Europe – Page 196
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NewsAlliance targets doubling of freight market share
FRANCE: Plans to relaunch the rail freight business are now being finalised in preparation for formal presentation to the government by the end of this month. Drawn up by the Fret Ferroviaire Français du Futur alliance (4F), the proposals aim to double rail’s share of the freight ...
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Metro Report International‘Aesthetic, sensitive and poetic’ metro station contract awarded
FRANCE: Société du Grand Paris has awarded BESIX France a €100m contract to build its new interchange station at Saint-Denis Pleyel. Designed by architect Kengo Kuma, this will be one of the largest stations on the automated metro network, covering 34 000 m² on nine levels ...
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NewsEuropean coalition to improve international rail travel
EUROPE: A willingness to co-operate to increase rail’s share of the international passenger market is a set out in political statement signed by a ‘coalition of the willing’ comprising all EU member states except Croatia, Estonia, Cyprus and Malta (the latter two having no railways) and including ...
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NewsRobotic welding at Tikhvin wagon factory
RUSSIA: United Wagon Co has installed a robot for welding open wagon components at its Tikhvin plant, ensuring high quality welds by minimising human variability. The company said the robot would release highly-skilled specialist electric gas welders to undertake other work which requires semiautomatic welding. The robotic ...
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NewsČortanovci tunnel drilling completed
SERBIA: Drilling of the 1 156 m long second bore of the Čortanovci tunnel was completed with a breakthrough ceremony on June 5. The 1 086 m first bore had been holed through on April 3. Under construction since August 2017, the Čortanovci tunnel and an adjacent ...
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NewsFirst trainset for Rielsfera low cost high speed rail services heads to Spain
SPAIN: The first of nine double-deck TGV Duplex trainsets being modified for use by SNCF’s Spanish subsidiary Rielsfera was despatched from the Technicentre Est-Européen at Pantin in France on June 6 following the installation of signalling and train protection equipment needed for operation in Spain.
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Metro Report InternationalCRRC wins Kharkiv metro train contract
UKRAINE: Chinese manufacturer CRRC Tangshan has been selected as the winner of a contract to supply eight five-car trainsets for the Kharkiv metro. Scheduled for delivery in 2022, the trains will be 96·7 m long and 2 700 mm wide with a maximum speed of 80 km/h. ...
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NewsHydrogen train development agreement signed
ITALY: A five-year agreement for the development of hydrogen trains and associated infrastructure has been signed by Alstom and energy company Snam. Under the agreement announced on June 4, Alstom would manufacture and maintain newly-built or converted hydrogen trains, while Snam would develop infrastructure for hydrogen production, ...
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Metro Report InternationalMetre-gauge tram under development
RUSSIA: PC Transport Systems has announced plans to build a narrow gauge tram, saying the 71-921 Corsair, which it expects to unveil later this year, would be the first series-produced Russian tram for 1 000 mm gauge networks since 1937. ‘We decided to ...
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NewsLineas announces barge replacement train services
GERMANY: To facilitate a shift of freight from barge to rail at a time when water levels in the River Rhein are at their lowest in five years, Lineas is to increase its services and capacity on the corridor over the summer period from June 15. ‘With ...
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NewsNew tunnel in Nürnberg – Schirnding electrification plan
GERMANY: Plans to electrify the 140 km line from Nürnberg via Marktredwitz to Schirnding near the Czech border in northeast Bayern have been unveiled by DB Netz at events in Lauf and Schwandorf.
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NewsUniversities study options for battery traction to replace diesel
GERMANY: A three-month study of the extent to which battery-powered trains could replace diesel traction in Germany is being undertaken through a collaboration between rolling stock financing company Rock Rail, Technische Universität Dresden and the UK’s University of Birmingham. According to lobby group Allianz pro Schiene, electrified ...
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NewsAssociations emphasise importance of public transport in tackling climate change
EUROPE: The International Union of Railways, International Association of Public Transport and European railway suppliers’ association UNIFE have called for ‘a new sense of urgency’ in developing a more sustainable transport mix, arguing that decision makers need to look beyond the Covid-19 pandemic and its aftermath and not forget that ‘the rising danger’ of climate change ‘has not stopped during the crisis’.
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NewsCarbo Rail becomes Retrack Slovakia
SLOVAKIA: VTG Rail Logistics has completed the acquisition of a majority stake in freight operator Carbo Rail following regulatory approval of the transaction which had been announced in February. Bratislava-based Carbo Rail was formed in November 2016 through the merger of Carbosped and Rail Sped, and now ...
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NewsHistoric Praha viaduct modernised
CZECH REPUBLIC: Full operation across the Negrelli viaduct in Praha resumed on June 1, following the completion of a three-year project to refurbish the capital’s oldest railway bridge across the Vltava River.
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NewsLazio high speed station agreement signed
ITALY: FS Group has reached agreement for the construction of a new station on the Roma – Napoli high speed line to serve the southern part of Lazio region.
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NewsMitsubishi Electric Corp acquires stake in EKE-Electronics
FINLAND: Mitsubishi Electric Corp has acquired a 34% stake in EKE Group’s train automation and management systems business EKE-Electronics. The companies have also entered into a wide-ranging co-operation agreement. This gives EKE-Electronics access to fast-growing markets as well as resources for further development, and the ability to ...
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NewsDB tests larger version of CRRC hybrid shunting locomotive
GERMANY: Trials are underway with a larger version of the AZLok shunting and engineering train locomotives which Deutsche Bahn has ordered from China’s CRRC Zhuzhou. DB ordered four 750 kW four-axle diesel-battery hybrid locomotives from CRRC Zhuzhou in June 2018 at a cost of €10m, with options ...
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NewsJeantet ousted from Keolis over ‘strategic differences’
FRANCE: Former SNCF Réseau chief executive Patrick Jeantet has been dismissed as Chairman of Groupe Keolis with immediate effect, the company’s Supervisory Board announced on June 2. A new Executive Committee has been formed to oversee the business pending the appointment of a successor.
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NewsHigh speed co-operation extended
CZECH REPUBLIC: Infrastructure manager SŽ has finalised a further agreement with SNCF International to assist with the development of the county’s proposed network of high speed lines.