All articles by Railway Gazette International – Page 837
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NewsBasel chooses Bombardier to supply 60 trams
SWITZERLAND: Basel transport operator BVB named Bombardier Transportation as preferred bidder to supply 60 trams on October 25. Following the regulatory standstill period, the contract for the fleet of Flexity Basel trams is expected to be signed in early November. The first two are scheduled to arrive in 2013 ready ...
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NewsCompleting the Circle
SINGAPORE: The 33·3 km Circle Line was completed with the opening of stages four and five between Marymount and HarbourFront on October 8, adding 17 km and 12 stations to the driverless metro line. The line is operated using 'medium capacity' three-car trains, with SMRT Corp expecting to be ...
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NewsDenver commuter rail PTC contract awarded
USA: Wabtec has signed a $63m contract to provide Positive Train Control for the three commuter rail lines which the Denver Transit Partners consortium led by Fluor Enterprises is to build and operate under the Eagle P3 project. Announcing the deal on October 21, Wabtec said its Wabtec Railway ...
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NewsNamma Metro inaugurated in Bangalore
INDIA: The first section of the Bangalore metro, now branded Namma Metro ('our metro'), was opened by Urban Development Minister Kamal Nath on October 20. The 6·7 km elevated 'Reach 1' from Byappanahalli to Mahatma Gandhi Road forms the eastern section of the 18·1 km east-west line, serving six stations. ...
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NewsIstanbul awards Asian metro contract
TURKEY: Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality has awarded lowest bidder Dogus Insaat ve Ticaret a €564m contract covering civil and electrical works for a second metro line on the Asian side of the city. Rapid construction is envisaged for completion by the end of 2014. Starting at the Üsküdar ferry terminal, the ...
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NewsHelsinki metro automation delayed
FINLAND: On October 21 the European Investment Bank signed an agreement to lend up to €250m to Helsinki public transport operator HKL to support a five-year programme to modernise the metro and bus networks to increase capacity and improve environmental standards. This includes upgrading of the depots, track and ...
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NewsNo bids for Brazilian high speed line
BRAZIL: Federal surface transport agency ANTT announced on October 8 that tendering for a concession to build, operate and maintain a 510 km high-speed line between Rio de Janeiro and Campinas had been cancelled as no bids had been received. The ANTT board has decided that work on the ...
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NewsElectrification programme approved
UKRAINE: National railway UZ has approved a five-year programme of electrification for 2011-16 covering 1562 km. At present 9877 km of the network is electrified, or 44% of total route length. The plan is costed at 173bn hryvnia and includes both 3 kV DC and 25 kV 50 Hz AC ...
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NewsGrowth & the Capacity Challenge: join the debate
EUROPE: With demand for passenger and freight movement by rail projected to rise significantly over the coming 20 years, infrastructure managers and train operators across Europe are facing the challenge of squeezing extra capacity from busy networks and building new lines despite financial constraints. Railway Gazette International will be holding ...
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NewsCSR invests in stainless steel welding
CHINA: A new design of stainless steel metro car bodyshell was unveiled by CSR Zhuzhou last month. The company has been investing in resistance spot and laser welding techniques to improve the production of stainless steel vehicles, which it assembles from 5 000 stainless steel plates with more than ...
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NewsPPP model to fund Moscow – St Petersburg high speed line
RUSSIA: The Russian government has confirmed its support for a public-private partnership backed by Russian Railways to construct a 658 km high speed line between Moscow and St Petersburg. Speaking in London on October 20, Denis Muratov, Chief Executive of RZD’s high speed rail agency Skorostnye Magistrali, ...
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NewsAbellio awarded Greater Anglia franchise
UK: The Department for Transport named Abellio Greater Anglia Ltd as the winner of the Greater Anglia (Short) passenger train operating franchise on October 20. Following the required procurement standstill period, the Nederlandse Spoorwegen subsidiary will be formally appointed on November 1. The short franchise runs for ...
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NewsKashmir tunnel breakthrough
INDIA: The 10·96 km Pir Panjal tunnel in Jammu & Kashmir state was holed through on October 14. On completion it will be the longest railway tunnel in India, connecting the isolated Kashmir Valley line which opened in 2008-09 with the national network at Udhampur. The tunnel is being ...
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NewsGE Transportation announces investment
USA: GE Transportation has announced plans to expand production facilities and invest $58m in research and testing technology to improve fuel efficiency and reduce emissions from large diesel engines used in locomotive, marine and stationary power applications. The investment announced on October 18 includes equipping laboratories at its Erie, Pennsylvania, ...
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NewsEU funding plan builds on TEN-T revisions
EUROPE: Rail and port expansion projects lie at the heart of a €50bn spending plan to improve Europe's transport, energy and digital networks unveiled by the European Commission on October 19. This will form a key element in the EU budget for 2014-20. The Commission said the Connecting Europe Facility ...
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NewsHydrogen fuel cell tram unveiled
SPAIN: Metre-gauge operator FEVE has unveiled a tram powered by two hydrogen fuel cells that can carry between 20 and 30 passengers at up to 20 km/h. The prototype was built at the company's Pravia workshops by Fenit Rail (in which FEVE holds a 37·5% stake), and it is ...
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NewsIndia to increase LHB coach production
INDIA: Indian Railways plans to switch its entire coach production to the LHB design by the end of the 2012-17 five year plan, according to Minister of State for Railways KH Muniyappa. Approval has been given for upgrading the Kapurthala Rail Coach Factory and the Integral Coach Factory in ...
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NewsMadrid - Barcelona at 310 km/h with ETCS Level 2
SPAIN: The journey times of four high speed services between Madrid and Barcelona are to be cut to 2 h 30 min from October 24, following the commissioning of ETCS Level 2 signalling between Madrid and Lleida. Commissioning between Lleida and Barcelona is scheduled for December, when more services will ...
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NewsLED signal conversion kit
UK: Following successful trials, UK infrastructure manager Network Rail has granted full approval for the SL35 LED Light Engine which has been introduced by Howells Railway Products as a direct replacement for signal filament lamps. The Light Engine is compatible with existing electrical and lamp proving systems, offering ...
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NewsLocomotive rebuilds target emissions and power
LATVIA: On show at Riga's Central station in conjunction with the 1520 Strategic Partnership meeting are two prototype locomotives rebuilt by the national railway's rolling stock services subsidiary LDZ Ritosa Sastava Serviss to comply with European Stage IIIA emissions standards. The more powerful of the two is a CME3-M Co-Co ...