Freight news – Page 125
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NewsHazardous materials training academy for short lines
USA: The Pipeline & Hazardous Materials Safety Administration has awarded the Short Line Safety Institute a $500 000 grant to create a Hazardous Materials Training Academy in Washington DC. ‘Small railroads will greatly benefit from the expertise and resources the Hazardous Materials Training Academy will provide’, said SLSI Executive Director ...
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News1 520 mm gauge Traxx locomotive to be certified this year
RUSSIA: The First Locomotive Co of Bombardier Transportation and local investors announced at Expo 1520 that is expects to obtain certification this autumn for its 1 520 mm gauge member of the Traxx locomotive family. The prototype 2EV120 Prince Vladimir twin-section locomotive built at the company’s Engels factory was exhibited ...
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NewsTrafikverket unveils 12-year investment plan
SWEDEN: Transport infrastructure authority Trafikverket formally launched its 2018-29 national plan on August 31, submitting its spending proposals to the government and starting a three-month public consultation process. Formal adoption of the plan is expected in the spring of 2018. The national plan covers state-owned infrastructure for all modes, including ...
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NewsEgyptian National Railways plans to form stand-alone freight business
EGYPT: The European Bank for Reconstruction & Development has invited expressions of interest in a contract to assist Egyptian National Railways with the planned conversion of its freight business into a stand-alone subsidiary company. The intention is that this would have managerial independence and operate through commercial relationships with the ...
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NewsTank wagon telematics contract
EUROPE: Asto Telematics has been awarded a contract to equip Sasol Germany’s fleet of ethylene oxide tank wagons and tank-containers with its new aJour ATEX Compact+Sensor telematics technology. This is intended to allow Sasol to monitor wagon movements, temperature and impact forces. In the event of potential danger, an automated ...
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NewsGood times ahead as Tazara and ZRL sign open access freight agreement
AFRICA: Tanzania-Zambia Railway Authority and Zambia Railways Ltd have signed an open access agreement intended to facilitate the seamless movement of freight trains across each other’s infrastructure. Tazara hopes to gain an additional 200 000 tonnes of freight in the first year of the agreement. ‘In the past, Tazara and ...
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NewsWorld rail freight news round-up
Nordic Investment Bank and Latvian Railways have agreed a €22·8m 12-year loan to finance an ongoing project for LDz Ritošā Sastāva Serviss to rebuild 14 twin-section 2M62Us locomotives into Type 2M62UM locos. The replacement of the engines, electrical systems and most above-floor components is expected to extend their lifetime by ...
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NewsKnoxville Locomotive Works obtains Tier 4 certification
USA: Knoxville Locomotive Works has obtained EPA Tier 4 emission certification for its SE Series of four-axle and six-axle diesel locomotives. KLW produces remanufactured locomotives based on EMD and GE components and new MTU engines. The Tier 4 certification includes shunting locomotives rated at 2 000, 2 200 and 2 ...
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NewsRastatt blocked until October 7, says DB
GERMANY: The Karlsruhe – Basel section of European Rail Freight Corridor 1 will remain closed until October 7, following the tunnel collapse at Rastatt on August 12, infrastructure manager DB Netze confirmed on August 22. Explaining that a sudden inrush of water had destabilised the boring of a new tunnel ...
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NewsApproval for 80 tonne capacity container wagons
RUSSIA: United Wagon Co subsidiary TikhvinSpetsMash has obtained certification enabling the production of flat wagons with a capacity of 80 tonnes for transporting 40 ft containers or tank-containers with hazardous loads. Designed by the All-Union Research & Development Centre for Transportation Technology, the Type 13-6851-05 wagon has 25 tonne axleload ...
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NewsTexas-Mexico rail border facility upgraded
NORTH AMERICA: Kansas City Southern, US Customs & Border Protection and Mexican customs agency SAT inaugurated a joint rail freight processing facility at the Laredo border crossing in Texas on August 17. The facility enables Mexican export processing to be undertaken at the US railhead, with equipment ...
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NewsFreight operators reschedule to avoid Rastatt tunnel collapse
EUROPE: Rail freight operators are working to implement diversionary routes for north-south intermodal traffic, after German infrastructure manager DB Netze confirmed that the key Karlsruhe – Basel section of Rhine-Alpine Rail Freight Corridor 1 would remain closed for an estimated six weeks following a tunnel collapse at Rastatt on August ...
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NewsWorld rail freight news round-up
The Canadian government is providing C$250 000 to support the Vancouver Fraser Port Authority in assessing real-time information on the performance of rail freight to and from the Port of Vancouver. A concept phase will focus on the grain and fertiliser sectors, and address data quality issues. ‘This project will ...
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NewsKishon Port rail link inaugurated
ISRAEL: A rail connection to the Kishon area at the eastern end of Haifa Port was inaugurated on August 17, enabling freight trains to run directly to destinations across the Israel Railways network. The 2km link was built in around a year as part of a programme of co-operation between ...
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NewsAurizon to quit intermodal freight
AUSTRALIA: Aurizon Holdings Ltd has announced its intention to withdraw from the intermodal market, with the closure or sale of its activities in the sector. The decision announced on August 14 followed a 12-month review of options including retention, divestment, joint ventures or the closure of activities that it felt ...
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NewsWorld rail freight news round-up
The Russian government has allocated 5·1bn roubles to buy three new train ferries for the route from Ust-Luga to Baltiysk in Kaliningrad. They will be 200 m long with a capacity of up to 66 wagons. In March it was announced that Russian Railways would take a 25% stake in ...
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NewsAlameda Corridor East grade separation trench opens
USA: A 2·3 km long, 9 m deep and 20 m wide cutting built at cost of $313m as part of a grade separation project designed to ease traffic congestion in the San Gabriel Valley east of downtown Los Angeles was officially opened by the Alameda Corridor-East Construction Authority on ...
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NewsFederal funding to revive border crossing
USA: Texas Department of Transportation has a received a US$7m grant from the US Department of Transportation towards a US$16∙2m ‘public and private partnership’ to replace the bridge connecting Presidio with Ojinaga in Mexico, and upgrade 115 km of the connecting South Orient Rail Line. The bridge has been closed ...
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NewsHector Rail awarded LKAB haulage contract
SWEDEN: Mining company LKAB has awarded Hector Rail a new haulage contract running for five years from December 2017. The contract covers the operation of trains carrying mining supplies between Luleå, Malmberget and Kiruna seven days per week, as well as shunting in Luleå and Malmberget. Hector Rail plans to ...
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NewsTermination of Rift Valley Railways concession agreed
KENYA: The termination of Rift Valley Railways’ concession to operate the Kenyan section of the metre gauge Kenya – Uganda railway network has been agreed ‘by joint consent’ after the high court in Nairobi backed Kenya Railways’ attempts to end the contract. KR had sought to end the concession in ...