All Railway Gazette International articles in February 2010
All articles published this month.
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NewsDeal cleared
EUROPE: The European Commission has given the go-ahead for Genève-based wagon leasing firm Financière Ermewa to be acquired by SNCF subsidiary Transport et Logistique Partenaires, subject to the condition that the Swiss firm's cereal transport activities are divested. Ermewa was previously owned by TLP and Citerne Invest. TLP is already ...
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NewsSmart and secure
TICKETING: Four major players in the smart card ticketing sector have launched a joint initiative to drive smart media convergence around a common open standard. Card manufacturers Giesecke & Devrient and Oberthur Technologies have teamed up with chip suppliers Infineon Technologies and Inside Contactless. They are encouraging other companies in ...
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NewsHessische Landesbahn orders Coradia DMUs
GERMANY: Alstom Transport announced a €65m order to supply Hessische Landesbahn with a further 23 two-car Coradia Lint 41 diesel multiple-units on February 26. HLB ordered the units through Hannover Mobilien Leasing after being selected by the Rhein-Main transport authority to operate regional services between Limburg, Gießen, Fulda and Gersfeld ...
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NewsNo IEP contract before election, Adonis confirms
UK: A contract to supply the next generation of long-distance trains under the Intercity Express Programme will not be signed before the upcoming general election, it was confirmed on February 26. In a written statement, Secretary of State for Transport Lord Andrew Adonis said that since the programme was launched ...
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NewsRecycled brake disc research
BRAKES: Faiveley Transport is part of a consortium led by Federal-Mogul Corp which is researching the manufacture of high-performance brake discs from recycled carbon composite material. The Rebrake programme aims to accelerate the widespread adoption of carbon composite brake discs across a range of automotive and industrial applications as well ...
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NewsPilbara heavy haul extension opens
AUSTRALIA: The first 163-wagon iron ore train left the Mesa A/Warramboo mine in the Pilbara on February 19, using a 49 km extension of the Deepdale heavy haul line from Pannawonica to reach the port at Cape Lambert. The train was driven by Shane Edwards, a local Aboriginal man, as ...
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NewsNothing rotten in the state aid of Denmark
DENMARK: National railway DSB is not being over-compensated for services operated under public service contracts which the government awarded without tendering, the European Commission announced on February 24. The Commission launched an inquiry into DSB’s 2000-04 and 2005-14 contracts in response to complaints from Gråhundbus and Dansk ...
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NewsBarber bogies from Tikhvin
RUSSIA: Testing has begun of prototype 18-9855 Barber S-2-R wagon bogies produced at the Tikhvin Railway Car Building Plant, which is being developed by ICT Group to introduce international technologies to the Russian wagon market. The bogies are designed for 25 tonne axleloads, and follow the 18-9810 bogies designed for ...
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NewsFirst Régio2N double-deck train order signed
FRANCE: SNCF has signed the firm order for the first 80 Régio2N high-capacity double-deck electric multiple-units, Bombardier Transportation announced on February 24. The order was placed on behalf of the regions which are funding the units, and is the first within a framework agreement for up to 860 sets worth ...
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NewsShifting sand
IRAQ: US-based Progress Rail Services has shipped two Model 46-6 Kershaw sand removal machines to Iraq to assist Iraqi Republic Railways in clearing lines in the west of the country. Progress Rail will undertake tests on the two machines when they arrive at the port of Um Qasr, and ...
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NewsSiemens makes space for high speed trains
USA: Anticipating a new market for high speed passenger trains in North America, on February 18 Siemens Mobility announced it had purchased 8 ha of vacant land alongside its Sacramento light rail vehicle plant to enable expansion should it win contracts as a result of the federal government's $8bn inter-city ...
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NewsA very small agreement
RUSSIA: RZD has signed a partnership agreement with Rusnano, the Russian state nanotechnology corporation founded in 2007. The agreement creates a strategic partnership to introduce and commercialise nano-technology in the rail industry. RZD and Rusnano will jointly determine the most relevant applications of the technology, and which sub-divisions and ...
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NewsJoint venture to revive DMU manufacturing
USA: A joint venture company has been established to restart production of diesel multiple-units to the designs of the former Colorado Railcar, which ceased operations in 2008. Colorado Railcar's assets were acquired by Value Recovery Group to form US Railcar LLC, which will now restart production through the US ...
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NewsCaspian rail corridor funds agreed
TURKMENISTAN: Two funding agreements have been signed for construction of sections of the 686 km north-south railway which will link Kazakhstan and Iran via Turkmenistan, running inland parallel to the Caspian Sea. On February 18 the Asian Development Bank and the government of Turkmenistan signed a memorandum of understanding under ...
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NewsSiberia across your screen
RUSSIA: Google and Russian Railways have launched a ‘virtual’ Trans-Siberian journey from Moscow to Vladivostok. Anyone with a broadband internet connection will be able to make a 'journey' along the route starting from any city or station without leaving home. Video footage totalling around 150 h was shot through a ...
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NewsFirenze tram Line 1 open
ITALY: Line 1 of the Firenze tram network opened for passenger service on February 14. Starting at the Santa Maria Novella FS station in central Firenze, the 7·4 km line has 14 stops and ends at Villa Costanza in the district of Scandicci. It is expected to ...
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NewsMeasuring the Expo extension
USA: Amberg Technologies has introduced its GRP track measurement trolley in the USA, where contractor Balfour Beatty Rail Inc is using it during tracklaying on Phase 1 of the Expo light rail line in Los Angeles. The trolley can be used for a range of alignment tasks, including as-built ...
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NewsCrash investigations underway in Brussels
BELGIUM: Domestic and international train services into Brussels Midi remain severely disrupted as investigations continue into the cause of the fatal train crash at Buizingen during the morning rush hour on February 15. The worst railway accident in Belgium for more than 50 years killed 18 people, including one of ...
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NewsDurflex rights acquired
TRACK: Bayer MaterialScience has acquired global marketing and usage rights to the Durflex trackform technology from Hyperion Verwaltung GmbH. The technology was developed by Hyperion in co-operation with track design specialist Frenzel-Bau. It is based on the use of Bayer's Bayflex polyurethane foam, which is fed into the space between ...
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NewsAmsterdam orders 23 metro trains
NETHERLANDS: Alstom Transport is to supply Amsterdam with 23 metro trainsets under a €200m contract announced on February 19. There are options for further trainsets for the future North-South Line. The Metropolis trainsets will be produced at Alstom's Valenciennes and Katowice plants for delivery from early 2012 and entry into ...