Main line rail industry news – Page 198
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NewsHydrogen pilot project train leasing agreement signed
GERMANY: Transdev subsidiary Bayerische Regiobahn has signed an agreement to lease a prototype Mireo Plus H hydrogen fuel cell-powered multiple unit from Siemens Mobility for trials in Bayern. The contract signed on March 15 is a follow-up to the letter of intent which was signed in ...
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NewsSaudi Arabia seeks new inter-city train fleet
SAUDI ARABIA: National railway company Saudi Arabia Railways has called for expressions of interest in a contract to design, supply and maintain its next generation of inter-city passenger trains. The first batch of new trainsets is planned to enter service by 2025, increasing capacity on the ...
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NewsMovable overhead electrification to decarbonise freight
UK: The use of a movable overhead conductor rail to eliminate the need to use diesel locomotives at freight terminals where traditional fixed electrification equipment would obstruct loading and unloading is being demonstrated in the UK, and a trial in India is planned. ...
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NewsOut-of-use Serbian railways to be dismantled
SERBIA: Infrastruktura Železnice Srbije has begun dismantling 435 km of track on lines which were abandoned between 1978 and 2014. The move is expected to generate €2·7m through the sale of scrap metal. Novi Sad based company ZGOP is undertaking the work. The lines are: ...
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NewsTŽV Gredelj to manufacture Innowaggons under 10-year production agreement
CROATIA: Innofreight, Tatravagónka and Slovak rail logistics group Budamar Logistics have signed a framework agreement covering wagon production for 10 years which is potentially worth €2bn. Under the agreement, Tatravagónka subsidiary TŽV Gredelj will produce 1 000 Innowaggons per year for Innofreight at its plant in ...
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NewsVlexx to convert six EMUs to battery-electric operation
GERMANY: The Federal Ministry of Digital & Transport has announced a grant of €6∙7m to cover part of the €17m cost of converting six of Vlexx’s Bombardier Talent 3 EMUs to battery-electric operation. The grant was announced by Transport Minister Oliver Luksic at a ceremony held ...
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NewsRFI endorses northern link to Riva del Garda
ITALY: An assessment by infrastructure manager RFI commissioned last year by the Trentino-South Tirol region has backed the idea of building a railway from Rovereto to Riva del Garda as ‘technically and economically feasible’.
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NewsPort of Duisburg pulls out of Belarus
BELARUS: German logistics group Duisburger Hafen AG announced on March 11 that it was ceasing all business activity in Belarus with immediate effect, because of the country’s support for the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Duisport will divest its 38·9% stake in Eurasian Rail Gateway which is ...
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NewsThales selected for Dutch ERTMS Central Safety System contract
NETHERLANDS: Infrastructure manager ProRail has selected Thales as preferred bidder for a contract to develop, install and maintain an ERTMS Central Safety System on the 7 000 track-km network. The contract is potentially worth €420m over its maximum duration of 37 years. Siemens had also been ...
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NewsNatal’s Linha Sul extended
BRAZIL: Natal’s suburban Linha Sul has been extended by one station from Parnamirim to Boa Esperança. The extension is intended to form the first part of a new Linha Branca, which will effectively extend Linha Sul to Nísia Floresta. The city’s diesel-operated 1 000 mm gauge ...
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NewsFederal funds allocated to Atlanta – Savannah high speed line study
USA: The Senate has allocated $8m to conduct an environmental impact study for a proposed 400 km high speed line between Savannah and Atlanta via Macon.
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NewsEurope’s Rail research programme issues first call for proposals
EUROPE: The Europe’s Rail Joint Undertaking that is co-ordinating EU railway research over the next decade has issued its first call for proposals, under which it will provide €234m to back rail innovation projects worth €390m.
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NewsOhio railway buys battery loco
USA: OmniTRAX’s Newburgh & South Shore Railroad has purchased its first battery locomotive, supported by a grant from the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency’s Diesel Mitigation Trust Fund. The FRA-compliant 1 700 hp shunting locomotive was rebuilt by industrial and off-road battery equipment supplier AMPS Traction from ...
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NewsRFI awards €500m ERTMS framework agreement
ITALY: Infrastructure manager RFI has awarded a partnership of Hitachi Rail, Alstom Ferroviaria and Ceit a €500m framework agreement to design and deploy ERTMS in Sicily (480 km), Umbria (150 km) and on the Roccasecca – Avezzano line (80 km).
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NewsDB Cargo offers biofuel option to decarbonise ‘last mile’
GERMANY: DB Cargo is planning to run its main line diesel and shunting locomotives on HVO fuel, a carbon-neutral biofuel based on plant oils, for ‘last mile’ duties, including shunting, in freight terminals and ports or when delivering wagons to customers. DB Cargo says its diesel ...
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NewsSachsen narrow gauge line goes digital
GERMANY: PSI Transcom subsidiary Moveo Software is to supply its Profahr personnel planning system for the 750 mm gauge line from Zittau which is operated by Sächsisch-Oberlausitzer Eisenbahn. This will digitalise staff scheduling for 50 drivers and 35 trains/day, with short-term changes managed automatically and in ...
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NewsFederal grant to boost Twin Cities to Chicago passenger service
USA: The federal government is to provide a $31·8m grant for the Twin Cities – Milwaukee – Chicago Intercity Passenger Rail Project to facilitate the operation of a second daily passenger train each way between St Paul and Chicago by 2024. The TCMC project will modernise ...
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NewsCP and KCS trial Mexico – Chicago intermodal service
NORTH AMERICA: Canadian Pacific Railway and Kansas City Southern have trialled a direct intermodal service linking the Mexican port of Lázaro Cárdenas with Chicago. CP says the first international through train to be operated over the route was aimed at bypassing the delays caused by a ...
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NewsTurkey – Bulgaria reconstruction contract halted
TURKEY: The country’s highest administrative court has cancelled the contract awarded in June last year for reconstruction of TCDD’s main line between Ispartaküle and Halkalı, which forms the southern section of the Turkey’s principal rail link with western Europe.