All articles by Railway Gazette International – Page 879
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NewsHigh hoppers delivered
UK: WH Davis has supplied DB Schenker Rail with 12 hopper wagons to a new design which will enable aggregates to be delivered for Tarmac to terminals where unloading space is limited. The 75 tonne capacity stainless steel bodies are higher above rail level than is normal for hoppers designed ...
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NewsRhB orders Albula line trainsets
SWITZERLAND: Rhätische Bahn has signed a SFr110m contract with Stadler for the supply of seven new-generation trainsets to operate principal services on the Albula main line between Chur and St Moritz. The deal forms the third stage in RhB’s rolling stock renewal programme, bringing the total order value to SFr310m. ...
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NewsGrant reallocations double California’s high speed pilot section
USA: The planned initial segment of California’s proposed high-speed rail network was almost doubled in length on December 20, thanks to the reallocation of federal funding promised for right-of-way upgrading schemes in Wisconsin and Ohio. Following the rejection of those projects by the two states’ newly-elected governors, the Department of ...
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NewsDB awards ETCS on-board contract
GERMANY: Deutsche Bahn has awarded a €60m contract to Alstom for the supply and installation of on-board ETCS equipment for 121 high speed trainsets to be used on both international and domestic services. The order covers 71 ICE-T tilting trainsets and 50 ICE3 sets. Alstom will supply its Atlas on-board ...
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NewsTbilisi tram design contract signed
GEORGIA: The Mayor of Tbilisi Gigi Ugulava signed contracts with French consultancy Systra on December 17 covering studies for a proposed tram network and the development of an urban master plan as part of the city's railway bypass project.The French government is financing the development of plans for a tramway. ...
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NewsProgress Rail buys Coast to Coast Signal Engineering
USA: Progress Rail Services announced its purchase of Coast to Coast Signal Engineering Inc on December 20, the Caterpillar subsidiary's third signalling acquisition of 2010. Financial details were not released. Coast to Coast Signal Engineering was established in 1984 and is based in Omaha, Nebraska. It will now operate as ...
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NewsGas turbine in heavy haul tests
RUSSIA: The GT1-001 gas turbine-electric locomotive prototype being developed by RZD achieved a further milestone on December 20, when it hauled a 12 000-tonne freight train on the Moscow Railway’s Bekovka – Bekasovo line. The tests were conducted to demonstrate the locomotive’s ability to haul longer and heavier trains than ...
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NewsOslo orders more metro cars
NORWAY: On December 21, rolling stock leasing company Oslo Vognselskap AS signed a €180m contract with Siemens Mobility for the supply of a further 32 three-car metro trainsets. The MX3000 vehicles will be manufactured in Wien and delivered to Oslo in 2012. They will allow the operation of more frequent ...
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NewsTramino runs for charity in Poznan
POLAND: A Solaris Tramino low-floor tram decked in festive Christmas designs has been running in Poznań to raise money for children suffering from Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, an incurable hereditary condition. The 32 m long five-module articulated prototype vehicle currently in passenger service is 2 350 mm wide and has a narrow ...
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NewsIndustry News in Brief
Russian rolling stock and armoured fighting vehicle manufacturer Uralvagonzavod has acquired a controlling stake in Sambre et Meuse, which operates a specialist foundry at Feignies in northern France producing rolling stock components such as bogie castings for customers including Alstom and Bombardier. During November Polish bus manufacturer ...
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NewsAmerican Railcar Industries to enter wagon leasing market
USA: American Railcar Industries Inc has announced plans to diversify into wagon leasing, building on customer relationships it has developed through manufacturing, refurbishing and managing wagons. The leasing business is expected to provide more consistent cash flows and revenue, helping to improve performance during market downturns. 'The economy and railcar ...
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NewsSonoma-Marin orders commuter DMU cars
USA: The board of Sonoma-Marin Area Rail Transit voted unanimously on December 15 to award a US$56·9m contract for nine two-car diesel multiple-units to Sumitomo Corp and Nippon Sharyo. The 18 vehicles will be assembled at Nippon Sharyo’s new factory in Rochelle, Illinois, in compliance with ‘Buy America’ rules, ...
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NewsAlstom to overhaul PATCO fleet
USA: Meeting on December 15, the Delaware River Port Authority’s board of commissioners agreed to award a contract to Alstom Transportation Inc for the overhaul of the 120-car fleet of EMUs used on the PATCO cross-river express metro line linking Philadelphia and Lindenwold, New Jersey. The company’s competitive low bid ...
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NewsRailways seek refund from carbon cartel
EUROPE: A number of European rail companies have began proceedings in the UK's Competition Appeal Tribunal on December 15 seeking to recover excess prices paid for carbon products used in rolling stock electrical systems when a group of suppliers was operating a cartel in 1988-99. Hausfeld & Co LLP and ...
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NewsA sporting chance for rail
INTERNATIONAL: Amid a flurry of flashbulbs and a deluge of controversy, the governing body of world football FIFA announced on December 2 that Russia and Qatar would host the 2018 and 2022 World Cup tournaments respectively. Within days of the announcement in Zürich, the first details of planned transport investment ...
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NewsLocal locomotive partnership
BRAZIL: Locomotive specialist EIF has signed a partnership agreement with US-based Global Locomotive to exploit repowering and new-build opportunities in Latin America. Founded in 2001, EIF had until recently focused on the refurbishment and repowering of small and medium-power main line diesel locomotives, but the firm is seeking to increase ...
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NewsSpain to build 450 km/h railway test circuit
SPAIN: The government has approved a project to build what it describes as the largest railway test circuit in the world, a 55 km loop designed for trials of 1 435 mm gauge rolling stock at speeds up to 450 km/h. Work on the facility at Bobadilla, between Córdoba and ...
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NewsBroad gauge to Wien is feasible, says study
EUROPE: The proposed 450 km broad-gauge railway from Košice in eastern Slovakia to the Wien-Bratislava region offers the potential to create jobs and provide economic benefits to four countries, according to a pre-feasibility study undertaken by Roland Berger Strategy Consultants. The study was commissioned in April by project promoter Breitspur ...
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NewsSeeking energy efficiency
ENERGY: The joint UIC/Unife Railenergy project concluded four years of research with a conference in Brussels on November 25. Railenergy comprised 27 partners including train operators, infrastructure managers and suppliers working together with the aim of delivering a 6% saving in total energy consumption across the industry. The conference saw ...
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NewsPhone control
WHEELS: NEM Solutions has launched what it claims is the first system enabling wheel profiles to be measured using a mobile telephone. A Bluetooth link between the phone and NEM's Laser Profiler enables control of the measuring, with the precision customised to below 0·1 mm and recording taking from 7 ...