Latest news – Page 240
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NewsBoston South Station track and signalling contract awarded
USA: Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority has awarded Middlesex Corp a $98m contract to renew track, turnouts and signals at Boston’s South Station. The upgrading programme is expected to improve the reliability and resilience of the nine MBTA commuter rail routes that use the station, which also ...
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Metro Report InternationalLuton Airport DART cable-hauled peoplemover opens
UK: Full services on the Direct Air-Rail Transit automated cable-hauled peoplemover linking Luton Airport Parkway railway station with the airport terminal began running on March 27, following a soft launch with a limited timetable on March 10. Airport owner Luton Borough Council approved the 2·08 ...
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NewsFirst tunnel completed for Bulgarian route upgrade
BULGARIA: Construction of a 1 km twin-bore tunnel has been completed as part of the upgrading of the 20 km Elin Pelin – Vakarel section of the Sofia – Plovdiv line. This section is the most complex part of a 498·8m lev EU-backed project to modernise ...
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Metro Report InternationalLuxtram extension plans announced
LUXEMBOURG: Plans have been announced for the construction of two extensions to Luxembourg’s Luxtram tram network by 2035. One would branch off Line 1 at Gare Centrale to run 1·1 km west to the Hollerich district and the future Nei Hollerich neighbourhood, with two stops. The ...
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NewsDART+ train mock-up unveiled in Dublin
IRELAND: National railway Iarnród Éireann has unveiled a full-scale mock-up of the electric and battery-electric multiple-unit cars which Alstom is to supply for the DART+ programme to enhance rail services into Dublin. The units from Alstom’s X’trapolis modular commuter train platform will ...
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Rail Business UKTransport for Wales launches Class 231 Flirt DMUs
UK: Transport for Wales officially launched its fleet of Stadler Flirt Class 231 diesel multiple-units into revenue service with a ceremony at Caerphilly on March 29, at which unit 231001 was named ‘Sultan’. Ordered from Stadler as part of a £800m fleet replacement programme, the 11 ...
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In depthSweden: Investment volte-face exposes fragility of EU rail vision
The decision last December by the incoming Swedish government to scale back radically the national high speed rail programme and remove the routes from the pan-European TEN-T network has raised profound questions about the country’s commitment to EU rail ambitions, as Nick Kingsley explains.
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Metro Report InternationalUrban transport industry news round-up
This week’s round-up of news from the urban transport sector.
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Metro Report InternationalPhillip Eng named MBTA General Manager
USA: State Governor Maura T Healey has announced the appointment of Phillip Eng as General Manager of Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority from April 10. Interim General Manager Jeff Gonneville will remain with MBTA and assist with the transition. Eng has nearly 40 years of experience in ...
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Metro Report InternationalMálaga extension opening expected to double ridership
SPAIN: Ridership on the Metro de Málaga light rail network is expected to double from seven to 14 million passengers/year following the opening of an extension into the city centre on March 27. The 1·7 km underground extension starts at El Perchel-María Zambrano, adjacent to the ...
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NewsTaiwanese high speed train contract approved
TAIWAN: Taiwan High Speed Rail Corp has approved a NT$28bn contract for a consortium of Hitachi and Toshiba to supply 12 N700S high speed trainsets to augment the Series 700T sets that have been used since the line opened in 2007.
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NewsRENFE orders commuter trains
SPAIN: National operator RENFE has awarded CAF a contract to supply 29 electric multiple-units for use on Cercanías suburban passenger services. The contract announced on March 27 is worth €192·7m, including 15 years of maintenance and the supply of spare parts. There are options for a ...
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Metro Report InternationalMallorca tram-train scheme revived
SPAIN: After a decade in limbo, plans have been revived for tram-train style service from Manacor to Artá in the northeast of the island of Mallorca. Development was suspended for financial reasons in 2012. In mid-March this year, the regional government and Manacor town council agreed ...
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NewsTanzanian training academy planned
TANZANIA: Tanzania Railways Corp has been granted approval to build a training institute on a 74 ha site in Tabora, according to local media reports. TRC will use the facility to focus on developing engineers with railway skills as it continues to develop the country’s 1 ...
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In depthEuropean Policy: Making the case for cross-border rail
As part of the vision for a Single European Railway Area, a coalition of member states and European institutions is pushing to revitalise and expand cross-border passenger services as a key element in driving modal shift to rail and decarbonising the EU transport sector. Chris Jackson investigates.
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NewsMoldovan rail upgrades to handle Ukrainian export traffic
MOLDOVA: The European Bank for Reconstruction & Development has approved a €23m crisis response loan which national railway CFM will use to part-finance the modernisation of two sections of railway for use by Ukrainian transit traffic. The total cost of the work to increase capacity and ...
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Metro Report InternationalZürich trams donated to Ukraine
UKRAINE: Zürich transport operator VBZ has donated 35 secondhand Tram 2000 vehicles to Vinnytsia. The first batch of eight trams set off from Switzerland on March 15. It is expected that will have a further service life of 12 to 15 years on the Ukrainian city’s ...
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NewsSix 8E locos to receive HVAC upgrade
SOUTH AFRICA: Booyco Engineering has been commissioned to update the heating, ventilation and air conditioning system fitted to the driver’s cabs of six Class 8E locomotives operated by a South African coal producer. The HVAC systems are designed and manufactured at Booyco Engineering’s Germiston facilities. However, the ...
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NewsKnorr-Bremse to equip La Dolce Vita luxury trains
ITALY: Arsenale Express has awarded Knorr-Bremse a contract to supply braking, climate control, door and sanitary systems for two rakes of 11 coaches which are being modernised for use on La Dolce Vita luxury ‘slow travel’ services La Dolce Vita is being developed by luxury travel ...