All Railway Gazette International articles in February 2015
All articles published this month.
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NewsHands-free mobile ticketing demonstration
TICKETING: A proof-of-concept smartphone rail ticketing app which would not require passengers take their phones out of their pockets is being developed by New York-based transport and event payment technology specialist Bytemark. Ticket gates would use Bluetooth wireless technology to communicate with the app as the passenger walks through the ...
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NewsIsrael Railways ready to launch first bond issue
ISRAEL: Proposals for Israel Railways to raise private investment to fund infrastructure development are moving forwards, with the company expecting to start marketing its first bond issue at the beginning of March ahead of a formal offering later in the month. Under a framework agreement signed with the government in ...
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NewsInvitations to tender issued for Northern and TransPennine franchises
UK: The invitations to tender for the next Northern and TransPennine Express passenger franchises were issued by the Department for Transport on February 27. The ITTs set out the minimum requirements which must be included by bidders in their proposals. Last year Abellio Northern Ltd, Arriva Rail North Ltd and ...
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NewsCairo Line 3 Phase 4 contracts awarded
EGYPT: The National Authority for Tunnels has signed contracts for fit-out and signalling for the 5·7 km Phase 4A eastern extension of Cairo metro Line 3 to Cairo International Airport. The infrastructure contract was awarded to a consortium of Alstom, Colas Rail, Orascom and Arabco. Alstom has an €80m ...
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NewsMTR tests body-worn cameras
CHINA: In response to confrontations between staff and the public, Hong Kong MTR’s By-laws Inspection Unit testing the use of body-worn cameras. BIU staff will turn on their cameras when they see a need to record a situation, advising passengers that they have done so. MTR Corp says all ...
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NewsIndian Railways budget launches five-year plan
INDIA: The 2015-16 railways budget should be seen as the beginning of a Rs8 560bn five-year action plan to transform the network, Railways Minister Suresh Prabhu said when he presented the budget to parliament on February 26. This year’s budget forms part of a ‘trilogy’ of documents being produced by ...
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News‘Connectivity and vision’ key to future of high speed
RAILWAY GAZETTE TV: More than 370 viewers in 20 countries registered to watch Railway Gazette’s interactive live debate on high speed rail on February 25. Sponsored by Bombardier Transportation, the latest in RG TV’s debate series assessed the future of high speed rail over the next five decades saw Chris ...
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News‘Healthy DSB’ objectives achieved in 2014
DENMARK: National passenger operator DSB presented its annual report for 2014 on February 26, with Chairman Peter Schütze and Acting CEO Stig Pastwa saying it has achieved its objectives under the ‘Healthy DSB’ programme to improve its financial performance, punctuality and reputation. Ridership was up 2% on the previous year ...
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NewsOmniTRAX acquires Peru Rail Line
USA: Short line and terminal operating group OmniTRAX announced on February 23 that its Peru Industrial Railroad subsidiary had agreed to purchase the Peru Rail Line from the City of Peru, Illinois. The price was not disclosed, but local media reports put the figure at $1·25m. The 3 km line ...
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NewsNetwork Rail orders third rail compatible ballast cleaner
UK: Network Rail announced a £50m order for a Plasser & Theurer ballast cleaning system on February 26, the fifth in its fleet and the first designed to be used on 750 V DC electrified lines with the third rail remaining in place. Ballast Cleaning System Five is scheduled to ...
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NewsReconfigurable real-time remote monitoring
MONITORING: Barnbrook Systems has won a significant order to supply its BlueCube multipurpose sensor, data logging and analytical technology to a UK train operator, which will use BlueCube to provide real-time remote monitoring of the performance of on-board equipment. Two leasing companies are also deploying BlueCube. The train operator is ...
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NewsFinland seeks EU rail funding
FINLAND: The government has applied for funds from the TEN-T programme for several railway projects. The application includes €12·2m for planning and €66·8m for the construction of the Helsinki City Rail Loop. This project was approved by the Finnish Transport Agency in February 2012 as a means of relieving ...
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NewsFoundation stone laid for northern Ethiopia line
ETHIOPIA: Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn laid a ceremonial foundation stone for the Mek'ele – Weldiya/Hara Gebeya railway project on February 18. The 220 km electrified mixed-traffic route is being built by China Communications Construction Co under a US$1·5bn contract. At Weldiya it will connect with future lines south to ...
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NewsNetwork Rail announces contingent labour contract changes
UK: Network Rail announced on February 25 that it is to award a series of five-year contracts to supply contingent labour for infrastructure work with a total value of at least £450m, consolidating the number suppliers and implementing a new code of conduct. The contracts represent the provision of around ...
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NewsSydney is first Citadis X05 tram customer
AUSTRALIA: The ALTRAC Light Rail consortium announced on February 25 that it had achieved financial close on the A$2·1bn PPP contract to build, operate and maintain Sydney’s CBD & South East Light Rail line. ALTRAC Light Rail, then called Connecting Sydney, was selected as preferred bidder in October and ...
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NewsG&W agrees to buy Freightliner Group
INTERNATIONAL: US short line holding group Genesee & Wyoming Inc announced an agreement to buy approximately 95% of the shares of Freightliner Group from Arcapita and other shareholders on February 25. The acquisition is expected to close during the first quarter of 2015. G&W will pay £490m in cash ...
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NewsWabtec sees solid growth prospects
WABTEC: ‘Record results’ for the 2014 calendar year were announced by Wabtec Corp on February 18. The company reported sales of US$3·04bn, income from operations of US$527m or 17·3% of sales, and earnings per diluted share of US$3·62. Cash flow from operations of US$472m exceeded net income of US$352m, ...
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NewsTfL plans to replace Oyster smart card technology
UK: Transport for London is exploring options to replace the technology which is currently used inside its Oyster smart cards. Under the proposal, future Oyster cards would incorporate the contactless payment card technology which is used by bank credit and debit cards. This would allow fare payments to be handled ...
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NewsKraków tests supercapacitor tram
POLAND: MPK Kraków started test running of a Solaris Tramino 100% low-floor tram on February 23. The vehicle will operate for three months on Route 1 of the standard gauge network, which links Nowa Huta and the city centre. Powered by four 105 kW asynchronous traction motors, the tram ...
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NewsHitachi agrees to buy Ansaldo STS and AnsaldoBreda
ITALY: On February 24 the Hitachi and Finmeccanica boards announced the signing of binding agreements for the Japanese group to buy Napoli-based rolling stock manufacturer AnsaldoBreda and Finmeccanica’s 40% stake in Genova-based signalling, train control and turnkey transport system supplier Ansaldo STS. Hitachi Rail said the acquisitions would represent a ...