All articles by Railway Gazette International – Page 802
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NewsFreight sale heads Israeli reform programmme
ISRAEL: General Manager Boaz Zafir has confirmed that a subsidiary company to operate Israel Railways' freight services will begin operations during the third quarter of 2012. The company is due to be legally established by the end of June, ready for partial privatisation in early 2013 when a strategic ...
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NewsPrototype 220 km/h trainset on test
UKRAINE: Testing is underway with the first of two prototype 220 km/h inter-regional electric multiple-units being built by Kriukov Car Building Works for national railway UZ. The nine-car units are rated at 4 MW, and equipped for operation on lines electrified at 3 kV DC and 25 kV 50 ...
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NewsNews in Brief - June 2012
Construction of the 1260 km Luliang - Rizhao heavy haul coal railway which will link mines in China’s Shanxi province with the coast in Shandong province was launched on May 5. The line is being built at cost of 99·8bn yuan and is expected to open in 2014 with an ...
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NewsPrototype metro trains and more trams approved
GERMANY: The board of Berlin urban transport operator BVG approved plans to order two prototype metro trains and exercise an option for a further 39 trams at its meeting on June 22. The Land of Berlin is to provide €158m to fund an order for new U-Bahn trains to replace ...
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NewsFirst major Wiggins Island Rail Project contract awarded
AUSTRALIA: QR National has awarded the first major contract for its A$900m Wiggins Island Rail Project, a programme of new and upgraded lines being undertaken to serve the Wiggins Island Coal Export Terminal at the Port of Gladstone from mid-2014. The A$76m contract announced on June 22 will see Abigroup ...
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NewsRail motorways to serve Spain and Sweden
EUROPE: Announcing the rebranding of its 'rail motorway' business as VIIA on June 7, SNCF Geodis said that its Perpignan - Luxembourg service is to extended to Helsingborg in Sweden later this year. A southern extension into Spain is also being planned, following the successful conclusion of initial cross-border tests ...
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NewsBologna tunnel boosts speed and capacity
ITALY: A 17·8 km link connecting the Bologna - Firenze and Bologna - Milano high speed lines was brought into service in June. It includes a tunnel under Bologna which allows high speed services which do not stop in the city to run through at speed. The link has been ...
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NewsPort of Le Havre awards signalling contract
FRANCE: Le Havre port authority GPMH has awarded Thales a €2·1m turnkey contract to equip the rail network at its Port 2000 intermodal terminal with PIVOS computer-based interlocking based on the supplier's proprietary PIPC technology. Commissioning is planned for July 2013. Announcing the contract on June 21, Thales said this ...
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NewsUse Rabbit, get Carrots
THAILAND: Bangkok Smartcard System Co has launched the 'Rabbit' smart card as a common ticketing platform for the city's public transport systems. It is also a stored-value electronic purse that can be used at more than 20 retail outlets. BSS is part of BTS Group Holdings, with Bangkok Bank as ...
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NewsEMD to develop natural gas locomotive
ENGINE: An agreement to develop natural gas-powered locomotives has been signed by gas specialist Westport Innovations and Caterpillar, which will fund the programme. The locomotive technology is to be developed by Caterpillar's Electro-Motive Diesel business, using Westport's high-pressure direct injection technology. In December 2011 the companies had announced plans to ...
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NewsBerlin S-Bahn split to go ahead
GERMANY: Meeting on June 19, the Berlin Senate voted to push ahead with controversial proposals to split the city’s S-Bahn network into three separate businesses in order to introduce competition when tendering the next round of operating concessions. Bids are expected to be called later this month for a ...
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NewsDiesel-battery hybrid shunting locomotives leased
GERMANY: DB Schenker Rail subsidiary Mitteldeutsche Eisenbahn has leased five Alstom diesel-battery hybrid locomotives, which it will use for shunting at Dow Olefinverbund's Schkopau plant. The locomotives use a 250 kW Deutz six-cylinder diesel engine to charge a NiCd battery, giving a maximum output of 650 kW when required. 'This ...
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NewsAnkara - Izmir high speed line contract signed
TURKEY: A contract for the construction of the first stage of a planned Ankara - Izmir line suitable for 250 km/h running was signed by Minister of Transport Binali Yildirim and a consortium of Sigma, Burkay, Makimsan and YDA on June 11. The TL700m contract covers 167 km of new ...
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NewsAlstom awarded Stockholm train contract
SWEDEN: Greater Stockholm transport authority Storstockholms Lokaltrafik has placed a €440m order for Alstom to supply a further 46 Coradia Nordic electric multiple-units. The contract announced on June 15 means SL has now ordered 129 Coradia Nordic EMUs under a framework agreement signed in 2002. Alstom has sold a total ...
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NewsDMUs to test regenerative braking
UK: Artemis Intelligent Power, Ricardo and Bombardier Transportation are collaborating on a research project aimed at providing a regenerative braking system for diesel multiple-units. The mechanical energy storage system combines the Artemis digital displacement hydraulic pump/motor with Ricardo's Kinergy flywheel energy storage system. Bombardier will be responsible for systems integration. ...
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NewsWorld rail infrastructure market June 2012
Australia: Under Victoria's Regional Rail Link project (RG 2.12 p12), a A$570m contract has been awarded to a consortium of John Holland, Abigroup, Coleman Rail, Aecom and GHD for extensive remodelling of the line between Melbourne's Southern Cross station and the Maribyrnong River, including 4·5 km of new tracks and ...
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NewsWabtec buys Mors Smitt for US$88m
MORS SMITT: On June 15 Wabtec Corp announced the US$88m acquisition of Mors Smitt Holding from investment company Eurazeo PME. Mors Smitt produces relays, measurement devices and controls for rolling stock, signalling and industrial applications. It has operations in the Netherlands, UK, USA, France and China, with 350 employees and ...
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NewsDanish electrification tenders next month
DENMARK: Banedanmark expects to begin tendering in July for up to 512 track-km of 25 kV 50 Hz electrification, CEO Jesper Hansen told the UNIFE General Assembly in København on June 14. Four separate projects are under development as part of the government's strategy to prepare the network for a ...
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NewsEnergy storage offers Macau metro 10% saving
CHINA: Hitachi is to supply 15 lineside battery energy storage systems for the rubber-tyred light metro under construction in Macau. Hitachi says this will be the first metro to use lineside battery energy storage along its entire route, and it expects this to reduce electricity consumption by ...
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NewsRolling stock acceptance delays at the centre of debate
EUROPE: Senior executives from the railway supply industry called for urgent action to address the problems of rail vehicle acceptance in a heated round-table debate at the UNIFE General Assembly in København on June 14. Pointing out that it took an average of 600 days to get new vehicles approved, ...