All articles by Railway Gazette International – Page 763
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NewsAlstom signs Baghdad urban rail contract
IRAQ: A US$40m agreement for Alstom to undertake detailed design studies for the first phase of an elevated metro was signed by Governor of Baghdad Dr Salah Abdul-Razzaq on February 11. The line is planned to relieve traffic congestion and help to accommodate population growth in the capital. Abdul-Razzaq ...
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NewsVeolia Transport awarded Swedish contract
SWEDEN: The Blekinge, Kalmar, Kronoberg and Skåne transport authorities have jointly awarded Veolia Transport a contract to operate three local rail services for five years from December 2013, with an option for a further three years. The contract covers the Emmaboda to Karlskrona and Kalmar and Hässleholm - Växjö routes, ...
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NewsBTS SkyTrain expands
THAILAND: Bangkok elevated metro operator BTS SkyTrain opened a single station extension of the Silom Line from Wong Wian Yai to Pho Nimit on January 15, with a further extension to Talat Phlu following on February 14, when free rides were offered. Mass Rapid Transit Authority is to call tenders ...
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NewsAlstom launches North American light rail vehicle with Ottawa contract
CANADA: Alstom announced the launch of its Citadis Spirit light rail vehicle for the North American market on February 14, saying it had finalised a €400m contract to supply 34 LRVs and 30 years of maintenance services to the Rideau Transit Group consortium which has been selected to design, build, ...
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NewsNetz Ostbrandenburg operating contracts awarded
GERMANY: Transport authority VBB confirmed Niederbarnimer Eisenbahn Betriebsgesellschaft mbH as the winner of two contracts for the operation of Netz Ostbrandenburg passenger services east of Berlin on February 12. Contract 1 starts in December 2014, and covers the operation of 2·16 million train-km/year using Regio-Shuttle RS1 diesel railcars. Contract ...
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NewsSeries N700A Shinkansen sets enter service
JAPAN: JR Central has put its first Series N700A trainsets into revenue service on the Tokaido Shinkansen, with a ceremony to mark the departure of Nozomi 203 from Tokyo station at 07.00 on February 8. A second train operating as Nozomi 208 was ceremonially dispatched from Shin-Osaka at the same ...
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NewsAnkara airport rail link study
TURKEY: Proposals have been unveiled for the construction of a rail link to Ankara's Esenboga airport, northeast of the capital. On February 13 the Ministry of Transport signed a contract with FS Group's engineering consultancy subsidiary Italferr to develop the project. Under the 12-month contract valued at €1·5m, Italferr will ...
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NewsUK rolling stock strategy published
UK: Great Britain's passenger rolling stock fleet might need to double in size by 2042 to accommodate increased ridership, electrification and other proposed enhancements, according to a high-level analysis of future scenarios published on February 12. The 'Long Term Passenger Rolling Stock Strategy for the Rail Industry' has been produced ...
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NewsWatco acquires Ann Arbor Railroad
USA: The Watco Railroad short line group completed the purchase of Ann Arbor Railroad Inc with effect from January 26, following Surface Transportation Board approval. The 80 km line connecting Ann Arbor, Michigan with Toledo, Ohio, serves manufacturing and automotive customers including Chrysler, General Motors and Ford. It connects with ...
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NewsStadler wins Moscow double-deck train order
RUSSIA: Aeroexpress has selected Stadler Rail to supply double-deck electric multiple-units to increase passenger capacity on its Moscow airport shuttle services. The €350m order announced on February 12 covers 16 four-car and eight six-car units based on Stadler's KISS family, with two options for a total of 60 cars formed ...
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NewsAmsterdam orders long trains and seeks shorter ones
NETHERLANDS: Alstom announced a €42m firm order to supply a further five Metropolis trainsets for the Amsterdam metro on February 13. The order is an option on a €200m contract for an initial 23 trains signed in February 2010. The additional units are to be delivered from Alstom's Katowice plant ...
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NewsPakistan Railways orders 50 locomotives
PAKISTAN: Chinese locomotive manufacturer CSR Ziyang announced on February 4 that it had received of letters of credit enabling it to go ahead with the construction of 50 passenger and freight locomotives ordered by Pakistan's Ministry of Railways in December at a cost of 640m yuan. Half of the 50 ...
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NewsUrban rail news in brief - February 2013
CSR Zhuzhou’s Wind Chaser urban maglev technology has been selected for a planned 24 km line from Zhangjiajie West to Wulingyuan. The 10 km Phase 1 from Wujiayu to Chaqiyu is estimated to cost 2bn yuan. A southern extension of St Petersburg metro Line 5 from Volkovskaya to Bukharestskaya ...
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NewsLabrador Trough iron ore railway study suspended
CANADA: Canadian National announced on February 12 that it was suspending work to examine the feasibility of building an 800 km railway to link iron ore deposits in the Labrador Trough area of northern Québec and Labrador with the port of Sept-Îles. The study was initiated in August 2012 by ...
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NewsBangkok Red Line phase two contracts signed
THAILAND: Two contracts for construction of the Bang Sue - Rangsit second phase of Bangkok's Red Line suburban railway project have been awarded by State Railway of Thailand, and a third contract covering railway systems and rolling stock is planned. Infrastructure contractor Italian-Thai Development signed a 21·24bn baht contract on ...
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NewsMoscow orders UKVZ trams
RUSSIA: The City of Moscow awarded Ust-Katav Car Plant a 1·1bn rouble contract to supply 67 trams on January 29. Deliveries are scheduled to be completed by October 1. The single-car trams will be 16 m long with space for 125 passengers. They will be 35% low-floor, to provide access ...
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NewsTorino metro extension contract awarded
ITALY: The city of Torino's infrastructure company Infratrasporti.To has awarded the Transfirm GEIE consortium of Siemens France and Technimont a €17·1m contract to provide control systems for a 1·9 km extension of the VAL automated metro Line 1. The extension will run in bored tunnel from Lingotto to Italia '61 ...
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NewsMetrolink expansion takes trams to Droylsden
UK: Revenue-earning tram services began over a 6·3 km extension of Manchester's growing light rail network on February 11. Running east from the main line station at Piccadilly in the city centre to Droylsden, the extension serves seven intermediate stops, of which two are close to the Etihad Stadium, home ...
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NewsA machine for all seasons
USA: To meet the winter maintenance and summer roadbed re-profiling requirements of two US railways, Harsco Rail has introduced an updated version of its Spreader-Ditcher, a versatile machine originally designed in the 1960s which can be used to spread ballast, cut trackside ditches and as a snow plough. It is ...
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NewsBelgrano Railway returns to state control
ARGENTINA: By means of a ministerial resolution published on February 5, the federal government has formally terminated the contract held by a consortium of businesses and trade unions to operate freight services on the metre-gauge Belgrano network. The consortium had been operating freight trains on an ‘emergency’ basis under the ...