All Railway Gazette International articles in April 2020 – Page 3
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Rail Business UKTransport Support Unit formed
UK: The government has announced the formation of a UK-wide Transport Support Unit which is ‘dedicated to fighting this pandemic’ by making use of spare transport capacity for logistics services to assist frontline responders while ridership is significantly reduced. Network Rail has the eighth largest commercial vehicle ...
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NewsPassenger service reintroduction study
Source: GeorgDerReisende / CC BY-SA (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0) GERMANY: Local bus and rail freight operator Regionalverkehr Ruhr-Lippe has commissioned Spiekermann Consulting Engineers to undertake studies for the proposed reintroduction of passenger services on the 14·4 km Röhrtalbahn from Neheim-Hüsten to Sundern in Nordrhein-Westfalen. This will include assessing the signalling ...
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Metro Report InternationalUrban transport news round-up
Amsterdam transport operator GVB is to strengthen its current basic timetable in stages from April 29, May 4 and May 11. Although the Dutch government has extended its coronavirus restrictions until at least May 19, there has been a slight increase in the number of public transport ...
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Rail Business UKGin distillery supplies Network Rail with hand sanitiser
UK: Network Rail’s Central route has bought 300 bottles of hand sanitiser produced by the Piston Gin distillery in Worcester. The hand sanitiser is being used in signal boxes across the route, as well as at the main signalling centre in Birmingham where signallers are working 2 ...
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NewsAccelerated delivery of medical supplies from China to Russia by rail
RUSSIA: RZD Logistics has organised the accelerated delivery of personal protective equipment and medical supplies from China to various Russian cities. The first container train departed from Shanghai on April 19, taking the northern transit route through Zabaikalsk to the Vorsino and then Yekaterinburg where customs-clearance was ...
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Metro Report InternationalIstanbul airport metro train contract awarded
TURKEY: The Ministry of Transport & Infrastructure has awarded CRRC Zhuzhou Locomotive Co a contract to supply 176 metro cars for Istanbul Line M11, which will serve the city’s new airport. CRRC Zhuzhou was the sole qualified bidder for the tender which was opened on December 26, ...
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Metro Report InternationalUITP urges EU institutions to recommit to public transport
EUROPE: The International Public Transport Association issued an open letter to EU policymakers on April 28 reiterating its concerns about the ‘unprecedented impact’ of the coronavirus pandemic on the sector. Addressed to President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Council ...
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Metro Report InternationalTurku council backs tramway plan
FINLAND: Turku city council gave the go-ahead to plan for the reintroduction of trams on April 20. This would form part of a wider urban development programme which aims to make the city a more attractive place to live and work, the municipality said. The city’s first ...
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Rail Business UKUK announces support for light rail during the pandemic
UK: The Department for Transport has confirmed that a ‘multi-million pound’ package of emergency funding will be provided for light rail networks as part of measures aimed at keeping essential transport services running during the coronavirus pandemic. The announcement covers the light rail networks in Sheffield, Greater ...
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NewsBudapest – Beograd route modernisation funding agreed
HUNGARY: The loan agreement with China’s EximBank to fund the reconstruction and modernisation of the Hungarian section of the Budapest – Beograd corridor was finally signed on April 24.
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NewsSino-Portuguese consortium to build first section of Tren Maya network
MEXICO: A consortium led by Mota-Engil of Portugal has been awarded a contract worth US$234m to construct the initial section of the Tren Maya network serving the Yucatan Peninsula. Mota-Engil and partners China Communications Construction Co, Grupo Cosh Eyasa and Gavil Ingeniería are expected to start ...
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Metro Report InternationalRussian-made all-aluminium tram under development
RUSSIA: PC Transport Systems is developing what it says will be the first Russian-made all-aluminium tram, drawing on the best examples of aluminium tram production in Europe. The bodyshells for the three-section low-floor Type 71-931M1 Vityaz-M tram are being assembled and painted at the company’s Tver ...
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Metro Report InternationalTallinn to expand tram network
ESTONIA: Tallinn municipality has approved the route for a planned tram line connecting the airport, the future Rail Baltica station in Ülemiste and the old port area.
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NewsMetre-gauge container wagon launched
RUSSIA: Rolling stock manufacturer Kambarka Engineering Works has launched a four-axle flat wagon for carrying containers on metre-gauge lines.
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NewsAkiem completes acquisition of Macquarie European Rail’s fleet
The Class 379 EMUs operated by Greater Anglia will move to Akiem under the deal. EUROPE: Following regulatory approval, Akiem Group completed the acquisition of Macquarie European Rail’s rolling stock leasing business on April 23. The transaction includes 137 locomotives used by 21 operators, including EMD Class ...
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NewsCompetition authority clears CRRC acquisition of Vossloh Locomotives
GERMANY: The proposed acquisition of Vossloh Locomotives GmbH by CRRC Zhuzhou Locomotives Co was cleared by the national competition authority on April 27.
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Rail Business UKGBRf trials EMU to move medical supplies
UK: GB Railfreight has trialled the use of a commuter EMU for express delivery of parcels, with a view to delivering urgent medical supplies to major hospitals during the Covid-19 pandemic.
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NewsPandemic scuppers Amtrak’s hopes of breaking even
USA: Amtrak has lost close to 95% its ridership since the advent of the coronavirus pandemic, just as the national passenger carrier was projecting that it would finally break even for the first time in almost 50 years. Ridership has all but disappeared because of the ...
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NewsS-Bahn Liechtenstein to proceed
LIECHTENSTEIN: A letter of intent to go ahead with the cross-border S-Bahn Liechtenstein scheme was signed by Liechtenstein’s Deputy Prime Minister Daniel Risch and Austria’s Minister for Climate Action, Environment, Energy, Mobility, Innovation & Technology Leonore Gewessler on April 21. S-Bahn Liechtenstein services would use the existing ...
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Metro Report InternationalKazan launches TBM on second metro line
RUSSIA. Construction of the second metro line in Kazan took a step forward on April 23, when the President of Tatarstan Rustam Minnikhanov marked the launch of the first tunnel boring machine from the future Sakharova station site.