All Railway Gazette International articles in April 2017 – Page 4
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NewsRegions sound out SNCF competitors
FRANCE: The body which represents the regions of France says that there is a ‘strong appetite’ amongst potential bidders for contracts to operate TER passenger services currently provided by SNCF, which are expected to be opened up to competition around 2024. In order to enable its members to prepare for ...
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NewsSBB wants better co-operation with road transport
SWITZERLAND: Swiss Federal Railways and national road transport association Astag have joined forces to demand a more effective freight transport policy at national level and better co-operation between road and rail. At a press conference on April 7 in Basel at which both organisations pledged support for the planned Gateway ...
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NewsRENFE poised to join Virgin’s HS2 franchise bid
UK: Spanish national operator RENFE is understood to be the front runner to join the Virgin Rail Group joint venture of Stagecoach and Virgin Holdings to bid for the government’s upcoming West Coast Partnership franchise.Currently Virgin (51%) and Stagecoach (49%) operate inter-city services under the Virgin Trains brand on the ...
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NewsWeedfree orders weed killing train
EUROPE: Weedfree On Track is investing £2m in a second weed killing train, backed by a £300 000 debt funding package from Enterprise Ventures SME Loans and £200 000 from Finance Yorkshire's Business Loans fund. The vehicles are to be supplied by Hungarian company Gaal-Gaal, which supplied Weedfree's existing ...
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NewsKarşıyaka tram line opens in Izmir
TURKEY: Izmir mayor Aziz Kocaoğlu attended the inauguration of the Karşıyaka tram line on April 11. Travel on the line is free until June. The 8·8 km route with 14 stops runs along the northern coast of the Gulf of Izmir, linking Alaybey and Mavişehir stations on the city’s ...
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NewsRENFE plans for profitable freight
SPAIN: The freight business of national operator RENFE is aiming to move into profit within three years under its 2017-19 management plan. This is in order to ensure a sustainable future after several years of losses which have resulted in a major deficit. Development of international traffic will be a ...
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NewsTurkish national wagon rolled out
TURKEY: Rolling stock manufacturer Tüdemsaş has unveiled its own design of articulated container wagon, developed since 2013 in partnership with national railway TCDD. The 29·5 m long twin-section Type Sggmrs wagon has a tare weight of 25·5 tonnes, which permits a payload of 109·5 tonnes, 4 tonnes more than existing ...
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NewsLondon Underground trains to be modified to improve accessibility
UK: London Underground has appointed SNC-Lavalin’s Rail & Transit team to undertake design work for the modification of rolling stock to improve accessibility for persons with reduced mobility and visual impairments. The contracts cover the train fleets used on the Bakerloo, Central and Waterloo & City lines, a total of ...
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NewsUnipetrol orders Vectron locomotives
CZECH REPUBLIC: The Unipetrol Doprava transport subsidiary of petrochemical group Unipetrol has ordered three Siemens Vectron multi-system electric locomotives as part of its fleet renewal programme. The first is scheduled to be delivered in December 2017 and the other two in spring 2018. The 6·4 MW locomotives will be equipped ...
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Metro Report InternationalTunnelling begins on Northern Line extension in London
UK: Tunnelling has started on London Underground’s Northern Line extension. Tunnel boring machine Helen has started boring a 5·2 m diameter tunnel at a depth of 26 m, and sister machine Amy is due to start the other bore in about a month. The two TBMs supplied by NFM ...
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NewsMÁV-Start and Stadler sign double-deck EMU framework contract
HUNGARY: A framework agreement for the supply of up to 40 Kiss double-deck electric multiple units including a firm order for an initial 10 was signed by national passenger operator MÁV-Start and Stadler on April 12. Stadler said these would be the first double-deck vehicles in Hungary when they enter ...
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NewsGE Transportation acquires 50% stake in Kazakh loco manufacturer
KAZAKHSTAN: GE Transportation announced on April 12 that it had completed the purchase of a 50% stake in locomotive manufacturer Lokomotiv Kurastyru Zauyty from national railway KTZ. Formed in 2009 as a 50:50 joint venture between KTZ and Russian rolling stock manufacturing group Transmashholding, LKZ produces GE Evolution Series ...
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NewsUK railway news round-up
Transport Scotland has selected Jacobs UK to undertake a seven-month study into options for improving transport provision in the south of Scotland. This will include looking at the case for an extension of the Borders railway to Carlisle. Great Western Railway and Bristol City Council are to launch a ...
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NewsFreight operator’s safety certification revoked
NETHERLANDS: Freight operator HSL Logistik suspended all operations on April 12 after the Human Environment & Transport Inspectorate revoked its safety certification. ILT’s decision to revoke HSL Logistik’s certification followed close monitoring of the operator after a series of incidents, including three signals passed at danger during the last six ...
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NewsKTMB orders multiple-units with graphene capacitor energy storage
MALAYSIA: A €180m contract for 22 multiple-units of two types was signed by Malaysia’s Ministry of Transport, national operator KTMB and CRRC Zhuzhou Locomotive on April 11. The order includes 13 four-car DMUs for use on regional services. These Class 61 units will have an operating speed of 120 km/h, ...
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Metro Report InternationalDetroit tram deliveries completed
USA: Brookville Equipment Corp delivered the last two of six Liberty Modern Streetcars for Detroit in March, ahead of the planned opening of the QLine on May 12. The pilot vehicle arrived in Detroit in September 2016, after Brookville signed a $32m order the previous year. The 70% low-floor ...
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NewsDLR unveils automated freight train vision
GERMANY: Aerospace research institute Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt unveiled its vision for an automated freight train on April 13. Part of its ongoing Next Generation Train project, the NGT Cargo concept is intended to increase rail’s share of the European freight market by making it ‘more appealing’, according ...
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NewsRailway supply industry news round-up
Bombardier and Siemens are discussing a potential combination of their rail activities, Bloomberg and Reuters reported on April 11. The wagon leasing market continues to improve in Europe and is growing in Asia, container, modular building, barge and wagon leasing company Touax said when announcing its annual results on March ...
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NewsTransmashholding sales up
RUSSIA: Rolling stock manufacturing group Transmashholding has announced that its sales in 2016 were up 22% year-on-year to 120bn roubles. The largest increase was in the electric multiple-unit sector, with sales up 49% from 174 to 259 cars. Sales of double-deck coaches increase 23% from 70 to 86, while ...
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NewsWorld rail infrastructure market April 2017
Bangladesh: The government has awarded Oriental Consultants Global, Chodai, Developed Design Consultants and ACE Consultants a 7·48bn taka contract to provide consultancy services for the construction of a planned 4·8 km dual-gauge railway bridge across the River Jamuna near the existing Bangbandhu Bridge. China: China Railway 24th Bureau Group ...