Latest news – Page 1275
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NewsTourist railway becomes local freight operator
FRANCE: TPCF Fret became the first local freight operator (opérateur ferroviaire de proximité) to commence operations on July 27, hauling a 64 tonne consignment of dolomite rock over the 7 km from Cases-de-Pène to Rivesaltes. At Rivesaltes on the main line between Perpignan and Narbonne, trainloads are marshalled by ...
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NewsRZD approves formation of Second Freight Company
RUSSIA: Russian Railways gave its approval for the creation of the Second Freight Company as a new standalone subsidiary on July 26. The necessary documentation will now be passed to the RZD board for approval. Second Freight Company will be a national freight operator using its own rolling stock to ...
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NewsEC stepping up pressure
EUROPE: Last month the European Commission announced it was referring 13 member states to the European Court of Justice for ‘failing to correctly implement various parts of the basic EU legislation’ in the First Railway Package, aimed at opening up the market for competition. States were supposed to have ...
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NewsHigher funding agreed
SWITZERLAND: The Federal Transport Ministry has accepted that a higher level of funding will be needed to maintain the intensively-used national network in good condition. Under proposals published on June 23, the government intends to contribute to SBB’s short-term needs by increasing funding for infrastructure maintenance in 2011 and 2012 ...
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NewsAttiko Metro opens Holargos station
GREECE: Attiko Metro Chairman Christos Tsitouras officially opened Holargos station, between Nomismatokopio and Ethniki Amyna on Line 3, with a ceremony on July 23. The new station 22 m below Messogion Avenue is expected to handle 20 000 passengers/day. Holargos is one of three intermediate stations being built on Line ...
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NewsChicago benefits from job creation funding
USA: More than $500m has been allocated to public transit infrastructure improvements throughout the state from the Illinois Jobs Now! capital construction programme. Over $442m will be spent in the Chicago area, with $253m going to Chicago Transit Authority and $157m to the Metra commuter rail network. The CTA ...
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NewsCAF wins first coach order from Amtrak
USA: Amtrak has awarded CAF USA a $298·1m five-year contract to supply 130 coaches from October 2012. The order announced on July 23 covers 25 sleeping, 25 dining and 55 baggage cars, and 25 baggage/staff cars. The single-deck vehicles will used on long-distance routes in the east of the country ...
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NewsDelhi metro expands Movia fleet
INDIA: On July 23 Bombardier Transportation announced that Delhi Metro Rail Corp had decided to buy a further 40 Movia cars worth €43m, exercising an option in the €83m contract for 74 Movias placed by the operator in June.Delivery of the latest batch will follow on from the previous order ...
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NewsNewag DMU ready to roll
POLAND: Newag has unveiled its first Type 220M diesel multiple-unit at its Nowy Sacz plant. Following acceptance trials in August the DMU is expected to enter passenger service by September. Pomorskie voivodship has ordered six of the DMUs at a cost of 50·4m zloty, with deliveries scheduled to be completed ...
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NewsTram bogie turntable
UK: Mechan has supplied two bogie turntables for installation by specialist contractor Trackwork at the Starr Gate tram depot which Volker Fitzpatrick is building at Blackpool in northwest England. The turntables will be used when transferring bogies to the maintenance areas of the seafront depot, which is being built to ...
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NewsKraków orders 24 Flexity trams
POLAND: Kraków transport operator MPK has placed an order for a further 24 Bombardier Flexity Classic trams to be delivered from March 2012 to 2013. A partnership of Bombardier and Vossloh Kiepe was the sole bidder for the €58·7m contract signed on July 22. Bombardier's share is worth €40m and ...
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NewsWashington metro upgrades get go-ahead
USA: Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority has been given the green light by the Federal Transit Administration to begin urgent repairs and upgrades to improve safety on the Metrorail network. The approval comes ahead of the actual award of the first $150m in funding under the Passenger Rail Investment & ...
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NewsFirst Matangi unit heads for Wellington
NEW ZEALAND: The first of 48 two-car 1·5 kV DC EMUs which Greater Wellington Regional Council ordered from a consortium of Hyundai Rotem and Mitsui in 2007 at a cost of NZ$235m is due to be delivered from South Korea in early August. The 1 067 mm ...
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NewsTunis orders more trams
TUNISIA: Alstom has been awarded a €58m contract to supply Tunis transport authority Transtu with 16 more Citadis trams and to maintain the expanded fleet of 55 vehicles for five years. The trams will be identical to the 39 trams delivered by Alstom between 2007 and 2009. These have been ...
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NewsGrant to save DR Congo railway from collapse
DR CONGO: A recovery plan to restore the financial and operational viability of national railway SNCC has been allocated 90% of the funding being made available under a World Bank-backed Multimodal Transport Project. The package is intended to rehabilitate infrastructure and ensure good governance to support economic integration and national ...
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NewsStansted Airport trains under construction
UK: The first of 30 four-car Class 379 Electrostar electric multiple-units for National Express East Anglia will begin tests at Bombardier Transportation's Derby plant in September, the manufacturer announced on July 21. The 160 km/h units have been ordered for use on services from London Liverpool Street to Stansted Airport ...
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NewsFinal tender issued for LGV Bretagne
FRANCE: Infrastructure manager RFF confirmed on July 21 that it had issued the final tender documents to the three bidders shortlisted for the ‘partnership contract’ to build LGV Bretagne-Pays de la Loire between Le Mans and Rennes. The three consortia led by Bouygues, Vinci and Eiffage have been given until ...
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NewsPioneering PPP energises Dijon tram
FRANCE: On July 1 the Grand Dijon urban authority and Inéo, a subsidiary of GDF Suez, signed a 26-year PPP agreement worth €176m to design, supply, maintain and finance the electrical and control equipment for the city’s tram network. Under the first deal of its kind in France, Inéo and ...
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NewsBoston orders MotivePower HSP46 diesels
USA: Meeting on July 14, the Massachusetts Department of Transportation board approved a contract with MotivePower Inc for 20 diesel locomotives of a new design, designated HSP46, valued at up to $114·6m. The 4 600 hp locomotives will be assembled at the company’s plant in Boise using major components ...