All Railway Gazette International articles in February 2018
All articles published this month.
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NewsSBB’s Twindexx EMUs enter service
SWITZERLAND: Swiss Federal Railways ran the first of its fleet of Bombardier Transportation Twindexx double-deck electric multiple-units in commercial service on February 26. The first train was IR2368, the 11.55 from Zürich to Olten and Bern. When SBB signed a contract with Bombardier on May 12 2010 for 59 double-deck ...
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NewsDebt burden tempers SNCF growth in 2017
FRANCE: Announcing its results for 2017 on February 27, SNCF Group reported revenue of €33∙5bn, up 4∙2% on the year before ‘thanks to commercial momentum’ driving strong growth in passenger and freight traffic. Combined with ‘strict financial discipline’ and a cost-cutting programme that generated €830m of savings in 2017, this ...
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NewsEurostar reports a £58m profit
EUROPE: Eurostar International Ltd has reported a preliminary unaudited operating profit of £57∙6m for 2017, with sales revenue up 11% at £880m from £794m the year before. Passenger-journeys were up 3% at 10∙3 million from 10 million in 2016. 'Last year we saw a real revival in the US market ...
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NewsDoncaster rail freight hub completed
UK: The iPort Rail intermodal freight terminal in Doncaster is now operational, industrial and logistics property developer Verdion announced after the first test train ran onto the site on February 20. The 12 ha rail facility is part of the 136 ha iPort logistics hub site which is connected to ...
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NewsWorld rolling stock market - February 2018
Argentina: Transport Minister Guillermo Dietrich has approved a directly awarded order for CRRC Qingdao Sifang to supply 200 EMU cars for the Roca commuter network in Buenos Aires, with an estimated cost of US$316∙5m. These will replace life-expired Toshiba EMUs dating from 1983. Australia: TasRail has taken delivery of ...
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NewsClean up at InnoTrans 2018
INNOTRANS: Toilet waste disposal systems, washing facilities and train interior and exterior cleaning, care and disinfectant products will be on show in Hall 7.2 at InnoTrans 2018. Italian company Bitimec has booked almost twice as much floor space as it did in 2016, while Garrandale Rail from the UK, TEIJO ...
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NewsAlstom Prima locomotive for Indian Railways on test
INDIA: The first of 800 WAG12 twin-section electric locomotives which Alstom is supplying to Indian Railways is now on test at a purpose-built factory in Madhepura. First 12000 HP freight locomotive (WAG 12) under test in Ministry of Railway-Alstom Joint Venture factory 'Madhepura Electric Locomotive Pvt. Ltd.' at Madhepura ...
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Metro Report InternationalKuala Lumpur LRT3 signalling contract awarded
MALAYSIA: Project promoter Prasarana has appointed a consortium of Siemens and Rasma Corp to supply signalling and train control for the LRT3 project in Kuala Lumpur. The contract includes the supply of an intrusion preventive system and platform edge doors. Expected to be completed in February 2021, the mostly ...
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NewsWabtec selected to complete Caltrain PTC installation
USA: A contract for Wabtec to install Positive Train Control on Caltrain’s San Francisco – San Jose commuter route will be put to the Peninsula Corridor Joint Powers Board for approval at its meeting scheduled for March 1. In late 2011 Caltrain awarded Parsons Transportation Group a contract to provide ...
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NewsFootbridges to reduce station congestion
INDIA: Three new footbridges intended to reduce congestion at key stations on the Mumbai suburban network were formally commissioned on February 27, at a ceremony attended by Minister of Railways Piyush Goyal and the Chief Minister of Maharashtra Devendra Fadnavis. The bridges at Elphinstone Road, Currey Road and Ambivili have ...
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NewsMyanma Railways orders Japanese DMUs
MYANMAR: A consortium of Japanese companies Marubeni and IHI Corp’s Niigata Transys has signed a ¥7bn agreement to supply 24 diesel-electric multiple-unit cars to Myanma Railways. Consortium leader Marubeni will be in charge of the commercial side of the contract signed on February 9, while Niigata Transys will be responsible ...
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NewsQbuzz awarded Dutch bus and rail operating contact
NETHERLANDS: The Qbuzz subsidiary of FS Group company Busitalia has been formally awarded its first combined main line rail and bus operating contract in the Netherlands. The concession covers bus services in Drechtsteden, Alblasserwaard and Vijfheerenlanden municipalities in the area between Utrecht and Rotterdam, as well as the MerwedeLingelijn regional ...
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NewsWorld rail infrastructure market - February 2018
Australia: Victoria’s Level Crossing Removal Authority has selected Coleman Rail and Lendlease Engineering for the A$588m Southern Programme to eliminate crossings on Melbourne’s Frankston line and build a stabling facility at Kananook. China: Alstom and Casco are to supply Urbalis CBTC for the first phase of Chengdu driverless metro ...
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NewsDB Rail Academy starts Brazilian training programme
BRAZIL: Working with local sector organisations, DB Engineering & Consulting has launched the country’s first internationally certified training programme for rail and logistics managers. Under the DB Rail Academy programme, an initial tranche of 35 managers from rail freight and passenger operators began an 18-month course in Brasilia on February ...
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Metro Report InternationalTesting begins in Crossrail Thames tunnel
UK: A Class 345 trainset started test running through the Elizabeth Line’s Thames tunnel in east London on the night of February 25-26. The train is running on a short section of the southeastern branch between Abbey Wood and the Connaught Tunnel portal on the north side of the ...
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NewsNS repatriates train leasing
NETHERLANDS: National passenger operator NS announced on February 26 that the fleet of around 400 trainsets which it uses on the main line network is now being leased from Netherlands-based NS Lease, rather than Irish-registered NS Financial Services Co Ltd. This means taxes will now be paid locally. Dublin-based NSFSC ...
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NewsTurkmenistan – Afghanistan railway modernised
ASIA: A ceremony to mark the completion of work to upgrade the 13 km rail link between Serhetabat in southern Turkmenistan and Towraghondi in northern Afghanistan took place on February 23. This formed part of a pair of ceremonies which were held in Turkmenistan and Afghanistan to mark the completion ...
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NewsNext section of Moscow metro Line 11 opens
RUSSIA: Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin opened a 10·5 km metro line on February 26. The line from Delovoy Tsentr to Petrovsky Park with five stations will initially be operated as part of Line 11. Construction started in November 2011. Later this year the line is due to be extended ...
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Metro Report InternationalHyundai Rotem signs Vancouver driverless train contract
CANADA: Hyundai Rotem announced on February 26 that it had signed a 62·1bn won contract with Vancouver regional transport authority TransLink for the supply of 24 metro cars for the driverless Canada Line. Deliveries from Rotem’s Changwon plant in South Korea are due to take place in 2019-20. ...
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NewsFuel cell train development funding
GERMANY: The Federal Ministry for Transport & Digital Infrastructure is to provide Siemens and RWTH Aachen University with €12m to support the development of more efficient fuel cells which would offer a longer life cycle and higher power density. In November 2017 Siemens and Canadian fuel cell manufacturer Ballard Power ...