Infrastructure news – Page 17
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Metro Report InternationalTramway electrification competency guidance published
UK: The Light Rail Safety & Standards Board has published its latest Overhead Line Equipment Systems Training & Competency Guidance. ‘This guidance will effectively support the delivery of light railway engineering OLE competency in relation to training apprentices, new recruits and improving the skills of existing ...
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In depthTrain Control: En route to digital signalling
Final testing and commissioning of ETCS Level 2 is underway on the Northern City Line to London’s Moorgate terminus, which is due to go live later this year as a ‘pathfinder’ project for the East Coast Digital Programme. Chris Jackson reports.
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Metro Report InternationalBART takes delivery of advanced track inspection vehicle
USA: San Francisco Bay area metro operator BART has unveiled a Rail Inspection Vehicle supplied by MerMec to facilitate more efficient track maintenance and minimise any disruption caused when repairs are needed during normal service hours. The operator said the RIV — which was produced ...
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NewsTaitung – Hualien double-tracking works begin
TAIWAN: Taiwan Railways Administration has started work to double-track the southern section of its East Coast main line between Hualien, Taitung and Zhiben, following a groundbreaking ceremony on April 20. Rebuilt to 1 067 mm gauge in 1982 and electrified in 2014, the 162 km coastal ...
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NewsTrack machines ordered for Scandinavia
EUROPE: RB Solutions has awarded Plasser & Theurer contracts to supply a Unimat 08-4x4/4S tamping machine by the end of 2025 and a USP 2010 SWS universal ballast distributing and profiling machine in April of that year. The Austrian manufacturer said the two machine types were ...
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NewsSNCF seeks third catenary renewal train
FRANCE: Faced with the prospect of renewing a substantial proportion of the overhead line equipment across the national railway network, SNCF Réseau has announced its intention to procure a third catenary renewal train. The infrastructure manager has recently put into service two highly automated machines, (known ...
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NewsStrait of Gibraltar tunnel plans revived
INTERNATIONAL: Spain and Morocco have agreed to restart the development of proposals for a rail tunnel under the Strait of Gibraltar. Studies for an inter-continental fixed-link have been undertaken at intervals over more than 40 years, under the co-ordination of state owned entities Secegsa in Spain ...
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Metro Report InternationalAhmedabad and Surat metro electrification contracts awarded
INDIA: Gujarat Metro Rail Corp has awarded two contracts to a consortium of Siemens Mobility and state-owned project company Rail Vikas Nigam Ltd for the supply of electrification equipment and project management on Ahmedabad Metro Phase 2 and Surat Metro Phase 1.
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NewsAnkara – Sivas high speed line inaugurated
TURKEY: The long-delayed Ankara – Sivas high speed line was formally opened on April 26, when national operator TCDD Taşımacılık ran its first public passenger services over the new route. The 405 km double-track line heading east from the capital incorporates 112 km of existing alignment as ...
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NewsConverting Finland’s rail network to standard gauge is not financially viable, study finds
FINLAND: A study has concluded that converting the 1 524 mm broad gauge national railway network to the European standard of 1 435 mm would not be financially viable. Recognising that regauging would facilitate international passenger and freight traffic and could simplify rolling stock procurement, the ...
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NewsBulgaria to realign railway to Romanian border
BULGARIA: Infrastructure manager NKZI has announced plans to replace the Medkovets – Vidin section of its Sofia – Vidin main line serving the northwest of the country with a new alignment, enabling passenger trains to run at 160 km/h and freight trains at 120 km/h. The ...
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NewsBrightline opens Orlando Airport station for services to start this summer
USA: Florida inter-city operator Brightline has formally opened its station at Orlando International Airport, ready for the extension of its Miami – West Palm Beach services to Orlando ‘in the summer’. The service expansion follows upgrading and double-tracking of the existing Florida East Coast Railway between ...
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NewsSupreme Railways to serve more cities from September
Photos: Benjámin Zelki SOUTH KOREA: Open-access high speed operator Supreme Railways to launch services to Jinju, Yeosu, and Pohang from September from its Suseo terminus in southeast Seoul. The expansion plan was announced by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure & Transport on April 4 following discussions ...
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Rail Business UKFreightliner creates ERTMS training academy
UK: Freightliner has developed a rail freight training academy in Ispwich to support the roll out of ERTMS. The operator has leased the seventh floor of MCR Property Group’s St Vincent House office building, which offered ‘a blank canvas within which to create a unique space ...
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NewsAgreement signed to develop Vietnam – Laos railway
ASIA: An agreement has been signed to study the construction of a 555 km railway between Vietnam and Laos.
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NewsRebuilt future western terminus of Paris RER Line E unveiled
Photos: Jérémie Anne FRANCE: Ile-de-France-Mobilités unveiled the modernised and expanded Mantes-La-Jolie station on April 4, which will be the western terminus of Paris RER Line E. Under a project known as Éole, Line E is currently being extended from Haussmann-Saint-Lazare in the centre ...
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Rail Business UKConcrete sleeper plant expanded
UK: Cemex has completed a ‘significant’ investment to increase the capacity and capabilities of its concrete switch and crossing bearer plant at Somercoates in Derbyshire. The expansion will enable the site to produce an additional 18 000 linear metres of bearers every year. The existing stressing ...
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NewsHuancayo – Huancavelica route modernisation plan
PERU: Tenders have been called for the upgrading and subsequent operation of the Huancayo – Huancavelica railway east of Lima.
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Metro Report InternationalTunis finally opens RFR Line E
TUNISIA: The first section of the RFR dedicated suburban network has opened in the capital.
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NewsLaos – China passenger service starts running
INTERNATIONAL: Regular cross-border passenger services began running between Kunming and Vientiane on April 13. The 1 024 km standard gauge route linking Laos and China was opened in December 2021, but the line could only be used by freight trains because of Chinese restrictions on international ...