All articles by Railway Gazette International – Page 925
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NewsMore metros open in Guangzhou and Shanghai
CHINA: The end of December has always been a popular time for metro inaugurations in China and December 2009 was no exception. Guangzhou metro Line 5 and a short extension of Line 4 opened for revenue service on December 29, following an official ceremony the previous day, increasing the city’s ...
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NewsCitadis Dualis delivered to Nantes
FRANCE: A Citadis Dualis tram-train left Alstom's Valenciennes site on January 4 destined for Nantes in the Loire region, where it will undergo extensive tests. A shuttle service between Nantes and Clisson is expected to start in September. The tram-train had previously carried out initial test runs on the RFF ...
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NewsGraz's customised tram handed over
AUSTRIA: Stadler Pankow formally handed over the first of 45 Variobahn trams for Graz city transport operator GVB in December. The 27·4 m long and 2 300 mm wide five-section car has a 'bright and friendly interior', with 47 seats plus space for 98 standees and two multi-purpose areas for ...
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NewsSugar firm orders 50 GE locomotives
BRAZIL: Sugar and ethanol producer Cosan has signed an order for 50 AC44i diesel-electric locomotives, GE Transportation announced on January 7. They will be used by Cosan's logistics subsidiary Rumo to haul sugar from processing plants to the Port of Santos using América Latina Logistíca's rail network. Deliveries will start ...
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NewsDelhi Metro reaches Anand Vihar
INDIA: Following the official inauguration by Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit and Union Urban Development Minister Jaipal Reddy on January 6, the 6·3 km elevated section of Delhi Metro from Yamuna Bank to Anand Vihar opened for passenger service at 06.00 the following day.The five-station branch of Line 3 is ...
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NewsMoscow metro Line 3 extended to Mitino
RUSSIA: Mayor of Moscow Yury Luzhkov was among the passengers who rode the first train from Strogino to Mitino on December 26, when three new stations entered service on the Artbatsko-Pokrovskaya line.The northwestern suburb of Mitino has developed rapidly over the last 10 years and is now densely-populated. The 6 ...
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NewsBritish high speed rail report delivered
UK: The report on options for providing additional rail capacity between London and the West Midlands and proposals for a high-speed rail network was delivered to the Department for Transport on December 31. It has been developed by High Speed Two Ltd, the company set up in January last year ...
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NewsNorth Pole railway extension approved
USA: The Surface Transportation Board has approved Alaska Railroad Corp's plans for the Northern Rail Extension from North Pole, Alaska, subject to environmental mitigation conditions. The single track line will run 130 km southeast to Delta Junction from the current terminus of the Eielson branch near to North Pole south ...
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NewsRio de Janeiro metro reaches Ipanema
BRAZIL: President Lula inaugurated a 540 m extension of Rio de Janeiro metro Line 1 from Cantagalo to Ipanema/General Osório on December 21. He then travelled to Maracaña station on Line 2, using a new section of track between São Cristóvão and Central which has been under construction since November ...
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NewsMumbai monorail car delivery begins
INDIA: The first vehicle for the Mumbai Monorail left Scomi Engineering's Kuala Lumpur factory for India on January 2. 'The first monorail car will play a pivotal role in the preliminary systems interface testing, which is critical in ensuring that the monorail system runs smoothly', said Suhaimi Yaacob, Country President ...
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NewsNew metro line to be built in Santiago
CHILE: President Michelle Bachelet has announced that construction of Santiago metro Line 6 will start in 2010. The 14·8 km 12-station line will cost around 486m pesos and is intended to relieve overcrowding on Line 1 when it opens at the end of 2014. Designated Línea Expreso Sur, Line 6 ...
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NewsHaramain High Speed Rail project manager appointed
SAUDI ARABIA: Scott Wilson Group has been appointed to provide project management support for the Haramain High Speed Rail Project, the international design and engineering consultancy announced on January 5. The contract awarded by Saudi Railways Organisation is worth £14·5m over five years and covers technical, specialist engineering ...
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NewsChina South is low bidder for European loco contract
POLAND: China South's Zhuzhou Electric Locomotive Co has been named as lowest bidder for a contract to supply Koleje Mazowieckie with 11 electric locomotives by December 2011. The Mazowsze regional passenger operator is seeking locomotives to power 160 km/h push -pull trainsets using 37 coaches supplied by Bombardier in 2008-09. ...
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NewsJapanese tram loop opens
JAPAN: The city of Toyama's third tram route opened on December 23, with the reinstatement of a circular service through the city centre. Branded as Centram, Line 3 has been created by building 940 m of 1 067 mm gauge track with three new stops between the Marunouchi and ...
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NewsFirst Allegro train shipped to Finland
EUROPE: The first of four Alstom Pendolino tilting trainsets ordered for 'Allegro' services between Helsinki and St Petersburg is due to arrive in Finland this month, having been shipped from the Italian port of Vado Ligure on December 30. The 220 km/h Pendolinos are being built at Alstom's Savigliano plant. ...
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NewsRouen orders trams to increase capacity
FRANCE: Alstom Transport announced on January 4 that it had been selected as the preferred bidder to supply Rouen with 27 Citadis 402 trams to replace the current fleet of GEC-Alsthom Tramway Français Standard cars dating from the opening of the light rail network in 1994. Intended to increase capacity ...
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NewsWuhan – Guangzhou line opens at 380 km/h
CHINA: Revenue services on the Wuhan – Guangzhou passenger-dedicated line began running on December 26, cutting the journey time between the capitals of Hubei and Guangdong provinces to under 3 h, compared with 10 h 30 min via the 1 068 km conventional route. The inaugural trains left the new ...
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NewsMoving TGVs remotely
FRANCE: SNCF has put into service an automated shunting robot to manoeuvre trainsets on and off the underfloor wheel lathe at its TGV maintenance depot in Lyon, which opened earlier this year. A second unit has also been installed in one of its Paris TGV depots. Developed by Windhoff, the ...
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NewsUrban rail news in brief - January 2010
The EU Regional Operational Programme will provide 85% of the 162m zloty needed for MPK Czestochowa's tram expansion. The project involves construction of a 4·5 km double-track line with nine stops for around 98·7m zloty. Seven new low-floor trams will be acquired for 63m zloty. On December 15 Metrolinx ...
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NewsKnorr-Bremse buys simulator firm
AUSTRALIA: Knorr-Bremse acquired rail driving simulator manufacturer Sydac on December 16, saying the purchase forms part of a strategy of targeted acquisitions to strengthen its position in a number of markets. It is the fourth acquisition by Knorr-Bremse Rail Vehicle Systems in 2009, following from precision machining firm De Zan ...