Asia – Page 123
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NewsChikmagalur line opened
INDIA: Minister of Railways Mallikarjun Kharge opened South Western Railway’s 45 km Kadur – Chikmagalur line on November 19. The broad gauge branch connects Chikmagalur, Kanivehalli, Sakarayapatna and Bisalehalli to the Hubli – Bangalore main line, and includes four major and 75 minor bridges. The project was first proposed in ...
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NewsMakhalino - Hunchun cross-border railway upgraded
ASIA: The first revenue train carried coal over the reopened cross-border line between Makhalino in Russia and Hunchun in China on December 17. The line opened in 1999 but services were suspended in 2004. The infrastructure has now been upgraded by Russian Railways' Far Eastern Railway for use by transit ...
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NewsAfghan government commissions east - west rail study
AFGHANISTAN: The Ministry of Public Works has commissioned a feasibility study for a proposed 300 km east - west railway across northern Afghanistan. The C$3·7m contract announced on December 11 has been awarded to Systra's Canadian freight railway consultancy Canarail and its partner Appleton Consulting Inc, which specialises in programme ...
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NewsTianjin - Qinhuangdao high speed line opens
CHINA: The latest section of Passenger-Dedicated Line opened on December 1, linking the city of Tianjin east of Beijing with Qinhuangdao on the coast of the Bohai Sea to the northeast. The 287 km line cuts travel times between the cities by around a half to 1 h 11 min, ...
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NewsJR East unveils first Series E7 high speed train
JAPAN: The first Series E7 high speed trainset built by Kawasaki Heavy Industries and JR East subsidiary J-TREC was unveiled on November 29. JR East has ordered 17 of the 260 km/h trainsets, while JR West has ordered 10 which it will designate Series W7. Following testing, the first trainsets ...
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NewsRussian support for construction of rolling stock plant in Vietnam
VIETNAM: Russian rolling stock, construction machinery and defence equipment supplier Uralvagonzavod could participate in the development of a rolling stock plant in Vietnam, following the signing of a memorandum of co-operation with Vietnam-Russia Joint Venture Bank. The memorandum was signed in Hanoi on November 12 in the presence of national ...
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NewsFeature articles in the December 2013 issue of Railway Gazette International
Comment UK: still tinkering after 20 years News Main Line Urban Rail Market Industry Innovations Analysis Operators eye French regional services All Aboard FloridaEuropean rail is still getting saferUS tank cars in the spotlightSwiss safety reviews report backArgentina: a happy new year?Network Rail funding determinedTrans-Asian integration debated ...
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NewsEBRD publishes new transport strategy
INTERNATIONAL: The European Bank for Reconstruction & Development has published a new strategy for investment in the transport sector. This ‘focuses on the need to promote market-based transport in our region of operations’, according to Director for Transport, Sue Barrett. ‘Another priority is the creation of sustainable transport systems, ...
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NewsFeasibility study to assess Pavlodar tramway upgrade
KAZAKHSTAN: The European Bank for Reconstruction & Development has invited expressions of interest in a contract to undertake feasibility studies for a planned modernisation of the 86 km tram network in Pavlodar. The city's plans include infrastructure modernisation on the 1 524 mm gauge network, procurement of up to 20 ...
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NewsKnorr-Bremse opens Indian production plants
INDIA: Knorr-Bremse officially opened a Rail Vehicle Systems production facility in Palwal on November 15, three days after inaugurating a Commercial Vehicles Systems plant in Pune along with a Development Centre shared by the two divisions. Knorr-Bremse said the new production plants offer greater capacity that the facilities they replace, ...
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NewsRussian Railways' 1·2tr rouble three-year investment plan
RUSSIA: The government met on November 14 to consider the draft three-year investment and financial plan for Russian Railways. This envisages spending 396bn roubles in 2014, 415bn roubles in 2015 and 438bn roubles in 2016. 'This is a lot, but then, the company's tasks are challenging too', said Prime Minister ...
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NewsJapanese EMUs arrive in Jakarta
INDONESIA: KAI Commuter Jabodetabek, the subsidiary of national railway PT KAI which operates services over the electrified suburban network around Jakarta, has taken delivery of a fleet of 30 second-hand EMUs acquired from East Japan Railway as part of a fleet renewal programme. Dating from the mid-1980s, the high-density Series ...
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NewsFlat rate for China to Europe container traffic
INTERNATIONAL: On November 7 a timetable for the establishment of jointly-owned intermodal freight operator United Transport & Logistics Co was agreed in Astana by President of Russian Railways Vladimir Yakunin, First Deputy Head of Belarusian Railways Vladimir Mikhailyuk and President of Kazakh national railway KTZ Askar Mamin. UTLC is expected ...
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NewsExpress Rail Link high speed train unveiled
CHINA: The first of nine high speed trainsets which MTR Corp has ordered for the Hong Kong - Shenzhen - Guangzhou Express Rail Link was rolled out by CSR Qingdao Sifang on November 6. MTR Corp said the 'sweeping streaks of red and white on the livery of the eight-car ...
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NewsDhaka metro construction officially launched
BANGLADESH: Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina laid the foundation stone for the Dhaka metro on October 31 at Bhawal Badre Alam University College Ground. The project is to be developed with Japanese assistance, following the signing of a 40-year soft loan agreement with JICA in February valued at ¥10·477bn. The ...
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NewsHigh Speed Rail Corp of India launched
INDIA: Minister of Railways Mallikarjun Kharge officially launched High Speed Rail Corp of India on October 29. The subsidiary of state-owned railway project promoter Rail Vikas Nigam Ltd has been established to develop high speed corridors suitable for operation at speeds up to 350 km/h. HSRC will prepare studies and ...
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NewsConstruction of Sri Lanka's Southern Railway begins
SRI LANKA: A groundbreaking ceremony at Beliatta on October 28 launched construction of the 26·8 km first phase of the 115 km Southern Railway project. The extension of the line from Matara to serve Kekanadura, Babarenda, Wavurukannala and Beliatta is scheduled to open in 2016. The 1 676 mm gauge ...
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NewsMarmaray tunnel opens to link Europe with Asia
TURKEY: 'This project that was dreamed of 153 years ago, has been realised' said President Abdullah Gül as he inaugurated the Marmaray tunnel between the European and Asian sides of Istanbul on October 29, as part of the Republic Day celebrations marking the 90th anniversary of Atatürk's proclamation of the ...
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NewsHo Chi Minh City metro Line 5 funding secured
VIETNAM: The Ho Chi Minh City Management Authority for Urban Railways has announced that three foreign organisations will help to finance metro Line 5. The Asian Development Bank will provide US$500m, the European Investment Bank €150m and the Spanish government €200m. The remainder will come from the Vietnamese government’s ...
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NewsJR East to install ATACS on Tokyo suburban line
JAPAN: East Japan Railway has confirmed its intention to introduce its Advanced Train Administration & Communications System on the Tokyo suburban network in the autumn of 2017. The company announced on October 8 that the moving-block train control system will be deployed on the 37 km Saikyo Line between Ikebukuro ...