Europe – Page 230
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Metro Report InternationalBern orders Stadler trams
SWITZERLAND: Bern transport authority Bernmobil has selected Stadler to supply its next generation of trams, placing a framework contract for up to 50 vehicles and a firm order for 27. Bernmobil had invited tenders in October 2018 for 20 new trams with an option for 30, receiving ...
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NewsSBB Cargo plans in the cloud
SWITZERLAND: SBB Cargo has begun using a cloud-hosted version of IVU Traffic Technologies’ IVU.rail software to plan the deployment of around 320 locomotives and 2 200 employees each day. The supplier said its IVU.cloud package offered the operator scalability, with a secure connection enabling up to 150 people work ...
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Metro Report InternationalFirst battery trolleybus delivered to Salzburg
AUSTRIA: Swiss manufacturer Hess delivered the first of 15 battery trolleybuses that it is supplying to Salzburg AG to the operator’s depot on August 27. The vehicle travelled to Salzburg on a low-loader. Salzburg AG ordered 15 battery trolleybuses for €15·3m, with deliveries to be completed by ...
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Metro Report InternationalFirst Circle Line junctions converted to CBTC operation
UK: A second section of London Underground’s Circle Line was converted to automatic train operation over the weekend of August 31-September 1, with the commissioning of CBTC signalling under the Four Lines Modernisation programme. Covering the so-called Signal Migration Areas 1 and 2, the work ...
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Metro Report InternationalSt Petersburg’s Chizhik tram route completed
Source: Photo: Vladimir Waldin RUSSIA: The Chizhik fast tram route in St Petersburg has been completed, with revenue services on the third section commencing on September 1. The final section includes 4·6 km of modernised and 1·8 km of new double-track alignment, as well as two turning ...
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Metro Report InternationalFirst phase of Limmattalbahn opens in Zürich
SWITZERLAND: The first section of the Limmattalbahn light rail line serving Zürich opened to passengers on September 2. The initial 2·9 km section serves seven stops between Farbhof and Geissweid in western Zürich, and is operated by VBZ as an extension of tram route 2. When complete, ...
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NewsRegioJet to standardise on Traxx locomotives
CZECH REPUBLIC: Expanding independent operator RegioJet has ordered 15 Bombardier Transportation Traxx MS3 multi-system electric locomotives, with an option for more. The contract announced on September 3 follows RegioJet’s 2017 order for eight Traxx MS2e locomotives, which entered service last year. The additional locos are intended to ...
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NewsČD fined for anti-competitive bidding
CZECH REPUBLIC: National operator ČD has been fined KC274·8m after anti-monopoly office ÚOHS ruled that it had abused its dominant position in an effort to prevent competitors entering the passenger market. ÚOHS found that ČD had violated Czech and EU competition laws by submitting artificially low bids ...
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Rail Business UKChannel Tunnel ‘ready for Brexit’
EUROPE: Channel Tunnel concessionaire Eurotunnel is prepared for the UK’s scheduled departure from the European Union on October 31 ‘no matter the outcome’, it said on September 2. The company said there would no change to immigration formalities for the 22 million passengers/year who use ...
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NewsWagon leasing joint venture formed
SWITZERLAND: Private markets investment manager SIG-i Capital and established leasing company VTG have formed Prio SA as a 55:45 joint venture which aims to acquiring a lease fleet of around 2 500 mostly new intermodal and tank wagons. The deal announced on August 30 has been structured ...
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NewsLoco2 to rebrand as Rail Europe
EUROPE: SNCF’s international ticket retailing platform Loco2 is to be rebranded as Rail Europe with effect from November 6. Announcing the change on September 2, Loco2 said Rail Europe was ‘a well-established market leading brand worldwide in the Americas, India, across Asia, Australia and New ...
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NewsUNIFE demands ‘fair’ market access for European and Chinese suppliers
INTERNATIONAL: European suppliers’ association UNIFE reiterated its call for ‘a real level playing field’ and ‘fair conditions’ for both European and Chinese manufacturers on September 2. It said this should include specific rules excluding non-European state-owned enterprises from EU procurement in the absence of reciprocal market access. ...
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NewsWagons for heavy containers delivered
RUSSIA: Deltatrans has begun taking delivery of 60 Type 13-6903 wagons ordered from United Wagon Co. The wagons are designed for carrying heavy containers with a gross weight of up to 36 tonnes, including refrigerated and tank-containers with non-hazardous loads. They have a loading length of 80 ...
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NewsSmartron locomotive offered for Bulgaria and Romania
Smartron electric locomotive. EUROPE: Siemens Mobility now offers its Smartron electric locomotives pre-configured for use in Bulgaria and Romania. The Smartron was launched in 2018 as a budget version of Siemens’ Vectron modular locomotive. It is offered in standard specification including the Capri Blue livery, offering freight ...
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Rail Business UKYoung Rail Tours to explore the world of rail
INTERNATIONAL: UK-based networking and educational association Young Rail Professionals has launched Young Rail Tours in partnership with the Young Members sections of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers’ Railway Division, the Institution of Railway Signal Engineers and the Institution of Engineering & Technology Railway Technical Professional Network. YRT ...
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Rail Business UKLNER to pilot UK rail ticketing reform
UK: East Coast Main Line operator LNER is to pilot proposed reforms to Great Britain’s fares system from January 2 2020, with tickets going on sale from November 29. Announcing the trial on August 29, the Department for Transport said its aim was to ‘significantly boost customer ...
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Rail Business UKWest Coast Partnership contract signed
UK: The West Coast Partnership contract was formally signed by the Department for Transport and First Trenitalia West Coast Rail Ltd on August 28. The 70:30 joint venture of transport group FirstGroup plc and the Trenitalia UK Ltd subsidiary of Italy’s national railway holding group FS had ...
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NewsERFA Secretary General appointed at an ‘exciting moment’
EUROPE: Conor Feighan became Secretary General of the European Rail Freight Association on August 26, succeeding Acting Secretary General Carole Coune. Feighan has joined ERFA from the FEPORT association which represents terminal operators and private port companies. He has had previous roles at the European Parliament and the European ...
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NewsAutomated train operation demonstrated
RUSSIA: ‘This is truly a step into the future’, said Deputy Prime Minister Maxim Akimov when automated operation of an electric multiple-unit was demonstrated at the Pro//Motion.Expo trade fair at the Shcherbinka test centre near Moscow on August 28. ‘It was made by Russian engineers, in our ...
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NewsDB Cargo wagons are getting smarter
GERMANY: A total of 34 000 wagons, or half of DB Cargo’s fleet, have now been equipped with telematics and smart sensors, the operator announced on August 27. All 68 000 wagons are scheduled to be equipped by 2020. The retrofitting programme is being carried out at Seelze near ...