All Railway Gazette International articles in December 2012 – Page 3
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NewsAmtrak to start Acela Express fleet replacement
USA: Amtrak has abandoned plans to lengthen its current fleet of 20 Acela Express trainsets to increase capacity, and instead intends to procure a new fleet of high speed trains to operate on the Northeast Corridor between Washington DC, New York and Boston. Amtrak ridership has increase by 50% over ...
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NewsLeasing company sale
UK: Macquarie Bank has established Macquarie European Rail to acquire Lloyds Banking Group’s rolling stock leasing business. The deal is expected to close in late December. Macquarie said acquisition of three European lease portfolios from Lloyds would build on its existing North American rolling stock business and the experience of ...
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NewsTendering starts for Brazilian high speed line
BRAZIL: On December 13 federal transport agency ANTT announced the start of tendering for the planned 510 km high speed railway between Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo and Campinas. Bidders have been given until August 13 2013 to submit their proposals for the operation and maintenance of the route, preceded ...
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NewsRoyal opening launches Casablanca trams
MOROCCO: Casablanca’s first light rail line was officially inaugurated by King Mohammed VI on December 12, in a ceremony attended by Prime Minister Abdelilah Benkirane and his French counterpart Jean-Marc Ayrault. Other guests included the Wali of the Casablanca Region Mohamed Bousaid, Mayor Mohamed Sajid and the Managing Director ...
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NewsKöln light rail extension opens
GERMANY: A 525 m underground extension of Köln light rail Line 5 from Dom/Hauptbahnhof to Rathaus opened on December 9. The extension takes light rail services into the heart of the old town, previously only served by buses. Situated 16 m below the surface, the Rathaus station has a contrasting ...
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NewsStadler awarded Łódź EMU contract
POLAND: Stadler Rail has been awarded a contract to supply 20 two-car Flirt electric multiple-units to Łódzka Kolej Aglomeracyjna, a voivodship-owned company which is to take over the operation of services around the city of Łódź next year. EU sources are meeting 59% of the cost of the LKA ...
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NewsBAM Nuttall appointed main contractor for Borders Railway
UK: Network Rail announced the award of a £220m contract for detailed design and construction of the Borders Railway to BAM Nuttall on December 13. Construction is scheduled to get underway in early 2013, for commissioning 'by the summer of 2015'. The capital cost is put at £294m. Work to ...
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Rod Diridon
Rod Diridon, Executive Director of the Mineta Transportation Institute, has been appointed Chairman of the US High Speed Rail Association’s Advisory Board.
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NewsProgress Rail buys RibbonWeld mobile welding assets
USA: Progress Rail Services announced the purchase of RibbonWeld's mobile rail welding assets on December 12. Progress Rail will acquire RibbonWeld's mobile flash butt welding equipment and a continuous welded rail train, which will become part of its Chemetron Railway Products subsidiary. RibbonWeld will continue to provide in-plant rail ...
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NewsUIC celebrates innovation and research in anniversary awards
INTERNATIONAL: As part of the celebrations to mark the 90th anniversary of its formation, the International Union of Railways presented its first Innovation & Railway Research Awards at a ceremony in Paris on December 11. During the event at the Automobile Club de France, following a high-level round table looking ...
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NewsLe Havre celebrates tramway opening
FRANCE: An afternoon of celebrations to mark the inauguration of the Le Havre tramway began at 12.12 on December 12. Travel is free until December 16. The Y-shaped network is centred on Place Jenner, with lines running west to Porte Océane through a new 575 m tram tunnel in the ...
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NewsMulhouse - Müllheim reopens to passengers
EUROPE: SNCF began operating regular passenger services between Mulhouse in France and Müllheim in Germany with the December 9 timetable change, following the completion of a programme to upgrade the 17·5 km freight route between Mulhouse and the border at Chalampé. There are now seven TER services each weekday ...
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NewsThales wins 'landmark' Indian metro CBTC contract
INDIA: Thales has announced a 'landmark' contract to supply PPP contractor Larsen & Toubro with SelTrac communications-based train control along with integrated communications and supervision systems for the future Hyderabad metro lines 1, 2 and 3, totalling 72 km and 66 stations. CBTC will support driverless operation with onboard attendants. ...
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NewsLondon Overground orbital route completed
UK: Mayor of London Boris Johnson and Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin inaugurated an extension of the London Overground network through south London on December 10, creating an orbital service around the capital. Passenger services had begun the previous day. The project required construction of a 1·3 km link joining existing ...
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Jacques Rapoport
Jacques Rapoport has been named President of RFF, subject to approval by the Board. The former La Poste CEO will play a key role in bringing RFF and SNCF Infra together as a united infrastructure manager. Jacques Auxiette has been tasked with looking into how the regions should be represented ...
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NewsDoor actuator can be customised for accessible train toilets
DOOR: Norgren has introduced an actuator designed for the curved doors of wheelchair-accessible train toilet cubicles. The integrated package comprises a toothed belt, actuators, motor and controller, as well as the extruded curved guide which can be supplied to a custom size and radius. The door can open to a ...
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NewsVale starts work on Nacala corridor
MALAWI: Brazilian mining group Vale officially launched the construction of its US$1·1bn heavy haul freight corridor to the port of Nacala on December 6, when the President of Malawi Joyce Banda laid a foundation stone at Neno. The ceremony was attended by representatives from the governments of both Malawi and ...
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Pierre Blayau
Pierre Blayau, CEO of SNCF Geodis, has been appointed Chairman of Geodis while Marie-Christine Lombard, formerly CEO of TNT, succeeds Jean-Louis Demeulenaere as CEO. At SNCF Geodis-owned wagon leasing firm Ermewa, Olivier Ghesquière has succeeded Joseph Kuttel as CEO.
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NewsKTX-Sancheon achieves reliability target
SOUTH KOREA: National train operator Korail marked the successful completion of ‘100 fault-free days’ with its latest five KTX-Sancheon trainsets by presenting a certificate to manufacturer Hyundai Rotem on December 7. The five additional trains put into service by Korail in August incorporate a number of modifications to address various ...