Freight news – Page 128
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NewsBeer train launched
BELGIUM: Rail freight operator Lineas ran a pilot service carrying Jupiler beer from AB InBev’s brewery at Jupille near Liège to Delhaize’s warehouse in Ninove on June 13. The train is to run three times per week, and is expected to remove 5 000 lorry trips per year from the ...
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NewsHudson Bay Railway services to Churchill suspended after washouts
CANADA: Hudson Bay Railway services between Amery, 47 km northeast of Gillam, and Churchill have been suspended indefinitely owing to ‘unprecedented and catastrophic’ flood damage and are not expected to resume before the winter season, parent company OmniTRAX announced on June 9. HBR has been unable to operate to Churchill ...
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NewsUK rail freight traffic down
UK: According to statistics published by the UK’s Office of Rail & Road on June 8, a total of 17∙2 billion net tonne-km of freight were moved on the national network in 2016-17, a 3% decrease on the year before and the lowest recorded since 1997-98 when a 16∙9 billion ...
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NewsWorld rail freight news round-up
In support of India’s Swachcha Bharat Abhiyan national sanitation programme, on June 1 Chittaranjan Locomotive Works rolled out the first WAG-9H electric freight locomotive to be equipped with a built-in a toilet cubicle with biodigester. DP World has awarded GB Railfreight a three-year contract to manage the movement and preparation ...
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NewsTier 4 genset locomotive enters service
USA: Railserve’s first Tier 4 compliant Dual Leaf Gen-Set Locomotive has entered service in Freeport, Texas. The latest addition to Railserve’s family of locomotives has two Cummins QSX15 engines, and can use only one when hauling lighter loads. The Dual Leaf is intended for shippers, industrial users and short line ...
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NewsRotterdam railway rerouting approved
NETHERLANDS: State Secretary at the Ministry of Infrastructure & Environment Sharon Dijksma has approved plans by the Port of Rotterdam Authority and ProRail to reroute 4·5 km of the harbour railway serving Europoort to avoid the Caland Bridge. This would avoid delays to freight trains when the vertical lift ...
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NewsStadler locomotives to support Medway’s expansion
PORTUGAL: Leasing company Alpha Trains has taken delivery of six Euro 4000 diesel locomotives from Stadler’s Valencia plant. Two of the locos are for Iberocargo, while four are to be used by Medway on cross-border freight services between Spain and Portugal under the Portuguese operator’s first leasing agreement with Alpha ...
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NewsPakistan Railways orders GE locomotives for the north
PAKISTAN: GE Transportation announced an agreement to supply 20 FDL C20EMP diesel locomotives to Pakistan Railways on June 7. The 1 676 mm gauge C20EMP locomotives are to be supplied from Erie in the USA by the end of 2018. They will be a lightweight 2 000 hp mixed ...
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NewsBrunswick Rail replaces leaseback facility
RUSSIA: Wagon leasing company Brunswick Rail has agreed a rouble sale and leaseback arrangement with SpetsTransServis to replace a previous leaseback facility with Alfa-Leasing. Announcing the change on June 2, Brunswick Rail said the arrangement offered more attractive terms which would reduce its interest payments and increase its unencumbered fleet. ...
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NewsVale anticipates fuel saving from Trip Optimizer
BRAZIL: Vale expects to make significant fuel savings by deploying GE Transportation’s Trip Optimizer automated cruise control system across 114 locomotives used on the Estrada de Ferro Carajás heavy haul network. Pilot tests are also expected to start shortly on the Vitória a Minas network, and on the Nacala Corridor ...
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NewsWorld rail freight news round-up
Regular China – Kazakhstan – Turkmenistan – Iran container services are scheduled to be launched this month, after the railway authorities reached an agreement at the end of May. Trains are expected to cover the 10 300 km route in less than 14 days, compared to 40 days by sea. ...
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NewsHigh-value chemicals travel from China to Europe by rail
INTERNATIONAL: A train organised by Swiss intermodal operator Hupac and Chinese chemical producer Markor left Korla in northwest China on May 26, carrying 82 ISO tank containers loaded with high-value chemical products for customers in Germany and France. ‘We plan to cover the distance of 8 000 km in 18 ...
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NewsHupac orders eight multisystem locomotives
SWITZERLAND: Intermodal freight company Hupac has ordered eight Siemens Vectron MS electric locomotives for use on freight services between the Netherlands, Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Italy via the Gotthard Base Tunnel. Announcing the contract on June 1, Siemens said deliveries from its München-Allach plant would begin in early summer of ...
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NewsMombasa – Nairobi Standard Gauge Railway opened
KENYA: President Uhuru Kenyatta officially opened the 472 km Standard Gauge Railway between the Indian Ocean port of Mombasa and Nairobi on May 31, travelling on the inaugural Madaraka Express passenger service. The previous evening he had launched an inaugural freight train from Port Reitz in Mombasa, waving a giant ...
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NewsWorld rail freight news round-up
Ulaanbaatar Railway operated its first crude oil train for 12 years on May 15, when it hauled a trainload of 48 tank wagons for Transoil and Rosneft. The oil had been extracted in fields in eastern Russia and was destined for customers in China. Bi-lateral agreements were signed on May ...
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NewsDigital route learning at DB Cargo UK
UK: Freight operator DB Cargo UK has introduced an internet-based route learning programme developed with Track Access Services Ltd to familiarise drivers with the physical characteristics of the routes over which they operate. Accessed via tablet or computer, it combines high-quality footage of routes filmed by DB Cargo UK with ...
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NewsKiwiRail and CRL funded in NZ$1bn budget allocation
NEW ZEALAND: The government has allocated almost NZ$1bn for rail investment as part of its annual budget unveiled by Finance Minister Steven Joyce on May 25, including support for national operator KiwiRail and a first tranche of capital investment for construction of Auckland's City Rail Link. The government has agreed ...
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NewsWagon deliveries from China near 3 000
ARGENTINA: On May 24 Transport Minister Guillermo Dietrich joined Ezequiel Lemos, President of state-owned freight operator Trenes Argentinos Cargas, to welcome the latest shipment of 156 wagons to arrive in the Port of Buenos Aires from China. Comprising 122 vehicles for the 1 000 mm gauge Belgrano network and 34 ...
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NewsSeeking future rail megatrends
EUROPE: Late May saw the launch of an interactive forum on the Near 2050 project website aimed at enabling rail users, operators and specifying organisations to comment on their experience of the sector and predict how the rail mode might evolve over the next 35 years.Near2050 is being co-ordinated under ...
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NewsTank container designed for train to driverless vehicle transfer
EUROPE: The Flex Freight System which wagon leasing company Wascosa and chemical manufacturer BASF have developed for the transport of chemicals by rail and then autonomous vehicle was exhibited at the Transport Logistic trade fair in München in mid-May.The tank container has approximately the same load capacity as a tank ...