Europe – Page 90
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NewsJoint operating company formed to manage freight terminal
GERMANY: Ziel Terminal GmbH has been established by Samskip (49·8%), Duisport (25·1%) and TX Logistik (25·1%) to operate the Logport III combined transport terminal at Duisburg-Hohenbudberg under a long-term lease. The 140 000 m2 facility has seven 720 m transhipment tracks, two shunting roads and two ...
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NewsJoint venture offers rail asset digitisation by drone
AUSTRIA: SmartDigital Group and Plasser Group’s Digital Railway Solutions have formally established the Dynamic Rail Utilities Monitoring joint venture which will use unmanned aircraft and AI to build digital models of rail infrastructure assets. ‘With SmartDigital we are able to digitise a route from the air ...
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In depthEurope: Alpine approach routes lag behind base tunnels
While construction of the Brenner and Mont Cenis transalpine base tunnels is making steady if slow progress, upgrading of the approach routes has failed to keep pace. Toma Bačić and Murray Hughes assess the work in hand.
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Metro Report InternationalBucurești airport metro construction contract awarded
ROMANIA: București metro operator Metrorex has selected a consortium of Turkish contractor Gülermak and its local partner Somet to design and build the second section of metro Line M6 to Henri Coandă International Airport at Otopeni. Line M6 will share tracks with the existing M4 from ...
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NewsOtter footbridge installed in Denmark
DENMARK: Pontoons for use by otters have been installed under a railway bridge which carries the line to Ribe over the River Tved. Infrastructure manager Banedanmark said that while the protected mammals are good swimmers, they dislike swimming under bridges and instead take the more dangerous ...
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In depthMontenegro: EU funding is key to rehabilitation
Montenegro’s small network has seen only intermittent investment in recent years, and the poor state of the strategically vital main line between Bar and Beograd is an ongoing concern. Putting the country on the TEN-T map is now a priority for policymakers, as Toma Bačić explains.
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NewsVR FleetCare awarded Swedish EMU refurbishment contract
SWEDEN: National passenger operator SJ has awarded Finland’s VR FleetCare a €35m contract to modernise its 27 three-car Alstom Coradia Duplex X40 double-deck electric multiple-units. The comprehensive refurbishment of the EMUs dating from 2004–08 will include changes to the internal layout, replacement of the seats and ...
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NewsOperail completes disposal of wagon leasing fleet
ESTONIA: National freight operator Operail has completed its exit from the wagon leasing business, with the sale of the final 1 036 vehicles in February and March. More than 40 companies were invited to participate in the sale of the fleet, and 20 opted to make ...
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Metro Report InternationalTwist tram enters service in Craiova
ROMANIA: The first of 17 Twist trams being supplied by Pesa Bydgoszcz has entered service in Craiova. The three-section trams are 27 m long with a capacity of 218 passengers, including 58 seated, and have a maximum speed of 75 km/h. Tatra-Yug was initially named as ...
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In depthBelgium: SNCB refines its rolling stock strategy
Procurement of a new fleet of single-voltage EMUs including a BEMU variant will enable the Belgian national operator to consolidate its rolling stock fleet into three main types by 2030. Dr Harry Hondius explains.
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In depthSwitzerland: Second Albula tunnel to open in 2024
Tracklaying will begin in June in the replacement Albula tunnel on the Rhätische Bahn main line from Chur to St Moritz. Murray Hughes reports.
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NewsBayern battery trains technically possible but expensive, study finds
GERMANY: Replacing diesel trains in the Bayerischen Wald with battery traction would be technically possible but require infrastructure investment of up to €32m and have a lead time of at least 10 years, according to a study undertaken by Technische Universität Dresden for Bayern railway agency BEG. ...
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NewsCAF secures multiple-unit orders from France and Sénégal
INTERNATIONAL: CAF has announced its first order to supply Coradia Polyvalent electro-diesel multiple-units since acquiring the product platform and the Reichshoffen factory from Alstom in August last year. Under the contracts announced on April 3 CAF is to supply 11 four-car Régiolis trainsets ordered by the ...
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NewsRegioJet awarded Praha – Brno operating contract
CZECH REPUBLIC: The Ministry of Transport has selected RegioJet as the winner of a contract to operate subsidised express trains on route R9 from Praha to Havlíčkův Brod and Brno or Jihlava. The contract runs for 15 years from December 2026 and covers 2·8 million train-km/year. ...
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NewsWork starts on final section of Napoli – Bari line
ITALY: Infrastructure manager Rete Ferroviaria Italiana has marked the start of boring work for a tunnel between Telese and Vitulano on the new Napoli – Bari alignment. Minister of Infrastructure & Transport Matteo Salvini attended a ceremony on March 15 to mark the point at which ...
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Metro Report InternationalEnvironmental and employment focus in Grand Paris Express Line 17 contract
FRANCE: Automated metro project promoter Société du Grand Paris has appointed a consortium of Colas Rail and Alstom to supply 10 km of track, rigid overhead catenary and lineside equipment for the second phase of the future Line 17. The consortium said it would pay particular ...
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NewsHauts-de-France awards its first regional train operating contract
FRANCE: Incumbent SNCF Voyageurs has beaten a rival bid from Transdev to win the Hauts-de-France région’s first competitively tendered contract for the operation of passenger train services. The contract announced by the regional authority on March 30 runs for nine years from December 2024, and is ...
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NewsPoor state of German rail network demands ‘radical change of course’
GERMANY: DB Netz has warned that the poor condition of parts of the national rail network risks jeopardising the future growth and quality of services.
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Metro Report InternationalTrams with Mariupol steel enter service in Kyiv
UKRAINE: Tatra-Yug trams which have begun entering service in Kyiv contain steel which was produced at the Azovstal works in Mariupol before it was destroyed in Russia’s full-scale invasion. ‘Despite the tragic events, Mariupol steel continues to live on’, said steelmaker Metinvest, when the first eight ...
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NewsSlovakian main line GSM-R contract signed
SLOVAKIA: Infrastructure manager Železnice Slovenskej Republiky has awarded a contract to roll out GSM-R to support ETCS Level 2 on its 329 km main line linking Varín east of Žilina to Košice and Čierna nad Tisou on the Ukrainian border. The €40m turnkey contract has been ...