Freight news – Page 131
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NewsWorld rail freight news round-up
Following a two-year review by UK infrastructure manager Network Rail and freight operators, 4 702 unused train paths per week have been released to provide capacity for other services. The spare paths are the result of the decline in coal and steel traffic, as well as better timetabling and more ...
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NewsDevelopment authority to regulate Indian Railways
INDIA: Creation of the Rail Development Authority of India to act as an independent railway regulator was announced by the government on April 5. The move is part of an ongoing reform of the transport sector, following the scrapping of the separate railway budget. RDA is to be established under ...
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News$1bn wagon agreement signed
USA: A multi-year wagon supply and management agreement worth more than $1bn was announced by The Greenbrier Companies and Mitsubishi UFJ Lease & Finance Co on April 5 MUL President & CEO Tadashi Shiraishi said the leasing company had set an ‘ambitious’ target to grow its market share to become ...
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NewsPrima H3 shunting loco approved for 100 km/h
GERMANY: Federal railway office EBA has certified Alstom’s Prima H3 battery-diesel shunting locomotive for operation at up to 100 km/h, paving the way for main line operation. Announcing the certification on April 5, Alstom said the Prima H3 was the only three-axle shunting locomotive certified to operate at this speed ...
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NewsLoco ‘designed, engineered and manufactured in Africa’ unveiled
SOUTH AFRICA: What national freight group Transnet says is the ‘first locomotive to be designed, engineered and manufactured in Africa’ was unveiled by South Africa’s President Jacob Zuma in Pretoria on April 4. The Trans-Africa Locomotive was developed by Transnet’s manufacturing division Transnet Engineering and assembled at its plant in ...
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NewsLNG locomotive agreement
LITHUANIA: An agreement to co-operate to develop a liquefied natural gas-fuelled shunting locomotive was signed on March 30 by Lithuania Railways, stevedoring company Bega, oil and gas terminal operator Klaipėdos Nafta, Vilnius Gediminas Technical University and Klaipeda University. The partner aim to produce a prototype shunting locomotive for use at ...
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NewsQuiet wagons mandatory by 2020
GERMANY: Noisy freight wagons will effectively be banned from the national rail network from the December 13 2020 timetable change, after Federal Transport Minister Alexander Dobrindt announced on March 30 that the Bundestag had passed legislation requiring the use of low-noise freight wagons as part of his ‘Quiet Rail Strategy’. ...
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NewsWorld rail freight news round-up
Slovakian operator Express Group has bought from ŽOS Zvolen two refurbished Škoda Type 61E electric locos previously operated by ZSSK Cargo. These will be used for expansion into the 3 kV DC area in northern Slovakia and Poland. Express Group also plans to acquire a third Siemens ES64F4 loco in ...
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NewsSafety train on tour
USA: Norfolk Southern’s safety train has begun a 23-city tour to provide free emergency response training to first responders including fire and law enforcement departments, medical services and hazmat response teams, military and homeland security personnel and railway customers and suppliers. The train comprises a specially branded locomotive, two vans ...
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NewsDigital freight train partnership formed
FRANCE: SNCF Logistics and maritime freight technology company Traxens have announced a partnership to develop technology for monitoring and real-time tracking of freight trains. This follows a year of research and testing of digital equipment for use in the rail environment. The project is to be launched at the Transport ...
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NewsTibbett Logistics invests in București intermodal terminal
ROMANIA: Tibbett Logistics is to make a ‘substantial six-figure euro’ investment this year to enhance its București International Rail Freight Terminal, which it says is the only privately operated open-access rail container terminal in the capital. This follows a significant increase in freight volumes handled at BIRFT, with five block ...
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NewsGrupo México to acquire Florida East Coast Railway
USA: On March 28 Grupo México announced that its transport business GMéxico Transportes had reached an agreement to acquire Florida East Coast Railway Holdings Corp from Fortress Investment Group. The Mexican company said adding FEC to its existing operations in Texas would ‘immediately establish GMXT as an important railroad owner ...
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NewsFrance and Spain seek rail motorway proposals
EUROPE: Rolling stock manufacturers are to be invited to submit expressions of interest in supplying wagons capable of carrying lorries on ‘rail motorway’ services between France and Spain, it was agreed at a meeting of a working group on March 27 bringing together the transport ministries of both countries as ...
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NewsUPS adds six cities to China – Europe rail freight network
INTERNATIONAL: UPS has added six more cities to its intermodal rail network linking China and Europe. Changsha, Chongqing, Suzhou and Wuhan have been added in China, joining Zhengzhou and Chengdu. The additional locations have been chosen for their proximity to manufacturing, commercial and cultural centres in inland China. Duisburg and ...
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NewsThird-party operators get access to ČD depots
CZECH REPUBLIC: The government has passed an amendment to the Railway Act obliging state operator ČD to provide non-discriminatory access to its depots on a commercial basis with effect from on April 1. Third-party operators will be granted access to ČD’s repair, maintenance and servicing facilities, fuelling and toilet waste ...
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NewsWorld rail freight news round-up
Russian Railways expects to launch an electronic trading platform for freight services during April. According to RZD President Oleg Belozerov, this will enable customers to order and pay for transport online, and also make it possible for third parties to pay for services, ‘without lengthy approval procedures and with transparent ...
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NewsSpecialised containers for fertiliser exports
BOLIVIA: State-owned oil and petrochemicals company YPFB has ordered 250 wagons and 500 specialised containers which will be used to transport fertiliser on the country’s 1 000 mm gauge rail network. While the wagons are being manufactured locally in Santa Cruz, the containers are now being delivered by CIMC of ...
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NewsEuropean Commission sees Rail Baltica as a priority project
EUROPE: Lithuania’s Minister of Transport & Communications Rokas Masiulis met European Co-ordinator for the TEN-T North Sea-Baltic Corridor Catherine Trautmann on March 22 to discuss the progress of the Rail Baltica project to build a 1 435 mm gauge line from Poland to Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia. Trautmann assured the ...
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NewsContract awarded for Belgrano track renewals
ARGENTINA: Infrastructure authority Trenes Argentinos Infraestructura has announced the award of a contract to undertake track renewals on the 1 000 mm gauge Belgrano network, under the second phase of a programme that will see a total of 1 600 km upgraded across the provinces of northwestern Argentina. Awarded to ...
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NewsLutz confirmed as DB Chairman as board reshaped
GERMANY: Meeting on March 22, the Deutsche Bahn AG Supervisory Board confirmed the appointment of Dr Richard Lutz as CEO of the national railway, succeeding Dr Rüdiger Grube who stepped down as Chairman of the Management Board in January. Having served as Chief Financial Officer since 2010, Lutz had been ...