Australasia
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NewsBowen Rail’s Queensland coal locomotives delivered
AUSTRALIA: Adani Group’s Bowen Rail Co has taken delivery of the first of 10 locomotives ordered to haul coal from Bravus Mining & Resources’ Carmichael Mine in Queensland’s Galilee Basin, which is to begin operations this year. ‘We launched the Bowen Rail Company in August 2020 ...
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News
More emu EMUs ordered
AUSTRALIA: Transport for NSW has awarded the RailConnect joint venture a contract to supply a further 56 Mariyung double-deck electric multiple-unit cars, increasing the New Intercity Fleet to a total of 610 vehicles. The RailConnect consortium of Hyundai Rotem, Mitsubishi Electric Australia and UGL Rail was ...
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News
X’trapolis 2·0 suburban trains ordered
AUSTRALIA: Victoria’s Department of Transport has formally awarded Alstom a €300m contract to supply 25 six-car X’trapolis 2·0 electric multiple-units to increase capacity on the Melbourne suburban network. The contract signing on September 20 follows two years of work by Alstom and DoT to design rolling ...
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News
Alstom awarded Sydney ETCS contracts
AUSTRALIA: Transport for New South Wales and Sydney Trains have awarded Alstom two contracts to design, supply and support ETCS Level 2 trackside equipment. This forms part of the Digital Systems element of the state’s More Trains, More Services programme, which aims to modernise Sydney’s rail ...
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News
Iron ore miner orders heavy-haul battery locomotive
AUSTRALIA: Mining company Roy Hill has ordered a Wabtec FLXdrive battery-electric heavy-haul freight locomotive. This will replace one the four ES44ACi diesel-electric locos used to haul its 2 700 m long iron ore trains, and is expected to reduce fuel costs and emissions by ‘double digit’ ...
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News
Opportunities for suppliers as Inland Rail contractor appointed
AUSTRALIA: Australian Rail Track Corporation has selected the BHQ joint venture of Bielby Holdings, JF Hull Holdings and QH&M Birt as design and construction partner for the Northern Civil Works Programme, covering a 162 km section of the Inland Rail freight corridor in Queensland. This will ...
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News
KiwiRail announces freight service ‘to keep New Zealand moving’
NEW ZEALAND: National railway KiwiRail is to launch a weekday freight service between Auckland and Christchurch from October, boosting capacity between the North and South islands in time for the peak season and while the impact of the coronavirus pandemic is disrupting other modes. There will ...
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News
Next Auckland passenger contract includes more integrated delivery model
NEW ZEALAND: Auckland Transport has selected the Auckland One Rail 50:50 joint venture of ComfortDelGro Transit and UGL Rail for the next contract to operate the city’s passenger rail services. A revised delivery model is designed to reduce interfaces and maximise the benefits of NZ$7bn of ...
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News
Port Botany freight capacity enhancement contracts awarded
AUSTRALIA: Australian Rail Track Corp has awarded two contracts for works to increase freight capacity on the Port Botany line in Sydney. John Holland has been awarded a design and build contract for the Botany Rail Duplication project to double-track the remaining 2·9 km of ...
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Metro Report International
Sydney Metro West tunnelling contract awarded
AUSTRALIA: The first of three major tunnelling contracts for the 24 km Sydney Metro West has been awarded to a joint venture of Acciona Construction Australia Pty Ltd and Ferrovial Construction (Australia) Pty Ltd, Transport for New South Wales announced on July 16.
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Metro Report International
Gold Coast Stage 3 trams ordered
AUSTRALIA: Gold Coast light rail concessionaire GoldLinQ has ordered a further five Flexity 2 low-floor light rail vehicles from Alstom to operate the Stage 3 extension now in development.
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Metro Report International
Sydney tram order
AUSTRALIA: Transport for New South Wales has awarded CAF a contract to supply a further four Urbos 100 five-section trams for Sydney’s Inner West Light Rail Line. Announcing the order in June 29, CAF said the trams are scheduled to be delivered in early 2023, ...
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In depth
Australia: Ore trains return to Whyalla
After a five-year gap, trains carrying export iron ore have resumed running to Whyalla in South Australia as strong market demand drives spot prices to a record level. John Kirk reports.
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Rail Business UK
Australian free trade agreement offers export opportunities for UK rail suppliers
UK: The signing of an agreement in principle paving the way for a free trade agreement with Australia has been welcomed by the Railway Industry Association and a number of its members ‘The UK has long had a close relationship with the Australian railway sector, ...
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Metro Report International
Light rail report cautions against ‘unproven’ trackless trams
AUSTRALIA: The Australasian Railway Association has published a report highlighting the social benefits of light rail and making recommendations to help support future development, and also cautioning against ‘gambling’ with what ARA describes as unproven and untested ‘trackless tram’ technology-guided bus systems.
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News
Alstom starts assembling Perth EMUs
AUSTRALIA: Alstom officially began train manufacturing at the Metronet Bellevue assembly plant in Western Australia on June 7, describing the occasion as ‘a watershed moment’ for the local rail sector.
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News
SMEC to undertake Cowra Lines reopening study
AUSTRALIA: The New South Wales government has appointed SMEC Australia to investigate the cost and ongoing viability of reviving the out of use 179 km Blayney – Demondrille railway for freight traffic. Cowra station (Photo: Bidgee/ Wikimedia Commons CC-BY-SA-3.0-au). This route forms part of ...
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Metro Report International
Sydney Metro appoints airport line delivery partners
AUSTRALIA: Sydney Metro has appointed a consortium led by SNC-Lavalin in partnership with HKA and Infrastructure Nation to act as Integration & Delivery Partner for the A$11bn Western Sydney Airport line.
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News
KiwiRail to assemble wagons at redeveloped workshops
NEW ZEALAND: The redevelopment of KiwiRail’s Hillside workshops to create a wagon assembly facility is to begin this year, following the confirmation of NZ$85m of government funding from the national budget. The Dunedin works had been run down after 2012, although some capability was retained ...
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News
Tunnel bypassed in earthquake recovery project
NEW ZEALAND: KiwiRail has completed a two-year project to realign a section of its Christchurch – Picton main line on South Island to bypass the line’s oldest tunnel which had been damaged by an earthquake.
