Europe – Page 227
-
NewsNewag awarded locomotive contracts
Trako POLAND: PKP Intercity has awarded Newag a contract to supply a further 10 Griffin 160 km/h electric locomotives. The 183·8m złoty order has been placed as an option on a May 2018 contract for an initial 20 locomotives. It was announced at the Trako ...
-
Metro Report InternationalGround-level electric bus recharging system presented
SPAIN: Alstom has unveiled a pilot installation of its SRS ground-based recharging system for electric buses in front of the University of Malaga’s School of Industrial Engineering. Based on the supplier’s established recharging technology for trams, this is designed to provide a safe ground-level ...
-
NewsVDB calls for faster digital roll-out strategy
GERMANY: Rail industry association VDB has put forward a seven-point plan to accelerate the introduction of digital train control across the national rail network, suggesting that an industrial scale roll-out of digital interlockings and ETCS could begin as soon as 2022. The proposals follow the signing on ...
-
NewsAmsterdam – London through train agreement to be signed shortly
EUROPE: The international agreement which would permit the operation of through passenger services between the Netherlands and the UK is expected to be signed in October, State Secretary for Justice & Security Ankie Broekers-Knol told the Dutch parliament’s lower house on September 25. Eurostar told Railway Gazette ...
-
News5G remote control train tested
GERMANY: A test train with no driver on board has been remotely controlled using equipment based on 5G technology. The test train ran for the first time on September 17 on a section of the 25 km Erzgebirgische Aussichtsbahn between Annaberg-Buchholz and Schwarzenberg in Sachsen. It consisted ...
-
NewseTrack rail-lifting clamp designed to improve safety
SPAIN: Elebia has developed eTrack, a 2 000 kg capacity remote-controlled clamp to enhance safety when handling rails. ‘We were approached by a European company that was searching for a solution to the safety and security issues associated with alternative rail handling methods’, explained Elebia founder & ...
-
Metro Report InternationalMessina tramway’s future secured
ITALY: The Ministry of Infrastructure & Transport has provided an initial €11·1m for track (€4·4m) and rolling stock (€6·7m) maintenance on the Messina tramway. Works are due to start within weeks and will require partial closures. The funding marks a turnaround from September 2018 when Mayor Cateno ...
-
NewsCircumvesuviana EMUs ordered
ITALY: Napoli regional transport operator EAV has selected Hitachi Rail to supply and maintain 40 1·5 kV DC electric multiple-units for the 950 mm gauge Circumvesuviana railway. President of the Campania region Vincenzo De Luca said the €314m order announced on September 24 would provide a significant ...
-
NewsAlstom to supply ETCS for Paris – Lyon high speed line
FRANCE: SNCF Réseau has awarded a framework contract to Alstom for the development, installation and maintenance of ERTMS equipment on LGV Sud-Est between Paris and Lyon. Valued at €52·5m, the contract announced on September 25 was awarded following a negotiated procedure and a prior call for competition. ...
-
NewsAmber Rail Freight Corridor up and running
EUROPE: An event was held in the Slovenian port of Koper on September 18 to mark the launch this year of the Amber Rail Freight Corridor, the first RFC to be established since the original nine defined in 2010. The corridor is a ...
-
NewsAlstom to equip international ICE3 fleet with ETCS
GERMANY: Deutsche Bahn has awarded Alstom a €30m contract to retrofit its Atlas ETCS onboard equipment to 17 Class 407 Velaro D ICE3 high speed trainsets used on international services. Approval will be progressively obtained for the ETCS Baseline 3 Release 2 equipment to be used in ...
-
Metro Report InternationalBergen orders more trams
NORWAY: Hordaland County Council has exercised an €27m option for Stadler Pankow to supply a further six Variobahn trams for the Bergen Bybanen tramway, taking the total fleet to 34. The additional trams are scheduled to be delivered from the end of 2021, ahead of the opening ...
-
NewsKatowice airport rail link and GSM-R funded
POLAND: The allocation of €676m from the Cohesion Fund for rail and road projects in Poland was announced by the European Commission on September 13. The package includes €487m for the replacement of outdated communications with GSM-R on almost 14 000 km of railway by July 2023, ...
-
NewsProRail awards rail milling contract
NETHERLANDS: Infrastructure manager ProRail has awarded Vossloh Rail Services a four-year framework contract for corrective rail maintenance, selecting for the first time milling rather than grinding to remove any rail defects. All corrective maintenance on the 7 000 track-km network will be undertaken by VRS subsidiary Alpha ...
-
NewsFirst ETR1000 trainsets arrive in France for testing
Photo: Christophe Masse FRANCE: The first of two Trenitalia ETR1000 Frecciarossa trainsets arrived in France on September 19 for type approval tests in Bretagne. Trenitalia plans to launch a Paris – Milano high speed service in summer 2020 using a fleet of five ETR1000 trainsets modified for ...
-
Rail Business UKHector Rail sells GB Railfreight to Infracapital
UK: EQT Infrastructure’s Hector Rail business has reached a definitive agreement to sell its UK subsidiary GB Railfreight to Infracapital, the unlisted infrastructure equity arm of M&GPrudential which is due to demerge from Prudential plc in the fourth quarter of this year. EQT Infrastructure ...
-
NewsSignalling upgraded to support diverted traffic
GERMANY: An electronic interlocking at Kreiensen in Niedersachsen has been upgraded by Bombardier Transportation to support an increase in traffic through the junction. First installed in 2011 by DB Netz and Bombardier, the EBI Lock 950 computer-based interlocking has seen its software modified to give greater reliability ...
-
NewsBayerische Oberlandbahn increases DMU order
GERMANY: Bayerische Oberlandbahn has placed a €25m order for six Alstom Coradia Lint diesel multiple-units. The firm order announced on September 16 has been placed using an option on a 2018 contract for 25 DMUs. All 31 are scheduled to be delivered by 2020, and will be ...
-
NewsVTG orders timber wagons
RUSSIA: Leasing company VTG Rail Russia has awarded United Wagon Co a contract to supply 150 flat wagons for carrying timber products. Deliveries are scheduled to be completed by the end of this year. The Type 13-6852-02 wagons produced at UWC’s Tikhvin plant have a 25 tonne ...
-
NewsDB to order more high speed trains as government cuts VAT on fares
Photo: DB AG/Georg Wagner GERMANY: Rail spending is to be increased significantly as part of a €54bn package of measures to mitigate the effects of climate change, which was announced by Chancellor Angela Merkel on September 20. In order to reduce the environmental impact of transport and ...