Latest news – Page 1205
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NewsFlirts ordered for Helsinki airport link
FINLAND: Stadler Bussnang has received a €54m order to supply a further nine Flirt four-car electric multiple-units for Helsinki commuter services, including the ring line which is under construction to serve the airport from December 2014. The order signed on December 9 is an option on the €190m contract for ...
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NewsLGV Rhin-Rhône opens
FRANCE: The first section of LGV Rhin-Rhône entered service with the timetable change on December 11. The 140 km route between Villiers-les-Pots and Petit-Croix is France's first inter-regional high speed line (RG 10.11 p7). The stations at Besançon Franche-Comté TGV and Belfort-Montbéliard TGV had been officially opened by Minister for ...
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NewsChinese locomotives exported to Mongolia
MONGOLIA: CNR Dalian has completed five 1520 mm gauge diesel locomotives for export to Mongolia, its second delivery to the country. They have 16V240ZJD engines rated at 2940 kW, and feature air-conditioning and a toilet for crew comfort.
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NewsProducts & Technology in Brief
CSX has launched a secure iPhone application, ShipCSX, which allows customers to track their shipment across the US railway’s network. It also provides wagon specifications including dimensions and weights. Autronic has introduced the ACR150 series of PCB-mounted DC/DC converters with an output power of up to 150 W and a ...
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NewsAmtrak beef fat biofuel tests show no extra wear
USA: A one-year test using biofuel derived from beef-fat to power an Amtrak locomotive found no added engine wear or loss of reliability, and an improvement in exhaust emissions. The 20-year-old GE P32-8 locomotive’s 12-cylinder, 3 200 hp engine ran on a B20 blend of 20% beef fat biofuel and ...
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NewsChannel Tunnel barriers must go
EUROPE: The UK's House of Lords EU Committee released a report on December 8 making key recommendations on the steps to be taken if the Channel Tunnel is to deliver its potential to carry more passengers and freight by rail. The main thrust of the 'Tunnel vision? Completing the European ...
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NewsIndustry News in Brief
CSR Qishuyan has delivered 165 SY40AE coupler yokes to a US customer, saying its ability to produce castings meeting the roughness, gauge and precision requirements of AAR standards was ‘a new breakthrough in its march towards the US railway market’. A further order is expected during 2012. The Polish treasury ...
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NewsMore funding for Strategic Freight Network
UK: The government announced the allocation of an extra £55m 'to further expand the Strategic Rail Freight Network' in the Chancellor of the Exchequer's Autumn Statement on November 29. This will fund works including doubling of 7 km of single track between Soham and Ely, the most restrictive bottleneck on ...
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NewsEIB signs €130m LGV Est loan agreement
FRANCE: The European Investment Bank signed the first €40m instalment of a €130m long-term loan for the construction of the second phase of LGV Est-Européenne on December 5. The agreement will cover the Alsace region's contribution to the €2·1bn project. EIB said the loan was drawn up on 'the best ...
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NewsNorthern Sydney freight upgrade agreed
AUSTRALIA: A long-planned A$1·1bn package of enhancements to accommodate more freight on the main line between Sydney and Newcastle has been formally approved. Federal Infrastructure & Transport Minister Anthony Albanese joined NSW Premier Barry O'Farrell at Hornsby station on December 7 to launch the Northern Sydney Freight Corridor Upgrading. This ...
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NewsPolish high speed rail project cancelled
POLAND: Cancellation of the plan to build a Y-shaped high speed line was announced by Slawomir Nowak, Minister of Transport, Construction & Maritime Economy, on December 7. The EU is Poland's main source of funding for rail projects, but the country had been told it could only count on support ...
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NewsNews in Brief
The Finnish government has awarded national passenger operator VR a four-year contract worth €170m to operate unprofitable but socially desirable rural and overnight services. Sahaviriya Steel Industries has awarded GB Railfreight a 10-year contract to operate and maintain the 70 km internal railway system at Lackenby steelworks in ...
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NewsQatar railway project restructured
QATAR: The organisations responsible for developing rail transport in the emirate have been restructured, with the aim of shortening decision making processes. Planning is underway for a passenger rail network as well as a metro which would connect central Doha with the airport and football stadia which will host ...
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NewsTfL expects £250m saving from buying Docklands Light Railway PFI concessionaires
UK: Transport for London is to take over two companies which hold private finance initiative contracts to finance, build and maintain extensions to the Docklands Light Railway network. Announcing the deals on November 25, TfL said current market conditions and the 'unique circumstances of TfL's ability to raise finance' mean ...
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NewsVeolia ready to exit transport sector
FRANCE: Veolia Environnement has confirmed its intention to sell its share of Veolia Transdev as part of a programme to reduce its debts, which will see the sale of €5bn of assets over the next two years. At an Investor Day held in Paris on December 6, Veolia Environnement Chairman ...
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NewsAlabacete - Alacant signalling PPP
SPAIN: The Ministry of Development has awarded a PPP contract worth €280·8m covering the supply and maintenance over 20 years of signalling and telecommunications equipment for the Alabacete - Alacant section of the high speed line between Madrid and Alacant. The winning consortium is formed by Isolux Ingeniería (25%), EMTE ...
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NewsWindhoff to build Network Rail's electrification factory train
UK: Network Rail has signed a contract for Windhoff Bahn- und Anlagentechnik to build a £35m custom-designed 'factory train' which will enable the rapid installation of overhead electrification. Announcing the contract on December 2, the infrastructure manager said the 23-vehicle High Output Plant System 'will revolutionise how railway lines are ...
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NewsTitanium line lease
SENEGAL: The TiZir Ltd joint venture of Eramet and Mineral Deposits Ltd is to upgrade an existing rail line in Senegal and build a 22 km spur to serve its US$516m Grande Côte Mineral Sands project on the coast north of Dakar. TiZir will build the spur from its future ...
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NewsNews in Brief
Veolia took over from SJ as operator of the Berlin – Malmö Berlin Night Express service when it was suspended for the winter season on November 5. SJ said the April to November service faced high track access and electricity charges in Germany, while low demand for charter trains meant ...
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NewsDelhi regional express planned
INDIA: Urban Development Minister Kamal Nath has given approval in principle for a Regional Rapid Transit System in the National Capital Region surrounding Delhi. Due to be integrated with the Delhi Metro, RRTS will serve the Delhi - Gurgaon - Alwar, Delhi - Sonepat - Panipat and Delhi - Ghaziabad ...