All Railway Gazette International articles in February 2018 – Page 5
-
NewsUK railway news round-up
Following modernisation work to be undertaken by contractor Cleary, Belfast Central station is to be renamed Lanyon Place with effect from September. ‘This work will provide a new modern, more welcoming frontage to replace the current “blast wall”, enhancements to the ticketing area, improved retail/café offerings and the provision of ...
-
NewsLyon – Torino base tunnel contracts awarded
EUROPE: Franco-Italian base tunnel promoter Tunnel Euralpin Lyon-Turin has awarded three project management contracts totalling €90m to oversee civil engineering work on the French side of the border, accounting for around 80% of the 57·5 km tunnel. Announcing the contract awards on February 1, TELT Managing Director Mario Virano said ...
-
Metro Report InternationalSiemens to provide predictive maintenance for Atlanta Streetcar
USA: Siemens has been selected as the long-term service provider for the Atlanta Streetcar. The partnership will see Siemens providing technical support and materials for all preventative and corrective maintenance of the four Avanto vehicles that it supplied for the route. Siemens will use its Railigent platform to analyse ...
-
Metro Report InternationalFirst Oklahoma City streetcar arrives
USA: The first of seven trams for Oklahoma City arrived on February 13 from Brookville Equipment Co’s factory in Pennsylvania. Haulage by road was provided by Silk Road Transport. Brookville is supplying seven low-floor trams for the project, with the remaining six to be delivered at a rate of ...
-
NewsTransitio orders double-deck EMUs
SWEDEN: Local authority owned rolling stock procurement body AB Transitio has signed a firm order for eight Stadler double-deck electric multiple-units for use on Upptåget services from the end of 2019. The firm order announced by Stadler on February 14 has been placed as an option on a 2016 contract ...
-
NewsTrump budget plans to halve federal subsidy to Amtrak
USA: The formal 2019 financial year budget issued by President Donald Trump on February 12 includes plans to cut federal subsidy to Amtrak by almost half. The proposed budget, which would take effect from October 1, would see federal support payments for Amtrak reduced from $1·5bn to $738m. The savings ...
-
NewsLocomotives bought back amid ETCS dispute
POLAND: Orlen KolTrans has leased three of five Griffin locomotives which Newag had originally built for Lotos Kolej under a deal which has been terminated following a dispute about the lack of onboard ETCS equipment. The locomotives were ordered in December 2015, when open access freight operator Lotos Kolej and ...
-
NewsCP share buyback follows Q4 successes
CANADA: Canadian Pacific has completed its second share repurchase programme, the railway confirmed on February 8. CP had announced on December 11 its intention to buy back up to 755 000 common shares from two third-party sellers under two consecutive programmes to be completed by May 14. The first completed ...
-
NewsTesting begins on Firenze tram line T3
ITALY: Test running on tram route T3 in Firenze began on February 12 using a Sirio tram that Hitachi Rail Italy delivered to the city on February 9. Tests are underway on the Careggi – Piazza Dalmazia section at the northern end of the route. Due to ...
-
NewsNetwork Rail unveils CP6 business plan
UK: A strong focus on safety, reliability and performance underpins Network Rail’s objectives for the five-year Control Period 6, which starts on April 1 2019. Publishing its strategic business plan on February 13 for regulatory approval, the infrastructure manager explained how it expects to spend the £47bn allocated for CP6 ...
-
NewsPraha reintroduces 14T trams
CZECH REPUBLIC: The first series-modernised Škoda 14T tram is about to enter service in Praha, following the successful testing of a prototype. City transport operator DP Praha plans to have 14 more modernised trams in service by the end of the year, with all 57 to be modernised by 2020. ...
-
Metro Report InternationalCRRC unveils new-generation monorail train
CHINA: CRRC Changchun Railway Vehicles Co presented its ‘new generation’ straddle monorail vehicle for low- and medium-capacity routes on February 1. CRRC Changchun has drawn on its experience of supplying 770 monorail sets since 2004. The manufacturer says that the use of carbon fibre composite for some components makes ...
-
NewsWabtec signs SunRail PTC contract
USA: Wabtec Corp has signed a $62m contract to design, install, test and commission Positive Train Control for the 100 km Central Florida Rail Corridor used by SunRail commuter services around Orlando. Wabtec is to provide its Interoperable Electronic Train Management System equipment for 24 locomotives and driving cars, as ...
-
NewsHupac traffic grows despite the 'Rastatt effect'
EUROPE: Switzerland-based intermodal transport operator Hupac carried 763 101 road consignments by rail in 2017, an increase of 3·5% on the previous year. This was despite the seven-week blockade of the Rhine Valley route near Rastatt, which resulted in the loss of more than 30 000 consignments. Traffic in the ...
-
NewsHybrid OLE maintenance machine completes endurance testing
AUSTRIA: The HTW 100 E³ hybrid motor tower vehicle developed by Plasser & Theurer for overhead line inspection and maintenance has been successfully tested in the Climate Wind Chamber at Rail Tec Arsenal in Wien. Launched at the IAF track technology fair in Münster last June, the HTW 100 E³ ...
-
NewsBudamar acquires 50% stake in wagon manufacturer
SLOVAKIA: Freight company Budamar Logistics signed a deal to acquire a 50% stake in Poprad-based wagon manufacturer Tatravagónka on January 31. The price was not disclosed, and the deal is subject to regulatory approval. Formed in 1994 but tracing its roots to 1922, Tatravagónka has been controlled since 2006 by ...
-
NewsHydrogen train to be tested in the UK by 2020
UK: The Rail Safety & Standards Board is working with Alstom with the aim of piloting a hydrogen powered train in late 2019 or early 2020, RSSB Chief Executive Mark Phillips said on February 12. Philips was responding to a speech by Transport Minister Jo Johnson, who said he ‘would ...
-
NewsNorfolk Southern positioning for growth
USA: Norfolk Southern has announced plans to invest $1·8bn in capital projects during 2018, as it pursues the objectives set out in its Strategic Plan adopted in 2016. With a focus on improving service and operational efficiency while maintaining safety, the capital spending will be broadly in line with the ...
-
News'Tomorrow’s Trains Today' funding announced
UK: The winners of £3·5m of government funding under the ‘First of a Kind: Demonstrating Tomorrow’s Trains Today’ innovation programme were announced by Transport Minister Jo Johnson on February 12. T The FOAK competition is part of the Department for Transport’s wider Accelerating Innovation in Rail scheme. The first ‘challenge’ ...
-
NewsNew alignment opens with the longest railway tunnel in the Balkans
GREECE: The first train ran on the recently-completed 54 km Tithorea – Lianokladi line on February 2, following the formal handover of the new line on January 31. The route forms part of a 106 km double track alignment which is being built between Tithorea and Domokos to replace a ...