All Railway Gazette International articles in December 2020 – Page 5
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Rail Business UKJanuary rail fare increase delayed to March 1
UK: The annual change in rail fares will be delayed from January until March 1 2021, the Department for Transport announced on December 16. Regulated fares will then increase by RPI+1, a 2·6% rise. Passengers renewing season tickets will be able to do so at current rates ...
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Rail Business UKGWR to test Hitachi battery hybrid inter-city train
UK: Leasing company Eversholt Rail and Hitachi Rail Europe have signed a memorandum of understanding to develop an underfloor battery powerpack to be trialled on a Class 802 electro-diesel inter-city trainset operated by Great Western Railway on the London – Penzance route.
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NewsEstonian electrification design contract awarded
ESTONIA: Infrastructure manager Eesti Raudtee has awarded a joint venture of Spanish engineering companies Ardanuy Ingeneria and Ayesa Ingenieria y Arquitectura a €3·7m contract to produce the technical requirements and preliminary designs for its 500 track-km 25 kV 50 Hz electrification programme. Ardanuy said the contract would ...
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Metro Report InternationalWireless trams reach Luxembourg Centrale
LUXEMBOURG: An extension of the city of Luxembourg’s tramway 2 km south from Place de l’Etoile to the mainline interchange at Gare Centrale opened on December 13. There are intermediate stops at Hamilius in the historic centre, and at Place de Metz and Place de Paris ...
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Metro Report InternationalTaichung postpones Green Line opening amid ‘malfunction’ concern
TAIWAN: Commercial operations on the first line of the Taichung metro will not begin as scheduled on December 19, Mayor Lu Shiow-yen confirmed on December 14. Under construction since 2009 at a cost of NT$59·3bn, the 16·7 km driverless metro line running from TRA’s Beitun station in ...
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NewsBombardier Transportation steps up output at Crespin
FRANCE: Production of rolling stock at Bombardier Transportation’s Crespin factory in northern France is to be stepped up thanks to a €25m investment programme. Dubbed Plan 1000, the package announced by the company on December 4 will give the plant the ability to turn out 1 000 ...
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NewsFinnish Rail and Turku One Hour Train companies formed
FINLAND: Companies have been established by the government and local authorities to plan two major rail projects. Suomi-rata Oy, or Finnish Rail, will develop plans for new alignments and additional tracks needed to provide a 1 h journey time on the main corridor between Helsinki and Tampere, ...
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Metro Report InternationalWabtec’s Metroflexx braking certified ahead of use on Grand Paris Express trains
BRAKING: Tüv Süd has provided safety, quality and performance standard certification for Metroflexx, Wabtec’s ‘next-generation’ braking system for metro trains. Designed to significantly reduce the weight, energy consumption and life-cycle cost of a train, Metroflexx communicates with the train computer and traction equipment to optimise use of ...
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In depthComment: Time to seize the moment
An unprecedented year is drawing to a close. Time and again, that adjective has been rolled out to describe the tumultuous challenges that 2020 has brought to the global economy and wider society as the world continues to grapple with the coronavirus pandemic.
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NewsStadler to supply freight locomotives to Uruguay
URUGUAY: Stadler has won its first contract in Uruguay, covering the supply of seven Euro4001 six-axle diesel locomotives which PORTREN will use to haul trains between UPM’s new pulp mill at Paso de los Toros and the port of Montevideo. PORTREN is a consortium of the Cointer ...
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Metro Report InternationalParis extends Line 14 north to St-Ouen
FRANCE: Transport Authority Île de France Mobilités and operator RATP officially inaugurated the northern extension of driverless metro Line 14 on December 14.
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Rail Business UKPerry Barr station plans revised following public criticism
UK: Designs for the rebuilding of Perry Barr station in Birmingham have been revised in response to overwhelmingly negative public and stakeholder responses to the initial proposal. When the designs were unveiled in September, social media feedback included ‘the architecture of a miserable and joyless world’, unfavourable ...
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NewsPreferred bidder for Perth station contract
AUSTRALIA: ADCO Constructions has been selected as preferred bidder to design and build Lakelands station as part of Perth’s Metronet suburban rail expansion programme. To be located 7 km north of Mandurah, the station will include a pedestrian overpass, bus interchange, 400-bay car park and associated infrastructure. ...
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Metro Report InternationalValue share contribution mechanism to finance Sydney Metro station
AUSTRALIA: The NSW government is to finance the construction of Pyrmont station on the Sydney Metro West project using a value share contribution mechanism on the Pyrmont Peninsula. This will require some commercial property owners – other than small businesses – which benefit from increased land values ...
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In depthElectrification: Saving energy on DC networks
Despite being an early pioneer of regenerative braking with AC electrification, much of the Spanish main line network uses 3 kV DC. Building on earlier developments in the metro sector, ADIF Alta Velocidad is now making progress in recovering braking energy on DC routes, explains Mike Bent.
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NewsRDC takes over Sylt freight services
GERMANY: With effect from December 14, RDC Autozug Sylt has taken over from CFL Cargo as the operator of freight services across the causeway to the North Sea island of Sylt. RDC Autozug Sylt already runs car-carrying shuttle trains to and from the ...
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Rail Business UKElectrical innovation at Sandwich station
UK: KH Engineering Services has completed an ‘extensive’ programme of mechanical and electrical design works for two platform extensions at Sandwich station, acting on behalf of principal contractor BAM Nuttall. The 80 m platform extensions at the Dover end will enable the station to accommodate 12-car trains ...
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Metro Report InternationalAmsterdam awards tram and bus card reader contract
NETHERLANDS: Amsterdam transport operator GVB has awarded Thales a contract to supply around 4 000 contactless card readers for its tram and bus fleets The readers will support payment by mobile phone, EMV bank and credit cards or QR code. Replacement of the existing readers is scheduled ...
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Metro Report InternationalLund tramway opens up the ‘Science Road’
SWEDEN: Lund became Sweden’s fourth city to have a modern tram network on December 13, with the opening of a 5·5 km double-track line connecting the Central station to university facilities and the European Spallation Source. The line is operated under contract by Norwegian transport group Vy. ...