All Railway Gazette International articles in December 2016 – Page 4
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NewsFS buys stake in Milano metro concessionaire
ITALY: State railway group FS is to acquire its first stake in a metro line, with the signing of an agreement to purchase a 36·7% holding in Milano metro Line 5 concessionaire Metro 5 SpA from Astaldi for €64·5m. Astaldi will retain a 2% stake. FS Chief Executive Renato Mazzoncini ...
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Metro Report InternationalCRRC to supply 120 more cars for Boston’s Red Line
USA: Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority’s Fiscal & Management Control Board has approved the award of a $277m contract for CRRC MA Corp to supply an additional 120 metro cars for Boston’s Red Line, with an option for a further 14. Subsidiaries of what is now CRRC were selected in 2014 ...
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NewsRégiolis enters service in Clermont-Ferrand
FRANCE: The first of 29 Alstom Régiolis multiple-units which SNCF has ordered on behalf of the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region entered service with the December 11 timetable change. The order placed under a national framework agreement between SNCF and Alstom includes 12 dual-voltage electro-diesel sets for use on routes from Clermont-Ferrand to ...
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NewsGlasgow backs airport tram-train plan
UK: The Glasgow City Region Cabinet agreed on December 13 to formally endorse plans for a tram-train link between Glasgow Airport and the city centre. The project is to be funded from the £1·1bn Glasgow City Region deal signed with the Scottish and UK governments in August 2014. The £144m ...
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NewsG&W buys terminal operator to complement Freightliner
UK: Genesee & Wyoming Inc has entered into an agreement to purchase UK container terminal and road haulage operator Pentalver Transport Ltd from APM Terminals. The transaction is expected to close in Q1 2017. Pentalver operates off-dock container terminals at the major seaports of Felixstowe, Southampton, London Gateway and Tilbury, ...
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NewsMainzelbahn opens
GERMANY: A day of free travel across the tram network in Mainz marked the opening of the Mainzelbahn extension on December 11. The 9·2 km route links Mainz Hauptbahnhof West and Lerchenberg in the southwest of the city, via the University and Marienborn railway station. There are 16 stops. ...
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NewsCarmichael coal railway approved
AUSTRALIA: Indian energy group Adani has received the final approval from the federal government and the state of Queensland for its A$21·7bn project to develop the planned Carmichael coal mine in the north Galilee Basin, together with a 388 km 1 435 mm gauge rail link to a new export ...
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NewsMore Artic trams for Helsinki approved
FINLAND: The board of Helsinki transport operator HKL approved the purchase of 20 more trams from Škoda Transportation subsidiary Transtech on December 8. Deliveries of the low-floor Artic trams are due to take place in 2018-19. The 27·4 m long trams from the €57·3m order would be identical to ...
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NewsMünchen inaugurates Steinhausen tram extension
GERMANY: The Steinhausen extension of München’s tram network opened with the timetable change on December 11. Construction of the 2·7 km eastern extension began on February 26. Running on reserved track from Max-Weber-Platz U-Bahn station to Berg am Laim S-Bahn station, the extension forms the eastern end of Route ...
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Metro Report InternationalKeolis Downer to operate Newcastle light rail
AUSTRALIA: Transport for New South Wales announced on December 12 that it had selected the Keolis Downer joint venture of Keolis and Downer EDI to operate and maintain public transport in Newcastle for 10 years from July 2017 under a A$450m contract. Operating under the Newcastle Transport brand, the ...
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NewsRotterdam light rail vehicle loan agreement signed
NETHERLANDS: The European Investment Bank announced on December 14 that it had signed a €120m loan agreement with Rotterdam transport authority RET. The low-interest loan will be used towards the purchase of rolling stock and signalling equipment. RET is purchasing 16 three-section light rail vehicles from Bombardier to operate ...
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NewsFirst San Martín locos arrive
ARGENTINA: In the presence of Transport Minister Guillermo Dietrich, the first two diesel freight locomotives that CRRC of China has supplied for the 1 676 mm gauge San Martín network were unloaded in the Port of Buenos Aires on December 13. They form part of the 107 locomotives being ...
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Metro Report InternationalThree shortlisted to build London Overground extension
UK: Transport for London announced on December 14 that Balfour Beatty, Carillion and Volker Fitzpatrick had been shortlisted for the contract to build the proposed 4·5 km Barking to Barking Riverside extension of the Gospel Oak – Barking line in east London. The electrified extension would run alongside the existing ...
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NewsFourth Railway Package market pillar adopted by European Parliament
EUROPE: The European Parliament voted on December 14 to adopt the final wording for the market pillar of the Fourth Railway Package, concluding ‘almost five years of intense negotiations’ over the European Commission’s proposals. The market pillar will come into force once the texts have been published in the Official ...
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NewsNürnberg tram extension inaugurated
GERMANY: A 2·4 km extension of Nürnberg’s tram network was inaugurated on December 10, with the entry into service of the northern section of Route 4 from Thon to Am Wegfeld with three intermediate stops. The Land of Bayern contributed €16·8m of the €43·6m project cost. The city’s transport ...
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Metro Report InternationalTest running begins on Detroit QLine
USA: Test running began on the QLine tram route in Detroit on December 13, ahead of the planned start of passenger services next spring. The 5·3 km route along Woodward Avenue is being built by Stacy & Witbeck and will be operated and maintained by Transdev. Brookville Equipment Corp ...
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NewsFirst Brightline trainset delivered
USA: The first of five trainsets which Siemens is building for the privately-financed Brightline inter-city project has arrived in Florida following a 4 900 km journey by rail from the manufacturer’s Sacramento plant. The trainsets will each comprise four stainless-steel coaches, top-and-tailed by diesel-electric locomotives. The initial trainset carries ...
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NewsSNCF launches free wi-fi on TGVs
FRANCE: SNCF began offering passengers free wi-fi on some TGV trainsets on the Paris – Lyon route with effect from December 15. This is the first phase of a wider roll-out which aims to provide wi-fi coverage for around 80% of TGV passengers on high speed and conventional lines by ...
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NewsNTV’s first Pendolino Italo car unveiled
ITALY: Alstom unveiled the first vehicle from a fleet of 12 Pendolino trainsets it is supplying to private high speed operator NTV at its Savigliano works on December 15. The driving car is the first vehicle to be completed under a €460m contract initially finalised in October 2015. This covered ...
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NewsLocomore launches crowd-funded open access service
GERMANY: Crowd-funded open access passenger operator Locomore launched its inter-city service between Stuttgart and Berlin on December 14. Leaving the southern city 39 min behind its scheduled 06.21 departure time, the inaugural train arrived at Berlin Hbf 5 min early. Test running for the service began on December 5. The ...