Australasia
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Rail Business UKFirstClass opportunity to target the global market at InnoTrans
INNOTRANS: FirstClass Safety & Control is at InnoTrans for the first time as part of what director Mark Meyrick says is its strategy ‘to become the world leader in rail depot safety control systems’. The UK company was formed through a management buy-out of the control ...
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News
Investors acquire Australian rolling stock leasing company
AUSTRALIA: A 50:50 consortium of DIF Capital Partners and Amber Infrastructure Group has agreed to acquire locomotive and wagon leasing and maintenance company Rail First from Anchorage Capital Partners. The transaction announced on September 5 is expected to close by the end of October, subject to ...
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News
KiwiRail awards national traffic management system contract
NEW ZEALAND: KiwiRail has awarded Alstom a ‘once-in-a-generation’ contract to deploy an integrated traffic management system for the national rail network. Replacing the existing traffic control technology with the ‘state-of-the-art’ Iconis integrated system will bring a ‘step-change in the way Kiwi Rail will operate its network’, ...
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News
Victoria orders more DMUs
AUSTRALIA: Victoria’s Department of Transport has exercised an option to purchase a further 12 three-car Alstom VLocity diesel multiple-units. These will be used on V/Line services on the 1 600 mm gauge routes from Melbourne to Shepparton and Warrnambool. The firm order announced by Alstom on ...
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News
Three consortia shortlisted to build Melbourne’s Suburban Rail Loop
AUSTRALIA: Victoria’s Suburban Rail Loop Authority has shortlisted three international consortia for tunnelling work on the eastern section of Melbourne’s orbital rail project. The SRL East package covers 26 km of twin bore tunnels between Cheltenham and Box Hill serving six underground ...
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News
First students complete Inland Rail Skills Academy Foundation Course
AUSTRALIA: The first students has successfully completed the Inland Rail Skills Academy Foundation Course in Boggabilla, New South Wales. This covered construction skills, literacy, numeracy, financial and digital literacy and career preparation skills. The students can now apply for positions with contractors such as Freight Connect, ...
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News
Driverless heavy haul railway expanded to serve automated iron ore mine
AUSTRALIA: A 166 km branch has been built to connect Rio Tinto’s new Gudai-Darri iron ore mine in the Pilbara to its 1 700 km heavy haul network, which is operated using AutoHaul driverless trains. The first loaded train ran in June, with production scheduled to ...
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Metro Report International
Canberra battery tram order
AUSTRALIA: CAF has been awarded a contract supply five battery-equipped light rail vehicles to Canberra from 2024. It will also retrofit the city’s 14 existing five-section Urbos 100 vehicles with batteries, so that the entire fleet will be able to operate on the catenary-free extension to ...
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News
Solar powered signalling installed
AUSTRALIA: Solar powered signalling has been installed on a passing loop at Coolleearlee in New South Wales on the Narromine to North Star section of the Inland Rail project. A battery back-up can provide for 10 days of operation. Australian Rail Track Corp said solar power ...
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News
Queensland unveils Brisbane rail expansion strategy
AUSTRALIA: A pipeline of investment valued at more than A$20bn will support the long-term expansion of the southeast Queensland rail network under proposals published by the state government on August 2.
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Metro Report International
Parramatta tram collision warning system
AUSTRALIA: A collision warning system developed by Bosch is to be installed on the 13 seven-section trams that CAF is to supply for Stage 1 of the Parramatta Light Rail network in western Sydney. The 12 km, 16-stop Stage 1 connecting Westmead to the Parramatta CBD, ...
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News
Aurizon completes ‘transformative’ acquisition of One Rail Australia
AUSTRALIA: Aurizon announced on July 29 that it had completed the acquisition of One Rail Australia for A$2·35bn. The acquisition includes two distinct businesses. One Rail’s bulk haulage and general freight assets in South Australia and the Northern Territory, including the 2 200 km Tarcoola – ...
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Metro Report International
Solar panels installed on Yarra Trams depot
AUSTRALIA: Melbourne’s Yarra Trams has commissioned 100 kW of solar panels installed on the roof of its Southbank depot, the first of seven depots to be equipped with a total of 200 solar panels to produce over 550 MWh/year. Installed with funding support from the Victorian ...
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News
Aurizon cleared to acquire One Rail
AUSTRALIA: Aurizon expects to complete its acquisition of One Rail by the end of July, following a qualified approval of the deal by the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission.
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Metro Report International
Light rail plan to get Wellington moving
NEW ZEALAND: The government has backed the further development of plans for a light rail line from Wellington railway station to the Regional Hospital and Island Bay under the Let’s Get Wellington Moving programme. A study of four potential public transport options had concluded that light ...
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News
Adelaide – Gawler electrification finally inaugurated
AUSTRALIA: Electric suburban services between Adelaide and Gawler were launched in June 12, following the completion of a long-delayed electrification programme.
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Metro Report International
State-wide contactless ticketing deployment gets underway in Queensland
AUSTRALIA: Contactless payment is now available on Brisbane’s Ferny Grove suburban rail line, as a trial ahead of a large-scale deployment across Queensland’s rail, bus and ferry services under transport agency Translink’s A$371m Smart Ticketing project.
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Metro Report International
NSW commits to Parramatta Light Rail Stage 2
AUSTRALIA: The New South Wales government has confirmed A$602·4m of funding to enable the start of detailed planning and preliminary works for Stage 2 of the Parramatta Light Rail project in western Sydney. Tracklaying was recently completed for the 12 km, 16-stop Stage 1 connecting Westmead ...
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News
US locomotives rebuilt for Australia
AUSTRALIA: Wabtec is supplying a fleet of modernised diesel locomotives to an Australian customer for the first time, with a contract to rebuild 28 second-hand diesel locomotives for delivery to Fortescue Metals Group over two years. The locos are being rebuilt to the AC44C6M specification at ...
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Metro Report International
Auckland Light Rail board appointed
NEW ZEALAND: Dame Fran Wilde has been appointed as Chair of the board being established to oversee the Auckland Light Rail project. Due to begin work on June 1, the board will succeed the Establishment Unit Board which guided development of the Indicative Business Case. ‘Dame ...
