Latest news – Page 1319
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NewsShunting locomotive upgrade underway
SWITZERLAND: SBB's Biel workshop rolled out the first of 23 SBB Cargo Tm IV light shunting locomotives which are being rebuilt as type Tm 232 on August 4. A prototype rebuild was completed in 2007 before the start of the modernisation programme, which aims to extend the life of ...
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NewsGrease in the right place
LUBRICATION: Turnout sliding joint lubrication can prove ineffective if the grease gets pushed out during the first few operations. The automatic lubrication system from SPX Rail Systems injects the grease into the centre of the slide interface, guaranteeing effective lubrication with no need for manual intervention for six months to ...
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NewsStrategic wins help in difficult times
STADLER: Two strategically important rolling stock contracts were won during 2008, when Swiss-based Stadler Rail Group recorded consolidated turnover of SFr1·07bn. Though turnover was down from SFr1·24bn the previous year, the ‘development of the order book was particularly pleasing’ last year, with its highest-ever total order value of SFr2·6bn ensuring ...
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NewsMontréal's Windsor Station sold to Cadillac Fairview
CANADA: On August 4 Canadian Pacific Railway announced the C$86m sale of the Windsor Station office complex in Montréal to The Cadillac Fairview Corp. Now designated a National Historic Monument, Windsor Station was built in 1887-89 as both a station and Canadian Pacific's head office. Passenger services now use ...
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NewsRobots to cut train delays
FIRE FIGHTING: UK defence technology company QinetiQ has been awarded a contract to provide remotely-operated vehicles able to enter unsafe environments to search for acetylene gas cylinders at fire sites near rail routes in London. The initiative aims to reduce the disruption to services caused by the imposition of ...
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NewsChina Gateway construction launched
KAZAKHSTAN: President Nazarbayev formally launched construction of the China Gateway Railway with a ceremony in Zhetigen on August 3. Providing a second rail link to China, the 293 km broad-gauge line will run from Zhetigen to Korgas where there will be facilities for transhipping freight to and from a 295 ...
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NewsCork - Midleton commuter line open for business
IRELAND: A full commuter service between Midleton and Cork began on August 4, following the inauguration of an introductory service on the re-opened line by Minister for Transport Noel Dempsey on July 30. The minister had launched the €75m rehabilitation of the 10 km Glounthaune - Midleton section of ...
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NewsChina South rolls out Hong Kong light rail cars
CHINA: CSR Nanjing Puzhen has rolled out the initial two of 22 light rail vehicles which it is building under the first contract for LRVs to be supplied to Hong Kong from mainland China. A partnership of the Chinese firm and Australia's United Group Rail was awarded the contract ...
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NewsVenezuela rail construction contract agreed
VENEZUELA: China Railway Engineering Corp's Venezuelan subsidiary is to build the planned railway between Anaco and Tinaco under an agreement reached with state railway IFE and the Ministry of Public Works & Housing on July 30. The deal is worth US$7·5bn, making it one of the largest overseas contracts ...
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NewsRotterdam Centraal rebuilding begins
NETHERLANDS: Work has begun to transform Rotterdam Centraal station, with the aim of creating a showpiece facility equalling major stations in Paris, Madrid and London. The completion of Randstadrail and HSL Zuid is expected to lead to a tripling of traffic to 323 000 passengers a day by 2025, requiring ...
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NewsSapsan run marks high speed train depot opening
RUSSIA: A Sapsan high speed train made its first demonstration run on the Moscow - St Petersburg line on July 30, reaching 250 km/h as it carried guests including RZD President Vladimir Yakunin and Governor of St Petersburg Valentina Matviyenko to the formal opening of a maintenance depot in St ...
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NewsNews in Brief
The European Commission has approved a funding and loan guarantee from the Danish state to finance planning of the Fehmarn Belt fixed link. It determined that this does not fall under the scope of rules on state aid, and promotes a project of common interest. Denmark will provide public ...
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NewsMÁV wagon works privatised
HUNGARY: Romanian rail freight, rolling stock maintenance and industrial group Grampet has completed the purchase of MÁV Debreceni Jármujavító, a subsidiary of Hungarian State Railways which operates the Debrecen wagon works. MÁV has made a number of attempts to sell the business since January 2007, eventually negotiating a deal with ...
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NewsNottingham tram extension funding approved
UK: Transport Minister Sadiq Khan travelled to Nottingham on July 31 to announce conditional approval of government funding and a workplace parking levy to finance expansion of the Nottingham Express Transit light rail network. The government's contribution to NET Phase Two is capped at £530·7m in Private Finance Initiative ...
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NewsEC sets out ERTMS deployment deadlines
EUROPE: The European Commission adopted an ERTMS deployment plan on July 22, setting out legally-binding deadlines for the implementation of ETCS and GSM-R on key corridors. Coming into force on September 1, it amends the Technical Specifications for Interoperability for Control-Command and Signalling (TSI CCS) and is intended to co-ordinate ...
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NewsWinners of largest German tender named
GERMANY: Berlin-Brandenburg transport authority VBB has selected DB Regio and Ostdeutsche Eisenbahn as the winners of regional operating contracts with a total value of €1·3bn in the largest rail tendering process undertaken in Germany. VBB managed the tendering on behalf of the Länder of Berlin, Brandenburg, Sachsen-Anhalt and Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. ...
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NewsRussia orders international sleeping cars
RUSSIA: RZD has ordered 200 sleeping cars which will be supplied with interchangeable standard and broad -gauge bogies for services to central and western Europe. A contract was signed with Siemens Mobility and Transmash Holding's TVZ subsidiary onboard a Sapsan high speed train on July 30. According to RZD, ...
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NewsFar north heavy haul study
EUROPE: The development of iron ore mines around Pajala in Sweden and Kolari in Finland has spurred the re-evaluation of proposals for the Ishavsbanen, a 312 km line linking Kolari to Skibotn on the Norwegian Sea. A feasibility study by Sweco was presented by a grouping of local authorities in ...
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NewsEnquiry service Tweets train delays
UK: Up-to-the-minute information on disruption to train services is now available from National Rail Enquiries via the Twitter microblogging service. Passengers can 'follow' the main National Rail Enquiries profile to receive updates from across the network, or can select feeds for individual train operators. The messages ('Tweets') include links to ...
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NewsCzech passenger tendering plan
CZECH REPUBLIC:Plans to let 10 to 15-year franchises covering up to three-quarters of the country’s long-distance passenger rail services were unveiled by Transport Minister Gustav Slamecka on July 3. The first contracts could be placed by October. The franchises would be awarded gradually over the next decade, with ...