All Railway Gazette International articles in April 2012 – Page 2
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NewsWork starts on Gilon tunnel
ISRAEL: On April 23 the joint venture of local construction company Danya Cebus and China Civil Engineering Construction Corp began work on a 4·6 km twin-bore tunnel that will carry the new ‘Akko - Karmi’el line under Gilon mountain. The ceremony was attended by the Chinese Ambassador ...
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NewsBombardier preferred bidder for BART contract
USA: At its meeting on April 26, the Bay Area Rapid Transit District board is due to consider a recommendation to select Bombardier Transportation as the preferred bidder to supply its new fleet of metro cars. Because the Bombardier bid represents such ‘good value’, according to BART, the board will ...
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NewsPassenger information upgrade
TAIWAN: A replacement passenger information system has been fitted to 20 multiple-units used by Taiwan Railway Administration to provide a shuttle service on the Shalun branch which connects TRA's station on the conventional line in Tainan with Taiwan High Speed Rail Corp's station. The information system uses LCD screens ...
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NewsMetrorail fleet renewal begins
SOUTH AFRICA: Bid documents are now being made available by Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa as it seeks to let two 10-year contracts for the design, manufacture and maintenance of electric multiple-units. PRASA expects to order an estimated 7 224 cars over the next 20 years ...
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NewsTenders called for US passenger cars
USA: US Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood announced on April 20 that manufacturers had been invited to bid for a contract worth $551m to supply 130 double-deck cars for Amtrak services, under ‘a groundbreaking multi-state effort to jointly purchase standardised rail equipment’. With funding from the Federal Railroad Administration’s High Speed ...
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NewsChinese locos prepare for service
AUSTRALIA: Following successful testing that has included operation at up to 130 km/h and hauling ‘one of the biggest iron ore trains’ between Port Augusta and Adelaide last month, SCT Logistics expects its full fleet of CSR Ziyang diesel locomotives to be ‘up and running’ by June. SCT says that ...
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NewsRailway could tap Québec's northern wealth
CANADA: Proposals for an 800 km railway to enable the exploitation of natural resources in the Labrador Trough are being drawn up by Canadian National and pension fund manager Caisse de Dépôt et Placement du Québec. A railway north from the port of Sept-Îles forms part of the government of ...
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NewsFreight recovery helps growth
KNORR-BREMSE: A 'strong global position' in the rail and commercial vehicle sectors brought a 14% increase in sales in 2011, the braking system manufacturer announced on March 27. The Rail Vehicle Systems division contributed 51% of revenues, with improved sales attributed to recovery in the North American freight ...
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NewsZaragoza Goya station opens
SPAIN: Development Minister Ana Pastor officially opened the new station at Zaragoza Goya on April 3. The station has been built at a cost of €44m and is served by the RENFE suburban route from Casetas to Miraflores. Regional services to Castejón de Ebro, Arcos de Jalón, Huesca and Lleida ...
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NewsNTV prepares to launch
ITALY: With just one week to go before the launch of its first commercial services on April 28, open access operator NTV ran its first preview trips carrying press and VIPs between Roma and Napoli on April 20. The run gave invited guests an opportunity to sample the AGV trainsets ...
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NewsRomania commissions strategic transport study
ROMANIA: The Ministry of Transport & Infrastructure has awarded AECOM a €2·2m contract to develop a national transport masterplan and development strategy. Intended to assist with applications for EU cohesion funding in 2014-20, the study will include short, medium and long term outlooks, suggesting infrastructure and policy needs for rail, ...
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NewsBordeaux to Spain high speed line route approved
FRANCE: The transport ministry has approved routes for high speed lines from Bordeaux to Toulouse and the Spanish border, RFF announced on April 6, enabling the infrastructure manager to prepare for a public enquiry which is expected to start in mid-2013. Granting of formal approval for the Grand Projet ...
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NewsKiwiRail puts workshops up for sale
NEW ZEALAND: KiwiRail has decided to put its Hillside Engineering workshops business in Dunedin up for sale, following a reduction in its future workload for rolling stock construction and refurbishment. The railway announced on April 19 that it intended to advertise the business in ‘early May’, with the aim ...
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NewsJakarta - Bandung fast line study
INDONESIA: A Japanese consortium is to undertake a pre-feasibility study into a proposed 144 route-km fast passenger line between Jakarta and Bandung for opening by 2018. Following a co-operation agreement between the Indonesian government and the Japanese Ministry of Land, Transportation & Tourism, the study will be ...
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NewsFirst passengers ride Auckland's Manukau Rail Link
NEW ZEALAND: Passenger services on Auckland's first new rail route for 82 years began on April 15, following a preview day with station tours, train rides, face painting, music and celebrity sausage sizzle on April 14. An inaugural train carrying the Mayor of Auckland had broken a ribbon at Manukau ...
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NewsERTMS accord signed
EUROPE: Additional measures to ‘facilitate’ the deployment of the European Rail Traffic Management System have been agreed by the European Commission and the rail sector, with the signing of a further memorandum of understanding in København on April 16. The signing formed part of an event organised by the Danish ...
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NewsFuel cell locomotive trial
SOUTH AFRICA: Five fuel cell locomotives are under construction as demonstrators for use underground at Anglo American Platinum Ltd's Dishaba mine. Lead contractor Vehicle Projects Inc is undertaking engineering design, fabrication and testing of the fuel cell power plant in the USA. Completed units will be delivered to Trident South ...
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NewsGySEV orders Flirts for upgraded line
HUNGARY: GySEV has ordered four Flirt electric multiple-units from Stadler Bussnang to accommodate growing ridership on the recently upgraded Sopron - Szombathely - Szentgotthárd route in western Hungary. The European Union's Cohesion Fund is meeting 85% of the €20·3m cost of the contract which was signed on April 13. The ...
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NewsBombardier opens Hortolândia monorail factory
BRAZIL: Bombardier Transportation inaugurated a US$15m monorail train manufacturing plant at its Hortolândia site in São Paulo state on April 13. The US$15m facility has been developed over 18 months as the company's global centre for monorails, and will serve local and export markets. Technology has been transferred from Bombardier's ...
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NewsMTR Corp awards signalling, track and electrification contracts
CHINA: Hong Kong's MTR Corp has awarded Alstom contracts with a total value of €71m covering the supply of signalling, track and electrification systems for two metro projects. The track and electrification contracts announced on April 17 are the first which Alstom has won in Hong Kong. One contract covers ...