Latest news – Page 1320
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NewsLondon Underground issues SSL signalling tender
UK: London Underground issued invitations to tender to prequalified bidders for the contract to resignal the Sub-Surface Lines on July 16. Responses are due by December 18. Following the collapse of Metronet in 2007, LU decided to cancel the original order placed with Westinghouse Rail Systems. According to Richard Parry, ...
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NewsMilano operator orders GTWs
ITALY: Milano-based regional operator FNM has become Stadler's eighth Italian customer, with a €90m order for 19 GTW diesel-electric multiple-units to be delivered in 2011. Stadler is to supply 11 four-car GTW 4/12 units for use on Milano - Molteno - Lecco services, and eight two-car GTW 2/6 units ...
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NewsMadrid airport rail link advances
SPAIN: A joint venture of Ferrovial Agromán and Azvi had been awarded a €47·4m contract for tracklaying, electrification and railway systems installation on the 6·9 km new-build component of the rail link between Madrid Charmartín and Terminal 4 at Barajas Airport, the Ministry of Development announced on July 16. ...
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NewsBuilding on growth
ISRAEL: According to current projections, Israel Railways expects to carry more than 37 million passengers this year, a 5% increase on the 35·1 million handled in 2008, and more than eight times the 4·3 million recorded in 1994. Whilst the economic downturn has slowed the rate of ...
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NewsSoutheastern rehearses Olympic shuttle
UK: Former Olympic athlete Daley Thompson took the controls of a Class 395 EMU on July 27 for a special ‘time trial’ to rehearse the intensive ‘Javelin’ service that will operate between London St Pancras and Stratford International during the 2012 London Olympics. The shuttle is intended ...
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NewsTalgo’s 380 km/h Avril train to take on the airlines
SPAIN: In its first 18 months of full operation, the Madrid - Barcelona high speed line has made significant inroads into market share on what was the country’s busiest domestic air corridor. But RENFE Operadora believes it needs to do more if rail is to achieve total dominance. With 300 ...
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NewsAmtrak calls bids for locos and passenger cars
USA: Amtrak is in the market for 130 passenger cars and at least 20 electric locomotives, to be funded under a five-year $5·3bn capital grant programme which forms part of last year's Federal Railroad Safety Improvement Act. The national passenger operator is seeking 130 Viewliner 2 long-distance single-deck passenger ...
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NewsTesting tweaks AGV to Italian specifications
CZECH REPUBLIC: Following 7 500 km of trial runs at up to 360 km/h on LGV Est in France, Alstom's AGV demonstrator trainset has returned to the Velim test circuit east of Praha to be fine-tuned to the requirements of launch customer NTV. As well as meeting Europe-wide Technical ...
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NewsBrasilia metro orders Metropolis trains
BRAZIL: Alstom Transport signed a €110m contract on July 23 to supply the Brasilia metro with 12 four-car Metropolis trains and to upgrade the existing rolling stock and infrastructure for automatic train operation. Banco Nacional de Desenvolvimento Econômico e Social is providing an R$260·3m loan to the Federal District ...
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NewsSeoul Line 9 is now open
SOUTH KOREA: Seoul’s first privately-operated metro line entered revenue service at 07.00 on July 24. The opening had been delayed for several weeks while the government finalised the contactless ticketing arrangements. The 25·5 km underground line runs across the city from east to west, linking Sinnonhyeon in Gangnam to Gimpo ...
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NewsKnorr-Bremse receives Queen’s Award for Innovation
UK: On July 23 The Duchess of Cornwall presented Knorr-Bremse Rail Systems (UK) Ltd with the Queen’s Award for Industry in the Innovation category, for the design, manufacture and sales of EP2002 Distributed Brake Control. The Duchess toured the company’s headquarters in Melksham, and spoke to the team responsible ...
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NewsChinese metros still growing
CHINA: Urban rail projects are being planned in a further 19 cities, a government official has revealed. State media quoted Duo Hao, Deputy General Manager of China International Engineering Consulting Corp, as saying that 2 100 km of line would be under construction by the middle of the next ...
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NewsMerger of Veolia Transport and Transdev under discussion
FRANCE: State-owned investment body Caisse des Dépôts announced on July 22 that it had decided to enter into exclusive negotiations with Veolia Environnement with a view to merging their Transdev and Veolia Transport subsidiaries. The new company would be owned equally by Caisse des Dépôts and Veolia Environnement, have ...
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NewsInter-city electrification planning to start immediately
UK: An immediate start of detailed planning for electrification of the Great Western Main Line and Manchester Victoria - Liverpool route were announced by Secretary of State for Transport Lord Andrew Adonis on July 23. The Great Western route will be electrified from London to Bristol, Cardiff and Swansea ...
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NewsTrack access reforms approved
SLOVENIA: The National Assembly approved changes to legislation which were necessary to transpose two European directives into Slovenian law on July 15. Responsibility for the collection of track access charges has been transferred from national operator Slovenske Zeleznice to the Rail Transport Agency. The second change opens up the ...
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NewsAnsaldo STS wins huge Libyan signalling contract
LIBYA: Ansaldo STS signed its largest ever contract on July 22, covering the supply of signalling, telecoms and power supply equipment for two rail projects now underway in Libya. The €541m contract covers the 625 km coastal line which China Railway Construction Corp is building to link Ras Ejder ...
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NewsDB completes PCC Logistics purchase
POLAND: Deutsche Bahn completed its acquisition of PCC Logistics with effect from July 21. An agreement for the purchase of Poland's largest private rail freight operator for an undisclosed price was signed in Warszawa on January 30, and the European Commission approved the deal on June 12. Launched in ...
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NewsLocomotive co-operation deal signed
AUSTRALIA: GE Transportation and United Group have signed a series of 10-year sales agreements extending their on-going co-operation in the Australian locomotive market UGL Rail will remain the Australian distributor of GE Transportation locomotives, including the Evolution Series, and will design and build locomotives using GE technology. It will also ...
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NewsElectrification consultancy acquired
EUROPE: KEMA has acquired German firm ELBAS Elektrische Bahnsysteme Ingenieur-Gesellschaft mbH and a 50% stake in ELBAS Schweiz AG, in a deal which the Dutch-based consultancy said will strengthen its global Rail Power Systems consultancy practice in the German-speaking countries. Founded in 1991, ELBAS provides consulting and engineering services ...
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NewsWisconsin wants Talgo trains
USA: Wisconsin Governor Jim Doyle has announced that his state will purchase two 14-car Talgo trainsets for $47·5m. They are to be assigned to Amtrak's Hiawatha line, which provides seven daily return trips between Chicago and Milwaukee. Doyle visited Spain in February to inspect Patentes Talgo's production facilities ...