All Railway Gazette International articles in July 2019 – Page 8
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News
DB buys Westbahn’s Kiss EMUs
EUROPE: Deutsche Bahn has signed an agreement to acquire Austrian open access operator Westbahn’s fleet of 17 Stadler Kiss double-deck electric multiple-units. Announcing the deal on July 22, the German national railway said Westbahn’s four-car and six-car units had ‘achieved the highest levels of customer satisfaction’; some of the ...
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NewsGautrain success foreshadows expansion
SOUTH AFRICA: Outline plans to extend Gautrain to serve more of the Gauteng region have been drawn up as part of an assessment of the project’s economic and social impact. About R110bn could be allocated for construction of extensions and 19 new stations, plus R24∙4bn on improvements to the existing ...
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NewsCalifornia High-Speed Rail Authority issues Track & Systems RFQ
USA: California High-Speed Rail Authority has issued a request for qualifications for its Phase I Track & Systems contract, which has an estimate value of $1·6bn. This would cover design, construction, and testing of the trackwork, electrification, signalling, train control and other railway systems for the 190 km route ...
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NewsFreightCar America to close Roanoke factory
USA: Wagon manufacturer FreightCar America is to permanently close its factory at Roanoke, Virginia, by mid-November. The company has leased the site from Norfolk Southern since 2005. ‘The closure of our Roanoke facility is another next step in our “Back to Basics” strategy as we continue to ...
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NewsElectrification, batteries and hydrogen trains should replace DMUs, says study
GERMANY: Electrification, battery power and fuel cells are the most sensible options for replacing diesel multiple-units, according to an environmental and value-for-money study undertaken by the Association for Electrical, Electronic & Information Technologies. The Alternatives to DMUs in Rail Passenger Transport study was undertaken by VDE with ...
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Metro Report InternationalBidders shortlisted for London Underground 4G network contract
UK: Transport for London has shortlisted four bidders for a contract to roll out 4G mobile connectivity across the underground sections of the London Underground network. The shortlisted bidders are BAI Communications, Cellnex UK Ltd, Wireless Infrastructure Group, and a consortium of Axia and SC. TfL aims to ...
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NewsCalifornia Northern Railroad commissions low-emission locos
USA: Two Knoxville Locomotive Works low-emission diesel locos have entered service on Genesee & Wyoming’s California Northern Railroad following the completion of trials. The 1·79 MW locomotives have 12-cylinder MTU engines and use selective catalytic reduction technology to meet Tier 4 emissions requirements. They are expected to provide fuel ...
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Rail Business UK
Alstom completes first Class 175 DMU refurbishment
UK: Alstom's Technology Centre at Widnes has rolled out the first of 27 Class 175 long-distance 160 km/h regional diesel multiple-units to be refurbished in a £6·7m programme which is being undertaken for Transport for Wales. The Alstom-built Class 175 has received TfW’s exterior branding, with interior changes including ...
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NewsFlixTrain raises funding for expansion
INTERNATIONAL: FlixMobility has completed a Series F funding round co-led by growth equity firms TCV and Permira, with long-time investor HV Holtzbrinck Ventures also participating through a joint investment with the European Investment Bank. In the rail sector, the company plans to use the equity raised to support the growth ...
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NewsCement trains start rolling on Tanga – Moshi line
TANZANIA: The revival of freight operations on the country’s 438 km Usambara Railway was marked by a ceremony at Moshi on July 20 attended by Prime Minister Kassim Majaliwa. The Tanga – Moshi line has been out of use for 12 years, but the Prime Minister told parliament in ...
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NewsNorfolk Southern starts TOP 21 roll-out
USA: Norfolk Southern has successfully rolled out the first phase of its Thoroughbred Operating Plan 21, covering its wagonload and automotive traffic, the railway confirmed on July 22. Mirroring the principles of the Precision Scheduled Railroading concept adopted by other Class Is, TOP21 is designed to improve system velocity ...
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Metro Report InternationalSolaris to supply 130 articulated battery buses to Warszawa
POLAND: Warszawa bus operator MZA has ordered 130 electric buses from Solaris at a cost of 399·6m złoty, the supplier announced on July 22. Solaris is to begin deliveries of its articulated Urbino 18 electric vehicles in 2020. MZA has received EU funds of 180m złoty towards the ...
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Rail Business UKSheffield City Region rail vision launched
UK: An ‘ambitious’ Integrated Rail Plan for the Sheffield City Region was launched by Mayor Dan Jarvis on July 18. The plan was produced by the region’s local authorities supported by organisations including Transport for the North. The proposals include a Barnsley Dearne Valley station in Goldthorpe on the ...
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NewsBRX’s acquisition of Pioneer Railcorp approved
USA: Short line group Pioneer Railcorp announced on July 19 that its shareholders had approved the company’s acquisition by BRX Transportation Holdings, an entity formed by infrastructure investors Brookhaven Rail Partners, Related Infrastructure and private equity investor Stephens Capital Partners. Pioneer Railcorp owns 15 common carrier short lines including ...
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NewsDSB starts driverless S-bane train procurement
DENMARK: State operator DSB has launched a market sounding exercise in preparation for the procurement of a fleet of driverless trains to operate the København S-bane. Building on work now underway to equip the S-bane with CBTC, the government decided in December 2017 to convert the stand-alone 1·5 kV ...
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Rail Business UK
UK railway news round-up
Grant Shapps was appointed Secretary of State for Transport in new Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s cabinet on July 24. The Member of Parliament for Welwyn Hatfield succeeds Chris Grayling. The Office of Rail & Road published its annual Network Rail Monitor assessment of the infrastructure manager’s performance on July ...
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NewsMinimum access rights include station platforms, court rules
AUSTRIA: The use of station platforms is included within the ‘minimum access package’ which EU Directive 2012/34 requires infrastructure managers to make available to all train operators, the European Court of Justice has ruled. This means that charges for the use of platforms must not exceed the cost that ...
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Metro Report InternationalMore trains ordered as tunnelling begins on Singapore Circle Line extension
SINGAPORE: Tunnelling started on the Circle Line Stage 6 extension on July 25 with the launch of the tunnel boring machine at Keppel station. The TBM will bore a tunnel to HarbourFront, and will be followed by two more, expected to be launched in September and October. The ...
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NewsLocos retrieved from Sierra Leone
AFRICA: Diesel locomotives which South African freight and financial services company Grindrod Ltd supplied for use at a mine in Sierra Leone which has now ceased operating have been recovered for use elsewhere. Grindrod delivered a total of 34 S30SCC locomotives to haul iron ore from African ...
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Metro Report InternationalSão Paulo Line 18 project cancelled
BRAZIL: São Paulo State Governor João Doria has announced that the São Paulo metro Line 18 project has been cancelled. A PPP concession to build, operate and maintain the monorail line was signed in 2014. The planned alignment from Tamanduateí to Estrada dos Alvarengas in the south ...