All Railway Gazette International articles in February 2013 – Page 4
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NewsCAF trams for Besançon take shape
FRANCE: Officials from Bescançon visited the CFD Bagnères plant in Bagnères-de-Bigorre on February 12 and 13 to view progress with the fleet of 19 cars that are being supplied to the city by Spanish rolling stock manufacturer CAF. One completed tram was undergoing static testing as a further two cars ...
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NewsNewRail introduces Rail Freight & Logistics course
UK: Following surveys undertaken under the EU-funded RiFLE project, NewRail, the railway research centre at the University of Newcastle-upon-Tyne, has identified a looming skills gap in the rail freight and logistics market as the range of specialist academic courses fails to keep pace with recruitment levels in the sector. NewRail ...
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NewsPolish rail closure proposals announced
POLAND: PKP PLK has announced plans to close 2 000 route-km of railway. The decision comes after a six-month study of 458 sections of the network totalling nearly 7 300 route-km, out of a total of 21 600 route-km. Of the three scenarios proposed in the study, the ‘mild’ ...
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NewsSNCF unveils Ouigo low-cost TGV service
FRANCE: SNCF President Guillaume Pepy and Director of the long-distance passenger business Barbara Dalibard unveiled details of the national operator's 'Ouigo' branded low-cost TGV service on February 19. From April 2 Ouigo services will run from Marne-la-Vallée Chessy station on the eastern outskirts of Paris to Marseille and Montpellier. ...
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NewsRailway supply industry news in brief
Werner Stohler has transferred his shares in Swiss railway systems planning consultancy and software supplier SMA und Partner to a group of long-standing employees under a management buyout, 25 years after he founded the company. This increases the number of partners from three to 11. SMA employs more than 60 ...
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NewsSaale-Elster Viaduct beams in place
GERMANY: The final pair of 38 tonne prefabricated components for a 110 m long, 1 420 tonne steel arch span forming part of the 8·5 km Saale-Elster Viaduct were installed on February 15. The viaduct stands up to 21 m above a flood plain south of Halle, and includes an ...
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NewsLuhanskteplovoz DMU enters service
UKRAINE: A three-car diesel multiple-unit supplied by Luhanskteplovoz at cost of 41m hryvnia entered service on routes around Kolomyia and Chernivtsi during January. The unit has two cars powered by MTU engines and one trailer car, with a total capacity of 336 passengers in a single class of accommodation with ...
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NewsJICA signs Dhaka metro project loan
BANGLADESH: Funding for the Dhaka Mass Rapid Transit Development Project is included in a ¥70·693bn official development assistance loan package signed by the Japan International Cooperation Agency and the government of Bangladesh on February 20. Development of a metro network forms part of the 20-year Dhaka Strategic Transport Plan approved ...
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NewsGrade separation to save 1 500 h/day
USA: Illinois Governor Pat Quinn attended a groundbreaking ceremony for a $67m grade separation project at Bensenville near Chicago on February 19. Lowering of Irving Park Road and construction of a bridge to carry Canadian Pacific tracks is intended to speed up the flow of rail and road traffic on ...
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NewsWorld rolling stock market February 2013
Australia: CNR Qiqihar has begun delivering 120 Series Q stainless steel wagons ordered by Rio Tinto to carry 139·5 tonnes of iron ore within a 40 tonne axleload. Wabtec has supplied ECP braking equipment. Belarus: In December Belarussian Railways signed a firm order for a further six ...
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NewsDetroit light rail project gets grant
USA: Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood announced a $25m Tiger grant for the M-1 light rail project in Detroit on January 18. The 5·3 km line along Woodward Avenue with 11 stops is to be built and operated by the non-profit M-1 Rail Corp consortium, which has committed more than $100m ...
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NewsRail Industry Training & Recruitment in Brief
The International Railway Strategic Management Institute is to offer two modules as part of its 2013 Senior Manager Programme. The first, running from April 22 to May 3, will take place in Beijing and Shanghai, the other in Lyon and Paris from June 17-28. The programme is supported by ...
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NewsNews in Brief - February 2013
The Dutch Ministry of Infrastructure & the Environment is to directly award Nederlandse Spoorwegen a 10-year public service contract to operate passenger services on the ‘Besluit hoofdrailnet’ core rail network and HSL Zuid in 2015-25. The Zwolle – Enschede line and stopping trains on the Roermond – Maastricht Randwyck and ...
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NewsRPA provides international consultancy services
IRELAND: The state's Railway Procurement Agency earned €0·9m by providing light rail consultancy services to overseas customers during 2012. This was the first full year of operations for RPA's consultancy unit, which has the equivalent of five full-time staff. The government is encouraging its agencies to seek overseas work while ...
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NewsFunding agreed for Monterrey Metro Line 3
MEXICO: A funding agreement that will see the federal government provide 5⋅69bn pesos to build the first phase of Monterrey Metro Line 3 was signed by Secretary of Transport & Communications Gerardo Ruiz on February 21. According to Ruiz, work on the project will begin later this year. Serving a ...
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NewsElectrification contract for Bordeaux tram-train project
FRANCE: The greater Bordeaux authority has selected a joint venture of SFERIS and TSO Caténaires to undertake electrification work for the first phase of a project that could eventually see tram-train services operating along the SNCF route from Bordeaux to Le Verdon. The initial phase involves 7⋅2 km of new ...
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NewsTunnel cleaning in Taipei
TAIWAN: Dirt is being cleaned from tunnels on the Taipei metro network in order to reduce fire risk, using a specialised tunnel cleaning train manufactured by China Steel Corp and fitted with a pumpset supplied by Hughes Pumps. Taipei is the second metro to use the technology, after it was ...
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NewsSaverne Tunnel holed through on LGV Est
FRANCE: Transport Minister Frédéric Cuvillier joined RFF President Jacques Rapoport and other dignitaries on February 25 to mark the completion of the second bore of the 4 020 m Saverne Tunnel, one of the major structures on the second phase of LGV Est between Paris and Strasbourg. The first bore ...
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NewsNSB confirms Flirt order
NORWAY: Stadler Rail announced on February 26 that Norwegian national passenger operator NSB had placed a firm order for a further 16 five-car Flirt electric multiple-units to be delivered between early 2014 and early 2015. The order has been placed within the framework of a 2008 contract covering the supply ...
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NewsEtihad Rail secures US$1·28bn funding package
UAE: A five-year loan worth US$1·28bn has been secured to finance the first phase of the national railway network, project promoter Etihad Rail announced on February 26. The loan is being financed on a club deal basis by National Bank of Abu Dhabi PJSC, Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ, Abu Dhabi ...