All Railway Gazette International articles in December 2020 – Page 8
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NewsSNCB orders multifunctional double-deck coaches with improved accessibility
BELGIUM: National operator SNCB has ordered a further 204 Type M7 double-deck coaches, placing a contract for multifunctional vehicles adapted to improve accessibility for passengers with reduced mobility. Awarded to a consortium of Bombardier Transportation and Alstom, the €445m contract announced on December 21 has been ...
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Metro Report InternationalNext generation of Vancouver SkyTrain cars ordered
CANADA: Vancouver transport agency TransLink has awarded Bombardier Transportation a C$722·6m contract to supply 205 automated light metro cars for the SkyTrain network. The order announced on December 17 includes 125 cars to replace first-generation vehicles which entered service in 1985 and to support the Broadway Subway ...
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NewsDB Cargo to test operation of long trains using distributed power with LTE
GERMANY: Final preparations are in hand for a programme of tests to determine the feasibility of regular operation of long freight trains with distributed power using LTE technology. To be carried out in February 2021 on the steeply graded line between Probstzella and Hochstadt-Marktzeuln near Lichtenfels, the ...
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Metro Report InternationalDocklands Light Railway extension study underway
UK: Transport for London has begun further technical studies for a proposed extension of the Docklands Light Railway automated light metro from Gallions Reach to Beckton Riverside and across the River Thames to Thamesmead. The move follows confirmation of the new Thamesmead & Abbey Wood Opportunity ...
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NewsČD buys Hohenzollernische Landesbahn RegioShuttle railcars
CZECH REPUBLIC: ČD has acquired 22 RegioShuttle RS1 railcars from HEROS Helvetic Rolling Stock at a cost of €15·5m. Built in 1997, the MAN-powered low-floor single-car DMUs were previously operated by Südwestdeutsche Landesverkehrs AG’s Hohenzollernische Landesbahn on Zollernalbbahn services 1 and 2, but have now been replaced ...
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Rail Business UKScotRail offers free ticket refunds after coronavirus rule changes
UK: ScotRail is to offer free refunds on unused tickets bought on or before December 20, following the Scottish Government’s announcement of more travel restrictions over the Christmas and New Year period. In order to claim the fee-free refund, customers must keep hold of their tickets and ...
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Rail Business UKHS2 Ltd launches 2021 graduate recruitment scheme
UK: HS2 Ltd has opened its 2021 graduate recruitment scheme, seeking 17 people to join a two-year programme with roles including project management, engineering, landscape architecture, commercial and communications. Participants will experience at least four placement rotations within HS2 Ltd and its main works construction partners’ ...
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Metro Report InternationalGreen financing for Canberra light rail PPP
AUSTRALIA: Light rail PPP concessionaire Canberra Metro has refinanced a A$280m debt facility using a green loan with climate bond initiative certification under low carbon transport criteria. The consortium of John Holland, Pacific Partnerships, Aberdeen Standard Investments and Mitsubishi Corp said this was the first Australian ...
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NewsSmoothing intermodal flows through the Port of Gdynia
POLAND: The Port of Gdynia’s Baltic Container Terminal has joined the EU-backed COMODALCE initiative to upgrade intermodal operations, and will participate in a pilot for electronic exchange of wagon and freight handling activity data. The ‘Enhancing COordination in multiMODAL freight transport in Central Europe’ programme involves the ...
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NewsBucurești airport rail link opens
ROMANIA: Regular services between Henri Coandă airport and the centre of București began with the timetable change on December 12. Trains run every 40 min throughout the day and night, using a 2·95 km double-track branch off CFR’s București – Urziceni line to reach the airport station ...
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Metro Report InternationalWiener Linien orders Robel tunnel cleaning vehicle
AUSTRIA: Robel has won a tender to supply a metro tunnel and trackbed cleaning unit to the capital’s transport operator Wiener Linien. Delivery is scheduled for mid-2022. The Robel Cleaning System combines automated surface vacuuming with manual cleaning using 20 m long operator-controlled suction hoses which can ...
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Metro Report InternationalTyne & Wear Metro introduces smartphone ticketing
UK: Tyne & Wear Metro passengers can now use an Android smartphone to pay for travel and open ticket gates, in a partnership between transport authority Nexus, Google Pay, mobile ticketing provider Yotra Ltd, ticketing and gating supplier Scheidt & Bachmann and Newcastle-based software company Nebula Labs ...
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Rail Business UKLNER IC225 sets head for temporary store
LNER has confirmed that its complete fleet of IC225 push-pull trainsets formed from a Class 91 locomotive and MkIV coaches will be taken out of service temporarily.
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NewsPolregio and Lubuskie voivodship sign 10-year contract
POLAND: A 1bn złoty contract for national regional passenger train operator Polregio to continue running services in Lubuskie voivodship for the next 10 years came into effect with the December 13 timetable change. The contract signed on December 3 covers the operation of ...
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NewsSlovenian rail freight joint venture targets the Balkans and beyond
SLOVENIA: National railway holding company Slovenske Železnice and the EP Logistic International subsidiary of Praha-based energy, infrastructure and logistics group EP Holding have signed an investment and shareholder agreement to form a strategic partnership to take over the state railway’s freight activities. The parties are to create ...
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Metro Report InternationalToulouse Aerospace Express metro contract award
FRANCE: Toulouse Metropole has awarded Alstom a contract to design, build and maintain the Toulouse Aerospace Express driverless metro line. The city’s third automated metro line will be 27 km long with 21 stations, and is intended to serve major centres of employment in the aerospace sector. ...
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NewsHauts-de-France orders more double-deck EMUs
FRANCE: Acting on behalf of the Hauts-de-France region, SNCF has awarded Bombardier Transportation a €565m firm contract to supply 33 Omneo Regio2N double-deck regional electric multiple-units from its Crespin plant in 2024-25. The order announced on December 22 has been placed under a 2010 framework agreement covering ...
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Rail Business UKAccessibility training extended to cover replacement bus teams
UK: Greater Anglia has extended its accessibility awareness training scheme to include rail replacement bus teams. The online programme is delivered by a team of disabled trainers put together by equality trainer Sarah Rennie. It covers meeting and greeting disabled customers, and how to talk to them ...
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Metro Report InternationalUrban transport industry news round-up
This week’s round-up of news from the urban transport sector
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Rail Business UKTransport for the North disappointed by NIC report
UK: ‘Disappointing’ is Transport for the North’s reaction to the National Infrastructure Commission’s recent Rail Needs Assessment for the Midlands & the North report, which suggested a significant scaling back of projects including Northern Powerhouse Rail and the eastern leg of High Speed 2 because of insufficient ...