Latest news – Page 928
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NewsRobots on test at Paris stations
FRANCE: A robot luggage trolley and two types of cleaning machine are being tested in Paris by SNCF’s station management business Gares & Connexions. The motorised luggage carrier has sensors which enable it to automatically follow the route taken by staff who are assisting less-mobile passengers at Paris Est. ...
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NewsWork starts on Kolkata airport metro link
INDIA: On February 21 Minister of Railways Suresh Prabhu launched construction of an extension of the Kolkata metro to Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport in Dum Dum. The 6·9 km underground route would start from the current northern terminus of the North-South Line at Noapara and run northeast ...
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NewsWehrhahn tram tunnel opens in Düsseldorf
GERMANY: Düsseldorf Lord Mayor Thomas Geisel officially launched services through the Wehrhahn tram tunnel at 12.30 on February 20. Regular passenger services began the following day. The 3·4 km route links Bilk in the south with Wehrhahn in the northeast through the centre of Düsseldorf. The line has six ...
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NewsPremium fleet envisaged under TET revival plan
FRANCE: Setting out the first progress update in the government’s ‘road map’ to reviving France’s conventional long-distance passenger trains, Transport Secretary Alain Vidalies confirmed on February 19 that the ‘rolling stock fleet for these trains would be entirely renewed by 2025’. Suggesting that a major factor in the decline in ...
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NewsWorld rail infrastructure market February 2016
Algeria: A consortium of Colas Rail and Kou G C is to build two extensions of the Alger metro under contracts worth €117m and €51m. Australia: Queensland has awarded Golding Contractors a civil works contract for the A$163m double-tracking of the 8·2 km Coomera – Helensvale section of the ...
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NewsWorld rail market February 2016
Austria: WestBahn has used market-opening rules to begin buying traction electricity from EnergieAllianz Austria. Canada: Siscog is to supply timetable and fleet planning software to VIA. France: A consortium of Santerne, DTI Group and Cibest is to supply passenger information systems for the Marseille metro fleet. Each train ...
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NewsKončar KEV DMU enters service
CROATIA: Passenger operator HŽ PP’s first Končar KEV Class 7023 diesel multiple-unit entered revenue service on February 15, operating on the route between Zagreb, Varaždin and Kotoriba. The three-car articulated DMU is 58·5 m long. It has 151 fixed and nine folding seats, two wheelchair spaces, space for two bicycles ...
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NewsCalifornia targets high speed service to Silicon Valley by 2025
USA: Issuing its Draft Business Plan for 2016 on February 18, the California High Speed Rail Authority set a target date for launching revenue-earning services between ‘Silicon Valley and Central Valley’ by 2025. With construction work now underway along an alignment covering approximately 160 km in the state’s Central Valley, ...
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NewsTesting begins on Bratislava dual-gauge tram extension
SLOVAKIA: Testing on a dual-gauge extension of Bratislava’s tram network began on February 16. Operator Dopravný podnik Bratislava expects passenger services to start in March or April. Running south from Šafárikovo námestie, the new route is the only one in the city to cross the Danube, using the 460 ...
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NewsMoscow metro tests automatic operation
RUSSIA: The first train equipped with automatic train operation has entered passenger service on Line 5 of the Moscow metro. Testing started in September on Line 8, and two more ATO-equipped trains are due to enter service on Line 5. The train operates with a driver who has to ...
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NewsRailway supply industry news in brief
Swiss electrification specialist Furrer+Frey has established a German subsidiary in Berlin. Siemens Rail Automation officially opened an office in Derby in the UK with 35 staff on February 12. Establishing the new office in the same building as infrastructure manager Network Rail provides 'scope and capacity to grow quickly', said ...
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NewsHuman error caused Bad Aibling collision
GERMANY: A ‘human error with disastrous consequences’ led to the fatal train crash near Bad Aibling on February 9, Bayern’s state prosecutor Wolfgang Giese has confirmed. Killing 11 people and injured another 80, the head-on collision between two Flirt EMUs on a single-track line was the worst railway accident in ...
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NewsMoR unveils Rs107bn capacity stimulus programme
INDIA: Following cabinet approval on February 17, a Rs107bn railway investment stimulus programme covering the double and triple-tracking of several routes has been announced by the Ministry of Railways. To be delivered through ‘extra budgetary resource and institutional funding’, the six schemes around the country are intended to increase capacity ...
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NewsAmtrak reviews Gulf Coast revival
USA: Proposals to reinstate inter-city passenger services between New Orleans and Jacksonville are moving forward, with the operation of a special inspection train by Amtrak and the Southern Rail Commission on February 18-19 to examine the infrastructure along the Gulf Coast route. The line had previously ...
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NewsChicago moves ahead with airport express plan
USA: The City of Chicago expects to select a contractor in March to develop designs for the proposed O’Hare Express Rail link, Mayor Rahm Emanuel announced on February 14. The route is intended to offer a faster service over the 30 km between the city centre and O’Hare International Airport ...
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NewsContractor selected for Perth airport rail link
AUSTRALIA: The Public Transport Authority of Western Australia has selected a joint venture of Salini Impregilo and NRW as preferred bidder for the main works of the A$2bn Forrestfield-Airport Link in Perth. Two other bidders were shortlisted: the Forrestfield Connect joint venture of Acciona Infrastructure, BAM International and Ferrovial ...
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NewsBilbao metro Series 950 train presented
SPAIN: On February 17 EuskoTren presented the first of 28 Series 950 trainsets that CAF is supplying for the Bilbao metro. In 2014 EuskoTren awarded CAF a €150m contract to supply 12 metre-gauge trainsets for Line 3, and 16 to replace existing Series 200 and 300 units in use ...
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NewsCN announces C$2·9bn 2016 capital plan
CANADA: CN has announced a C$2·9bn spending plan for 2016. ‘CN is investing for the long term and we are again planning a significant capital programme in 2016 to support a safe and fluid railway network, and to raise the bar on efficiency and customer service’, said President & CEO ...
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NewsRock Rail signs first rolling stock financing deal
UK: Rock Rail Ltd has entered the rolling stock market with the signing of a deal worth more than £200m to finance a fleet of Siemens electric multiple-units for use by Govia Thameslink Railway. Equity for the deal announced on February 17 is being provided by Standard Life Investments ...
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NewsAPTA signs NFC MoU
USA: The American Public Transportation Association and the NFC Forum announced on February 17 that they had signed a memorandum of understanding to promote the use of near field communication technologies for public transport operators. The two organisations will work on training courses, white papers, case study analyses, customer ...