All articles by Railway Gazette International – Page 746
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NewsSassan Rabet
Sassan Rabet has succeeded Günther Ferk as CEO of European wagonload alliance Xrail.
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NewsRail boost in 2014-19 Nation Building investment plan
AUSTRALIA: Announcing its 2013-14 budget on May 14, the federal government set out a preliminary schedule for the major rail projects to be undertaken within the next Nation Building five-year investment programme, which will run from July 2014 to 2019. The biggest rail projects are A$3bn for the Melbourne Metro ...
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NewsTrans-Siberian container train takes seven days
RUSSIA: An express container train service taking just seven days to cover the 9 450 km between the far east port of Nakhodka and Moscow has been launched by Russian Railways, its TransContainer subsidiary and Global Ports Group’s Vostochnaya Stevedoring Co. The first 71-wagon express train was despatched from Nakhodka ...
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NewsCoal railway contracts awarded
MONGOLIA: Plans to construct new heavy haul railways are progressing, with the national railway authority awarding South Korean construction firm Samsung C&T a US$483m contract to build a 217 km line linking a coal mine at Tavan Tolgoi, 540 km south of Ulaanbaatar, with the Chinese border. Work is expected ...
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NewsDecember timetable change date questioned
GERMANY: Staff representatives at Deutsche Bahn's passenger business have proposed to the DB AG board that the date of Europe's annual timetable change should revert to the end of October, arguing that the decision in 2002 to move the annual revision to the second weekend in December has not been ...
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NewsEast Didsbury added to Manchester Metrolink network
UK: Manchester Metrolink’s East Didsbury extension opened ahead of schedule on May 23. The 4·4 km extension of the South Manchester line from St Werburgh’s Road in Chorlton adds five stops to the network. It follows the former Midland Railway heavy rail alignment which closed to passengers in 1967. ...
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NewsTransalley takes shape
FRANCE: A transport research campus is being developed in Valenciennes under the Transalley project. Described by the developers as a ‘sustainable and innovative mobility cluster’, Transalley is a research campus covering 34 ha with 180 000 m2 of office, laboratory and production space on site. Transalley is located adjacent ...
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NewsBuscher to head Knorr-Bremse
Knorr-Bremse AG has appointed Dr Michael Buscher as Chairman of its Executive Board. He will step down as a member of the Supervisory Board on June 30 and take up his new post on the following day. The former CEO of Swiss technology group OC Oerlikon has over 20 years ...
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NewsEstonian operator orders Kazakh-built locomotives
ESTONIA: Vopak EOS, parent company of private freight operator Estonian Railway Services, signed an order for 15 main line diesel locomotives in Astana on May 22. The TE33A locomotives are to be assembled by the JSC Lokomotiv Kurastyru Zauyty subsidiary of Kazakhstan's national railway KTZ, under licence from GE Transportation. ...
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NewsAutomated railway inaugurated 1 365 m underground
SWEDEN: A ceremony held 1 365 m below ground on May 21 inaugurated a new level and a 12 km driverless railway at LKAB's Kiruna iron ore mine. The SKr12·4bn mine expansion is the largest investment in the history of LKAB, and is expected to generate 35 million tonnes ...
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NewsWashington orders more Kawasaki metro cars
USA: Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority has ordered 100 Series 7000 metro cars from Kawasaki Heavy Industries, it was announced on May 16. The ¥18bn order follows an order for 428 cars in 2010. The contract specifies delivery by 2018, by which time Kawasaki-manufactured vehicles will make up the ...
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NewsBroad gauge for Pajares base tunnel
SPAIN: The new alignment between La Robla and Pola de Lena which includes the 25 km Pajares base tunnel is to open with track laid to 1 668 mm gauge, Secretary of State for Infrastructure, Transport & Housing Rafael Catalá announced during a site visit on May 17. Tenders are ...
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NewsMetro cars arrive in Jaipur
INDIA: The first trainset for the Jaipur metro arrived at the Mansarovar depot on May 20 having left BEML’s factory in Bangalore at the end of April. In 2011 BEML won a Rs3·18bn contract to supply 10 four-car trainsets for the Jaipur metro. The remaining trains are ...
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NewsLearning life-saving lessons
USA: A delegation of Indian Railways management visited the offices of Operation Lifesaver in Alexandria, Virginia, last month to learn about best practice in railway safety education. Operation Lifesaver is a not-for-profit organisation set up to help reduce the number of deaths and serious injuries caused on the US rail ...
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NewsShenyang tram on test
CHINA: The first tram for the Shenyang network started test running on May 10. China CNR is supplying 20 100% low-floor cars under a contract signed in December 2011. ‘With the acceleration of urbanisation in China, low-carbon, energy saving and convenient trams will be the future of urban transport,’ ...
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NewsUZ orders 300 electric locomotives
UKRAINE: National railway UZ and Luhanskteplovoz signed a memorandum of understanding on May 16 for the supply of 300 electric locomotives. The order is worth around 12bn hryvnia. Production is to begin this year, with deliveries scheduled to be completed by the end of 2016. Luhanskteplovoz’s plant should ...
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NewsSilver Line Phase 2 contractor selected
USA: On May 14 Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority awarded Capital Rail Constructors a design-build contract for Phase 2 of the Silver Line metro extension. Capital Rail Constructors is a consortium comprising Clark Construction Group, Kiewit Infrastructure Group, Parsons Transport Group and Dewberry. Its bid of $1·18bn was the lowest ...
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NewsStratford-upon-Avon Parkway station opens
UK: A station serving a park and ride site on the northern outskirts of Stratford-upon-Avon opened with the May 19 timetable change. Stratford-upon-Avon Parkway is served by London Midland services to Birmingham as well as Chiltern Railways trains to London Marylebone. Built at cost of £6·9m by Buckingham Group, the ...
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NewsChongqing metro reaches Yuelai
CHINA: A ceremony on May 15 marked the opening of the latest extension to the Chongqing metro. The northern branch Line 6 runs from Lijia to Yuelai, adding 12 km to the line. The extension is one of two planned branches running north from Lijia. A longer branch to ...
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NewsKunming metro Line 1 opens
CHINA: The first section of Line 1 of the Kunming metro opened for trial passenger services on May 20. The 22·1 km route has 12 stations. Ridership is forecast at 168 000 passengers/day. CSR Zhuzhou has supplied Type B trains, and an Alstom/Casco joint venture supplied Urbalis ...