Main line rail industry news – Page 1280
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News
TGV Est contracts let
FRENCH infrastructure authority RFF has awarded a further six contracts for civil works on the first phase of the TGV Est européen high speed line, which runs for 300 km between Vaires-sur-Marne and Baudrecourt. Contracts have now been let for civil works on over 60% of the route, due to ...
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SL picks Lirex
STOCKHOLM public transport operator Storstockholms Lokaltrafik and rolling stock leasing company AB Transitio have ordered 55 low-floor EMUs from Alstom Transport to replace the ageing suburban fleet in the Swedish capital. The €380m deal includes options for up to 50 additional units. To be manufactured in Germany, Belgium and France, ...
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Swiss commit to ETCS
SWISS Federal Railways will invest SFr2·9bn in signalling and train control modernisation over the next 15 years. A commitment to install ETCS on all main lines in Switzerland by 2017 was made by SBB’s management board on June 4, when it announced a three-pronged investment programme. Apart from SFr830m for ...
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NRC reform plan
NIGERIA’s Federal Executive Council has selected the Canadian consultancy Canac to provide technical and managerial assistance for the reform of Nigeria Railways Corp. The consultants were due to start work in June on an initial 10-month study phase valued at US$4m, which will be followed by a five-year oversight programme. ...
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ERFA founded
A GROUP of European operators and the Association of German Transport Undertakings (VDV) are setting up the European Rail Freight Association. The first general assembly will take place on July 23 in Brussels, and Klaus-J Meyer, the VDV representative in Brussels, has been nominated as Chief Executive.ERFA’s primary objectives are ...
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Camrail funding
REHABILITATION of the 622 km Trans-Cameroon main line between N’gaoundéré and Yaoundé will get under way shortly, following the announcement of a World Bank loan. Privatised operator Camrail confirmed on May 22 that it had been allocated FrCFA15·6bn, which it described as ’a breath of fresh air’. The initial package ...
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B&A sale
CHICAGO-BASED Rail World Inc announced on May 23 that the Montreal, Maine & Atlantic Railway had signed an agreement to purchase the 1200 km Bangor & Aroostook network in Maine, Quebec and New Brunswick. As well as the B&A Railroad Corp, this includes its affiliates Quebec Southern, Canadian American, Northern ...
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FO and BVZ to merge
SWITZERLAND’S Furka Oberalp and Brig-Visp-Zermat railways announced on June 12 that their boards had agreed to merge. Subject to ratification by the shareholders on September 12, the agreement will take effect from January 1 2003.At present BVZ Zermatt-Bahn is a wholly-owned subsidiary of BVZ Holding AG, which also holds a ...
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Regions fight for funds
TWO REGIONS in the north of France have begun official proceedings before the Conseil d’Etat in an attempt to obtain additional funding from central government to meet their responsibilities under new agreements with SNCF (RG 4.02 p167). Nord-Pas-de-Calais reckons that TER services will require €180m this year against the €108m ...
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ERRAC sets out strategic agenda
THE DIRECTION of European railway research for the next 20 years was mapped out on June 4, when the European Commissioner for Research Philippe Busquin unveiled the Strategic Rail Research Agenda. Subtitled ’A Turning Point for European Rail Research’, SRRA 2020 outlines four ’areas of action’ to be progressed by ...
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More confrontation over Taiwan’s high speed line
WITH civil engineering work on Taiwan High Speed Rail Corp’s 346 km line between Taipei and Kaohsiung now 30% complete (p345), the project is unlikely to be abandoned. But serious delay is almost certain to follow a furious legal row that has erupted between the corporation and the government.The NT$446bn ...
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BR plan boosts modernisation
THE BANGLADESH government has approved a massive development plan for Bangladesh Railways, which will build on the modernisation programme already under way in association with the Jamuna Bridge link (RG 6.02 p326). Funding has been allocated from money already owed to BR by various government and private organisations; this is ...
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Sidetrack
It’s a bug’s lifeVirgin Cross-Country’s highly-successful Voyager DEMU fleet has been found to be carrying some unexpected passengers. A layer of micro-organisms, called a biofilm, frequently forms in the air filters of diesel engines. These microbes are sensitive to their environment, and in the past some strains were killed off ...
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BA bail-out
ARGENTINA’S Minister of the Economy Roberto Lavagna approved a rescue package for public transport operators last month that should see Buenos Aires suburban concessionaires Ferrovías, Metropolitano, Metrovías and TBA receive a total of 10m pesos a month until the end of this year. Of this sum, 3·5m pesos will go ...
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Mayor backs Metrorail
SIX NEW metro and light rail lines totalling 122·9 km were proposed for the Miami area on June 3, when the Mayor of Miami-Dade Alex Penelas unveiled a 22-year investment programme valued at $16·9bn. This month is due to see the package debated by the Dade County Commission, paving the ...
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WMATA picks Alstom
WASHINGTON DC metro operator WMATA has selected Alstom Transportation Inc to supply a build of 64 new cars, although the recommendation by the Operations Committee on May 23 must still be endorsed by the board of directors. The $148·6m contract will include an option for up to 120 cars at ...
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Bursa light rail in business
REVENUE operation began on Turkey’s latest light rail line on June 16, following six weeks of trial running. The 16 km initial section of the Y-shaped BursaRay network was opened to the public on April 23, but passengers were allowed to ride free for ’public familiarisation’ during the introductory phase.According ...
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Trams to serve central London
PLANS to build two new light rail lines in the British capital were announced by Mayor of London Ken Livingstone on May 29. Following public consultation and discussions with local authorities, he approved two light rail routes and two busways. ’People have been talking about these schemes for seven years’, ...
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NJT expands
NEW JERSEY Transit has ordered 34 extra light rail vehicles from Kinki Sharyo, similar to the 45 already operating on the Hudson-Bergen line and the Newark City Subway. The $101·4m order, confirmed by the NJT board on June 12, was placed by 21st Century Rail Corp, the DBO concessionaire for ...