All articles by Railway Gazette International – Page 874
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NewsGovernment commits to ÖBB infrastructure investment
AUSTRIA: The government approved a €12·8bn five-year investment framework for Austrian Federal Railways on February 1. Spending in 2011-16 will be targeted at the main West, South and Brenner corridors, as well as suburban transport, station modernisation and a programme to remove temporary speed restrictions by 2014. The government has ...
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NewsZhengzhou metro Line 1 train contract awarded
CHINA: CSR Zhuzhou signed a 900m yuan contract to supply 25 trains for Zhengzhou metro Line 1 on January 18. Deliveries are scheduled to begin in June 2012 for opening during the first half of 2013. The aluminium-bodied Type B metro cars will be 19 m long ...
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NewsRZD’s first 2ES10 locomotive unveiled
RUSSIA: The Ural Locomotives joint venture of Sinara Transport Machines and Siemens Mobility has completed production of the first of two prototype 2ES10 electric locomotives at the Verkhnyaya Pyshma plant near Yekaterinburg.While Sinara has been using Siemens components and design input to produce 83 2ES6 DC locomotives for RZD’s Sverdlovsk ...
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NewsSNCB Logistics gains independence
BELGIUM: A major step in the restructuring of SNCB's freight activities came into effect on February 1, when SNCB Logistics began operating as an autonomous subsidiary owned 93·14% by SNCB and 6·86% by parent group SNCB Holding. Management and some supervisory staff have transferred to SNCB Logistics, with central services ...
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NewsHudson-Bergen extension opens in New Jersey
USA: A 1·6 km extension of the Hudson-Bergen light rail line south from the former terminus at 22nd Street to a new stop at Eighth Street in Bayonne opened on January 31. The ribbon-cutting was attended by US Senator Robert Menendez, Bayonne Mayor Mark Smith and New Jersey Transit Executive ...
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NewsIndustry News in Brief
At the end of December Kirow bought Leipzig transport operator LVB’s remaining 49% stake in HeiterBlick, a company formed in 2004 to build Leoliner trams. LVB has ordered 48 cars, Halberstadt five and Bielefeld 16, but LVB has adopted a policy of disposing of non-core activities. Russia’s Federal Agency ...
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NewsLondon Tramlink seeks bids for additional trams
UK: Transport for London subsidiary Tramtrack Croydon Ltd is seeking bids for the lease of 10 new or second-hand trams to increase capacity on the light rail network in south London from the end of summer 2011. A new service is planned to run between Therapia Lane and Elmers End ...
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NewsFive-year programme to modernise Belarus network
BELARUS: The government approved a 2011-15 railway development programme at the end of December, setting out objectives for modernising national railway BC’s fleet, upgrading infrastructure, reducing energy consumption and ensuring safety. The cost is put at 14tr rubles, to be sourced from BC’s own resources, bank loans and national and ...
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NewsAt the cutting edge
RAIL SAW: The Amsaw-R series saw/drill unit developed by AME includes a range of features aimed at rail industry applications. The combined saw/drill unit is intended for ferrous and non-ferrous materials. It offers a saw blade changeover time of less than 3 min; smooth and accurate cuts; an ...
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NewsPush the button
BUTTON: Swiss firm EAO has developed an addition to its Series 56 door opening pushbutton which complies with the Technical Specifications of Interoperability for Persons with Reduced Mobility. The symbols are now raised more than 1 mm from the surface and have a width of more than 15 mm. ...
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NewsEMD wins two SD70ACe orders
NORTH AMERICA: Electro-Motive Diesel announced on January 28 that it had won two more orders to supply its 4 300 hp SD70ACe locomotive to operators in Canada and Mexico. Quebec North Shore & Labrador has ordered a further five locomotives for delivery from August, augmenting a build of seven that ...
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NewsCitadis remains popular in Paris
FRANCE: Alstom announced on January 28 that it has won a contract to supply up to 70 Citadis low-floor trams to operate on tram lines T7 and T8 in Paris. The purchase is being funded jointly by RATP and STIF.The five-module vehicles will be 32 m long and 2 400 ...
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NewsAtlanta upgrades its metro controls
USA: Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority has awarded Alstom a $117m contract to overhaul and modernise the aging train control and safety systems installed on the city’s metro network.The work will be funded from MARTA’s capital budget and is expected to take five years. The contract also includes two five-year ...
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NewsMetrolinx approves electrification plan
CANADA: On January 26 the Metrolinx Board of Directors approved staff recommendations to move forward with a phased implementation of plans to electrify GO Transit’s Lakeshore and Georgetown routes and the future rail link to Pearson International Airport. A detailed study prepared by the regional transport authority found that electrification ...
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NewsEconomical wagons cut bitumen transport costs
UK: Total has replaced the fleet of wagons which carry bitumen from its refinery in Immingham to its processing and distribution plant in Preston with a more efficient design developed in conjunction with leasing firm VTG Rail UK. The 30 new wagons eliminate the need for staff to access ...
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News€32·4bn to fund Grand Paris automated metro
FRANCE: Minister for Cities Maurice Leroy and President of Ile-de-France Jean-Paul Huchon announced on January 26 that they had reached ‘an historic agreement’ about the future development of public transport in Greater Paris. Between 2010 and 2025 no less than €32·4bn will be invested to build an automated metro around ...
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NewsStadler expands Berlin production capacity
GERMANY: Citing healthy orderbooks for its German division, Stadler announced on January 26 that it was planning to expand the capacity of its local business unit Stadler Pankow, with a total investment of around €10m in the construction of additional production capacity and a new assembly facility. Stadler Pankow Director ...
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NewsPerpignan – Figueres link inaugurated
EUROPE: Ceremonies were held at the Franco-Spanish border on January 27 to mark the official inauguration of the 44·5 km cross-border rail link between Perpignan and Figueres. The 1 435 mm gauge line has been open to passenger and freight services since December 19. Participating in the official opening were ...
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NewsFirst ETCS Level 2 contract awarded in Turkey
TURKEY: Lead contractor Yapı Merkezi has contracted Invensys Rail Dimetronic to install ERTMS Level 2 equipment on the 212 route-km Ankara – Konya high speed line.Invensys Rail will be responsible for the design, manufacture, installation and commissioning of the ETCS Level 2 wayside and onboard equipment, plus the interface with ...
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NewsRBS places NExT EMU contract
SWITZERLAND: Regionalverkehr Bern-Solothurn announced on January 24 that it had exercised its option to buy a further eight NExT low-floor EMUs from Stadler, at a cost of around SFr64m. The first six trainsets have been operating express services on the metre-gauge line between Solothurn and Bern since 2009. This has ...