All Railway Gazette International articles in June 2012 – Page 2
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NewsUK must start developing tram-train now
UK: Detailed planning for tram-train projects should begin immediately rather than wait for the outcome of the recently-confirmed Sheffield - Rotherham pilot project, Geoff Inskip, Chief Executive of West Midlands transport authority Centro, told the All-Party Parliamentary Light Rail Group on June 13. The pilot scheme is scheduled to run ...
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NewsTrenitalia and Amadeus sign distribution agreement
ITALY: Trenitalia has signed a retail and distribution agreement with transaction processing specialist Amadeus Rail to market its inter-city services internationally using the Amadeus Global Distribution System. Initially covering the Frecce Alta Velocità suite of long-distance services using RFI’s high speed network, the agreement will give Trenitalia ...
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NewsBrest tramway opens
FRANCE: Ceremonies took place on June 23 for the opening of the new tram line in Brest. The 14·3 km route runs from Porte de Plouzané in the west to Porte de Gouesnou and Porte de Guipavas northeast of the city centre, serving 28 stops including four park and ride ...
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NewsMumbai monorail independent assessor appointed
INDIA: The LTSE consortium of Larsen & Toubro and Scomi Engineering which is building the Mumbai monorail has appointed Mott MacDonald as independent assessor for testing and commissioning. Mott MacDonald will review plans and documentation, and undertake simulations to assess emergency procedures and equipment. LTSE is building the 19·7 ...
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NewsLion dance launches Shatin to Central Link construction
CHINA: A groundbreaking ceremony and lion dance officially launched construction of Hong Kong's HK$65bn Shatin to Central Link on June 22. The Hong Kong government's Chief Secretary for Administration Stephen Lam Sui-lung officiated at the ceremony, saying SCL would 'enhance the entire railway network by linking up several existing railway ...
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NewsNavi Mumbai metro tendering
INDIA: Tendering is underway for works on the first line of a planned 106 km metro network in Navi Mumbai, a satellite new city near Mumbai. Preliminary works began last year for the initial 11·1 km Belapur - Pendher phase of Line 2, which will be the first line to ...
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NewsSão Paulo commuter operator orders Sygnet diesel locos
BRAZIL: São Paulo commuter rail operator CPTM has ordered an initial batch of four diesel locomotives from local manufacturer EIF Locomotivas, with an option for more locos. CPTM operates six lines totalling 260 route-km, serving 89 stations, and carries more than 1·7 million passengers a day. The 1 600 mm ...
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NewsMülheim exercises Essen tram option
GERMANY: Mülheim transport operator MVG has ordered five Flexity Classic trams from Bombardier Transportation for delivery in 2015, exercising a €13m option on a €72m contract for 27 trams which was signed by Essen operator EVAG in December 2011. The trams for Mülheim will be identical to the Essen vehicles, ...
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NewsReforms proposed to cut SNCB losses
BELGIUM: In a bid to address the growing debts and operating losses incurred by the national railway, Minister of Public Enterprises Paul Magnette has announced proposals to abolish SNCB-Holding and split the business into two stand-alone companies, operator SNCB and infrastructure manager Infrabel. Last year the group’s accumulated debts reached ...
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NewsFreight sale heads Israeli reform programmme
ISRAEL: General Manager Boaz Zafir has confirmed that a subsidiary company to operate Israel Railways' freight services will begin operations during the third quarter of 2012. The company is due to be legally established by the end of June, ready for partial privatisation in early 2013 when a strategic ...
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NewsPrototype 220 km/h trainset on test
UKRAINE: Testing is underway with the first of two prototype 220 km/h inter-regional electric multiple-units being built by Kriukov Car Building Works for national railway UZ. The nine-car units are rated at 4 MW, and equipped for operation on lines electrified at 3 kV DC and 25 kV 50 ...
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NewsNews in Brief - June 2012
Construction of the 1260 km Luliang - Rizhao heavy haul coal railway which will link mines in China’s Shanxi province with the coast in Shandong province was launched on May 5. The line is being built at cost of 99·8bn yuan and is expected to open in 2014 with an ...
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NewsPrototype metro trains and more trams approved
GERMANY: The board of Berlin urban transport operator BVG approved plans to order two prototype metro trains and exercise an option for a further 39 trams at its meeting on June 22. The Land of Berlin is to provide €158m to fund an order for new U-Bahn trains to replace ...
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NewsFirst major Wiggins Island Rail Project contract awarded
AUSTRALIA: QR National has awarded the first major contract for its A$900m Wiggins Island Rail Project, a programme of new and upgraded lines being undertaken to serve the Wiggins Island Coal Export Terminal at the Port of Gladstone from mid-2014. The A$76m contract announced on June 22 will see Abigroup ...
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NewsRail motorways to serve Spain and Sweden
EUROPE: Announcing the rebranding of its 'rail motorway' business as VIIA on June 7, SNCF Geodis said that its Perpignan - Luxembourg service is to extended to Helsingborg in Sweden later this year. A southern extension into Spain is also being planned, following the successful conclusion of initial cross-border tests ...
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NewsBologna tunnel boosts speed and capacity
ITALY: A 17·8 km link connecting the Bologna - Firenze and Bologna - Milano high speed lines was brought into service in June. It includes a tunnel under Bologna which allows high speed services which do not stop in the city to run through at speed. The link has been ...
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NewsPort of Le Havre awards signalling contract
FRANCE: Le Havre port authority GPMH has awarded Thales a €2·1m turnkey contract to equip the rail network at its Port 2000 intermodal terminal with PIVOS computer-based interlocking based on the supplier's proprietary PIPC technology. Commissioning is planned for July 2013. Announcing the contract on June 21, Thales said this ...
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NewsUse Rabbit, get Carrots
THAILAND: Bangkok Smartcard System Co has launched the 'Rabbit' smart card as a common ticketing platform for the city's public transport systems. It is also a stored-value electronic purse that can be used at more than 20 retail outlets. BSS is part of BTS Group Holdings, with Bangkok Bank as ...
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NewsEMD to develop natural gas locomotive
ENGINE: An agreement to develop natural gas-powered locomotives has been signed by gas specialist Westport Innovations and Caterpillar, which will fund the programme. The locomotive technology is to be developed by Caterpillar's Electro-Motive Diesel business, using Westport's high-pressure direct injection technology. In December 2011 the companies had announced plans to ...
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NewsBerlin S-Bahn split to go ahead
GERMANY: Meeting on June 19, the Berlin Senate voted to push ahead with controversial proposals to split the city’s S-Bahn network into three separate businesses in order to introduce competition when tendering the next round of operating concessions. Bids are expected to be called later this month for a ...