All Railway Gazette International articles in July 2011 – Page 4
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NewsBerlin S-Bahn groundbreaking
GERMANY: A groundbreaking ceremony in Berlin on June 6 marked the start of work on tram and S-Bahn connections to the Hauptbahnhof. A 2·3 km tram route will be built along Invalidenstrasse linking Nord-bahnhof with Hauptbahnhof by 2015, while a new north-south S-Bahn line designated S21 would connect Potsdamer Platz ...
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NewsAthens metro line reopens
GREECE: Attiko Metro reopened the underground section of Line 1 between Attiki and Monastiraki on June 7 following completion of track renewal work (MR 3.11 p48). However, the discovery of archaeological remains has halted work on the section between Omonia and Thissio, which is currently limited to single-track operation. As ...
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NewsInvensys Rail awarded London Bridge resignalling contract
UK: Network Rail has selected Invensys Rail for a framework contract to resignal the London Bridge station area under what the infrastructure manager's Director of Investment Projects, Simon Kirby, said would be 'one of the most complex station, track and signalling projects being undertaken on the railway network in a ...
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NewsFirst line opens under £1·4bn Manchester tram expansion
UK: Revenue service on the 2·7 km Metrolink branch from Trafford Bar to St Werburgh’s Road in Chorlton began on July 7.‘It is both an historic occasion and a sign of the exciting future in store for the network, as we continue our £1·4 billion expansion — the single biggest ...
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NewsSun helps to cool burning Phoenix
USA: Push-button operated on-demand cooling has been installed in the seating area of Phoenix Metro's 3rd Street/Washington light rail stop. Developed and funded by NRG Thermal, the system uses solar power to operate overhead cool air blowers linked to the district cooling network. It was launched on July 6, when ...
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NewsFlushed with success
TOILETS: To support the design of Coradia Polyvalent trains for France, Alstom has developed a train toilet test bench which enables testing of elements including the suction system, cabin doors and tanks. The test bench is installed at Alstom's Barcelona plant. 'Toilet cabins, unlike other facilities, are not standardised, which ...
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NewsRapid transit plan agreed as last train leaves Singapore
SINGAPORE: The final KTMB train left Tanjung Pagar station for Johor Bahru in Malaysia at 23.00 on June 30, driven by the Sultan of Johar and watched by a crowd of onlookers. At midnight ownership of the 26 km rail corridor south of Woodlands Train Checkpoint on the Singapore ...
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NewsAlstom agrees job cuts at Salzgitter
GERMANY: On July 7 the IG Metall trade union announced that it had agreed terms with Alstom over planned workforce reductions at its plant in Salzgitter. The company had announced in March that it intended to cut 700 jobs at Saltzgitter, as part of a wider reduction which would also ...
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NewsDB Regio awarded RE-Netz Südwest operating contract
GERMANY: On July 5 the Rheinland-Pfalz Nord and Süd, Rhein-Main, Baden-Württemberg and Saarland transport authorities announced the selection of DB Regio Südwest for a 15-year contract to operate RE-Netz Südwest services from December 2014. The contract covers two groups of services to be operated under the planned Rheinland-Pfalz-Takt 2015 timetable. ...
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NewsSiemens to supply ETCS for High Plateau line
ALGERIA: Railway development agency ANESRIF has awarded a consortium including the ESTEL joint venture of national railway SNTF and Siemens a contract to supply ETCS Level 1 signalling and telecoms for 290 km of the High Plateau line between M'Sila, the new town of Boughzoul and Tissemsilt (9.08 p699). Siemens ...
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NewsEdinburgh votes to save tram project
UK: By a single vote, City of Edinburgh Council resolved to go ahead with completion of a truncated initial phase of the tram project on June 30. The 13·4 km of Line 1 from the airport to St Andrew Square will be completed, however the eastern section to Leith ...
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NewsOlsztyn tramway construction contract
POLAND: Olsztyn city council has awarded Spanish construction company FCC a €62·5m contract to build an 11·5 km tram line with 19 stops in the city. The route comprises a central 7·3 km double-track section running from the main PKP station in the northeast to Osiedle Jaroty in the south, ...
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NewsMilano metro Line 4 turnkey contract awarded
ITALY: A consortium of Impregilo, Astaldi, Ansaldo STS, AnsaldoBreda, Sirti and ATM has been selected for a turnkey contract to build and operate Milano metro Line 4. Line 4 will be 15·2 km long with 21 stations, connecting Linate airport to San Cristoforo with interchanges to Line ...
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NewsLithium-ion wayside energy storage trials at SEPTA
USA: Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority is working with Viridity Energy, Saft and Envitech Energy Inc to test an energy storage system at Letterly substation on the Market-Frankford metro line in Philadelphia. Viridity Energy has selected Saft's Intensium Max20 lithium-ion storage batteries to capture and store excess power produced by Septa ...
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NewsSantiago metro expansion next year
CHILE: Following an announcement by President Sebastián Piñera that construction of Santiago metro lines 3 and 6 would start in 2012, Metro Santiago issued a tender for project management and technical assistance on June 13. Submissions are due by July 28. Line 3 would be 21·2 km long with 18 ...
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NewsSystra restructuring underway
FRANCE: The first stage of a restructuring of the Systra group was completed on June 30 with the incorporation of holding company Financière Systra into Systra SA, and the transfer of control of consultancy businesses Xelis and Inexia from RATP and SNCF respectively. Supervisory and executive boards were also established. ...
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NewsBombardier to shed 1400 jobs at Derby
UK: Bombardier Transportation announced on July 5 that it was initiating a 90-day statutory consultation process with a view to downsizing capacity at its train manufacturing plant in Derby. Citing declining workloads, the company is expecting to release 446 permanent and 983 temporary staff over the next few months. At ...
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NewsFirst Waratah EMU enters service at last
AUSTRALIA: The first Waratah double-deck EMU being supplied for Sydney’s CityRail suburban network by Reliance Rail finally entered revenue service on July 1, around 18 months behind schedule. The inaugural unit was dispatched from Redfern by the Chief Executive of RailCorp Rob Mason, who said he was 'very excited' to ...
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NewsKaunisvaara iron ore logistics joint venture announced
EUROPE: Northland Resources has announced an agreement to form a 50:50 joint venture with civil engineering firm Peab to manage the transportation of iron from the magnetite mine which Northland is developing at Kaunisvaara, 100 km north of the Arctic Circle in Sweden. Production is expected to be underway ...
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NewsBaas R&D bought by Voestalpine
NETHERLANDS: Voestalpine announced its acquisition of the Baas R&D research department of Baas BV on June 27. Based at Waddinxveen, Baas R&D specialises in development and production of wheel diagnostic and axle recognition systems based on optic fibre technology, which Voestalpine believes is a field 'with long-term growth prospects' ...