Asia – Page 115
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NewsIndian Railways budget launches five-year plan
INDIA: The 2015-16 railways budget should be seen as the beginning of a Rs8 560bn five-year action plan to transform the network, Railways Minister Suresh Prabhu said when he presented the budget to parliament on February 26. This year’s budget forms part of a ‘trilogy’ of documents being produced by ...
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News‘Connectivity and vision’ key to future of high speed
RAILWAY GAZETTE TV: More than 370 viewers in 20 countries registered to watch Railway Gazette’s interactive live debate on high speed rail on February 25. Sponsored by Bombardier Transportation, the latest in RG TV’s debate series assessed the future of high speed rail over the next five decades saw Chris ...
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NewsHitachi agrees to buy Ansaldo STS and AnsaldoBreda
ITALY: On February 24 the Hitachi and Finmeccanica boards announced the signing of binding agreements for the Japanese group to buy Napoli-based rolling stock manufacturer AnsaldoBreda and Finmeccanica’s 40% stake in Genova-based signalling, train control and turnkey transport system supplier Ansaldo STS. Hitachi Rail said the acquisitions would represent a ...
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NewsTesting underway on Honam high speed line
SOUTH KOREA: National train operator Korail has begun trial running on the first phase of the Honam high speed line, which is now expected to open for revenue service in April. Intended to serve the southwest of the country, Phase I of the country’s second high speed line has been ...
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NewsGovernment plans 288bn pesos railway investment
PHILIPPINES: The government has confirmed its intention to press ahead with a major investment in the railway network on the largest island of Luzon, with the intention of developing a 700 km network by the end of the decade. The ‘integrated Luzon’ programme would focus on a large-scale renovation of ...
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NewsBattery-diesel and dual-fuel locos roll out
CHINA: CSR Ziyang has unveiled a 3 000 hp diesel-battery hybrid locomotive rated for use at marshalling yards, and a LNG-fuelled loco for mainline freight use The manufacturer says the hybrid design’s ability to use the battery to store and recover regenerated braking energy can reduce fuel consumption by at ...
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NewsTCDD orders 10 more Velaros
TURKEY: State railway operator TCDD has selected Siemens to supply a further 10 Velaro TR high speed trainsets, the company confirmed on February 18. Subject to any legal challenges from other bidders, the contract is expected to be signed shortly. Having bought the former Velaro D demonstrator and then ordered ...
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NewsWorld Bank agrees Pap - Angren railway project funding
UZBEKISTAN: The World Bank approved a US$195m IBRD 25-year loan to fund the railway systems and technical assistance elements of the US$1664m Angren – Pap railway project on February 13. The 124 km single-track electrified line including a 19·2 km tunnel beneath the 2 200 m Kamchik Pass is intended ...
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NewsSakhalin diesel locomotive on test
RUSSIA: The first of 32 TG16M locomotives for Russian Railways’ 1 067 mm gauge network on the Pacific island of Sakhalin has begun six months of trial operation. The locomotive was inaugurated with a ceremony at Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk which included a blessing by the Archbishop of South Sakhalin. The 100 ...
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NewsHigh altitude freight locomotives ordered
CHINA: Following 27 months of in-service testing with two prototypes, at the end of January CSR Zhuzhou Electric Locomotive was awarded a contract to supply a production batch of 80 HXD1C locomotives which will be used to haul heavy freight trains on the 1 000 km Lanzhou – Xining – ...
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NewsContactless and wristband ticketing in Jakarta
INDONESIA: The national railway’s Jakarta suburban train operating subsidiary PT KAI Commuter Jabodetabek is deploying Sony’s FeliCa electronic payment technology on its 182 km network, which has 64 stations and carries 700 000 passenger/day. KCJ is to accept payment by FeliCa IC chip contactless cards and embedded wristbands from this ...
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NewsRites signs Bangladesh coach contract
BANGLADESH: India’s Rites has signed what it says is its first contract to export broad gauge passenger coaches to Bangladesh Railway. The order finalised in Dhaka covers 120 vehicles to be manufactured by RCF Kapurthala. These will be a mix of 160 km/h stainless steel sleeper and seating cars, some ...
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NewsAeroexpress to pull out of Vladivostok and Kazan
RUSSIA: Airport rail link operator Aeroexpress has announced plans to cease operations in Vladivostok and Kazan and instead focus on its Moscow services, saying the regional governments have not provided subsidies needed to cover its losses. ‘We are currently working through the best way to transfer the entire service ...
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NewsStandard gauge line construction to start ‘in September’
THAILAND: A series of meetings between Thai and Chinese government officials on January 20-21 is expected to pave the way for construction of Thailand’s planned 1 435 mm gauge main lines to begin by September. Speaking in Bangkok on January 18, Thai Transport Minister Prajin Juntong set out a provisional ...
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NewsCSR Qishuyan locomotives delivered to Thailand
THAILAND: State Railway of Thailand has taken delivery of the first two of 20 SDA3 locomotives being supplied by CSR Qishuyan The six-axle metre-gauge diesel locomotives were ordered in June 2013 as part of a strategy to develop a 'hub and spoke' intermodal freight network. Each locomotive has a ...
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NewsHeavy haul coal line opened
CHINA: The country’s longest dedicated heavy haul coal railway was opened for revenue operation on December 30. According to the Shandong provincial development and reform commission, the completion of the line is important to for China’s energy security. It is also expected to stimulate economic development along the route. Intended ...
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NewsCNR and CSR agree merger terms
CHINA: In a statement to the Shanghai Stock Exchange on December 30, the two state-owned rolling stock manufacturers China CNR Corp and CSR Corp confirmed that they had agreed terms for a merger to create the world’s largest rail vehicle supplier, subject to final ratification by the State Council. The ...
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NewsIR financial review completed
INDIA: A report into the restructuring of Indian Railways’ finances was submitted to the Minister of Railways Suresh Prabhu on December 30. Compiled by a high-level committee headed by D K Mittal, the recently-retired Secretary of Financial Services, the report had been commissioned by the minister at the beginning of ...
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NewsUrumqi – Lanzhou PDL completed as five lines open
CHINA: The 1 223 km eastern section of the Urumqi – Lanzhou Passenger-Dedicated Line between Hami and Lanzhou was opened for passenger service on December 26, little more than a month after the 553 km western section between Urumqi and Hami was opened on November 17. Designed for 250 km/h ...
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NewsRailway Directory 2015
INTERNATIONAL: Marking its 120th year of publication, the latest edition of Railway Directory includes extensively-updated listings and contact details for almost 5 000 companies and organisations around the world. Covering every sector of the railway industry, it includes details of around 22 000 senior executives. Separate sections cover government and ...