All Railway Gazette International articles in February 2018 – Page 8
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NewsRSSB calls for a more scientific approach to train seat comfort
UK: The Rail Safety & Standards Board has called for a more scientific approach to measuring train seat comfort, with the aim of developing specifications which manufacturers could use alongside requirements for crashworthiness and fire safety. This would take into account factors including shape, cushioning, material choice, lumbar support, vibration, ...
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NewsWorld rail freight news round-up
In conjunction with freight operator Ferrosur Roca, Argentina’s Ministry of Transport has conducted trial piggyback movements carrying lorry semi-trailers between Spegazzinni in Buenos Aires province and the port of Bahía Blanca. Wagons for the trial were supplied by Vale Argentina SA. At cost of €5·1m, Slovenia Railways’ freight business has ...
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NewsDB opens carbon-neutral ICE depot
GERMANY: DB inaugurated a carbon-neutral ICE depot in the Nippes area of Köln on February 23. The 23 ha site is expected to reduce energy equivalent to 1 000 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions per year through various features, including geothermal heating and cooling. A 180 m2 solar heating ...
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Metro Report InternationalTesting begins on Sydney’s CBD & South East Light Rail
AUSTRALIA: Testing has started on the CBD & South East Light Rail line in Sydney, Transport for New South Wales announced on February 25. Night-time testing of an Alstom Citadis X05 light rail vehicle is taking place on a section of the future network on Alison Road in Randwick. ...
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Metro Report InternationalWork starts on second phase of Los Angeles Purple Line extension
USA: A groundbreaking ceremony for the second phase of the Purple metro line extension in Los Angeles took place on February 23. Scheduled to open in 2025, Section 2 would run for 4·2 km from Wilshire/La Cienega to Century City/Constellation, with an intermediate station at Wilshire/Rodeo. A joint venture ...
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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 ...
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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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 ...