All Railway Gazette International articles in December 2017 – Page 6
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NewsXi’an – Chengdu high speed railway opened throughout
CHINA: Revenue services on the 511 km Xi’an – Jiangyou section of the 663 km Xi’an – Chengdu Passenger-Dedicated Line began on December 6, with the first train leaving Xi’an at 08:22. The maximum operating speed on the line is 250 km/h. The 153 km first phase between Chengdu and ...
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NewsUK railway news round-up
A regulated fares increase of 3·6% based on July RPI will take effect on January 2. In Scotland, selected regulated peak fares including Anytime and season tickets are set to RPI, and 1% below RPI for regulated Off-Peak fares. In Wales, regulated fares are capped at RPI until at least ...
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Metro Report InternationalShatin – Central project faces 23% cost increase
CHINA: Following a detailed review of the estimated cost-to-complete of the main construction works for Hong Kong’s Shatin – Central Link project, MTR Corp announced on December 6 that it had increased its estimate by 23% to HK$87·3bn. MTR Corp had previously said that ‘continuing challenges posed by external factors ...
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NewsNGR EMUs ready to enter service in Brisbane
AUSTRALIA: The first of 75 New Generation Rollingstock trainsets being built by Bombardier for the Brisbane suburban network are expected to begin carrying passengers on December 11, Queensland Rail Chief Executive Officer Nick Easy confirmed on December 6. With 70% of Queensland’s population growth expected in the South-East region, the ...
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NewsBaghdad and Basra urban rail memorandum signed by Alstom
IRAQ: A memorandum of understanding for the development of urban rail projects in Baghdad and Basra has been signed by the Iraqi government and Alstom as part of a Franco-Iraqi inter-governmental meeting. A 20 km elevated light rail line is proposed for Baghdad, which would link Mustansiriyah, ...
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NewsLatvia's cabinet backs electrification financing proposal
LATVIA: The cabinet has accepted a Ministry of Transport report setting out how the first phase of the electrification programme envisaged under the national development plan for 2014–20 can be undertaken without requiring funding from the state budget. The first phase covers 25 kV 50 Hz electrification of the routes ...
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Metro Report InternationalLondon Underground depot construction contract awarded
UK: A joint venture of Morgan Sindall and BeMo Tunnelling has been awarded a £20m contract to design and build a workshop for London Underground’s Train Modification Unit. The facility at the Acton Works site in west London will undertake rolling stock refurbishment projects, starting with the Central Line fleet ...
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NewsMetrans orders more Traxx locomotives
GERMANY: Metrans has ordered 10 more Bombardier Transportation Traxx F140MS locomotives for delivery in the first quarter of 2018 The intermodal subsidiary of Hamburger Hafen & Logistik AG currently has a fleet of 50 mainline and 17 shunting locomotives. ‘With more of our own locomotives at our disposal, we ...
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NewsAngel Trains raises £1·1bn to support ‘appetite to compete’
UK: Rolling stock leasing company Angel Trains Group announced on December 6 that it had secured £835m of new funding to refinance the procurement of 665 Bombardier Transportation Aventra electric multiple-unit cars that will be leased to Abellio for use on the East Anglia franchise from 2019. It said the ...
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Metro Report InternationalSmallest tramway gets longer
GERMANY: What claims to be Germany’s smallest tramway grew by 440 m to reach a total of 2·9 km on December 1, with the opening of a one-stop extension from Vogelwiese to Salztor in Naumburg. The extension returns trams to a further section of what was once a circular route ...
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NewsSNCF orders prototype EMU and tram-train traction transformers
FRANCE: National railway SNCF has awarded Mitsubishi Electric Corp a contract to supply prototype traction transformers for Z2N double-deck electric multiple-units used on Paris commuter services and Siemens Avanto tram-trains operating on route T4. The order follows on from Mitsubishi Electric becoming the first Japanese company to be certified by ...
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NewsHelsinki and Bombardier agree Variotram settlement
FINLAND: Helsinki transport authority HKL and Bombardier Transportation have reached an agreement which will see the 40 Variotrams withdrawn from service in the Finnish capital by the end of 2018. The Variotrams were delivered by Adtranz (later Bombardier Transportation) in 1998-2003, but the track profiles and operating conditions on Helsinki’s ...
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NewsNew South Wales fleet replacement advances
AUSTRALIA: Three consortia have been shortlisted for the contract to replace the NSW TrainLink regional rail fleet of XPT, Endeavour and Xplorer trains, the New South Wales state government has announced. The bidders are: Regional Futures, led by Downer; Bombardier Consortium; Momentum Trains, led by CAF. Transport for NSW ...
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Metro Report InternationalSound Transit orders Tacoma Link extension LRVs
USA: Terms have been agreed for Brookville Equipment Corp to supply Seattle’s Sound Transit with five Liberty light rail vehicles for $26·5m plus tax, the manufacturer announced on December 4. The LRVs are required as part of the project to build a 3·9 km extension of the 2·6 km Tacoma ...
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NewsKoleje Śląskie operating contract extended
POLAND: Śląskie voivodship has awarded in-house train operator Koleje Śląskie a five-year extension to its contract to provide local passenger services. In 2015 the voivodship awarded KŚ a contract running for 10 years from January 1 2016, with the five-year extension to December 2030 being subject to investment in new ...
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NewsSankt Pölten freight bypass inaugurated
AUSTRIA: A 24·7 km freight bypass around the city of Sankt Pölten was inaugurated with a ceremony on December 1, ahead of the planned start of revenue services on December 10. The bypass has been built as part of the wider project to upgrade the Wien – Salzburg Westbahn main ...
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NewsFerrovia Circumetnea orders more Vulcano DMUs
ITALY: Ferrovia Circumetnea has ordered an additional two-car Vulcano diesel multiple-unit from Newag, and expects to place a firm order for three more once financing is secured. The four 950 mm gauge DMUs would cost a total of €14·9m. In Decemer 2013 FCE and Newag finalised a €14·8m contract for ...
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NewsLille metro gates to cut fare evasion
FRANCE: The Lille metropolitan authority has begun a €60m programme to install ticket gates at all 60 stations on the city’s metro network. The first gates came into use at Gare Lille Europe on November 30. During the course of 2018 it is planned to commission gates ...
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Metro Report InternationalLos Angeles light rail extension groundbreaking
USA: The Foothill Gold Line Construction Authority held a groundbreaking ceremony on December 2 for the next phase of the light rail route. The 19·8 km eastern extension from APU/Citrus College in Glendora to Montclair will add six stops. Main construction work is due to begin in 2020, with ...
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NewsUber and Citymapper become UITP members
INTERNATIONAL: App-based services Uber and Citymapper are among the first members to join the International Association of Public Transport’s Digital Platforms category, UITP announced on December 4. UITP has created the new membership category specifically for online platforms that facilitate access to transport services on a business-to-business, business-to-customer or ...