All Railway Gazette International articles in December 2013
All articles published this month.
-
NewsDelhi Metro starts Phase III test running
INDIA: Test running on the first section of Delhi metro Phase III began at 11.27 on December 30 when the first Line 6 train to run between Mandi House and Central Secretariat was officially flagged off by Delhi Metro Rail Corp executives. The 2·5 km section, with one intermediate ...
-
NewsTfL to re-tender Sub-Surface resignalling
UK: Transport for London announced on December 31 that it plans to re-invite tenders in mid-2014 for the resignalling of London Underground’s Sub-Surface Lines, which had been awarded to Bombardier in mid-2011. Covering London Underground’s Metropolitan, District, Circle and Hammersmith & City lines, the programme is due to see the ...
-
NewsWorld rolling stock market December 2013
Australia: The Queensland government has selected a consortium of Bombardier, John Laing, Itochu and Uberior (Lloyds) for a 30-year PPP contract to supply and maintain 75 six-car EMUs for Brisbane under the New Generation Rolling Stock project. Public Transport Victoria is undertaking a A$4·4m refurbishment of Melbourne’s B-Class trams ...
-
NewsChina opens seven new lines
CHINA: The 514 km coastal line between Xiamen and Shenzhen in southeast China was opened for revenue service on December 28. This completes the link between the Beijing – Guangzhou – Shenzhen Passenger-Dedicated Line and the east coast route which starts in Shanghai and serves Hangzhou, Ningbo, Wenzhou, Fujian and ...
-
NewsSiemens trainees on heritage line
UK: Graduate trainees and apprentices from Siemens are to work on signalling projects on the heritage North Yorkshire Moors Railway this winter. 'With over 20 miles [32 km] of signalling ranging from mechanical signals to our HD-link transmission system, it is hoped that this will become a regular feature ...
-
NewsWorld rail market December 2013
Hungary: Audi has awarded DB Schenker Rail Hungária a contract to provide shunting services at its Györ automotive plant for a further three years. Poland: Gdynia port authority has appointed Elkol to plan electrification and modernisation works to support a 40% increase in capacity on the 6 km rail ...
-
NewsIntermodal wagon order
EUROPE: AAE has ordered 300 Sggnss 80 ft four-axle intermodal wagons from Tatravagonka Poprad. They are to be leased to the Metrans subsidiary of Hamburger Hafen & Logistik, for use on North Sea port hinterland traffic. The single-unit wagons with two bogies offer more flexibility in the type of container ...
-
NewsSustainable freight programme hits midpoint
EUROPE: A conference held at UIC’s Paris headquarters on December 4 marked the mid-point of the EU-funded Sustrail research programme to ‘integrate vehicle and track innovations for a more sustainable freight railway’. Running to May 2015, Sustrail brings together a range of academic institutions, train operators, infrastructure managers and suppliers ...
-
NewsNarrow gauge diesel delivery
ISLE OF MAN: Motive Power & Equipment Solutions has produced a remanufactured diesel-electric locomotive which will be used on works trains and as a back-up for the steam locos which haul tourist services on the 914 mm gauge Isle of Man Railway. Ordered at a cost of £0·4m, the 42·5 ...
-
NewsHigh speed inspection vehicle order
CHINA: China Railways Corp has approved series production of a fleet of diesel railcars designed to enable overhead electrification equipment on high speed lines to be inspected and repaired during short maintenance windows. The prototype 711CN railcar developed by German manufacturer GBM Gleisbaumechanik Brandenburg has been tested at speeds ...
-
NewsChinese rail projects approved
CHINA: The final 527 km of the Southern Xinjiang line between Aksu and Korla opened for traffic on December 5 with the departure of a freight train from Aksu. The 1449 km line has been built in stages with the fiorst phase opening in 1984. It is designed for 160 ...
-
NewsHouston opens second light rail line
USA: Revenue services have started running on Houston Metro’s 8·5 km North Line light rail route following an official inauguration on December 21 and a day of free rides. Running north from UH Downtown in the city centre through Moody Park and Lindale to the Northline Transit Center, the line ...
-
NewsChikmagalur line opened
INDIA: Minister of Railways Mallikarjun Kharge opened South Western Railway’s 45 km Kadur – Chikmagalur line on November 19. The broad gauge branch connects Chikmagalur, Kanivehalli, Sakarayapatna and Bisalehalli to the Hubli – Bangalore main line, and includes four major and 75 minor bridges. The project was first proposed in ...
-
NewsSEPTA outlines ‘Catching Up’ investment plan
USA: SEPTA, the transport authority which provides urban and suburban rail services in the metropolitan area around Philadelphia, plans to double its annual capital expenditure of $300m by 2018 under a wide-ranging investment programme. At a board meeting on December 19, SEPTA officials proposed a multi-year spending programme entitled ‘Catching ...
-
NewsMitsubishi Electric to acquire Italian air-conditioning supplier
ITALY: An agreement has been reached for Mitsubishi Electric Corp's European business to acquire an 80% stake in Padova-based rolling stock air-conditioning supplier Klimat-Fer SpA from April 2014. Announcing the agreement on December 16, the companies said Mitsubishi Electric's advanced technical knowledge would be combined with Klimat-Fer's innovation and sales ...
-
NewsSingapore’s Downtown Line welcomes first passengers
SINGAPORE: Serving six stations, the first section of the Downtown automated metro line opened for public service on December 21. The 4·3 km section between Chinatown and Bugis will be served by trains running at 4 min headways at peak times and 5 min otherwise. The Land Transport Authority has ...
-
NewsFirst ETCS certified in Poland
POLAND: The first certification for commercial use of ETCS equipment in Poland was granted on November 21, covering Level 1 operation on the CMK fast line from Grodzisk Mazowiecki to Zawiercie. The equipment supplied by Thales under a 17·65m złoty contract included 1200 balises, 250 wayside controllers and 20 ...
-
NewsEBA approves Velaro D high speed trains for domestic operation
GERMANY: After many months of delays, the first four of 16 Class 407 high speed trainsets for Deutsche Bahn have been approved for use in Germany by EBA, the national railway safety authority. DB placed an order worth around €500m with Siemens in November 2008 for 15 Class 407 trainsets ...
-
NewsBart Demosky
Bart Demosky has been appointed Executive Vice-President & Chief Financial Officer of Canadian Pacific, succeeding Brian Grassby.
-
NewsNews in Brief - December 2013
EBRD is considering lending €133m to support Far Eastern Rail Co’s planned €378m acquisition of up to 10 000 wagons which would be leased to Russian coal miners. The wagons would have 25 tonne axleloads and be suitable for operation in block trains at higher speeds than existing vehicles. ...