German railway news – Page 48
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NewsDB Cargo plans digital, low-noise wagon fleet by 2020
GERMANY: The DB Cargo management board has approved a ‘high double-digit million’ programme to fit its entire German wagon fleet with tracking, monitoring and telematics equipment. More than 1 000 wagons are currently equipped with telematics, a further 19 000 are scheduled to be retrofitted by the end of 2018, ...
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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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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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NewsEP Cargo orders Traxx locos
GERMANY: Czech open access freight operator EP Cargo has ordered two Bombardier Transportation Traxx AC3 15 kV 16·7 Hz electric locomotives, with the first scheduled to be delivered in late March. The locomotives are to be used by EP Cargo Deutschland to haul fly ash and gypsum to Stralsund from ...
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NewsDB hosts ‘smart scrubber’ robot cleaning competition
GERMANY: In order to demonstrate the potential for the automation of routine station cleaning tasks, DB hosted a ‘smart scrubber’ event at Berlin Hbf on January 30. The Automated Cleaning Challenge organised by DB Services and the DB Mindbox digital innovation lab pitted cleaning machines from four international manufacturers ...
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NewsInnovative traction and electrification in Bayern plan to reduce diesel dependency
GERMANY: Proposals to significantly reduce the use of diesel traction in favour of low-emission alternatives have been presented to the Bayern cabinet by Land Transport Minister Joachim Herrmann. The Bayerische Elektromobilitäts-Strategie Schiene (BESS) is intended to support the federal government’s 2050 climate targets, and to make rail a more attractive ...
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NewsMetronom retains Hanze-Netz operating contract
GERMANY: Following a European tender which attracted several bids, the Niedersachsen, Bremen, Hamburg and Hannover transport authorities have jointly awarded incumbent Metronom the next contract to operate Hanse-Netz and Uelzen-Göttingen passenger services. The contract runs from December 2018 until December 2033 and covers five services: RE2 Göttingen – Hannover – ...
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NewsUlm – Wendlingen track contract awarded
GERMANY: Deutsche Bahn has awarded Rhomberg Bahntechnik and Swietelsky Baugesellschaft a €250m contract to design, install and commission 60 route-km of track and railway systems on the 250 km/h line which is being built between Wendlingen and Ulm as part of the project to reduce Stuttgart – Ulm journey times ...
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NewsMerkel inaugurates München - Berlin Unity Project 8
GERMANY: Special trains from München and Nürnberg, celebrations in multiple cities and a spectacular arrival in Berlin Hauptbahnhof marked the inauguration on December 8 of the railway known as German Unity Project VDE8. Commemorative events had been staged in Nürnberg, Erfurt, Leipzig and Wittenberg to mark the formal opening of ...
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NewsMetrans orders more Traxx locomotives
GERMANY: Metrans has ordered 10 more Bombardier Transportation Traxx F140MS locomotives for delivery in the first quarter of 2018 The intermodal subsidiary of Hamburger Hafen & Logistik AG currently has a fleet of 50 mainline and 17 shunting locomotives. ‘With more of our own locomotives at our disposal, we ...
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NewsBombardier hands over HSL Traxx locos
GERMANY: In a double ceremony taking place at the manufacturer’s Kassel plant on November 29, Bombardier Transportation handed over three Traxx AC electric freight locomotives to leasing company Akiem, which in turn passed them directly to its customer HSL Logistik. A further three locos are due to be handed over ...
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NewsDelays and escalating costs hit Stuttgart 21
GERMANY: The Stuttgart 21 project to replace the city’s terminus by an underground through station is likely to cost €1bn more than planned, and completion may be delayed from 2023 to December 2024. According to reports in the German media citing sources in the Supervisory Board of Deutsche Bahn, ...
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NewsFuel cell Mireo multiple-unit to be developed
GERMANY: Siemens and Canadian fuel cell technology company Ballard Power Systems have signed an agreement to develop a 200 kW fuel cell suitable for powering Mireo electric multiple-units. The initial deployment of a fuel cell powered trainset is planned for 2021. ‘Our co-operation with Ballard is a decisive step towards ...
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NewsHydrogen could replace diesel in 15 years says LNVG, as fuel cell train contract signed
GERMANY: ‘Fuel cell technology has a good chance to prevail in Germany in the next 10 to 15 years, with diesel vehicles being more and more forced out of the market’, said Niedersachsen transport authority LNVG when it signed a 30-year contract with Alstom and gas supplier Linde Group for ...
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NewsHKX to resume with support from FlixBus
GERMANY: Hamburg-Köln-Express services are to temporarily resume in December and January, long-distance coach company FlixBus announced on November 2. In August HKX announced its intention to suspend its open access passenger service from October 4 until December. The arrangement with FlixBus will see services running between Hamburg and Köln ...
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NewsDB awards electrification contracts
GERMANY: Deutsche Bahn has awarded SPL Powerlines Germany contracts with a total value of €13m for electrification of the VE03 Mindelheim – Stetten and VE04 Memmingen – Leutkirch sections of the München – Zürich route. Powerlines is to install a total of 465 masts, 481 cantilevers, 38 km of high-strength ...
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NewsHydrogen fuel cell multiple-units ordered
GERMANY: Niedersachsen transport authority LNVG has announced an order for Alstom to supply 14 hydrogen fuel cell multiple-units, with options for 33 more. The initial batch of units is to be deployed on Weser-Elbe services between Cuxhaven, Bremerhaven, Bremervörde and Buxtehude. The contract has been awarded to a consortium ...
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NewsDB Regio selected for Dieselnetz Ulm contract
GERMANY: Following a European tender, Bayern railway authority BEG has selected incumbent DB Regio to operate Dieselnetz Ulm passenger services from December 2020 until December 2032. The contract covers regional services on the Ulm – Memmingen (– Buxheim) and Ulm – Weißenhorn routes which are to be operated using new ...
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NewsLonger freight trains to go ahead
GERMANY: Planning for the introduction of 740 m long freight trains across the core national network is to be stepped up, following a favourable evaluation by the Federal Transport Ministry. Secretary of State for Transport Enak Ferlemann said on September 22 that efficient railway infrastructure was needed across the country, ...
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NewsDB Netz reopens main line through Rastatt
GERMANY: Following a hiatus of around seven weeks, trains began running through the town of Rastatt on the Rhein Valley main line between Karlsruhe and Basel at 01.00 on October 2.The busy freight and passenger artery had been blocked since August 12, when a tunnel beneath the alignment collapsed. The ...