Australasia – Page 21
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Metro Report InternationalAlstom awarded Sydney metro maintenance contract
AUSTRALIA: Metro Trains Sydney has awarded Alstom a 15-year contract to maintain the 22 six-car Metropolis automated trainsets, Urbalis 400 CBTC and point machines which the company is supplying for the 36 km Sydney Metro Northwest project. Alstom is to deploy its HealthHub maintenance platform, which is designed around condition-based ...
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Rail Business UKInvestor sees 'interesting opportunity' in rail revenue technology
SEATFROG: Venture capital investor Octopus Ventures has led a £4·5m Series A funding round at Seatfrog, which has developed mobile auction technology enabling passengers to upgrade train and airline seats until the time of departure. Existing investors including Howzat Partners also participated. Octopus Ventures partner Luke Hakes will join the ...
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NewsWorld rail freight news round-up
A part of government proposals to provide a more level playing field for rail freight, Dutch infrastructure manager ProRail and DB Cargo are to test the operation of 740 m trains on the Brabant line between Sloe and Dillingen in August. Increasing train length from the current maximum of ...
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NewsQueensland invests in Maryborough upgrade
AUSTRALIA: Visiting the Downer Rail rolling stock plant at Maryborough on June 26, Queensland’s Minister for Transport & Main Roads Mark Bailey announced that the state government is providing a A$10m grant for infrastructure improvements to support work on a range of refurbishment projects for Queensland Rail. The grant is ...
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NewsNew South Wales transport budget
AUSTRALIA: The New South Wales government has allocated A$14·4bn towards public transport in its state budget for 2018. Maintenance of the Sydney Trains and NSW TrainLink Intercity networks has been allocated A$1·5bn, and signalling and train control upgrades are in line for A$880m. Fleet procurement funding includes A$496m for the ...
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Metro Report InternationalElectric buses ordered for Christchurch
NEW ZEALAND: Christchurch bus operator Red Bus has ordered three Enviro200EV battery buses from a joint venture of Alexander Dennis and battery supplier BYD. The 12 m long buses will have a capacity of 60 passengers and will be air-conditioned. Due to be delivered in March, the vehicles ...
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Metro Report InternationalParramatta light rail project approved
AUSTRALIA: The first stage of the Parramatta light rail project has received planning approval, Transport for New South Wales announced on May 30. ‘This is an exciting time for the people of Parramatta and for visitors to this fantastic part of Sydney’, said NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian. ...
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NewsFortescue plans rail link to fourth mine
AUSTRALIA: Around 143 km of new railway is to be built in the Pilbara region of Western Australia as part of a A$1·7bn development programme announced by Fortescue Metals Group Chief Executive Elizabeth Gaines on May 28. The extension from the Solomon Hub will connect the group’s planned Western Hub ...
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NewsWorld rail freight news round-up
From June 1, Russia's FESCO Transportation Group is to offer a transit time of 15 days between Busan and Moscow, an improvement on the 21-23 days currently offered. The acceleration has largely been achieved by reducing transhipment time at the port of Vladivostok and by faster transit times on the ...
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NewsWollongong training centre inaugurated
AUSTRALIA: The Australian Research Council’s Industrial Transformation Training Centre for Advanced Technologies in Rail Track Infrastructure at the University of Wollongong was officially opened by federal Minister for Education & Training Simon Birmingham on May 23. Intended to develop the next generation of track and infrastructure engineers, ITTC Rail will ...
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NewsRio Tinto’s automated trains approved
AUSTRALIA: Rio Tinto has been granted accreditation by Australia’s Office of the National Rail Safety Regulator, approving the autonomous operation of iron ore trains in the Pilbara region of Western Australia, the group announced on May 18. Confirming that the AutoHaul project is ‘on schedule to be completed by the ...
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NewsFunding package to boost TasRail infrastructure
AUSTRALIA: The federal government has allocated A$59·8m for the Tasmanian Freight Rail Revitalisation ProgrammeAs part of its latest budget, matching a similar commitment from the state. The A$119·6m Tranche Two of TasRail’s Infrastructure Investment Fund is intended to support infrastructure rehabilitation and enhancement works over a four-year period from June ...
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Metro Report InternationalRail boost in Auckland transport plan
NEW ZEALAND: Further investment in suburban and light rail is to be funded under the NZ$28bn Auckland Transport Alignment Programme unveiled by Transport Minister Phil Twyford and Mayor Phil Goff on April 26. Described as the country's largest ever civil construction programme, ATAP 2018 is intended to ‘create a 21st ...
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NewsRail boost in Auckland transport plan
NEW ZEALAND: Further investment in suburban and light rail is to be funded under the NZ$28bn Auckland Transport Alignment Programme unveiled by Transport Minister Phil Twyford and Mayor Phil Goff on April 26. Described as the country's largest ever civil construction programme, ATAP 2018 is intended to ‘create a 21st ...
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NewsPort of Brisbane rail link study announced
AUSTRALIA: The Queensland and federal governments have agreed to jointly fund a A$1·5m independent study into improving rail freight connections between Acacia Ridge and the Port of Brisbane. This could include the construction of a dedicated freight line. To be completed in the next 12 months, the study will take ...
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NewsWaratah Series 2 EMU delivered
AUSTRALIA: The first of 24 eight-car Waratah Series 2 double-deck suburban electric multiple-units has been delivered to Sydney. The new fleet is expected to be in service by early 2019. Ordered from Downer EDI in December 2016 under the New South Wales government’s A$1·5bn ‘More Trains, More Services’ programme, the ...
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NewsRegional corridor studies to go ahead
AUSTRALIA: The federal government has selected three projects for development under the Faster Rail Prospectus announced as part of the 2017 budget. The aim of the programme is to develop proposals for faster rail services between major cities and their surrounding regions, to support ‘continued economic success’. The budget allocates ...
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NewsNapier – Wairoa reopening to handle ‘Wall of Wood’
NEW ZEALAND: Timber trains are expected to resume running by the end of this year on part of KiwiRail’s mothballed Napier – Gisborne line in the east of North Island, the operator announced on February 26. The line has been out of use for the past six years, but KiwiRail ...
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NewsSydney to get second airport rail link
AUSTRALIA: The federal and New South Wales state governments have agreed to build a rail link to serve the planned Western Sydney Airport at Badgerys Creek, which is expected to open in 2026. Launching the Western Sydney City Deal on March 4, Prime Minister Malcom Turnbull and NSW Premier Gladys ...
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Metro Report InternationalTesting begins on Sydney’s CBD & South East Light Rail
AUSTRALIA: Testing has started on the CBD & South East Light Rail line in Sydney, Transport for New South Wales announced on February 25. Night-time testing of an Alstom Citadis X05 light rail vehicle is taking place on a section of the future network on Alison Road in Randwick. ...