All articles by Railway Gazette International – Page 995
-
NewsFirst wagons completed at Tikhvin
RUSSIA: The first two wagons have been completed at Tikhvin Railway Car Building Plant, which has been established on part of a former Transmash site in Leningrad oblast, 200 km east of St Petersburg. The 220 000 m² factory is being developed by ICT Group at a cost of ...
-
NewsGold Coast study recommends light rail
AUSTRALIA: The preliminary business case for the Gold Coast Rapid Transit project has recommended light rail in preference to bus rapid transit, John Mickel, Queensland's Minister for Transport, Trade, Employment & Industrial Relations, announced on August 22. Light rail offers 'greater capacity, reliability, and a longer lifespan than buses ...
-
NewsPolish high speed rail plan
POLAND: The government’s high speed rail committee has approved a draft programme and environmental impact study for the development of high speed rail services. The proposals envisage the construction of a Y-shaped network totalling 500 km. A line would run from Warszawa though Łódź to Kalisz, where ...
-
NewsUP genset shunters begin work
USA: Union Pacific has begun testing four RP20SD 2000 hp genset loconmotives built by Railpower for the Roseville hump yard 30 km northeast of Sacramento. The locos use the frames and bogies of scrapped six-axle EMD road switchers, and have three gensets onboard with room for a fourth to ...
-
NewsItalian crossing upgrade
ITALY: Infrastructure manager RFI and track maintenance contractors Salcef and Ar.Fer have awarded three contracts for the first applications of Holdfast rubber level crossing panels in the country, after seeing the technology on display at Expo Ferroviaria in Torino earlier this year. RFI will use the panels to renew ...
-
NewsTalking in tunnels
SWEDEN: Axell Wireless is to begin installing a comprehensive radio communications system from the start of next year in the 6 km Citytunnel beneath Malmö. The Anglo-Swedish company, which was created in July 2007 through the merger of AFL and Avitec, is to install the communications network under a ...
-
NewsNews in Brief
India's Northeast Frontier Railway will this month begin regular services to Agartala, the capital of Tripura. Work on the 119 km line from Kumarghat began in 1996, and the first train arrived in Agartala on June 29. Construction of a further 110 km to Sabroom is scheduled to start next ...
-
NewsOyster contract to end early
UK: Transport for London announced on August 8 that it has given the required two years' notice of termination of its £100m a year contract with TranSys for the operation and maintenance of the Oyster smartcard ticketing system. TranSys shareholders are Cubic Systems, IT suppliers EDS and Fujitsu Services, plus ...
-
News
Two from three shortlisted
AUSTRALIA: Victoria's Department of Transport has shortlisted the Keolis/EDI Downer joint venture and incumbent operator Yarra Trams as the process to re-let Melbourne's tram franchise progresses (RG 6.08 p352). Yarra Trams, itself a joint venture of Transdev and Transfield Services, has been the sole operator of the city's extensive ...
-
NewsRail loader deliveries
SWITZERLAND: Next month Swiss Federal Railways will take delivery of the last of a batch of 22 rail loaders ordered from Robel. The two six-wagon and 20 two-wagon rail loaders are equipped with a total of 80 electric and 24 mechanical cranes. They enable rapid loading and transport of ...
-
NewsPort projects progress
AUSTRALIA: The Western Australia government confirmed on July 29 that it had selected the Oakajee Port & Rail joint venture of Murchison Metals and Mitsubishi for the concession to develop an A$3bn port and rail network serving eight iron ore reserves in the mid-West region east of Geraldton. The partnership ...
-
NewsSplit follows Angel Trains sale
ANGEL TRAINS: Rolling stock leasing company Angel Trains will be split into stand-alone UK and continental European businesses, the new owners announced following the completion of their £3·6bn acquisition on August 6. Following regulatory approval, Royal Bank of Scotland sold Angel Trains to a consortium including Babcock & Brown ...
-
NewsGE ships first CML diesel locomotive to China
CHINA: The first of 300 Evolution Series diesel locomotives being supplied to Chinese Railways by GE Transportation and Qishuyan Locomotive & Rolling Stock Works is due to arrive at Tianjin at the end of August, under a US$450m contract awarded in October 2005. Rated at 6250 hp, the six-axle ...
-
NewsGreat Wall train launched in Beijing
CHINA: To coincide with the Olympic Games an upgraded passenger service has been introduced between Beijing and the popular tourist destination of Badaling, the nearest section of the Great Wall to the capital. Launched on August 7, the 16 daily Line S2 services takes around 1 h 20 min ...
-
NewsGovernment invests in KiwiRail growth
NEW ZEALAND: Improvements to commuter services in Auckland and Wellington and an overhaul of Tranz Scenic services are included in a five-year NZ$80·2m investment package announced by Finance Minister Michael Cullen, who said he will present a paper to the cabinet proposing an expansion of the role of rail 'and ...
-
NewsNSB selects Stadler for largest train order
NORWAY: In the state railway's largest single rolling stock order, on August 18 NSB selected Stadler to supply 50 FLIRT electric multiple-units worth SFr640m, with an option for a further 100. The contract is expected to be signed during September. The Swiss manufacturer will deliver 26 five-car trains with ...
-
NewsSouth Central franchise shortlist announced
UK: On August 20 the Department for Transport announced the shortlisted bidders for the South Central rail franchise, which covers passenger services south of London. The bidders are NedRailways South Central (NedRailways), NXSC Trains (National Express Group), Southern Trains (Stagecoach Group) and incumbent Southern Railway (Govia). The ...
-
NewsStockholm sets tram sights wider
SWEDEN: Stockholm Transport authority SL has expanded its plans for a light rail line in the centre of the capital. Expressions of interest were invited in 2007 for a BOT concession of at least 15 years covering a line linking Djurgården, Norrmalmstorg and the Central station. This would incorporate ...
-
NewsBombardier to supply electro-diesel locos
NORTH AMERICA: Bombardier has been selected to supply New Jersey Transit and Montréal suburban operator AMT with a total of 46 electro-diesel locomotives for commuter services. Announced on August 18, the €178m order from NJ Transit covers 26 locomotives with options for a further 63. These will ...
-
NewsSofia metro Line 2 contractors chosen
BULGARIA: Construction of a second metro line in Sofia is expected to begin in September, following the appointment of civil works contractors last month. Turkish firm Dogus Insaat ve Ticaret will build the 3·8 km four-station section running south from Nadezhda to Tsentralna station and through the city centre ...