All Railway Gazette International articles in April 2016 – Page 2
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NewsSchuman – Josaphat tunnel enters service
BELGIUM: Local passenger trains began using the 1 250 m Schuman – Josaphat tunnel at 05.50 on April 4, marking the next step in the development of the Brussels Regional Express network. The link had been expected to open with the December 2015 timetable change, but this was postponed pending ...
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NewsIndia launches first 160 km/h ‘semi high speed’ train
INDIA: What the ministry describes as India’s ‘first semi-high speed train’ was launched by Minister of Railways Suresh Prabhu on April 5. The Gatimaan Express between Delhi’s Hazrat Nizamuddin station and Agra Cantonment is now the fastest train India, running at up to 160 km/h to give a journey time ...
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NewsNew York MTA receives largest ever investment
USA: New York MTA has been allocated $27bn in the New York state budget plan announced on March 31. This is the largest ever investment in the MTA. The funding includes $1bn for construction of the second phase of the Second Avenue Subway extension to East Harlem, as well ...
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NewsAir-conditioned EMU arrives in Mumbai
INDIA: The first air-conditioned electric multiple-unit built for Mumbai suburban services by the Integral Coach Factory in Chennai was delivered to Central Railway’s Kurla depot on April 5. Following inspections, the 12-car 25 kV 50 Hz EMU is to be tested on the Thane – Panvel route by ICF, Central ...
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NewsNew-generation Stockholm commuter EMU inaugurated
SWEDEN: Stockholm County Council’s transport authority Stockholms Läns Landsting and Alstom inaugurated the first Coradia Nordic X60B commuter electric multiple-unit at Stockholm Central on April 4. SLL ordered 46 six-car electric multiple-units in June 2012 for €440m under a framework agreement signed in 2002. Deliveries from Alstom’s Salzgitter plant ...
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NewsNew-generation Stockholm commuter EMU inaugurated
SWEDEN: Stockholm County Council’s transport authority Stockholms Läns Landsting and Alstom inaugurated the first Coradia Nordic X60B commuter electric multiple-unit at Stockholm Central on April 4. SLL ordered 46 six-car electric multiple-units in June 2012 for €440m under a framework agreement signed in 2002. Deliveries from Alstom’s Salzgitter plant ...
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NewsMixed gauge to Hendaye
SPAIN: Infrastructure Manager ADIF has awarded a €20·4m contract to install mixed-gauge track between Astigarraga and Irún, the Ministry of Development announced on April 1. Together with earlier contracts for upgrading the signalling and overhead line, this will complete a 1 435 mm gauge corridor between the French border and ...
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NewsMore Leonardo metro trains ordered for Milano
ITALY: Milano transport operator ATM is to purchase a further 15 Leonardo trainsets for metro Line M2 at a cost of €109m. The order announced on March 29 forms an option on a €220m contract signed with AnsaldoBreda (now Hitachi Rail Italy) in 2012 for 30 six-car trainsets with ...
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NewsSerbian link modernised
SERBIA: The Mala Krsna – Velika Plana section of Pan-European Corridor X reopened to freight traffic on April 1, following a modernisation project which Russian Railways subsidiary RZD International began in October. The 29 km link between lines running east and southeast of Beograd provides an alternative to the Velika ...
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NewsCTLE rebrands as Alstom Ubunye
SOUTH AFRICA: Alstom announced Alstom Ubunye (‘unity’ in Zulu) as the new name for Commuter Transport & Locomotive Engineering on April 6, when it confirmed that following regulatory approval it had completed the acquisition of a 51% stake in the rolling stock refurbishment business which had been announced on November ...
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NewsVIIA Britanica ‘rail motorway’ launched
FRANCE: SNCF Logistics subsidiary VIIA has launched its VIIA Britanica unaccompanied lorry semi-trailer service between the Port of Calais and Le Boulou near the Spanish border, with the first southbound train departing at 02.00 on March 30. Described as the longest ‘rail motorway’ in Europe, VIIA Britanica avoids a 1 ...
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NewsCummins QSK95 achieves Tier 4 certification
USA: Cummins received Tier 4 certification for its QSK95 diesel engine from the Environmental Protection Agency on March 31, ‘making it the first single prime power engine’ certified by EPA as meeting the Tier 4 emissions standards for use on locomotives. According to Cummins, the 3 281 kW QSK95 has ...
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NewsDB launches digital passenger information competition
GERMANY: The DB Information business unit of Deutsche Bahn has launched a second competition for web developers, designers and start-ups to develop novel apps, software or digital tools to enhance the provision of information at major stations across Germany. Part of the wider 'Infrastructure 4.0' initiative to increase the role ...
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NewsEast Japan Railway on West Midlands franchise shortlist
UK: Three bidders have been shortlisted for the next West Midlands passenger franchise, the Department for Transport announced on April 7. DfT is expected to issue the invitation to tender in July, with bids to be submitted in November. It expects to award the contract in June 2017, ready for ...
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NewsSuzhou Line 2 trams ordered
CHINA: CRRC Nanjing Puzhen is to supply 18 five-section 100% low-floor trams to operate the second tram line in Suzhou. Škoda Electric is to supply electrical equipment through its Chinese joint venture Škoda Kingway Electric. Škoda had previously supplied traction equipment to power cars for the Suzhou metro. ...
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NewsEurotem rolls out Antalya tram
TURKEY: The Eurotem joint venture of South Korea’s Hyundai Rotem and Turkish company Tüvasaş rolled out its first tram for Antalya at its factory in Adapazari on April 4. Eurotem won an order for 18 trams in August 2015. Due to be delivered to Antalya between April and November, ...
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NewsEuropean Commission adopts new rules to widen access to rail infrastructure
EUROPE: New rules designed to create fairer conditions for access to rail infrastructure were adopted by the European Commission on April 7, and will come into force on December 1. The Commission is concerned that EU rail markets are currently ‘characterised’ by dominant operators which may have close ties with ...
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NewsSantiago takes delivery of driverless metro train
CHILE: The first of 37 driverless trainsets that CAF is supplying for lines 3 and 6 of the Santiago metro was unloaded at Valparaíso port on April 6. In November 2013 a consortium of CAF and Thales won a US$451·9m contract to supply rolling stock and signalling for the ...
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NewsRailway supply industry news in brief
The first rails produced by Kazakhstan’s Aktobe Rail & Section Works using a rolling mill supplied by Siemens Metals Technologies were ceremonially laid by the President of national railway KTZ Askar Mamin and Almaty regional Governor Amandyk Batalov on April 7. They are to be used for double-tracking a 110 ...
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NewsToshiba to open Hyderabad electrical systems plant
INDIA: On April 7 Toshiba Corp announced plans to build a rolling stock power conversion and train control system production facility in Hyderabad, which would supply domestic and export markets including the Middle East and Africa. Toshiba Transmission & Distribution Systems (India) is being established as a dedicated railway systems ...