All articles by Railway Gazette International – Page 782
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NewsCharlotte light rail extension funded
USA: A full-funding grant agreement providing $580m towards the cost of extending Charlotte’s LYNX Blue line was announced by Federal Transit Administrator Peter Rogoff on October 16. Running northeast from 7th Street in Center City through North Davidson to the University of North Carolina campus, the 15 km extension with ...
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NewsNew trams have dragons on their seats
POLAND: The first of a batch of 24 Flexity Classic trams ordered by MPK Kraków was officially handed over by Bombardier Transportation on October 4. 'We are delighted with the design of this state-of-the art tram inspired by the spirit of the city of Kraków', said Julian Pilszczek, CEO of ...
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NewsWorld rolling stock market October 2012
Australia: CAF has won a A$20m contract to supply six new and four leased trams for Sydney’s 5·6 km Inner West Extension which is scheduled to open in 2014 (RG 7.12 p16). A separate three-year contract worth A$1·8m covers maintenance of the new vehicles and the existing fleet of seven ...
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NewsJapan to fund four-tracking in West Java
INDONESIA: Work is expected to begin by the end of the month to increase capacity on a congested mixed-traffic corridor in the suburbs of Jakarta. Central to the project is the four tracking and resignalling of the current 32 route-km double-track alignment between Manggarai and Cikarang. State ...
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NewsBombardier delivers first Downtown Line train
SINGAPORE: Land Transport Authority has taken delivery of the first of 73 Bombardier Transportation driverless Movia metro trains ordered for the 42 km Downtown Line, which is under construction for opening in stages from 2013. The trainset was delivered two weeks ahead of schedule, Bombardier announced on October 12. A ...
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NewsDfT plans interim West Coast franchise
UK: The Department for Transport announced on October 15 that it intended to launch a competition for an interim franchise to operate the Inter-City West Coast franchise, following Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin’s decision on October 3 to cancel the previous refranchising round due to ‘significant technical flaws’. Open to ‘all ...
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NewsEngineering work from the passenger perspective
UK: The results of research published by Passenger Focus last month include the finding that 55% of respondents claimed that they would not make a journey by rail if part of it was by replacement bus. However, if the train were to be diverted around engineering work, 75% of respondents ...
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NewsProducts & Technology in Brief
Following a request from a train operator, Nexans has developed an aluminium cable coated with fibreglass ribbon and sheathed in silicone rubber which meets fire safety resistance requirements for use in rolling stock while being lighter than copper cables, potentially saving 200 kg per passenger vehicle. DSB S-tog is installing ...
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NewsNews in Brief - October 2012
Under its Integrated European Signalling System project, UIC has commissioned Berner & Mattner Systemtechnick to define standardised signalling functions, including interface specifications according to ISO/IEC 19505. ‘International standardisation of technical institutions and practices is not only UIC’s most important task, it’s also one of the toughest’, said Berner & Mattner ...
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NewsQatar breaks ground on Doha metro
QATAR: Groundbreaking ceremonies on October 10 marked the start of work on the key interchange station at Msheireb, which will form the hub of the Doha metro network. Qatar Rail CEO Saad Ahmed al-Muhannadi and the Managing Director of Msheireb Properties Abdulla al-Subaie joined the celebrations, along with QR’s senior ...
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NewsVietnam railway selects IVU.rail
VIETNAM: National railway DSVN is to use the IVU.rail software package from IVU Traffic Technologies to plan and control the operation of 380 locomotives and 5000 vehicles across the network, and to improve customer information. The Berlin-based supplier says a special feature of this deployment will be the variety of ...
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NewsAusAID pledges funding as Cambodian rehabilitation resumes
CAMBODIA: Australian overseas development agency AusAID has pledged further financial assistance to support the rehabilitation of Cambodia’s partly-modernised metre-gauge network. AusAID’s contribution of at least A$1m will support the relocation and compensation of families affected by the US$141m railway modernisation. The upgrading work is being co-ordinated by ...
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NewsTesting starts on northernmost PDL
CHINA: Test running on the Harbin – Dalian Passenger-Dedicated Line commenced on October 8, when the first train was dispatched from the new Harbin West station at 07.30. Designed for operation at up to 350 km/h, the 921 km line has been under construction since August 2007, at a cost ...
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NewsLubelskie orders Pesa DMUs
POLAND: Lubelskie voivodship has signed a contract with a consortium of Pesa and ZNTK MM for the supply of three two-car DMUs to operate the Rejowiec – Zamość/Bełżec, Lublin – Stalowa Wola and Lublin – Lubartów lines. Under the deal valued at 24m złoty, the first unit is due to ...
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NewsHitachi opens rail research centre
UK: A European Rail Research Centre is to be opened in London by Hitachi, the company announced on October 10. Initially to be located within Hitachi Rail Europe’s offices in the centre of the city, the centre will form part of Hitachi Europe’s Transportation Energy & Environment ...
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NewsTraining for an emerging network
SAUDI ARABIA: State-backed Technical & Vocational Training Corp is to establish a training facility for Saudi Railway Company staff working on the North-South Railway. Intended to form a 2400 km spine down the country for mineral traffic, the North-South Railway is already operational in places, although full commercial operations are ...
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NewsUtrecht tram contracts placed
NETHERLANDS: Utrecht regional transport authority BRU has confirmed that Qbuzz is to take over the operation of the sneltram light rail line linking the city with the satellite towns of Nieuwegein and IJsselstein, as well as local bus services. The company will replace existing operator Connexxion in December 2013, ...
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NewsChinese wagons for western Europe due to arrive
FRANCE: CNR Jinan has completed the first of a batch of wagons ordered by leasing company Atir-Rail in June last year. As well as marking CNR Jinan’s entry into the European market, it is thought to be the first European order for Chinese wagons since a build for Albania in ...
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NewsUnion Pacific acquires key link in western Oklahoma
USA: Union Pacific confirmed on October 8 that it had acquired complete ownership of a former Rock Island line which links Texas and Kansas through the western part of Oklahoma. The line has been acquired under a lease-purchase agreement signed on November 1 1982. After the Chicago, Rock Island & ...
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NewsQueensland to cut its stake in QR National
AUSTRALIA: The Queensland government is to reduce its stake in rail freight operator QR National from 34% to 16%, state Treasurer Tim Nicholls announced on October 8. The state had retained a one-third interest when the business was floated in November 2010. Responding to proposals presented by UBS, Nicholls said ...