Central & South America – Page 21
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NewsBuenos Aires – Rosario service launched
ARGENTINA: Minister of the Interior & Transport Florencio Randazzo was present at the Retiro terminus in Buenos Aires on April 1 to see off the first service to Rosario operated with new traction and rolling stock purchased by the federal government from CNR Changchun of China. ‘Each train has capacity ...
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NewsDomestic DMUs for Belgrano Norte
ARGENTINA: On March 25 Minister of the Interior & Transport Florencio Randazzo unveiled the first of 20 Alerce diesel multiple-units that are to be deployed on the 1 000 mm gauge Belgrano Norte commuter route between Buenos Aires and Villa Rosa. According to Randazzo, 90% of the components for the ...
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NewsInfrastructure renationalisation begins
ARGENTINA: On March 18 Minister of the Interior & Transport Florencio Randazzo announced that the bill to return the national rail network to state control had begun its progress through the legislature. A new ‘mother’ company, Ferrocarriles Argentinos, would be created to manage access to the network, absorbing federal operating ...
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NewsFirst CSR Roca EMU unveiled
ARGENTINA: On March 5 President Cristina Fernández joined Minister of the Interior & Transport Florencio Randazzo and Minister of Economy & Public Finance Axel Kicillof to present the first four-car EMU to be delivered by CSR Qingdao Sifang of China for the Roca commuter network in Buenos Aires. Following 90 ...
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NewsCaracas metro welcomes refurbished trains
VENEZUELA: The first refurbished first-generation train has entered passenger service on Line 2 of the Caracas metro following six months of work. The oldest trains on the metro, built by Alsthom Atlantique, date from the early 1980s and have run for more than 3 million km. The entire fleet ...
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NewsBuenos Aires commuter routes renationalised
ARGENTINA: By means of a resolution published on March 2, Minister of the Interior & Transport Florencio Randazzo has instructed federal railway operating company SOFSE to take direct charge of the Mitre, San Martín, Roca and Belgrano Sur commuter networks in Buenos Aires, rescinding operating agreements signed on February 10 ...
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NewsEvraz supplying rails to Cuba
CUBA: Evraz ZSMK is delivering 4 500 tonnes of 25 m and 12 m R50-N rails to Cuba until the end of February. A contract was signed in December with Empresa Proveedora General del Transporte. The rails are being produced at the steelmaker’s Novokuznetsk plant in Russia and will ...
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NewsPosadas - Encarnación passenger service restored
SOUTH AMERICA: Argentina’s Minister of the Interior & Transport Florencio Randazzo has described as ‘a success’ the passenger service introduced between Posadas and Encarnación in Paraguay. On January 29 he reported that the service had carried over 100 000 passengers since its introduction on December 31 2014. The service is ...
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NewsLoan funding for new freight operator
URUGUAY: Latin American development bank CAF has approved a US$45m loan to Servicios Logísticos Ferroviarios, a new freight operating company formed by state railway AFE and national development corporation CND. With US$11⋅5m of local match funding, the CAF loan will be used over the next two years to purchase new ...
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NewsGreenbrier announces ‘strategic investment’ in Brazil
BRAZIL: The Greenbrier Companies announced an agreement to acquire a 19·5% stake in wagon manufacturer Amsted-Maxion Hortolândia for US$15m on January 7. The deal is expected to close in the second quarter of 2015, and the US company also has an option to acquire an additional 40·5% stake by September ...
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NewsRailway Directory 2015
INTERNATIONAL: Marking its 120th year of publication, the latest edition of Railway Directory includes extensively-updated listings and contact details for almost 5 000 companies and organisations around the world. Covering every sector of the railway industry, it includes details of around 22 000 senior executives. Separate sections cover government and ...
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NewsCSR announces Belgrano order
ARGENTINA: Chinese rolling stock supplier CSR announced on December 15 that it had been awarded an order worth 1∙7bn yuan to supply 80 diesel locomotives and over 2 000 wagons. As well as new traction and rolling stock for the 1 000 mm gauge Belgrano network, CSR says it ...
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NewsCSR Mitre fleet enters service
ARGENTINA: On November 25 the first 12 of 30 six-car electric multiple-units supplied by CSR of China for the Mitre commuter network were officially brought into service on the route between Buenos Aires Retiro and Tigre. Ordered at a cost of US$228∙6m by the federal government, the new fleet will ...
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NewsSuriname railway plan announced
SURINAME: Detailed proposals for a rail link between the capital Paramaribo and Onverwacht were announced by the government on November 5. Strukton Systems has completed a feasibility study and preliminary designs for the project and is a possible construction contractor, although there is no date as yet for the award ...
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NewsCSR Sifang to set up in Argentina
ARGENTINA: On November 4 Minister of the Interior & Transport Florencio Randazzo announced that he had signed an agreement with CSR Sifang, under which the Chinese rolling stock manufacturer would establish a facility in Buenos Aires. Randazzo said that the facility would be located within the Liniers workshops that maintain ...
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NewsPassenger trains return to Rosario in 2015
ARGENTINA: Minister of the Interior & Transport Florencio Randazzo visited the city of Rosario in Santa Fe province on October 30 to inspect progress with infrastructure works being undertaken to reintroduce passenger services to Buenos Aires next year. As well as 517 km of track renewals, the programme has involved ...
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NewsFirst customer for metre gauge Evolution
BRAZIL: GE Transportation has announced its first order for the Evolution ES43BBi, an eight-axle diesel locomotive with AC traction motors developed specifically for 1 000 mm gauge railways in Brazil. Paper manufacturer Klabin has ordered seven locomotives to be delivered at the start of 2016. The locomotives will be used ...
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NewsEuro-Brazilian co-operation accord
A key step towards greater regulatory co-operation between the European and Brazilian railway sectors was taken on September 23, with the signing at InnoTrans of a Memorandum of Understanding between Jorge Luiz Macedo Bastos, General Director of Brazilian land transport agency ANTT and the Executive Director of the European Railway ...
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NewsBelgrano reopening
ARGENTINA: On September 11 Minister of the Interior & Transport Florencio Randazzo joined Governor of Jujuy province Eduardo Fellner to welcome first freight train to arrive in Palpalá, following work to restore a section of the 1 000 mm gauge Belgrano network to operating condition. ‘In 120 days of intense ...
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NewsCSR delivers first Mitre cars
ARGENTINA: The first 12 of an initial batch of 30 electric multiple-unit cars delivered by CSR of China for the Mitre commuter route were unloaded in Buenos Aires on September 6. CSR is supplying a total of 30 six-car EMUs to operate Mitre routes electrified at 830 V DC third ...