All Railway Gazette International articles in January 2016 – Page 5
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NewsMore capacity in Mexico City
MEXICO: A three-year programme to upgrade 85% of the Mexico City metro fleet has been launched by operator STC, which is undertaking work in-house with the assistance of Alstom. In order to meet rising demand, trains are to be extended to nine cars on all lines, except Line 12 where ...
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NewsGermany toughens up rail regulation
GERMANY: The draft of a revised railway regulatory law was approved by the federal cabinet on January 13. The changes are intended to strengthen the rules for discrimination-free access to rail infrastructure, so encouraging on-rail competition. Under the proposed changes, the Federal Network Agency (Bundesnetzagentur) would be given a stronger ...
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NewsThales to supply Delhi metro ticketing equipment
INDIA: Delhi Metro Rail Corp has awarded Thales a contract to supply ticket vending machines and ticket gates for around 100 stations on phases I and II of the Delhi metro. Thales is to supply 240 ticket gates between February and September. It is also supplying 300 ticket vending ...
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NewsLeasing company VTG completes refinancing
EUROPE: Wagon leasing and logistics company VTG announced on January 12 that it had refinanced a large proportion of its existing bank loans, concluding new financial agreements for €1·2bn or about two-thirds of its total financial liabilities with an international consortium of 12 banks led by KfW IPEX-Bank and UniCredit. ...
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NewsUSA Pavilion open for InnoTrans 2016 reservations
INNOTRANS: The Railway Supply Institute and Railway Engineering-Maintenance Suppliers Association have invited US companies to reserve space in their USA Pavilion, which will give small and medium-sized companies a greater presence at InnoTrans 2016 and more support than by exhibiting alone. The USA Pavilion will have booth space for each ...
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NewsManila metro maintenance contract signed
PHILIPPINES: The Department of Transportation & Communications signed a three-year maintenance and upgrade contract for rolling stock and signalling on Manila metro Line 3 on January 7. The 3·81bn peso contract came into effect the following day. On December 24 DOTC announced that it had selected a joint venture ...
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NewsShijiazhuang metro extensions approved
CHINA: The National Development & Reform Commission approved two extensions to the Shijiazhuang metro on January 8. Line 1 Phase 2 would run north from the line’s current eastern terminus of Xiao Hedadao to Dongyan, across the Hutuo River. A third depot is to be built at the northern ...
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NewsSiemens signs Iranian railway memorandum of understanding
IRAN: Islamic Republic of Iran Railways and Siemens signed a memorandum of understanding for potential co-operation in the rail sector in Tehran on January 6. A Siemens spokesman told Railway Gazette the company intends ‘to engage in talks on improving infrastructure in the rail sector as agreed by both parties’, ...
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NewsInternational Urban Rail Platform for North America launches
NORTH AMERICA: International public transport association UITP has announced the creation of the International Urban Rail Platform for North America, which is designed to bring together ‘key rail industry players from the region and the rest of the world’ to share knowledge and expertise between the North American rail industry ...
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NewsIndian Railways unveils refurbished coaches
INDIA: A initial 24 coaches which have been fitted with new interiors, colour schemes and passenger amenities as a ‘model rake’ for a mid-life refurbishment programme were unveiled at Delhi’s Safdarjung station on January 11. Indian Railways said it was ‘committed with renewed vigour to improve upon the interior furnishing ...
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NewsYangon launches light rail line
MYANMAR: The first phase of a light rail line in Yangon was officially opened with a ceremony on January 10. The 4·8 km east-west route from Linsadaung to Wardan Jetty uses a newly electrified on-street freight railway running along Strand Road, and a three-section ex-Hiroshima tram with capacity for ...
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NewsJoe Boardman
Joe Boardman has informed Amtrak‘s Board of Directors and employees that he intends to retire as President & CEO in September.
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NewsBrunswick Rail reviews business amid downturn
RUSSIA: Brunswick Rail Ltd has appointed Houlihan Lokey (Europe) Ltd as financial advisor to support a strategic review of its capital structure in response to what it the leasing company sees as ‘fundamental and permanent changes’ to the Russian market brought about by falling traffic volumes, declining lease rates and ...
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NewsKraków inaugurates tram workshop
POLAND: Mayor Jacek Majchrowski officially inaugurated a new building for maintenance and repairs in the Podgórze tram depot in Kraków on January 4. The inauguration coincided with the presentation of the last Krakowiak tram, which arrived in December. At 42·8 m long, the 36 trams supplied by Pesa are ...
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NewsPakistan Railways completes double-tracking project
PAKISTAN: Minister of Railways Khawaja Saad Rafique and Punjab’s Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif formally inaugurated a second track between Lodhran and Raiwind on January 9, officially completing the project to double the Karachi – Lahore main line. A new building at Premnagar station was also inaugurated. The doubling of the ...
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NewsFive shortlisted for Merseyrail train replacement
UK: Transport authority Merseytravel announced the five shortlisted bidders for a contract to supply around 50 new electric multiple-units for the Merseyrail suburban network centred on Liverpool on January 11: Bombardier;CAF;Mitsui in a consortium with Alstom and East Japan Railway’s rolling stock manufacturing business J-TREC;Siemens;Stadler. Tender documents are scheduled ...
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NewsČD to run newly-electrified Železnice Desná services
CZECH REPUBLIC: The local authorities which own the 19·3 km Železnice Desná line linking Šumperk with Kouty nad Desnou have directly awarded national operator ČD a contract to operate passenger services for 10 years from June 2016. The route was taken over by the local authorities after ČD declined to ...
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NewsBooking platform developer closes funding round
EUROPE: Rail, bus and air planning and booking platform developer GoEuro has closed a US$45m funding round, led by Goldman Sachs and joined by new investors including Atomico, Yuri Milner and Tom Stafford, Sebastian Siemiatkowski (Klarna) and Ilkka Paananen (Supercell). ‘GoEuro has made impressive progress in bringing the last ...
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NewsWind-resistant level crossing gates installed
UK: EDS Ltd has developed and supplied a set of cantilevered telescopic level crossing gates which are designed to avoid the problems which strong winds can cause for lifting barriers or swing gates. The first installation replaced a set of swing gates in Redcar. ‘We have been all too aware ...
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NewsCZ Loko unveils EffiShunter 500
EUROPE: Czech rolling stock manufacturer CZ Loko has delivered the first EffiShunter 500 shunting locomotive, with a second to follow shortly. The Bo-Bo design retains the underframe and bogies of the ČKD-built Class 740 locomotive, but is otherwise newly built to the customer’s requirements. It powered by a 522 kW ...