All Railway Gazette International articles in February 2015 – Page 5
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NewsSydney opens South West Rail Link
AUSTRALIA: New South Wales Premier Mike Baird and Minister for Transport Gladys Berejiklian officially opened the South West Rail Link on February 8, adding a further 11·4 km to the Sydney Trains suburban network. Under construction since 2011, the line diverges from the Sydney – Melbourne main line at Glenfield ...
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NewsArendalsbanen upgraded
NORWAY: The 37 km Nelaug – Arendal branch has reopened following a suspension of services to permit the installation of new signalling and automatic train control systems. The route had previously operated under special rules. However, the installation of modern signalling was seen as vital for its continued long-term operation, ...
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NewsComposite light rail catenary offers potential savings
UK: Consultancy Atkins, bespoke composite engineering company Cecence and electrification equipment supplier Brecknell Willis are studying the potential use of advanced composite materials 10 times stronger and four times stiffer than metals to lower the cost of tramway overhead electrification. Copper contact wire would be suspended from a carbon fibre ...
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NewsContactless and wristband ticketing in Jakarta
INDONESIA: The national railway’s Jakarta suburban train operating subsidiary PT KAI Commuter Jabodetabek is deploying Sony’s FeliCa electronic payment technology on its 182 km network, which has 64 stations and carries 700 000 passenger/day. KCJ is to accept payment by FeliCa IC chip contactless cards and embedded wristbands from this ...
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NewsJerusalem fast line track contract awarded
ISRAEL: A US$195m contract to design, build and maintain track and electrical, ventilation and fire safety systems for the tunnels and bridges on the A1 fast line to Jerusalem has been awarded to the Electra Boegl joint venture of Electra, Electra Infrastructures Hasharon Excavators, Signon Schweiz and Max Bögl Bauunternehmen. ...
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NewsValencia tests Line 9
SPAIN: Test running on Line 9 of the metre-gauge Valencia metro started on February 2. Line 9 includes a 9·4 km, four-station branch off the western end of lines 3 and 5 at Rosas. After emerging from a short tunnel, the single-track branch runs northwest to Riba-roja del ...
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NewsLeipzig selects Solaris trams
GERMANY: Leipzig transport authority LVB has selected Solaris to supply five trams with options for a further 36. The value of the base order is €7·7m. Deliveries are scheduled to start in 2016 and run until 2020 if all options are called off. The 1 458 mm gauge vehicles ...
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NewsLIRR Grand Central Terminal contract awarded
USA: New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority has awarded the GCT Constructors joint venture of Schiavone Construction Co and John P Picone Inc a $404·8m contract to build the future Long Island Rail Road concourse at Grand Central Terminal. The work is part of the $10bn East Side Access project, which ...
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NewsMidland Metro opens refurbished depot
UK: A ceremony on February 5 marked the completion of a £13·8m programme to increase capacity at Midland Metro’s rolling stock maintenance depot in Wednesbury. The second phase of the programme includes a 42 m extension to the existing maintenance shed, new office and staff space and new storage ...
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NewsLokoTrain buys its first locomotive
CZECH REPUBLIC: Open access freight operator LokoTrain has taken delivery of the first locomotive it has bought outright, a Škoda Class 43 electric locomotive which previously belonged to Bulgarian national operator BDZ. The locomotive has been modernised by CZ Loko and ČMŽO Přerov, with the installation of new cabling, Mirel ...
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NewsSkånetrafiken orders Coradia Nordic EMUs
SWEDEN: Skåne regional transport authority Skånetrafiken announced a SKr1·5bn order for a further 25 Alstom Coradia Nordic electric multiple-units on February 5. The 160 km/h four-car regional EMUs will be 74 m long with a total capacity of 510 passengers. They are to be assembled at Alstom’s Salzgitter plant ...
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NewsUP Express selects Nomad wi-fi for 'seamless experience'
CANADA: Nomad Digital is to supply station and passenger wi-fi technology for the Union Pearson Express service, which will provide a direct link between Toronto’s main station and international airport when it launches this year. Announcing the contract on February 5, Nomad said it would offer a ‘best-in-class’ wi-fi service, ...
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NewsWabtec acquires Railroad Controls signalling business
USA: Wabtec Corp has acquired the Railroad Controls signalling construction services subsidiary of RCL Services Group with effect from February 4. Based in Benbrook, Texas, Railroad Controls was founded in 1994 and now has around 500 employees with revenues of $75m in 2014. Its capabilities include the installation of level ...
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NewsNewag wins SKM Trójmiasto train order
POLAND: SKM Trójmiasto has selected Newag to supply two electric multiple-units for use on the route between Gdańsk, Gdynia and Wejherowo from the second quarter of 2016. The 160 km/h EMUs will be a customised version of Newag’s Impuls family, modified to have a 960 mm floor height and retractable ...
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NewsBerlin U-Bahn unveils pre-series Stadler trainset
GERMANY: Berlin city transport operator BVG officially unveiled the first pre-series Type IK U-Bahn trainset built by Stadler Pankow on February 3. The contract awarded in July 2012 is Stadler’s first to provide metro trainsets, and the design has been derived from its Tango family of light rail vehicles. The ...
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NewsTransdev awarded Tri-Rail maintenance contract
USA: South Florida Regional Transportation Authority has awarded Transdev’s rail infrastructure maintenance business VTMI a $161m contract to inspect and maintain track, signals and bridges on the 115 km Tri-Rail commuter line linking Miami, Fort Lauderdale and West Palm Beach. The contract runs for seven years from April 2015. There ...
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NewsAudi orders two battery-diesel hybrid locomotives
GERMANY: On February 4 Alstom announced a contract to supply automotive manufacturer Audi with two Type H3 battery-diesel hybrid shunting locomotives for use at its Ingolstadt factory. Deliveries are scheduled for the end of 2015 and the end of 2016. DB and Volkswagen have previously ordered similar locomotives. The H3 ...
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NewsDowner wins Pacific National loco maintenance deal
AUSTRALIA: Downer Rail is to provide locomotive maintenance and fleet management services to interstate rail freight operator Pacific National under an A$1bn contract announced on February 4. Covering more than 300 locomotives, the Locomotive Maintenance Agreement will run for 10 years. According to Downer EDI Ltd Chief Executive Officer Grant ...
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NewsEIB signs €950m loan for Italian rail upgrading
ITALY: On February 2 the Economics & Finance Ministry and the European Investment Bank signed a €950m loan agreement to finance infrastructure manager RFI’s planned programme of investment in the conventional network. EIB said the strength of its capital base enables it to make loads on favourable terms, reducing the ...
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NewsPKP Cargo to take stake in Pol-Miedź Trans
POLAND: An agreement for PKP Cargo to acquire a stake of up to 49% in the Pol-Miedź Trans transport subsidiary of copper and silver mining company KGHM was signed on February 2. PMT has a 2·4% share of the Polish rail freight market, with a fleet of 63 locomotives and ...