Latest news – Page 678
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Rail Business UKNetwork Rail agrees £1·46bn commercial estate sale
UK: Infrastructure manager Network Rail announced on September 10 that it had agreed terms for Telereal Trillium and Blackstone Property Partners to buy its commercial estate portfolio in England and Wales for £1·46bn. The deal comprises around 5 200 properties, the majority of which are spaces under viaducts. Properties in ...
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NewsDB spending halted as profits slump
GERMANY: Deutsche Bahn Chief Executive Dr Richard Lutz has brought in emergency spending controls, amid reports of a third warning that the group’s 2018 profit target was unlikely to be achieved. According to local media, Lutz has written to senior executives warning that business had deteriorated in recent months rather ...
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NewsBattery-powered Desiro ML Cityjet Eco unveiled
AUSTRIA: An electric multiple-unit equipped with a prototype electric-battery hybrid drive system designed to enable through running onto non-electrified lines was unveiled by Siemens and Austrian Federal Railways in Wien on September 10. The Desiro ML Cityjet Eco has been produced using a series-built version of the Desiro ML EMUs ...
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NewsItaly – Slovenia passenger services reinstated
EUROPE: Through passenger services between Italy and Slovenia were reinstated on September 9, having been suspended in 2008. The revival of the service is the result of a partnership between the Italian region of Friuli-Venezia Giulia, which owns the CAF-built ETR563 electric multiple-units deployed on the route, and national operators ...
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NewsŠkoda selected for Ostrava tram contract
CZECH REPUBLIC: Tram operator DP Ostrava announced on September 7 that it had selected Škoda Transportation to supply 40 low-floor trams for KC1·9bn. Stadler, CAF and Inekon also bid, but did not comply with the terms of the tender. Deliveries of the ForCity Smart vehicles are due between September ...
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NewsBattery buses inaugurated in Moscow
RUSSIA: Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin inaugurated the city’s first battery electric bus route on September 1. Battery buses using overnight and opportunity charging have replaced trolleybuses on Route 73 between VDNKh Exhibition Centre and Bibirevo, enabling the overhead wires to be dismantled. KAMAZ and GAZ are supplying 100 ...
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Metro Report InternationalMetro line linking Suzhou with Shanghai approved
CHINA: The National Development & Reform Commission approved a metro line linking the Suzhou and Shanghai networks on September 6. The city approved the Line S1 project on August 28 as part of the Suzhou Urban Rail Transit Phase III Construction Plan. The 41·3 km underground route would serve ...
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NewsWorld rail freight news round-up
Hupac Group recorded an 8% increase in traffic in the first half of 2018, with trans-Alpine transport through Switzerland up 9.4%. Hupac expects ‘continued constant growth’ for the second half of 2018, supported by a 15% increase in its wagon fleet and the deployment of eight multi-system locomotives. PKP Cargo ...
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NewsGet on the right lines with Rail.One
RAIL.ONE: Interdisciplinary teams and international experience will be highlighted by track technology supplier Rail.One at InnoTrans 2018. Structural flexibility and noise protection are important for urban rail applications, while long-distance and freight railways require products offering ease of installation, reliability and minimal maintenance. ‘We will be presenting our visitors ...
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NewsZevenaar – Didam upgrading contract awarded
NETHERLANDS: Infrastructure manager ProRail has awarded Strukton Rail a €40m contract to modernise and double-track the 4 km single track regional line between Zevenaar and Didam. Construction is expected to begin later this year for completion at the end of 2019. The maximum line speed will be increased from 100 ...
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NewsSteel coil wagons ordered
FRANCE: Leasing company Ermewa has awarded Đuro Đaković Specijalna Vozila a 127m kuna contract to supply Shimmns TTU four-axle wagons which will be used to transport steel coil for car manufacturers. Deliveries under the contract announced on August 27 are scheduled to begin in Q4 2018 and continue throughout 2019. ...
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Metro Report InternationalFirst CAF trainset arrives in Quito
ECUADOR: On September 6 the first of 18 metro trainsets being produced by CAF arrived to Quito. The six-car trains are being supplied to operate the city’s first metro line. CAF was awarded a contract on July 15 2016 under a US$183m agreement financed through a credit agreement between ...
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NewsCP to launch €168m rolling stock procurement
PORTUGAL: The government’s Council of Ministers on September 6 gave the go-ahead for national passenger operator CP to start a rolling stock procurement process. Intended to cover the acquisition of 22 trainsets, an international tender worth €168·2m is to be called in 2019 in accordance with EU procurement rules. The ...
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NewsCatenary-free tram delivered to Kaohsiung
TAIWAN: The first test runs on the second phase of the Kaohsiung tramway are scheduled to get underway later this month, after the first tram arrived the port of Keelung from Alstom’s La Rochelle site in France on September 2. Revenue services are planned for 2019. In January 2017 China ...
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NewsRailway supply industry news round-up
Stadler Rail is exploring options for a possible IPO next year, Bloomberg reported on September 4. The executive and supervisory boards of VTG AG published a joint reasoned opinion on September 5 recommending that shareholders do not accept the €53 per share voluntary public takeover offer made by the ...
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Metro Report InternationalUsing technology to empower passengers with disabilities
WAYFINDING: Cubic Transportation Systems is developing augmented reality technology for mobile devices with the aim of enhancing the public transport user experience for passengers with disabilities. While transport operators are meeting the letter of accessibility laws, ‘we believe we can take it ...
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NewsLights show the way
TSL-ESCHA: Internal lights for trams and LRVs will be the focus of the TSL-Escha stand at InnoTrans 2018, where the company will be showing the VL55 lighting assembly. Intended to be fitted at ceiling level above the doors, it combines the internal lighting function and visual warning of door closure, ...
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NewsSerbia reopens line to the Bosnian border
SERBIA: Passenger services on the 65 km line from Šabac to Loznica and Brasina on the Bosnian border restarted on September 1, having been suspended since 2005. Services are to be extended to Zvornik Novi in Bosnia-Herzegovina from the December timetable change. Infrastruktura ŽS has rehabilitated the single track ...
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Metro Report InternationalFTA announces zero-emission bus funding
USA: The Federal Transit Administration announced on August 24 that it is providing grants totalling $84·5m to cities and transport authorities for the purchase of electric and low-emission buses as well as related infrastructure such as charging stations. The funding covers a total of 52 projects in 41 states. ...
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NewsRhein-Ruhr Express EMU maintenance depot opens
GERMANY: The Rail Service Centre where Siemens Mobility will maintain for 32 years the 82 Desiro HC electric multiple-units which it is supplying for Rhein-Ruhr Express services was officially inaugurated on September 6. The depot on the site of the former Dortmund-Eving marshalling yard has 5·5 km of track, a ...