions held by América Latina Logística SA of Brazil. Comprising the former San Martín and General Urquiza networks, at 8 000 route-km ALL Argentina has operated the country’s ...
-
NewsWabtec wins Australian locomotive order
AUSTRALIA: Wabtec Corp's MotivePower subsidiary announced an order to build a further six standard gauge MP33C locomotives for leasing company CFCLA Rail JV on June 5. Delivery is scheduled for 2014. The joint venture of CFCL Australia and Marubeni Corp previously ordered 10 locomotives in 2010. 'This additional order ...
-
NewsNational Express orders Talent 2 electric multiple-units
GERMANY: National Express Group's German subsidiary has awarded Bombardier Transportation a €170m contract to supply 35 Talent 2 electric multiple-units. The order announced on June 4 covers a mix of three and five-car sets. The 160 km/h air-conditioned units will have first and second class seating, CCTV, multi-purpose areas for ...
-
NewsMRCE orders 15 Siemens Vectron locomotives
EUROPE: Siemens announced a contract to supply 15 Vectron AC electric locomotives to leasing company Mitsui Rail Capital Europe on June 4. Deliveries are scheduled to begin by the end of the year. The 6·4 MW locomotives with a top speed of 160 km/h are intended for cross-border operation between ...