All Railway Gazette International articles in January 2017 – Page 7
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NewsHitachi shows how Trenitalia’s Rock will roll
ITALY: A mock-up of one of the driving cars from the double-deck regional electric multiple-units which Hitachi Rail Italy is to supply to Trenitalia was unveiled at the manufacturer’s Pistoia plant on January 20. In August 2016 Trenitalia awarded Hitachi a €333m firm order for 39 five-car Caravaggio high-capacity double-deck ...
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NewsSBB launches multi-modal trip planning apps
SWITZERLAND: Swiss Federal Railways has launched SBB Reiseplaner apps for iOS and Android, providing a door-to-door trip planner based on HaCon’s Hafas platform which includes multi-modal public transport connections, car sharing provider Mobility, private cars and private or hired bikes along as well as car and cycle parking. The user ...
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NewsBNSF announces 2017 capital investment plan
USA: BNSF Railway announced a 2017 capital expenditure plan worth $3·4bn on January 19. As with 2016’s $3·9bn capital plan, the largest element of the programme is the replacement and maintenance of infrastructure on the 52 000 route-km network in 28 US states and three Canadian provinces. This has been ...
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NewsVirtual reality railway station used for staff training
UK: Arriva Trains Wales is training staff to spot potential platform-train interface hazards by using a £100 000 interactive virtual reality ‘cave' which replicates a station platform, complete with computer-generated passengers. The three-walled room at ATW’s driver training centre in Cardiff uses projectors and screens to create an immersive ...
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NewsGE diesels arrive in Karachi
PAKISTAN: More than 200 VIPs and guests gathered in the port of Karachi on January 23 to mark the arrival of the first seven of 55 Evolution Series ES43ACi diesel locomotives being built for Pakistan Railways by GE Transportation. Being supplied under a 10-year agreement valued at US$400m, locomotives built ...
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NewsWeaker demand in China and North America hits Knorr-Bremse sales
KNORR-BREMSE: Weaker demand for high speed trains in China and a cyclic slowdown in the North American locomotive and wagon business contributed to a 5·8% year-on-year fall in Knorr-Bremse AG’s sales to a €5·49bn in 2016, the company announced on January 23. Incoming orders of €5·68bn were slightly higher than ...
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NewsTrenitalia joins FirstGroup to bid for UK franchises
UK: Two weeks after the Italian state railway group entered the UK rail market by agreeing to acquire the Essex Thameside franchise from National Express, FS Italiane subsidiary Trenitalia UK announced on January 24 that it was joining FirstGroup to bid for the East Midlands franchise and the forthcoming West ...
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Metro Report InternationalSalvador metro makes progress
BRAZIL: Test running on the next phase of the Salvador metro started on January 20 with the departure at 08.30 of a train from Rodoviária to Pituaçu on Line 2. Revenue services on this 6·2 km section with four stations are due to begin in July. The initial 2·2 ...
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Metro Report InternationalBogotá transport funding announced
COLOMBIA: The government has approved 15bn pesos for urban transport projects serving Bogotá, including metro and suburban routes. The investment package aims to double the number of passengers served by public transport in the Bogotá region. The metro is to receive 12·82bn pesos. Mayor Enrique Peñalosa said that tenders ...
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Metro Report InternationalNew York Subway sucks
USA: New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority has started testing a prototype track vacuum cleaner from Neu Railways as part of its Track Sweep initiative to reduce the amount of litter on metro tracks. A second prototype unit is due to be deployed within the next two weeks. Tests are ...
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NewsSiemens to supply Indian Railways with traction equipment
INDIA: Siemens has announced a series of contracts to supply traction equipment to Indian Railways’ Diesel Locomotive Works in Varanasi. A contract worth Rs980m covers the design, supply and installation of 48 sets of AC traction equipment for twin-cab high horsepower diesel locomotives. To be produced at Siemens’ Nashik factory, ...
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Metro Report InternationalAnsaldo STS to supply Perth Airport rail link signalling
AUSTRALIA: Ansaldo STS has been awarded a A$44m contract to supply signalling and telecoms for the Forrestfield-Airport Link in Perth. Civil works on the A$1·96bn project began in November. Due to be completed in September 2020, the 8 km extension to the city’s 1 067 mm gauge suburban network ...
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Metro Report InternationalPuebla tram-train inaugurated
MEXICO: Ceremonies were held on January 23 to launch a tram-train service in the city of Puebla, approximately 100 km southeast of Mexico City. The inauguration celebrations were attended by President Enrique Peña Nieto, Puebla state Governor Rafael Moreno Valle and Secretary of Communications & Transportation Gerardo Ruiz Esparza. Apart ...
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NewsMetafrax takes delivery of chemical wagons
RUSSIA: United Wagon Co’s TikhvinChemMash has delivered 20 chemical tank wagons to Metafrax, and is to establish a servicing centre at the chemical company’s production site. Designed to be suitable for a wide range of chemicals, the Type 15-6900-01 wagons which Metafrax plans to use for transporting formalin ...
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Metro Report InternationalFirst Guadalajara Line 3 train presented in Mexico
MEXICO: The first train for the future Line 3 of the Guadalajara metro was presented to the Secretariat of Communications & Transport on January 24. It had started its journey from Alstom’s factory in Barcelona in October. Alstom is supplying 18 three-car Metropolis trainsets under a contract ...
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NewsModertrans wins first order for fully low-floor Gamma trams
POLAND: Modertrans has submitted the best offer to supply 50 trams to MPK Poznań, the transport authority announced on January 23. The Poznań-based supplier beat Pesa and a Stadler-Solaris consortium. Modertrans will supply 30 unidirectional and 20 bidirectional trams of 30·5 m to 32·5 m long under the 397m ...
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NewsChannel Tunnel security centre opened
EUROPE: Channel Tunnel operator Eurotunnel inaugurated a security control centre at its French terminal in Coquelles on January 18. The decision to make the ‘major investment’ in the centre was taken following a meeting in summer 2015 between the UK’s then Home Secretary Theresa May and her French counterpart Bernard ...
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NewsRancagua Express carries first passengers
CHILE: State railway EFE began trial operation of its new commuter service between Santiago and Rancagua on January 24. During the initial phase, there are three departures from the capital during the morning peak, and one at 20.45 on Fridays. There are departures from Rancagua at 07.20, 10.00 and 19.30. ...
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NewsTGVmax offers unlimited travel for less than a car-share
FRANCE: A new online ticketing product offering passengers aged 16 to 27 unlimited travel on long-distance services for €79 a month was announced by SNCF on January 23. TGVmax will be available on 94% of TGV and Intercités services and on every day of the year, with the exception of ...
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NewsMinsk metro selects Stadler rolling stock
BELARUS: Stadler Minsk CEO Philipp Brunner told local media on January 23 that Stadler had been selected to supply 10 trainsets for the Minsk metro. Brunner gave no further details, but it seems likely that the rolling stock is to be used on metro Line 3, currently under construction. ...