All Railway Gazette International articles in August 2013 – Page 4
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NewsGroundbreaking launches Rastatt tunnel project
GERMANY: A groundbreaking ceremony was held in Niederbühl on July 30 to launch a €693m project to build a new double-track alignment through Rastatt. This forms part of a programme to provide four tracks in place of two to increase capacity on the Rhine Valley corridor between Karlsruhe and Basel. ...
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NewsQueensland approves Galilee Basin coal railway
AUSTRALIA: Following a review of environmental studies, on August 9 Queensland's Coordinator-General approved Waratah Coal's A$6·4bn project to develop a mine near Alpha and build a heavy haul railway to port facilities at Abbot Point. The state approved the proposal subject to 'strict development and operating conditions'. Federal approval is ...
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NewsTwo depots designed for Desiro City fleet
UK: Siemens has awarded VolkerFitzpatrick a contract to design, build and commission two depots to maintain the 1 140 Desiro City EMU cars which the Cross London Trains consortium is to supply for Thameslink services though London. The depots at Hornsey in north London and Three Bridges in West Sussex ...
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NewsGreenbrier to maintain CIT Rail wagons
USA: The Greenbrier Companies is to provide leasing company CIT Rail with dedicated access to wagon repair capacity at its Atchison, Kansas, workshop under an agreement announced on August 12. The deal could be extended to include additional Greenbrier facilities across the USA. The companies will collaborate to match CIT ...
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NewsKuala Lumpur airport rail link expands ticketing options
MALAYSIA: Kuala Lumpur International Airport rail link operator Express Rail Link has put a modernised fare collection system into service. New ticket gates accept contactless smart cards, Touch 'n Go and Visa payWave instead of the former magnetic stripe tickets, while QR barcodes can be used for online purchases and ...
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NewsSiemens to supply signalling on Alger metro extension
ALGERIA: Entreprise Métro d’Alger has selected Siemens to supply signalling for the extension of Alger metro Line 1. The contract is worth €20m and includes training of staff in the new system. The extension will be equipped with Siemens Trainguard MT communications based train control, permitting automatic train operation. ...
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NewsUrban rail news in brief
Seine-Amont Développement has appointed consultant Barton Willmore to advise on regeneration opportunities from a planned 10·4 km tram line to Paris Orly Airport. The UK government has agreed to devolve responsibility for three inner-suburban rail services out of London Liverpool Street station to Transport for London, which would ...
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NewsStates seek standard fleet of diesel locomotives
USA: Illinois Department of Transportation issued a request for proposals for the supply of 32 diesel-electric passenger locomotives on August 8. A winning bidder is expected to be selected in early 2014, with deliveries in 2016-17. The RFP was issued by IDOT as the leader of a group of states ...
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NewsTransport for London shortlists bidders for ticketing contract
UK: Transport for London has shortlisted three bidders for the a contract to provide and maintain its revenue collection systems including ticket gates, Oyster smart card readers and back-office activities. Cubic Transportation Systems LG CNS Co CNF Scheidt & Bachmann The contract is called Electra by TfL, and ...
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NewsStrukton wins Södra stambanan maintenance contract
SWEDEN: National transport agency Trafikverket has awarded Strukton Rail a contract to maintain the 680 track-km northern section of the Södra stambanan route, one of the busiest rail corridors in Sweden linking Stockholm and Malmö. The contract announced on August 9 runs for five years from May 1 2014. It ...
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NewsResearching attitudes to ticketing
UK: Independent passenger watchdog London TravelWatch has published Passengers’ Ticket Purchasing & Journey Experiences, a study of users’ attitudes towards ticketing on rail, metro, light rail and bus services in London. The research commissioned from Aecom found that while passengers are confident about purchasing tickets for journeys they make regularly, ...
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NewsLocal railway to be electrified
CZECH REPUBLIC: Zeleznice Desná's 22 km independently-owned line from Šumperk to Kouty nad Desnou and Sobotín is to be modernised and electrified at 3 kV DC in 2014-15. The aim is to cut journey times from 35 to 19 min and attract more tourists to holiday and sport resorts. The ...
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NewsEMU designed for rapid acceleration
CHINA: CSR Sifang has rolled out the latest addition to the Cinova family of EMUs. Derived from the 200 km/h CRH6A unveiled in November 2012, the 160 km/h CRH6F is intended for use on routes of up to 100 km or 1 h from city centres where stops every ...
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NewsLake District electrification plan
UK: On August 9 Secretary of State for Transport Patrick McLoughlin confirmed the government's support for plans to electrify the 16 km single-track branch from Oxenholme station on the West Coast Main Line to Windermere. Subject to a business case confirming that the £16m project offers value for money, infrastructure ...
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NewsGoldschmidt Thermit acquires PortaCo
USA: Welding and maintenance service company Goldschmidt Thermit Group acquired 100% of the shares of hydraulic power unit and railway and construction tool manufacturer PortaCo on August 1. The acquisition of the company based in Moorhead, Minnesota, enables Goldschmidt Thermit 'to complement our product portfolio and strengthen our activities in ...
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NewsRift Valley Railways train control upgrade
AFRICA: Rift Valley Railways has begun a US$9·3m roll-out of automated train warrants and GPS-based train location on its network in Kenya and Uganda, employing technology supplied to rail operators in Brazil, Argentina and South Africa. The Translogic integrated logistics management platform will provide detailed information on train positions and ...
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NewsNumedalsbanen reactivated for logging traffic
NORWAY: Infrastructure manager Jernbaneverket has announced that the 30 km Kongsberg - Flesberg section of the Numedalsbanen route is to be permanently reactivated to meet increased demand for forest product transport. Vegetation clearance, tamping and rehabilitation of the 27 m steel Lyngdalselva bridge is scheduled to be finished for ...
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NewsMaryland Purple Line to be a PPP project
USA: Maryland’s first public-private partnership in the public transport sector will be the Purple Line light rail route, Governor of Maryland Martin O’Malley announced on August 5. The 25·7 km east–west Purple Line would link New Carrollton in Prince George’s County and Bethesda in Montgomery County, with 19 intermediate ...
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NewsSouth West Trains plans suburban train order
UK: Franchised passenger operator South West Trains has invited expressions of interest in separate negotiated contracts to finance and supply between 135 and 250 electric multiple-unit cars to increase capacity on suburban services into London Waterloo. The operator is seeking EMUs of three to five 20 m cars, suitable for ...
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NewsEcoTram starts test running in Wien
AUSTRIA: A Siemens Ultra Low Floor tram equipped with technology to reduce energy consumption has begun test running in passenger service in Wien. The ULF tram will operate on Route 62 until May 2014. As part of the EcoTram project, the tram has been equipped with intelligent control units ...