Central & South America – Page 14
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NewsPort deal secures iron ore rail link
BRAZIL: Plans for a rail-served iron ore mine in the southern part of Bahia state are expected to move ahead, following the signing of agreements for the development of bulk export terminals at the new Porto Sul deep-water facility near Ilhéus and the founding of a special purpose company to ...
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Metro Report InternationalElevated section of Buenos Aires commuter line inaugurated
ARGENTINA: President Mauricio Macri inaugurated a new viaduct on the Retiro – Tigre branch of the Mitre suburban railway serving Buenos Aires on May 10. The 3·9 km structure between Avenida Dorrego and Avenida Monroe eliminates eight level crossings. Two stations on the section have been rebuilt. Belgrano station ...
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NewsElevated section of Buenos Aires commuter line inaugurated
ARGENTINA: President Mauricio Macri inaugurated a new viaduct on the Retiro – Tigre branch of the Mitre suburban railway serving Buenos Aires on May 10. The 3·9 km structure between Avenida Dorrego and Avenida Monroe eliminates eight level crossings. Two stations on the section have been rebuilt. Belgrano station ...
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Metro Report InternationalMendoza light rail line extended
ARGENTINA: Governor Alfredo Cornejo inaugurated the first extension of Mendoza’s light rail line on May 6. The 5·4 km northern extension from the city’s former railway station to Avellaneda in Las Heras district adds nine stops. Services operate every 10 min, and three additional vehicles have been added to ...
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NewsBrazilian locomotives fitted with Saft batteries
BRAZIL: Battery systems from Saft are being fitted to 58 GE Transportation locomotives used by freight operator MRS Logística. The 64 V batteries will provide power to start the 16-cylinder engines up to 14 times a day. They are based on Saft’s SRX190 FR-PP or SRX1900P cells, provide a capacity ...
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NewsTrack upgrading underway in Uruguay
URUGUAY: Track renewal works on the Tres Arboles – Salto Grande line have reached Paysandú. Comsa is working on the ballasting and levelling of the track, and has begun taking delivery of turnouts from Spanish supplier Amurrio Ferrocarril y Equipos. The Tres Arboles – Piedra Sola route is to ...
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NewsRumo wins Norte-Sul operating concession
BRAZIL: Rumo has won the tender for a 30-year concession to complete and operate the 1 537 km southern section of the Ferrovia Norte-Sul corridor linking Porto Nacional in Tocantins to Estrela d'Oeste in São Paulo state. When the offers were opened on March 28, Rumo’s bid of R$2·72bn was ...
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NewsInteroperability needed in South America, says UIC
SOUTH AMERICA: The International Union of Railways and the Latin American Railway Association signed a memorandum of understanding in São Paulo on March 19 covering co-operation in staff training and education, railway engineering, passenger and freight transport, tourist trains and the exchange of data. ‘Railways in Latin America should be ...
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Metro Report InternationalSiemens to upgrade Medellín metro signalling
COLOMBIA: Siemens Mobility has won a €42m contract to modernise signalling on Line A of the Medellín metro, the company announced on February 19. Siemens is to install the wayside equipment outside operating hours, with the work on Line A and in the Patio de Bello depot due to ...
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NewsSantiago – Valparaíso proposal submitted
CHILE: Proposals to build a high-performance railway between the capital Santiago and the port of Valparaíso have been formally submitted to the Ministry of Public Works by the Tren Valparaíso Santiago consortium of local firm of Sigdo Koppers and China Railway Engineering Corp. According to the promoters, the US$2·5bn project ...
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Metro Report InternationalCuenca tramway to open next month
ECUADOR: The Cuenca tramway is currently in the final acceptance phase and is scheduled to begin revenue service in the first half of March. Test running has been underway since 2015, but completion has been delayed by a series of funding and contractual problems. In 2017 the ACTN consortium ...
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NewsTMH signs Cuban locomotive contract
CUBA: A contract for Bryansk Machine Building Works to supply of 23 diesel locomotives to Cuba was signed by Transmashholding and importer Tradex on January 24. Delivery to Habana is planned in 45 months. The Type LDE-2500 design will be adapted to cope with the humid conditions in Cuba. ...
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Metro Report InternationalMedellín orders BYD electric buses
COLOMBIA: BYD has won a contract to supply 64 electric buses to Medellín BRT operator Metroplús, the manufacturer announced on January 7. The K9G buses are to be delivered in the second half of 2019. The 12·5 m long buses will have capacity for 80 passengers and will require ...
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NewsRoca signalling contract awarded
ARGENTINA: The Ministry of Transport has awarded a consortium of Alstom (58%) and POSE (42%) a €90m contract to modernise the signalling on the Avellaneda – La Plata, Temperley – Bosques – Berazategui and Bosques – Villa Elisa sections of the 1676 mm gauge Roca commuter network in Buenos Aires. ...
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NewsTacuarembó - Rivera reopens as track renewals completed
URUGUAY: Passenger services returned to AFE’s northern route between Tacuarembó and the Brazilian border at Rivera were reinstated on December 19 following an 18-year hiatus. Passenger services on this route had operated intermittently for a number of years after 1993 but were withdrawn with effect from December 13 2000. Two ...
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NewsCosta Rica commuter DMU order
COSTA RICA: National railway company Incofer has named CRRC Qingdao Sifang as the winner of a contract to supply eight two-car diesel multiple-units for use on commuter services in San José. The contract is valued at US$32·7m, and the supplier will also maintain the trains for three years. Deliveries are ...
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NewsLVMH buys luxury train operator
INTERNATIONAL: High-end wine, fashion, cosmetics, hotel and retail group LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Belmond, which owns or manages 46 hotel, restaurant, train and cruise brands including the Venice-Simplon Orient Express, British Pullman, Royal Scotsman, Grand Hibernian, Andean Explorer, Hiram Bingham and ...
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Metro Report InternationalMetrotenerife supports Cuenca tram project
ECUADOR: Pre-operation technical assistance services for the tramway now under construction in Cuenca are being provided by Tenerife tramway operator Metrotenerife, which is aiming to expand its consultancy activities around the world. As well as providing monitoring and technical assistance during the pre-operation phase, Metrotenerife will provide further support for ...
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NewsFerrocarril Central PPP contract winner confirmed
URUGUAY: The national court of auditors has given the go-ahead for the government to formally award the Ferrocarril Central public-private partnership contract to the Via Central consortium. The contract covers the design, financing, construction works and maintenance for 22 years of the 273 km main line running ...
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Metro Report InternationalBYD to supply electric buses to Guayaquil
ECUADOR: Bus operator Saucinc has signed a US$7·7m credit agreement with state development bank CFN to finance the purchase of 20 electric buses from BYD. Due to be delivered by March 2019, the 12 m buses will have capacity for 80 passengers and will be equipped with air-conditioning and ...