Asia
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NewsKTX-CheongRyong high speed train enters service
SOUTH KOREA: Korail put its latest generation of high speed train into commercial service on May 1. Two eight-car KTX-CheongRyong trainsets are now diagrammed to operate on the Gyeongbu high speed line and on the Honam line, offering passengers journey times of 2 h 17 min ...
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NewsKlang Valley signalling contract awarded
MALAYSIA: Dhaya Maju Infrastructure (Asia) has awarded Siemens Mobility a contract to supply signalling for the Klang Valley Double Track Phase 2 project. The resignalling covers the commuter route launched 25 years ago which serves 29 stations between Salak Selatan and Seremban and between Abdullah Hukum ...
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NewsTurkey, Iraq, Qatar and UAE to develop Gulf to Europe rail corridor
ASIA: Turkey, Iraq, Qatar and the UAE have signed a memorandum of understanding to create the Development Road, a 1 200 km railway and road corridor which would link Al-Faw container port in the Iraqi city of Basra with Turkey. The MoU was signed when Turkey’s ...
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Metro Report InternationalTemirtau tramway reopening project gets underway
KAZAKHSTAN: Steelmaker Qarmet has begun work to reopen the 11 km tramway in Temirtau which was included in its acquisition of the local steelworks from ArcelorMittal Steel in December. Tram operations has been suspended in February 2023 when the then owner said the line was unprofitable ...
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NewsXi’an – Almaty passenger train planned
ASIA: Representatives of Kazak national railway KTZ have begun discussions with Chinese regional officials over the launch of a planned passenger service between Xi’an and Almaty. The tourist-oriented service would operate via the Korgas border crossing, which is already used by regular Urumqi – Almaty-2 passenger ...
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NewsJapanese DMUs find second homes in Thailand and Cambodia
ASIA: Japan’s JR Hokkaido and JR East have sold cars of ex-Series KiHa 183 diesel multiple-units to Thailand and Cambodia. JR Hokkaido announced on April 12 that it had sold its remaining 11 cars, which had served as Series KiHa 183 diesel multiple-units, to Cambodia’s national ...
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NewsChina applies to become associate member of OTIF
INTERNATIONAL: On April 26 the People’s Republic of China deposited an application to accede to the Intergovernmental Organisation for International Carriage by Rail as an associate member. Unless five OTIF Member States object, the application will be deemed to be accepted three months after the first ...
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NewsPrivate rooms to be revived on Tokaido Shinkansen
JAPAN: Central Japan Railway has announced plans to reintroduce private compartments on the Tokaido Shinkansen.
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NewsComponents joint venture agreement
INDIA: The AT Railway a subsidiary of Amber Enterprises India has signed a joint venture agreement with South Korea’s Yujin Machinery to design, manufacture, and develop critical components for various types of rolling stock used in India. The joint venture will focus on components such as ...
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NewsChuo Shinkansen completion delayed until 2034
JR Central tested the maglev technology in Yamanashi prefecture (Photo: Kazumiki Miura). JAPAN: Central Japan Railway announced at the end of March that it no longer expects to start operating high speed superconducting maglev services over the Chuo Shinkansen between Tokyo and Nagoya in 2027. Speaking ...
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Metro Report InternationalMRT Jakarta extension railway systems contract awarded
INDONESIA: Operator MRT Jakarta has awarded a 4·2tr rupiah contract to Japan’s Sojitz Corp on April 17 to design and install the railway systems on the phase 2A extension of the Jakarta MRT North–South Line. The 5·8 km underground phase 2A is under construction between Bundaran ...
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In depthJapan: Extending the Hokuriku Shinkansen
JR West and JR East inaugurated a 125 km extension of the Hokuriku Shinkansen from Kanazawa to Tsuruga on March 16. Mike Bent reports.
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Metro Report InternationalMore Metro Manila Subway loans agreed
PHILIPPINES: Finance Secretary Ralph Recto and Japan International Cooperation Agency Chief Representative Takema Sakamoto signed a ¥150bn loan agreement on March 26 for the third tranche of financing for Phase 1 of the Metro Manila Subway Project. MMSP Phase 1 is being supported by two previous ...
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Metro Report InternationalDisneyland Resort Line train replacement to create a ‘brand new look’
CHINA: New battery trains and resignalling are included in Hong Kong operator MTR Corp’s plans to create a ‘brand new look’ for the Disneyland Resort Line from 2028.
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Metro Report InternationalLocal elections prompt flurry of Istanbul metro openings
TURKEY: Four extensions to existing metro lines have been opened in Istanbul to coincide with the municipal elections which took place at the end of March. On March 11, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan inaugurated a seven-station southern extension of line M3 from Kirazlı to Bakırköy Sahil on ...
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Metro Report InternationalMalaysian government takes over Penang light rail project
MALAYSIA: Responsibility for the Mutiara Light Rail Transit project has been transferred from the state of Penang to the federal government, Malaysia’s Transport Minister Anthony Loke has announced. The project is to be developed and managed by government-owned MRT Corp. It is to be implemented through ...
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NewsManila passenger services suspended to accelerate commuter rail construction
PHILIPPINES: March 27 marked the last operation of passenger services for five years in the Manila metropolitan area in order to accelerate construction of the North-South Commuter Railway. Philippine National Railways suspended its diesel-worked operations on the Governor Pascual – Manila Tutuban and Tutuban – Alabang ...
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Metro Report InternationalFirst section of Seoul’s GTX Line A opens
SOUTH KOREA: The initial 28 km section of the Great Train Express commuter rail network in the Seoul conurbation, linking Suseo with Dongtan has opened.
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Metro Report InternationalSeoul Metro to operate GTX-A when it opens on March 30
SOUTH KOREA: Seoul Metro has been selected as operator for Line A of the capital’s Great Train Express commuter rail network, ahead of the opening of the first section on March 30. When complete, the 82 km line with 11 stations will link Unjeong in the ...
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NewsSeries E8 enters service on Yamagata mini-Shinkansen
JAPAN: East Japan Railway put its first Series E8 high speed trainsets into revenue service on the Yamagata Shinkansen on March 16.