All articles by Railway Gazette International – Page 859
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NewsInvensys Rail awarded Salisbury - Exeter resignalling contract
UK: Invensys Rail announced on May 25 that it had been awarded Network Rail's Salisbury to Exeter Signalling Recontrol contract, covering replacement of life-expired signalling equipment on the 145 km route with three Solid State Interlockings and the transfer of control to the Basingstoke Area Signalling Centre. Control of ...
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NewsAlstom enters 'second tier' Chinese metro signalling market
CHINA: A joint venture of Alstom and CASCO announced contracts totalling €85m for the supply of Urbalis CBTC signalling equipment for metro projects in Shanghai and Kunming on May 24. The contracts are 'important milestones', according to Ling Fang, Managing Director of Alstom Transport China, as they demonstrate that Alstom ...
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NewsPassenger trains return to Jamaica
JAMAICA: Passenger services are set to restart in the first week of July, following an inaugural train from May Pen to Linstead on April 16 which carried 200 guests including schoolchildren enjoying their first train ride. Transport & Works Minister Michael Henry cut a ribbon to mark ...
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NewsLaos cross-border freight hopes
ASIA: A senior official at State Railway of Thailand has raised hopes that freight services may be introduced later this year over the Friendship Bridge to the Laotian railhead at Tha Na Laeng. 'Hopefully this year we can run the first freight service', Voravuth Mala, Director of Marketing at SRT ...
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NewsTramino and Moderus Beta trams go into service in Poznan
POLAND: The first series-build Solaris Tramino for Poznan was handed over to city transport operator MPK on May 23, and is expected to enter service this week. 'Poznan's passengers will experience one of the most comfortable trams in Europe', said Krzysztof Olszewski, founder of bus manufacturer Solaris which has ...
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NewsHigh Speed in the UK: Making the Case
UK: With the government embarked on an extensive programme of public consultation for the proposed High Speed 2 between London, Birmingham, Manchester and Leeds, Railway Gazette International will be holding a live debate on Wednesday June 8 to discuss the prospects for high speed rail development in ...
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NewsOttawa O-Train extension proposed
CANADA: The Ottawa Transit Commission approved C$200 000 for a study into a southern O-Train extension to Leitrim Park & Ride and Riverside South at a meeting on May 18. The line would use the corridor designated for the proposed north-south LRT line that was scrapped by City of Ottawa ...
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NewsWest Yorkshire DMUs sold to Porterbrook
UK: Porterbrook Leasing announced on May 23 that it had completed the purchase of the seven two-car Class 155 diesel multiple-units and 10 Class 144 DMU centre cars from Metro, the West Yorkshire Passenger Transport Executive. The vehicles are currently leased by Northern Rail which will continue to operate them ...
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NewsMalawi ore corridor agreement
AFRICA: Brazilian mining company Vale signed a memorandum of understanding with the Malawian government in April covering construction of a 100 km rail link from Blantyre to the Moatize coalfields in neighbouring Mozambique. This would provide a 900 km rail corridor from the mines, through Malawi, to the port of ...
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NewsConstruction begins on Chinese rail projects
CHINA: Construction of a 250 km/h Passenger-Dedicated Line between Chongqing, Qianjiang, Zhangjiajie, Changde and Changsha is set to start this year for opening in 2015, Chongqing Municipal Development & Reform Commission has announced. Meanwhile, construction of the 256 km Dezhou - Dajiawa line in Shandong province has now begun, ...
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NewsRabat - Salé tram network launched
MOROCCO: King Mohammed VI visited Rabat-Salé on May 18 to inaugurate the 19·5 km tram network with 31 stops and the 1·2 km Hassan II Bridge which carries the shared central section over the Bouregreg river. The ceremony was attended by local officials, including Lemghari Essaki, Chairman ...
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NewsCurved concrete castings
USA: Oldcastle Precast is supplying concrete platform sections for the rebuilding of Boston's Morton Street station as part of Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority's $37m Fairmount commuter rail rehabilitation project. Each of the 47 platform sections for Morton Street is 9·7 m long by 3 m wide. The station is situated ...
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NewsSwitch sensor
SENSOR: Sensonics has developed a robust eddy-current proximity probe capable of accurately measuring the relative positions of the switch and fixed rails at turnouts. It offers high linearity, with minimal temperature drift. The probe can detect long-term drift of the switch rail away from the initial calibrated position as result ...
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NewsEast London Line to Clapham Junction underway
UK: TfL announced on May 19 that its contractor Birse Metro had begun work to build the 1∙3 km of new track, using a disused alignment, that will enable East London Line services to reach Clapham Junction. The new corridor will run from south of Surrey Quays station to join ...
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NewsAtlanta orders Siemens Avanto streetcars
USA: Siemens Industry Inc has been awarded its first North American street-running tram order, a $17·2m contract from the city of Atlanta for four cars based on the S70 Avanto light rail vehicle platform. They will be used on a 4·3 km line with 12 stops linking the Martin Luther ...
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NewsDeclaration on Sustainable Mobility & Transport launched
INTERNATIONAL: UIC formally launched the Declaration on Sustainable Mobility & Transport at the United Nations in New York on May 11. Described as 'the railway sector's commitment to sustainable development', the declaration lists the industry's most important environmental objectives. It has so far been signed by 44 UIC members which ...
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NewsMcNulty Rail Value for Money Study final report published
UK: Closer alignment of the objectives and incentives for train operators and infrastructure manager Network Rail is essential if the costs of running the British rail network are to be reduced, according to Sir Roy McNulty. Launching the final version of his Rail Value for Money Study in London on ...
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NewsDB plans two north-south freight corridors
GERMANY: DB Netz and the Federal Ministry of Transport are discussing plans to develop and finance two north-south freight corridors. Speaking at the iaf Congress in Münster on May 18, Dipl-Wirtsch Inf Oliver Kraft, Chairman of DB Netz AG, said priority had been allocated to an eastern corridor running ...
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News
Michel Quidort
Michel Quidort of Veolia Transdev has been re-elected President of European Passenger Transport Operators, an association formed of Europe’s nine largest independent public transport operators.
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NewsEBRD backs KTZ energy efficiency programme
KAZAKHSTAN: The European Bank for Reconstruction & Development and KTZ agreed to develop an investment programme to reduce the state railway's energy consumption and CO2 emissions at a meeting on May 17. EBRD will provide assistance for projects including an automated fuel control system, and will consider providing US$100 to ...