Latest news – Page 1300
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NewsHaramain High Speed Rail project manager appointed
SAUDI ARABIA: Scott Wilson Group has been appointed to provide project management support for the Haramain High Speed Rail Project, the international design and engineering consultancy announced on January 5. The contract awarded by Saudi Railways Organisation is worth £14·5m over five years and covers technical, specialist engineering ...
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NewsChina South is low bidder for European loco contract
POLAND: China South's Zhuzhou Electric Locomotive Co has been named as lowest bidder for a contract to supply Koleje Mazowieckie with 11 electric locomotives by December 2011. The Mazowsze regional passenger operator is seeking locomotives to power 160 km/h push -pull trainsets using 37 coaches supplied by Bombardier in 2008-09. ...
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NewsJapanese tram loop opens
JAPAN: The city of Toyama's third tram route opened on December 23, with the reinstatement of a circular service through the city centre. Branded as Centram, Line 3 has been created by building 940 m of 1 067 mm gauge track with three new stops between the Marunouchi and ...
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NewsFirst Allegro train shipped to Finland
EUROPE: The first of four Alstom Pendolino tilting trainsets ordered for 'Allegro' services between Helsinki and St Petersburg is due to arrive in Finland this month, having been shipped from the Italian port of Vado Ligure on December 30. The 220 km/h Pendolinos are being built at Alstom's Savigliano plant. ...
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NewsRouen orders trams to increase capacity
FRANCE: Alstom Transport announced on January 4 that it had been selected as the preferred bidder to supply Rouen with 27 Citadis 402 trams to replace the current fleet of GEC-Alsthom Tramway Français Standard cars dating from the opening of the light rail network in 1994. Intended to increase capacity ...
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NewsWuhan – Guangzhou line opens at 380 km/h
CHINA: Revenue services on the Wuhan – Guangzhou passenger-dedicated line began running on December 26, cutting the journey time between the capitals of Hubei and Guangdong provinces to under 3 h, compared with 10 h 30 min via the 1 068 km conventional route. The inaugural trains left the new ...
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NewsMoving TGVs remotely
FRANCE: SNCF has put into service an automated shunting robot to manoeuvre trainsets on and off the underfloor wheel lathe at its TGV maintenance depot in Lyon, which opened earlier this year. A second unit has also been installed in one of its Paris TGV depots. Developed by Windhoff, the ...
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NewsUrban rail news in brief - January 2010
The EU Regional Operational Programme will provide 85% of the 162m zloty needed for MPK Czestochowa's tram expansion. The project involves construction of a 4·5 km double-track line with nine stops for around 98·7m zloty. Seven new low-floor trams will be acquired for 63m zloty. On December 15 Metrolinx ...
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NewsKnorr-Bremse buys simulator firm
AUSTRALIA: Knorr-Bremse acquired rail driving simulator manufacturer Sydac on December 16, saying the purchase forms part of a strategy of targeted acquisitions to strengthen its position in a number of markets. It is the fourth acquisition by Knorr-Bremse Rail Vehicle Systems in 2009, following from precision machining firm De Zan ...
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NewsSiemens signs Russian Olympic train order
RUSSIA: Russian Railways has awarded Siemens Mobility the contract to supply 160 km/h Desiro regional electric multiple-units for the 2014 Winter Olympic Games in Sochi. They will enter service on the Tuapse - Adler route from autumn 2013, and will be used to transport athletes and spectators to the ...
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NewsMetrô do Cariri starts trials
BRAZIL: Following its inauguration by Ceará state governor Cid Gomes on December 1, the Metrô do Cariri entered service on December 2. Travel will be free on the 13·6 km light rail route during the initial trial running phase, when operator Metrofor will offer services between 09.00 and 13.00 with ...
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NewsNews in Brief
On December 11 Unife and UIC signed an agreement to jointly publish Technical Recommendations which will form voluntary standards applicable to European rolling stock. Russia will become the 44th member of OTIF with effect from February 1. The Cotif convention governing international rail transport will initially apply between the port ...
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NewsPlanning on the go
POLAND: Staff on Polish inter-city trains can now provide passengers with journey information using HaCon's Hafas Mobile Professional software installed on Casio IT-3100 devices by TK Telekom. Enquiries are entered using a keyboard or with a stylus on the touch-screen, enabling Polish characters to be entered into a fault-tolerant station ...
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NewsWeight is time
UK: A five-piece steel guard was originally fitted to Bombardier Voyager diesel-electric multiple-units operating in the UK to protect the Cummins engines from flying stones. However, these guards required five people to lift during maintenance, and distortion and metal fatigue meant they could not be refitted. As a result, ...
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NewsLNVG orders Lint DMUs
GERMANY: Alstom Transport announced a €75m order to supply Niedersachsen transport authority LNVG with a further 28 Coradia Lint diesel mul tiple-units on December 17. The two-car units are to be built at Salzgitter and will enter traffic on regional services in December 2011. They will have space for ...
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NewsLänsimetro construction launched
FINLAND:The Länsimetro project got underway on November 24, following Helsinki City Council's ratification of the plan to extend the metro network by 13·9 km west from Ruoholahti to Matinkylä in Espoo on November 11. Transport Minister Anu Vehviläinen, Helsinki City Council President Otto Lehtipuu and Espoo City Council Chairman Jukka ...
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NewsTransitio orders more Contessas
SWEDEN: Rolling stock leasing company AB Transitio announced on December 23 that it had ordered a further 11 three-car Contessa EMUs from Bombardier Transportation at a cost of €96m, with an option for a further five. To be leased by three regional authorities, Lanstrafiken Kronoberg, Kalmar Lans Trafik and Hallandstrafiken, ...
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NewsStuttgart S-Bahn changes
GERMANY: After 18 months of construction, the extension of Stuttgart S-Bahn route S1 from Plochingen to Kirchheim unter Teck entered service on December 13, as rail timetable changes took effect across Europe. The €32·5m project involved electrification of the section between Wendlingen and Kirchheim and upgrading of track and signalling ...
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NewsProvincial funding for Ottawa light rail
CANADA: The Ontario provincial government on December 18 announced a C$600m contribution to Ottawa’s C$2·1bn rail plan. The federal government is also expected to make a substantial grant but has yet to decide how much; so far it has committed C$200m. Local officials are hoping for a total of C$600m, ...
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NewsChinese wagons could be built in Poland
POLAND: PKP Cargo has announced plans for a joint venture with China Northern which would assemble railway wagons at a site in Szczecin. A feasibility study will be completed within three months, Daniel Ryczek, PKP Cargo's director of International Affairs, said on December 10. If this finds that assembly ...