Main line rail industry news – Page 1400
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News
Arco, Alaris and Talgo
THIS MONTH sees Spanish National Railways launch another bid in the European speed stakes for services on conventional lines. On February 16 Renfe puts its 10-strong fleet of Alstom-Fiat Pendolino trains into service on the Madrid - Valencia inter-city run, where they will be branded as Alaris. Timed to cover ...
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Kok puts Amsterdam on the HS map
NETHERLANDS Prime Minister Wim Kok revealed details on January 15 of the arrangements for funding and building the HSL Zuid high speed line between Amsterdam and the Belgian border. The public-private partnership formula developed by the government’s HSL Zuid planning agency will see the state procure the civil engineering works, ...
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Political capital
Cheapest fare on the Mitre and Sarmiento commuter networks in Buenos Aires is due to rise from US$0·40 to US$0·50 this month, the first of a series of increases that Trenes de Buenos Aires has secured from the government to help fund a US$2·2bn investment programme under its renegotiated concession, ...
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Deal on coal
INTERNATIONAL Colombia Resources Corp (Intercor) is in line to benefit significantly from extra traffic over its 150 km standard gauge line from the Cerrejon coalfield to the deep-water port at Bahia Portete. Opened 10 years ago, the El Cerrejon Mine Railway carries around 15 million tonnes of coal a year.Intercor ...
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Bangalore deal
INDIA’s United Breweries group has been authorised to form joint ventures with three foreign firms in order to develop its planned US$16m elevated light rail network in Bangalore. UB is working with US-based ICF Kaiser Engineers, Transportation & Transit Associates and Nippon Sharyo Ltd of Japan. The Reserve Bank of ...
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Dual-system network
THE GERMAN city of Braunschweig has unveiled proposals for two dual-system light rail routes, using existing DB tracks. One would link serve Gifhorn and Uelzen, whilst the other would run from Wipshausen to Salzgitter-Lebenstedt. Future extensions could see LRVs running over DB tracks as far as Helmstedt, Goslar and Bad ...
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Istanbul bidding
FIVE consortia have submitted prequalification bids to supply electrical & mechanical equipment for the Istanbul metro extension from Taksim to Yenikapi. They include SNC Lavalin of Canada, Adtranz and ABB with Yapi Merkezi, Alstom with Gülermak, Guris and Yüksel, and Gama Endüstrie. The municipality has received bids from Siemens, Alstom ...
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Cross-city doubling
THE BUSY cross-city tunnel under the heart of Madrid between Atocha and Chamartín stations is to be duplicated at a cost of Pts30bn. In January the Ministry of Development signed an agreement with the City of Madrid for construction of an 8 km tunnel parallel to the existing bore completed ...
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Trams to Portland
The city of Portland, Oregon, has ordered five narrow-bodied trams from Skoda Inekon for US$12m to operate its Central City Streetcar line. The L-shaped route will connect a large hospital complex northwest of the city with Portland State University to the southwest. The Streetcar is not part of the MAX ...
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International group to move Stockholm commuters
STORSTOCKHOLMS Lokaltrafik has selected a tri-national private consortium to operate Pendeltåg commuter services in the Swedish capital. The CityPendeln consortium announced in December 16 that it will take over in January 2000, when SL’s agreement with Swedish State Railway expires. The five-year concession includes a five-year extension option.The consortium is ...
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Calgary expands
CALGARY TRANSIT launched a drive to expand its 29·3 km light rail network in December, when it ordered 11 SD-160 LRVs from Siemens Transportation Systems for US$26m. Similar to the cars ordered by Denver and Salt Lake City, they will augment a fleet of 83 U-2s.To serve a rapidly expanding ...
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City NEWS
CAPTION: On December 18 Berlin’s Transport Senator Jürgen Klemann celebrated a ’Christmas present for 100000 Berliners’ when he inaugurated a 2·9 km extension of the city’s tram network. Looping through Alexanderplatz, the new tracks link Mollstra§e and Hackesche Markt, with connections to the east-west Stadtbahn. In the western suburbs, S-Bahn ...
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Shenzhen bids to follow Guangzhou
CEREMONIES were held in two southern Chinese cities on December 28 to mark significant developments on their respective metro networks.Guangzhou Metro celebrated the official completion of its 18·5 km Line 1, five years to the day since the start of construction. Linking Xilang with CR’s East station, Line 1 has ...
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Alstom wins in Fortaleza
CONSTRUCTION of the long-planned metro network in the northern Brazilian city of Fortaleza is set to get under way at last, following the transfer of the local railway construction and operating company Metrofor from CBTU to the Cear
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Moscow seeks cheaper metro options
WITH CONSTRUCTION of its heavy metro largely suspended for lack of funding, the Moscow city government has announced plans to develop a network of small-profile mini-metro lines. The use of 4000mm diameter tunnels accommodating four-car trains of 12m long vehicles is expected to cut the cost of construction by half. ...
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NY car order
ON December 28 New York’s Metropolitan Transit Authority ordered an initial build of 100 large profile metro cars for its L-Canarsie subway line connecting lower Manhattan with Brooklyn. This route is to be the testbed for transmission-based train control over the next few years. The US$190m contract awarded to Kawasaki ...
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Talgos take over Cascade corridor
INTRO: Amtrak and Washington State DoT have put new tilting trains into service in the US Pacific Northwest, where traffic has doubled in the last five years. Julian Wolinsky reportsTHREE STYLISH new Talgo Pendular 200 trainsets began running in the Pacific Northwest of the United States last month, giving passengers ...
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IC order launches Chinese joint venture
Bombardier Inc and the Power Corporation of Canada have signed a joint venture agreement to build passenger coaches in China. The deal follows a memorandum of understanding signed with the Chinese government in November 1997.The local partner is Sifang Locomotive & Rolling Stock Works in Qingdao, part of the ...
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Industry In Brief
Australia: Evans Deakin Industries has abandoned its attempt to takeover Australian National Industries (RG 1.99 p51) and will sell the 18% of ANI shares it has acquired to rival bidder Smorgon Steel.Czech Republic: Construction company Subtera Praha has purchased a 90% stake in track maintenance contractor Stavební obnova zeleznic, which ...