Freight news – Page 122
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NewsGauge-changing freight axles under test
SPAIN: The OGI gauge-changing axle for freight wagons, designed to operate on both 1 435 mm and 1 668 mm gauge, has completed Phase 1 of its testing programme, it was announced on November 7. Developed and manufactured by Azvi, Tria and OGI, the axle has now operated for 50 ...
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NewsMercitalia orders up to 125 locomotives and 250 wagons
ITALY: FS Group’s freight subsidiary Mercitalia announced an order for 'up to' 125 Bombardier Transportation locomotives and a total of 250 wagons on November 14. The operator said Bombardier was awarded the €400m contract to supply the 6·4 MW Traxx DC3/MS locomotives to Mercitalia Rail and TX Logistik after a ...
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NewsFinland to China freight service launched
INTERNATIONAL: A freight train left Kouvola between Helsinki and the Russian border on November 10 carrying 41 containers for Xi’an in China. The containers were filled with Finnish products including timber, machinery, work clothing and ship components. The 9 110 km journey via Russia and Kazakhstan is expected to take ...
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NewsSBB targets 15 min frequencies in 'next quantum leap'
SWITZERLAND: Swiss Federal Railways is drawing up long-term proposals to run its long-distance services at 15 min intervals. Describing this as ‘the next quantum leap in Swiss public transport’, SBB was responding on November 9 to a government consultation document on long-term investment in the national rail network. The government’s ...
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NewsWorld rail freight news round-up
Automotive logistics company CAT has acquired SNCF’s car transport subsidiary STVA Group, which is active in nine countries, including France, Germany, the UK and Morocco. The acquisition includes 31 vehicle logistics compounds, 2 600 wagons, 725 lorries and 2 000 staff. The European Commission has approved a 1bn złoty state ...
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NewsUpgrade to handle growth in Asia – Europe rail freight
BELARUS: Belarusian Railway has begun a programme to modernise container transhipment facilities where the 1520 mm gauge and standard gauge networks meet at the country’s western border. An US$8m investment at the Brest Severny intermodal terminal is intended to reduce the time needed to tranship containers on the main corridor ...
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NewsERS 2017: Looking beyond the Fourth Railway Package
EUROPE: ‘Implementation’ was the watchword of speakers and delegates at Railway Gazette Group’s third European Rail Summit, which was hosted by the Representation of the Free State of Bayern to the EU in Brussels on November 7. Entitled ‘Beyond the Fourth Railway Package’, the Summit addressed the policy challenges facing ...
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NewsPhosAgro to lease 500 fertiliser wagons from Gazprombank
RUSSIA: Fertiliser producer PhosAgro has signed a 2·9bn rouble 10-year agreement to lease 500 high-capacity hopper wagons from Gazprombank Leasing, with an option to buy. PhosAgro currently has a fleet of more than 6 000 owned and leased wagons. The latest vehicles are scheduled to be delivered from United Wagon ...
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NewsKazakhstan to Turkey via the Baku – Tbilisi – Kars railway
ASIA: The first containers have been delivered using the recently-inaugurated Baku – Tbilisi – Kars railway. This is how they travelled from Kazakhstan to Turkey. [<a href="//storify.com/railwaygazette/btk" target="_blank">View the story "Baku - Tbilisi - Kars railway first freight train" on Storify</a>]
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NewsCoal wagons converted to carry aggregates
UK: DB Cargo UK is working with its subsidiary Axiom Rail and WH Davis to convert 110 Type HTA coal hopper wagons into HRA aggregate hoppers to accommodate expected future growth in this sector. Completion of the conversion programme is planned for the third quarter of 2018. This follows ...
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NewsWorld rail freight news round-up
New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority has extended New York & Atlantic Railway’s concession to operate freight trains on the Long Island Rail Road network for a further 10 years. Rolling stock repair and leasing company Kladenská Dopravní a Strojní has acquired its first electric loco to join its diesel fleet. ...
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NewsVTG launches Retrack freight subsidiary
GERMANY: Hamburg-based leasing and logistics company VTG has created Retrack GmbH & Co KG as a wholly-owned freight operating subsidiary of its VTG Rail Logistics division, by renaming its former Bräunert Verwaltung and Bräunert Eisenbahnverkehr businesses. Retrack emerged from the EU-backed four-year Reorganisation of Transport Networks By Advanced Rail Concepts ...
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NewsWires reach Ust-Luga
RUSSIA: RZD has formally marked the completion of 3 kV DC electrification on the October Railway’s Mga – Veymarn – Luzhskaya corridor in Leningrad Oblast, permitting electrically-hauled heavy haul trains to run through from coal mines in the Kuzbass region to the port of Ust-Luga, a haul of more than ...
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NewsTasRail selects freight planning software
AUSTRALIA: TasRail has awarded Biarri Rail a contract to supply its Boss MP cloud-based operations planning and scheduling software in a three-stage process which will run until early 2019. ‘If for example we have a new customer that wants to move several million tonnes of freight via rail, we ...
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NewsWorld rail freight news round-up
Next month GB Railfreight will begin taking delivery of 50 Astra Rail hopper wagons which it is to lease from Nacco to support a contract to haul biomass for Lynemouth Power. The new wagons will have a payload of 70 tonnes, compared to the 53 tonnes of existing vehicles. ...
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NewsPrince Vladimir broad gauge Traxx locomotive certified
RUSSIA: The federal railway certification body granted type approval on October 13 enabling First Locomotive Co to begin series production of its 2EV120 Prince Vladimir 1520 mm gauge locomotive design. The First Locomotive Co joint venture of Bombardier Transportation and local investors was formed to manufacture locomotives at a factory ...
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NewsCSX shakes up executive team
USA: Former Canadian National Executive Vice-President James Foote is to join CSX Transportation as Chief Operating Officer, the company announced on October 25. Most recently serving as President & CEO of Bright Rail Energy, he will take responsibility for both Operations and Sales & Marketing. Foote will replace the current ...
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NewsTurkmenistan opens loco depot for Kazakhstan – Iran corridor
TURKMENISTAN: A locomotive depot has been opened at Bereket where the north–south corridor between Kazakhstan and Iran meets the east–west Ashgabat – Bereket – Turkmenbashi route. Government officials, staff representatives, elders and young people attended the inauguration celebrations, which included a message from President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov as well as musical ...
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News'Innovative challenger' in the German freight market
GERMANY: Swedish open access freight operator Hector Rail announced plans to establish a standalone business unit in Germany on October 23, saying it sees the country as an important market with opportunities for long-term growth. Stig Kyster-Hansen has been named Managing Director of the future German business unit, and he ...
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NewsWagon coating range launched
USA: Axalta Coating Systems has expanded into the wagon paint market with the launch of a dedicated range of Tufcote-branded products designed to protect against chemical and corrosion damage, weathering, and chipping. 'Railcar and transportation maintenance structures are constructed to last and need a tough, durable finish to ensure their ...