Latest news – Page 1293
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NewsFuel cell testing begins
USA: BNSF has begun in-service testing of the experimental hydrogen fuel cell shunting locomotive developed in partnership with Vehicle Projects and the Department of Defense. The trials are being undertaken at the railway's yard in Commerce, California. 'As far as we know, this is the first hydrogen fuel cell locomotive ...
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NewsVeolia strengthens position
GERMANY: With the December timetable change NordWestBahn took over Niers-Rhein-Emscher-Netz services under a 16-year contract with the Rhein-Ruhr transport authority which is expected to generate total revenue of €500m. The contract will be expanded at the end of this year with the addition of services from Oberhausen to Duisburg-Ruhrort and ...
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NewsMetrolink's Crash Energy Management coaches arrive
USA: The first two of 117 double-deck coaches incorporating Crash Energy Management being supplied by Hyundai Rotem to southern California commuter operator Metrolink under a $229m contract were unloaded at the Port of Long Beach on March 2. The initial pair of cars were built in South Korea, but the ...
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Metro Report InternationalFirst tram test run in Jerusalem
ISRAEL: A Citadis light rail vehicle made the first test run in Jerusalem on February 24, along a newly-energised 3 km section of track between the depot near French Hill and Ammunition Hill junction. The event was watched by senior officials from the municipality and light rail concessionaire CityPass, along ...
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NewsOregon joins Wisconsin to get better price on Talgos
USA: Oregon Department of Transportation has announced an $36·6m order for two 13-car passenger trainsets to be supplied by Talgo America for use on Amtrak's Cascades service from 2012. The Eugene - Vancouver route is currently operated using three Talgo Pendular 200 sets owned by the state of Washington and ...
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NewsAlstom signs agreement to acquire 25% stake in Transmash Holding
RUSSIA: During state visit to France by President Dmitry Medvedev, Alstom and Transmash Holding signed documents on March 1 firming up the strategic partnership agreement which had been signed on March 31 last year. Subject to certain conditions being met within six months, Alstom will acquire a 25% + 1 ...
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NewsAngel Trains in Grand Central HST sale and lease-back deal
UK: Rolling stock leasing company Angel Trains has bought three High Speed Train sets from Sovereign Trains, sister company of open access operator Grand Central Railway. The inter-city diesel trains will be leased back to the operator under a contract running to December 2016, Angel Trains announced on March 2. ...
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NewsJR-East prepares to test Series E6
JAPAN: East Japan Railway confirmed in February that it expects to take delivery in July of its first pre-production Series E6 mini-shinkansen trainset, designed for 320 km/h operation on the Tohoku Shinkansen route. The train will undergo an extensive testing and commissioning programme before entering revenue service in March 2013 ...
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NewsNetanyahu’s rail expansion plans approved
ISRAEL: The Ministry of Transport & Road Safety announced on February 24 that the government had approved the US$7·2bn first phase of the ‘Israel Ways’ transport investment package, promoted by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Transport Minister Yisrael Katz. The ambitious plan originally envisaged expenditure of US$14bn ...
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NewsWagon production drops 47%
USA: Production of wagons for the North American market has fallen off dramatically due to the struggling economy. Estimates for 2009 show a 47% drop from the previous year when 21 541 new wagons were rolled out. There is little demand for new equipment, with operators having about 600 ...
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NewsRack superpower for Brazilian freight line
BRAZIL: Stadler Rail is to supply MRS Logística with what the manufacturer claims will be the most powerful rack-and-pinion locomotives ever built. The 5 MW locomotives will haul freight trains on the 9 km steeply-graded section of the 1 600 mm gauge line from São Paulo to the port of ...
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NewsZS awards first of three train contracts
SERBIA: ZS has selected Russian firm Metrowagonmash to supply 10 two-car diesel multiple-units for regional and suburban services. These will form the first of three batches of rolling stock being procured to modernise the national railway’s passenger fleet. The order is being partly funded by a ...
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NewsDeal cleared
EUROPE: The European Commission has given the go-ahead for Genève-based wagon leasing firm Financière Ermewa to be acquired by SNCF subsidiary Transport et Logistique Partenaires, subject to the condition that the Swiss firm's cereal transport activities are divested. Ermewa was previously owned by TLP and Citerne Invest. TLP is already ...
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NewsSmart and secure
TICKETING: Four major players in the smart card ticketing sector have launched a joint initiative to drive smart media convergence around a common open standard. Card manufacturers Giesecke & Devrient and Oberthur Technologies have teamed up with chip suppliers Infineon Technologies and Inside Contactless. They are encouraging other companies in ...
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NewsHessische Landesbahn orders Coradia DMUs
GERMANY: Alstom Transport announced a €65m order to supply Hessische Landesbahn with a further 23 two-car Coradia Lint 41 diesel multiple-units on February 26. HLB ordered the units through Hannover Mobilien Leasing after being selected by the Rhein-Main transport authority to operate regional services between Limburg, Gießen, Fulda and Gersfeld ...
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NewsNo IEP contract before election, Adonis confirms
UK: A contract to supply the next generation of long-distance trains under the Intercity Express Programme will not be signed before the upcoming general election, it was confirmed on February 26. In a written statement, Secretary of State for Transport Lord Andrew Adonis said that since the programme was launched ...
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NewsRecycled brake disc research
BRAKES: Faiveley Transport is part of a consortium led by Federal-Mogul Corp which is researching the manufacture of high-performance brake discs from recycled carbon composite material. The Rebrake programme aims to accelerate the widespread adoption of carbon composite brake discs across a range of automotive and industrial applications as well ...
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NewsPilbara heavy haul extension opens
AUSTRALIA: The first 163-wagon iron ore train left the Mesa A/Warramboo mine in the Pilbara on February 19, using a 49 km extension of the Deepdale heavy haul line from Pannawonica to reach the port at Cape Lambert. The train was driven by Shane Edwards, a local Aboriginal man, as ...
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NewsNothing rotten in the state aid of Denmark
DENMARK: National railway DSB is not being over-compensated for services operated under public service contracts which the government awarded without tendering, the European Commission announced on February 24. The Commission launched an inquiry into DSB’s 2000-04 and 2005-14 contracts in response to complaints from Gråhundbus and Dansk ...
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NewsBarber bogies from Tikhvin
RUSSIA: Testing has begun of prototype 18-9855 Barber S-2-R wagon bogies produced at the Tikhvin Railway Car Building Plant, which is being developed by ICT Group to introduce international technologies to the Russian wagon market. The bogies are designed for 25 tonne axleloads, and follow the 18-9810 bogies designed for ...