Latest news – Page 988
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NewsVossloh and VR form track joint ventures
FINLAND: Vossloh and the VR Group’s infrastructure construction subsidiary VR Track have formed two joint ventures which will operate three turnout production sites and a long welded rail plant. Vossloh will have a 60% stake in each of the joint ventures, which it expects to have a total annual turnover ...
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NewsPesa Dart on test
POLAND: Pesa’s first Dart electric multiple-unit has started dynamic testing on the line between Bydgoszcz and Warlubie to the northeast. The EMU achieved its maximum speed of 160 km/h on May 21 and the following day was transported to Żmigród for further testing at the Railway Institute. Pesa ...
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NewsIndustry calls for co-ordinated European action on metal theft
EUROPE: A joint statement calling for EU-wide action against metal theft was issued on May 26 by a coalition of 11 associations representing the rail, public transport and energy sectors. The signatories include CER, UIC, UITP and railway police association COLPOFER. The statement calls on EU policy makers to take ...
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NewsHamilton light rail funding announced
CANADA: Ontario’s Premier Kathleen Wynne announced up to C$1bn of provincial funding to cover the entire capital cost of the Hamilton light rail project on May 26. Procurement is expected to begin in 2017, for construction to start in 2019. The planned light rail line would run from McMaster University, ...
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NewsInnoTrans 2016 to introduce Conference Corner
INNOTRANS: InnoTrans 2016 will see the launch of a Conference Corner, enabling exhibitors, associations and transport companies to hold lectures and present papers on the last day of the fair and the following weekend. The programme will include the Maglev 2016 conference, to be organised by International Maglevboard and ...
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NewsFeature articles in the June 2015 issue of Metro Report International
Articles in the June 2015 issue of Metro Report International. Comment ATM CEO & Chairman Bruno Rota gears up to host the UITP World Congress and Expo Milano 2015 News Review Round-up of world metro, light rail and tram news City digest Doha projects move ahead, Jakarta plans light rail, ...
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NewsFree pre-peak metro travel to continue
SINGAPORE: Land Transport Authority has announced the extension of its scheme offering free ‘pre-peak’ travel on the metro network by another year, to June 30 2016. Passengers who end their journey at 18 designated stations in the city area before 07.45 on weekdays travel free of charge, while those ...
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NewsUlm orders first metre-gauge Avenios
GERMANY: Stadwerke Ulm Verkehr and Siemens signed a contract for the supply of 12 Avenio M trams on May 22. The order is worth €32m and includes an option for six additional vehicles. The metre-gauge trams will be manufactured at the Siemens plant in Wien, with bogies from Graz ...
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NewsBucureşti plans metro investment
ROMANIA: Bucureşti metro operator Metrorex has announced that it is to spend 1·74bn lei on infrastructure investment in 2015, as part of preparations for the Euro 2020 football championships. Bucureşti will host up to four matches during the tournament. UEFA made the city’s participation conditional on infrastructure investment and ...
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NewsHouston opens two light rail lines
USA: Houston celebrated the opening of two light rail lines on May 23 with music, fireworks and free travel. The Green and Purple lines add 13·4 route-km to the network, connecting with the 20·5 km north-south Red Line. The Green Line, also known as the East End Line, ...
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NewsFirst X’Trapolis Mega cars completed at Lapa
SOUTH AFRICA: The first two completed cars for the 600 X’Trapolis Mega commuter electric multiple-units ordered by Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa have been rolled out at Alstom’s Lapa factory in Brazil. Planned to be a mix of six-car and four-car formations totalling 3 600 vehicles, the trainsets are ...
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NewsFirst Shinkansen train through the Seikan Tunnel
JAPAN: The mayor of Aomori and other city officials participated in a ceremony at Shin-Aomori in the early hours of May 24 to mark the arrival of the first Series H5 trainset from Hokkaido through the Seikan Tunnel. Following the delivery of the first unit to JR Hokkaido in October ...
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NewsPavlodar tram financing signed
KAZAKHSTAN: The European Bank for Reconstruction & Development has signed a loan agreement worth €10m with Pavlodar Tramways to support infrastructure modernisation and the procurement of 25 new trams. The national government is proving a grant worth €3·71m, and further support is coming from the regional government. The 86 ...
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NewsChinese company signs Tyva railway agreement
RUSSIA: Coal mining concession holder Tuva Energy Industrial Corp and the China Civil Engineering Construction Corp subsidiary of China Railway Construction Corp have signed a memorandum of understanding for the implementation of privately financed railway and port projects. The three agreements signed on May 8 cover a proposed 410 ...
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NewsNew Zealand increases rail funding
NEW ZEALAND: Additional funding for KiwiRail was announced in the budget presented by Finance Minister Bill English on May 21, although he also called for savings to be identified. The national railway is to get NZ$210m from the Future Investment Fund in 2015-16, and a further NZ$190m was announced as ...
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NewsAvoid blockages
TOILET: TBM Rail has developed a gravity-fed toilet designed to minimise blockages. Managing Director Andrew Hawker says that while gravity-fed designs are ‘often the simplest and smallest-footprint option’, they ‘have become infamous for blockages and resulting servicing problems’. ‘A number of companies shared with us data on service levels, ...
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NewsJR East calls international tenders for DEMU fleet
JAPAN: East Japan Railway announced on May 19 that it is calling international tenders for a fleet of diesel-electric multiple-units to operate services on non-electrified lines, with between 150 and 200 trainsets to be ordered in the coming years. Bids are due by July 24 for an initial build of ...
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NewsRumo outlines ALL investment plans
BRAZIL: Following its merger with América Latina Logística, Rumo Logística has briefed analysts on investment plans for the ALL freight network up to 2019, when it is planning to spend a total of R$7∙4bn on new projects. Under the first phase running until the end of 2016 when total expenditure ...
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NewsChina to fund more electrification in Belarus
BELARUS: A further tranche of main line electrification is to be funded by China’s EximBank under a package of loan agreements signed in Minsk on May 10 at an event attended by presidents Alexander Lukashenko and Xi Jinping. The agreement between national railway BC and EximBank will fund the ...
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NewsZSSK Cargo wagon sale approved
SLOVAKIA: Competition authority PÚSR gave a final approval for the wagon sale and leaseback deal between national rail freight operator ZSSK Cargo and leasing company VTG on May 12. The entry of a strategic partner to Cargo Wagon is part of a plan to consolidate the freight business which the ...