All Railway Gazette International articles in July 2009 – Page 2
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NewsInter-city electrification planning to start immediately
UK: An immediate start of detailed planning for electrification of the Great Western Main Line and Manchester Victoria - Liverpool route were announced by Secretary of State for Transport Lord Andrew Adonis on July 23. The Great Western route will be electrified from London to Bristol, Cardiff and Swansea ...
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NewsTrack access reforms approved
SLOVENIA: The National Assembly approved changes to legislation which were necessary to transpose two European directives into Slovenian law on July 15. Responsibility for the collection of track access charges has been transferred from national operator Slovenske Zeleznice to the Rail Transport Agency. The second change opens up the ...
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NewsAnsaldo STS wins huge Libyan signalling contract
LIBYA: Ansaldo STS signed its largest ever contract on July 22, covering the supply of signalling, telecoms and power supply equipment for two rail projects now underway in Libya. The €541m contract covers the 625 km coastal line which China Railway Construction Corp is building to link Ras Ejder ...
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NewsDB completes PCC Logistics purchase
POLAND: Deutsche Bahn completed its acquisition of PCC Logistics with effect from July 21. An agreement for the purchase of Poland's largest private rail freight operator for an undisclosed price was signed in Warszawa on January 30, and the European Commission approved the deal on June 12. Launched in ...
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NewsLocomotive co-operation deal signed
AUSTRALIA: GE Transportation and United Group have signed a series of 10-year sales agreements extending their on-going co-operation in the Australian locomotive market UGL Rail will remain the Australian distributor of GE Transportation locomotives, including the Evolution Series, and will design and build locomotives using GE technology. It will also ...
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NewsElectrification consultancy acquired
EUROPE: KEMA has acquired German firm ELBAS Elektrische Bahnsysteme Ingenieur-Gesellschaft mbH and a 50% stake in ELBAS Schweiz AG, in a deal which the Dutch-based consultancy said will strengthen its global Rail Power Systems consultancy practice in the German-speaking countries. Founded in 1991, ELBAS provides consulting and engineering services ...
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NewsWisconsin wants Talgo trains
USA: Wisconsin Governor Jim Doyle has announced that his state will purchase two 14-car Talgo trainsets for $47·5m. They are to be assigned to Amtrak's Hiawatha line, which provides seven daily return trips between Chicago and Milwaukee. Doyle visited Spain in February to inspect Patentes Talgo's production facilities ...
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NewsBerlin opts for 99 trams
GERMANY: Following successful trials of four prototype Flexity Berlin trams since September, city transport operator BVG has placed an order with Bombardier for 99 vehicles at a cost of €305·3m. This includes 40 vehicles 40 m long and 59 of the 31 m version. A further 33 are likely to ...
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News'Story book ending' gets Central Link off to a sound start
USA: Revenue services on Seattle's $2·3bn Central Link light rail line began on July 20, after more than 92 000 people sampled free rides during the July 18-19 opening weekend. Sound Transit ran free services at 7½ min headways, with two extra 'gap trains' making additional trips on July 18 ...
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NewsSilesian tram investment
POLAND: Local authorities in Silesia are co-operating in a 556m zloty project to modernise the region’s extensive tram network with the aid of EU funding. The cities are linked by a 350 km tram network, but the infrastructure needs modernisation and most of the 346 trams are aging 105Na cars, ...
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NewsWorld rail market July 2009
Austria: ÖBB Infrastructure Bau has awarded Funkwerk IT a framework contract for the supply of AlisterCargo electronic interlockings for marshalling yards. Installations in Wien and Graz will be completed this year. Canada: On June 18 US-based RJ Corman Railroad Group announced it had finalised the acquisition of Railpower Technologies Corp ...
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NewsUrban rail news in brief - July 2009
The state-owned Development Bank of the Philippines and Land Bank of the Philippines have bought a 75% stake in Manila MRT3 operator Metro Rail Transit Corp from private investors in a deal reported to be worth around US$800m. The remaining 25% is owned by privatesector banks. Lack of demand caused ...
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NewsSiemens offers Desiro City to the UK market
UK: Siemens unveiled Desiro City, the latest addition to its Desiro range for the UK market on July 16. The high-capacity commuter EMU forms the basis of the company's bid to win the contract to supply 1 300 cars for expanded north-south cross-London Thameslink services, the procurement of which is ...
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NewsGE signs Indonesian locomotive deal
INDONESIA: State railway PTKA has confirmed an order for 20 GE Transportation C20-EMP diesel locomotives, to be delivered in 2010-11. A memorandum of understanding also commits PTKA and GE Transportation to developing a long-term plan for the purchase or lease of up to 150 additional locomotives.The signing ceremony was held ...
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NewsPartners sign locomotive development agreement
EUROPE: A further step in the formation of a joint venture to produce locomotives for Russian Railways was taken on July 16, when RZD Chief Executive Vladimir Yakunin, Sinara Group CEO Dmitry Pumpyansky and Siemens board member Siegfried Russwurm signed an agreement in München in the presence of German Chancellor ...
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NewsCoastal route for LGV-PACA
FRANCE: After studying a range of options, Environment Minister Jean-Louis Borloo has confirmed the preferred route for the proposed LGV Provence - Alpes - Côte d'Azur to Nice. This will follow the existing coastal railway through Marseille and Toulon rather than taking a shorter direct route east from Aix-en-Provence. ...
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NewsEBRD funds Russian rail reform
RUSSIA: The European Bank for Reconstruction & Development is to provide Russian Railways with a US$500m long-term loan to enable the state-owned railway to restructure its balance sheet and continue with an institutional reform programme despite the current economic crisis. The 10-year unsecured loan will be the largest which EBRD ...
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NewsRails to the port
GREECE: Construction group Themeli has been awarded a €77·2m contract for civil works and the supply of electro-mechanical equipment for the 5·4 km extension of the Athens tram network from Faliro to Piraeus (RG 1.09 p12). Operator TRAM SA also plans to build a 3 km connection between Helliniko stop ...
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NewsPartners selected for Brasilia light rail project
BRAZIL: On June 25 Montpellier’s transport authority TAM signed a partnership agreement with the Brasilia Federal District to provide technical consultancy for six years during construction of Brasilia’s first tramway. The Brastram consortium, which includes Alstom Transport, has been selected to build phase I of the city’s LRT network. ...
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NewsRio de Janeiro orders Chinese trains
BRAZIL: Two contracts for suburban and metro trains were signed during a visit to China by Sérgio Cabral, Governor of the state of Rio de Janeiro. A US$165m contract partly funded though the World Bank was inked with China National Machinery Import & Export Corp on June 30. This ...