Latest news – Page 950
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NewsThree shortlisted for Melbourne’s High Capacity Metro Trains contract
AUSTRALIA: Three consortia have been shortlisted for the High Capacity Metro Trains public-private partnership contract to supply and maintain 37 electric multiple-units for Melbourne suburban services, Victoria’s Minister for Public Transport & Employment Jacinta Allan announced on November 9. The shortlisted bidders are: Bombardier (Bombardier Transportation Australia, Macquarie Bank, ITOCHU ...
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NewsTRAN Committee approves technical pillar of Fourth Railway Package
EUROPE: Meeting on November 10, the European Parliament’s Committee on Transport & Tourism approved the trialogue agreement between Parliament, the Commission and Council covering the technical pillar of the Fourth Railway Package. The technical pillar incorporates three legislative measures intended to remove technical obstacles to cross-border operations and expedite ...
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NewsRailway supply industry news in brief
HSH Nordbank, ING DiBa, BAML, DVB, Deutsche Bank, Barclays and ABN AMRO are participating in a refinancing of leasing company Beacon Rail Finance (Europe), which is also pooling its rolling stock portfolios in the UK and continental Europe to simplify its management and finance structures. Tines Capital Group has ...
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NewsAddis Ababa opens second light rail line
ETHIOPIA: The second light rail line in Addis Ababa opened on November 9. The 17·4 km Green Line has 22 stops. It runs east from Ayat to Tor Hailoch, sharing tracks with the north-south Blue Line on a 2·7 km, five-stop stretch between Lideta and Meskel Square. The north-south ...
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NewsDelhi inaugurates Line 2 metro extension
INDIA: A 4·4 km northern extension of Delhi Metro’s Line 2 was inaugurated on November 10. The elevated alignment runs from Jahangirpuri to Samaypur Badli. The three stations are equipped with rooftop solar panels and rain water is collected for reuse. The extension forms part of the Phase ...
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NewsScope of Shaw Report into Network Rail’s future published
UK: HS1 Ltd Chief Executive Nicola Shaw published a document on November 12 setting out the scope of the report into the future structure and financing of infrastructure manager Network Rail which the government has commissioned her to produce. The Shaw Report will look forward around 10 years from ...
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NewsThree EU Rail Freight Corridors launched
EUROPE: The Scandinavian–Mediterranean, Baltic–Adriatic and North Sea–Baltic rail freight corridors were officially launched on November 10. They join six which have been operations since November 2013, completing the EU’s European Rail Network for Competitive Freight. Set up under Regulation 913/2010, the RFCs are a European Commission initiative intended ...
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NewsKyiv receives Elektron tram
UKRAINE: Elektrontrans delivered the first of seven 1 524 mm gauge Elektron trams to Kyiv on November 11. Operator Kyivpastrans placed a 183·75m hryvnia order in July for the trams, which are similar to metre-gauge cars delivered to Lviv last year. Designated as T5B64, the unidirectional 100% low-floor vehicle ...
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NewsUP opens beer wagon cleaning facility
USA: A ceremony on November 3 marked the opening of Union Pacific’s $40m Kinney County Railport in Texas, which will undertake food-grade cleaning and repairs on boxcars used to carry packaged beer from Mexico to the USA. The site between Eagle Pass and Brackettville covers 40 ha, with ...
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NewsSemi-automated containerised coke unloader inaugurated
AUSTRIA: A facility for the rapid semi-automatic unloading of coke delivered to Voestalpine’s Leoben/Donawitz site in containers has been inaugurated by the steel maker, technology supplier Innofreight and ÖBB’s freight division Rail Cargo Group. The RockTainer ORE system of modular steel containers is designed to speed-up unloading, improve safety ...
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NewsBremen approves tram funding
GERMANY: The Bremen Senate announced on November 10 that it had approved funding for capital expenditure on the city’s tram network. The approved funds include €210m for the purchase of 67 new trams, for which a tender is to be called next year. Deliveries of prototypes are due to ...
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NewsSEPTA orders Siemens electric locos
USA: Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority has formally awarded preferred bidder Siemens a $118m contract to supply 13 ACS-64 electric locomotives by early 2018, along with spare parts and staff training. The contract announced on November 11 includes an option for up to five more of the locomotives, which are ...
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NewsSEPTA orders Siemens electric locos
USA: Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority has formally awarded preferred bidder Siemens a $118m contract to supply 13 ACS-64 electric locomotives by early 2018, along with spare parts and staff training. The contract announced on November 11 includes an option for up to five more of the locomotives, which are ...
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NewsTAZARA takes delivery of locos and coaches
AFRICA: Tanzania-Zambia Railway Authority has taken delivery of four diesel-electric locomotives and 18 coaches supplied from China. TAZARA expects the new equipment valued at US$22·4m to have a ‘substantial impact’ on its operations, which have been suffering from reduced capacity as a result of the age of the fleet ...
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NewsDieselnetz Augsburg operator selected
GERMANY: Bayern railway authority BEG has selected Transdev’s Bayerischen Regiobahn to operate Dieselnetz Augsburg I regional services from December 9 2018 to December 14 2030. BRB current operates Dieselnetz Augsburg II services. Formal award of the operating contract is subject to a 10-day standstill period which expires on November 20. ...
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NewsAlstom to supply 800 electric locos to Indian Railways
INDIA: The Ministry of Railways issued Alstom with a letter of award for a contract to build a factory and supply 800 twin-section electric locomotives on November 10, a day after announcing a similar deal with GE covering 1 000 diesel locomotives. The electric locomotive factory is to be built ...
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NewsWork starts on Bologna airport monorail
ITALY: Construction of the Marconi Express monorail linking Bologna Centrale main line station with Marconi Airport began on October 31. Works are due be completed in 36 months, with passenger services expected to begin in 2019. The 5 km route will be built at up to 7·6 m above ground ...
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NewsOyster and contactless to reach Gatwick Airport in January
UK: On November 10 Rail Minister Claire Perry announced that an agreement had been reached by the government, Transport for London and train operator Govia Thameslink Railway which will enable passengers to use contactless bank cards and TfL’s Oyster smart card on rail services between London and Gatwick Airport from ...
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NewsFlorida’s Brightline to ‘take the grey out of travel’
USA: Privately-owned inter-city passenger service promoter All Aboard Florida unveiled Brightline as the branding for its future services on November 9. AAF plans to launch Miami – West Palm Beach services in mid-2017, and Miami – Orlando later the same year. The Brightline brand has been developed in partnership ...
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NewsDB launches training programme for refugees
GERMANY: Deutsche Bahn has launched a railway training scheme for refugees who have previous experience of electrical engineering. An initial group of 15 people originally from Nigeria, Eritrea, Congo, Iran, Algeria, Somalia, Syria and Tunisia have been selected for the programme, which runs for 28 months and starts with ...