Latest news – Page 990
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NewsCSR and universities to establish UK rail research centre
UK: High speed train builder CSR Qingdao Sifang is to establish a centre for railway research and development in the UK under a series of co-operation agreements signed with three British universities during the Railtex 2015 exhibition in Birmingham on May 12. To be developed by CSR Sifang in co-operation ...
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NewsNorway sets out plans for railway reform
NORWAY: Proposals for reform of the railway sector have been announced by Minister of Transport & Communications Ketil Solvik-Olsen and representatives from the government parties Høyre and Fremskrittspartiet and their parliamentary support parties Venstre and Kristelig Folkeparti. A white paper was published on May 12 and is to be presented ...
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NewsStrong franc brings Huber+Suhner structural changes
SWITZERLAND: Cable, connector and antenna systems supplier Huber+Suhner announced measures to cope with the impact of ‘negative effects due to the strong Swiss franc’ on May 12. The changes will lead to around 25 early retirements and 25 redundancies at its Herisau and Pfäffikon sites in 2015, along with ...
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NewsRailtex 2015 - Wednesday round-up
Focused on multi-disciplinary railway technology, the biennial Railtex exhibition takes place at the National Exhibition Centre in Birmingham on May 12-14.
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NewsFirst electro-diesel Flirts ordered
ITALY: The Valle d’Aosta region placed the first order for an electro-diesel version of Stadler Rail’s Flirt multiple-unit on May 12. Five Flirt3 units are to be delivered in 2018 for use on Aosta – Torino services. Each of the units will have three passenger cars, plus the diesel power ...
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NewsEuropean Commission approves SNCF control of Eurostar
EUROPE: The European Commission announced on May 13 that it had approved a shareholders’ agreement which will see French national railway SNCF acquire sole management control of cross-Channel high speed train operator Eurostar International Ltd. This approval is subject to commitments which are designed to facilitate the entry of new ...
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NewsCowra Lines tender fails to find private operator
AUSTRALIA: The government of New South Wales has been unsuccessful in its attempt to find a private operator to revive the dormant Cowra Lines for freight services, New South Wales Minister for Roads, Maritime & Freight Duncan Gay has announced. The 200 km Cowra Lines running from Blayney to Harden ...
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NewsAlgerian tram plant inaugurated
ALGERIA: The CITAL joint venture of Alstom, Entreprise du métro d’Alger and Ferrovial officially inaugurated its tram assembly and maintenance plant in Annaba on May 12. The joint venture was created in 2011 to assemble and maintain Alstom Citadis trams for Algerian cities. The 46 000 m2 site currently ...
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NewsWestbahn to order more trains
AUSTRIA: Plans to order 10 additional Stadler Rail double-deck electric multiple-units were announced by Hans Peter Haselsteiner, the largest shareholder in open access operator Westbahn, on May 11. The €180m order would cover nine four-car Kiss EMUs and one six-car unit. Westbahn also confirmed that it will operate an hourly ...
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NewsFirst Cuenca tram on its way
ECUADOR: The first Citadis tram for Cuenca has left Alstom’s La Rochelle factory in France. It is scheduled to sail from the port of Antwerpen on May 17 and is expected to arrive in Cuenca by the end of June. In 2013 the city of Cuenca signed a US$142·6m ...
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NewsD-Train crash test
UK: A former London Underground D78 car has been crashed into a 3 tonne tank of water as part of the testing programme being carried out in support of Vivarail’s plans to use the bodyshells of the redundant metro trains to create low-cost ‘D-Train’ diesel multiple-units for use on the ...
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NewsRailtex 2015 attracts international attention
Focused on multi-disciplinary railway technology, the biennial Railtex exhibition takes place at the National Exhibition Centre in Birmingham on May 12-14.
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NewsRailway industry news in brief - May 2015
This month Railmark is to take over from CN as the operator of the Algoma Central Railway, serving otherwise inaccessible areas in Ontario. On April 1 the federal government agreed to provide C$5·3m over three years to give the new operator time ‘to demonstrate its ability to ...
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NewsConsumer price index linked bond to fund London Underground extension
UK: ‘The UK’s first consumer price index linked sterling bond’ has been agreed to part-fund construction of a 3·3 km branch of London Underground’s Northern Line to Battersea, the Greater London Authority and Lloyds Bank Commercial Banking announced on May 11. Specialist pensions insurer Rothesay Life is the sole lender ...
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NewsPrequalification begins for Doha metro operator
QATAR: Qatar Rail launched the pre-qualification process for operation of the future Doha metro and Lusail tramway at an Industry Awareness Day on May 7. Around 600 companies attended, including 55 in the session on prequalification. The event was intended to encourage the private sector to participate in rail ...
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NewsWrocław to build new tram line
POLAND: Wrocław Mayor Rafał Dutkiewicz announced on May 5 that a tram line will be built to the Nowy Dwór housing estate in the west of the city. Previous plans had envisaged bus rapid transit to link the estate to the city centre, but according to the city authority, ...
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NewsAstana light rail framework agreement signed
KAZAKHSTAN: The city of Astana signed a framework agreement for the construction of the first phase of the capital’s light rail project on May 7. Project authority Astana LRT LLP signed the agreement with a consortium of China Railway International Group and Beijing State-Owned Assets Management Co. The ...
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NewsProducts & Technology in Brief
Moxa has released TAP-6226, an all-in-one wireless unit integrating two access points, a managed fibre switch and a wide-range of AC/DC power supplies to provide reliable train-to-ground communications. Featuring IP68 housing and shock- and vibration-proof M12 connectors, it is specially designed for the railway environment. Moxa´s controller-based Turbo Roaming supports ...
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NewsSydney Trains sets Mousetrap to catch vandals
AUSTRALIA: Sydney Trains is testing Mousetrap, an electronic sensor which can detect vapour from spray paint and permanent marker pens to provide a real-time alert when a graffiti attack is underway. Live CCTV images are streamed to control staff, and police officers can be dispatched to catch the vandals. An ...