Latest news – Page 1248
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NewsAfter the deluge
POLAND: A new bridge over the Poprad river in Nowy Sacz on the Tarnów – Slovakia route was officially opened on January 15, replacing a structure swept away by flooding on June 4 last year. The replacement bridge was constructed by Intop Tarnobrzeg under a 13·2m złoty contract awarded by ...
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NewsLess steep underneath
SWITZERLAND: The abbot of Engelberg Abbey opened the 4043 m long Grafenort – Engelberg tunnel on Switzerland’s metre-gauge Zentralbahn on December 11, with regular services starting the next day. The 10·5% gradient in the tunnel replaces the exceptionally steep 24·6% on the previous route, reducing uphill journey times by 14 ...
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NewsFunding allocated to 78 French urban transport projects
FRANCE: Transport Minister Natahalie Kosciusko-Morizet announced the final tranche of light rail, metro and bus funding allocations under the Grenelle de l’Environnement on February 9. The announcement covers a total of €590m allocated to 78 urban transport projects in 54 conurbations outside Ile-de-France. These include 29 tram projects (152 km), ...
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NewsWorld rail market February 2011
Colombia: Steer Davies Gleave has won a 500m peso contract to revise ridership forecasts for the proposed Bogotá metro, updating a 2008 study by Sener and TMB. France: Egis Rail has won a €32m project management contract for Rennes metro Line B (RG 12.10 p16). India: ...
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NewsGateway Project acceleration to replace ARC trans-Hudson tunnel
USA: Amtrak has proposed accelerating its Gateway Project as a replacement for the cancelled Access to the Region's Core trans-Hudson rail tunnel to increase capacity into Midtown Manhattan. Amtrak's plan would incorporate elements from ARC, including the 14·5 km route, a new and expanded Portal Bridge over the Hackensack River ...
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NewsKallas makes call for change at European Railway Awards
EUROPE: 500 senior railway executives, politicians and suppliers gathered in Brussels on February 9 for the fifth annual European Railway Awards, organised by CER, EIM and UNIFE. In his keynote address, European Commission Vice-President for Transport Siim Kallas once again emphasised the need for the emergence of a ‘Single European ...
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NewsLow-floor trams in service as Istanbul extension testing begins
TURKEY: The Mayor of Istanbul attended a ceremony on February 3 marking the entry into service of the first 14 of 37 Citadis trams being supplied by Alstom Transport. The remainder will enter traffic in the coming weeks. The €73m contract for the trams was awarded by operator Istanbul Ulasim ...
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NewsSix-year US high speed rail programme proposed
USA: Vice-President Joseph Biden and Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood unveiled an ambitious $53bn six-year high speed and inter-city passenger rail programme on February 8. Biden said that clarifying the role of federal funding would provide states and cities with the certainty needed to make long-term plans, however the proposal ...
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NewsSouthern LGV projects make progress
FRANCE: Visiting Montpellier on February 7, Transport Secretary Thierry Mariani signed an agreement with local authority representatives covering the programme for construction of the planned Contournement Nîmes - Montpellier bypass line which will carry high speed and freight trains around the two cities as an extension to the Nîmes branch ...
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NewsAlstom unveils Paris RER Line A double-deck train
FRANCE: The first MI09 double-deck electric multiple-unit for Paris RER Line A was officially unveiled on February 8. Certification testing is underway with three MI09 trainsets, ready for entry into passenger service by the end of the year. A consortium of Alstom and Bombardier signed a contract to supply ...
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NewsBNSF announces $3·5bn 2011 capital programme
USA: BNSF announced a $3·5bn capital programme for 2011 on February 7, with the largest element being $2bn allocated to investment in the core network and related assets. BNSF will spend $450m acquiring 227 locomotives and $350m on wagons and other equipment. The federally-mandated PTC programme will require $300m, and ...
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NewsCSR Zhuzhou to supply Ningbo metro cars
CHINA: CSR Zhuzhou signed a contract to provide 22 six-car metro trains for the first metro line in Ningbo on January 27. The 21 km east-west Line 1 with 20 stations is expected to open in 2014, the initial phase of a planned six-line network in the port city in ...
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NewsEurotunnel demonstrates €20m fire suppression system
Eurotunnel has completed installation of the first of two pairs of SAFE fire-fighting points designed to suppress fires on lorry shuttles. Richard Hope reports from inside the Channel Tunnel.
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NewsDelcan launches Rail & Transit group
CANADA: Transport, water and IT consultancy Delcan Corp launched a Rail & Transit group headed by Vice-President Alan Rumsey on February 1, bringing together in one business unit its activities in rolling stock, track, signalling, communications, controls, traction power, systems integration, commissioning and safety assurance. Delcan was founded in 1953 ...
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NewsBrenner Base Tunnel boring to start this year
AUSTRIA: Excavation of the main bores of the Brenner Base Tunnel is set to start this year, after the government gave the formal go-ahead as part of the 2011-16 railway investment framework approved on February 1. Work on the 55 km twin-bore tunnel will be launched from Innsbruck in the ...
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NewsGovernment confirms local transport project funding
UK: Following a review which has brought a 14% reduction in the total cost, on February 4 the Department for Transport confirmed the allocation of funding that will enable nine rail and other local transport projects to go ahead. Additional schemes have been invited to bid for funding which is ...
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NewsCSX to invest $2bn in 2011
USA: CSX Corp is to invest $2bn in its network during 2011, with two-thirds going on infrastructure and rolling stock and the rest split between strategic and regulatory investments. This is up from $1·8bn in 2010. On January 24 CSX announced 2010 operating income of $3·1bn, up 35% on 2009. ...
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NewsLGV Rhin-Rhône tracklaying completed
FRANCE: Prime Minister François Fillon marked the completion of tracklaying on the first phase of LGV Rhin-Rhône, with a symbolic final weld ceremony at Villiers-les-Pots on January 31. He was accompanied by Environment Minister Nathalie Kosciusko-Morizet, Transport Sectretary Thierry Mariani, Minister of Co-operation Henri de Raincourt and Minister for ...
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NewsMilano metro M5 extension contract signed
ITALY: The city of Milano and the Metro 5 SpA special purpose vehicle signed a concession agreement on February 2 to build and operate the second phase of the automated metro Line M5. Metro 5 SpA began construction of the 6 km first phase of M5 in 2007. Linking ...
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NewsGovernment commits to ÖBB infrastructure investment
AUSTRIA: The government approved a €12·8bn five-year investment framework for Austrian Federal Railways on February 1. Spending in 2011-16 will be targeted at the main West, South and Brenner corridors, as well as suburban transport, station modernisation and a programme to remove temporary speed restrictions by 2014. The government has ...