Main line rail industry news – Page 288
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NewsRailway supply industry news round-up
United Wagon Co was Russia’s largest wagon manufacturer in 2019, according to data from INFOLine-Analytics. UWC’s output of 21 000 wagons placed it second worldwide after CRRC. Russian companies produced a total of 78 200 wagons in 2019, a year-on-year increase of 9·8%. Output is expected to ...
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NewsPartnership to develop 400 km/h high speed train for Russia
RUSSIA:· Russian Railways, the Engineering Centre for Railway Transport and Knorr-Bremse have formed a partnership to develop high speed trains which could link Russia’s largest cities at speeds up to 400 km/h. It is envisaged that the first of the very high speed trains could enter service ...
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NewsAir ticket specialist expands rail portfolio
The agreement gives travel agents access to more European rail operators, including Italo. EUROPE: AERTiCKET, Europe’s largest air ticket wholesaler, has agreed a partnership with travel software specialist Amadeus to grow its share of the rail ticketing market. The wholesaler will now have access to the Amadeus ...
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NewsPerth level crossings to go
AUSTRALIA: As part of the Metronet suburban rail expansion programme, Western Australia’s Transport Minister Rita Saffioti has announced plans to remove six more level crossings on Transperth’s Armadale Line, southeast of the city centre.
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NewsEU funds rail cybersecurity research
EUROPE: The Safety4Rails research programme to improve the resilience of railways and metros to cyber and physical attacks is one of five projects that will share €38m in funding from the EU’s Horizon 2020 research budget.
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NewsNormandie orders long distance EMUs
FRANCE: SNCF has awarded Bombardier Transportation firm contracts to supply 27 more 10-car Omneo Premium double-deck electric multiple-units for use on long-distance services, acting on behalf of the Normandie region which is funding the orders. The €162m order for 11 units announced on June 23 and a ...
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NewsVandalised freight line reopened after six years
SOUTH AFRICA: Transnet has re-opened the freight route between Pretoria North and Hercules, which has been closed since August 2014 owing to cable theft and sabotage. Reopening is intended to improve the efficiency and reliability of trains serving customers in the mining and automotive sectors, supporting ...
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NewsLineas awards diesel locomotive overhaul contract
BELGIUM: Freight operator Lineas has awarded Voith a contract to overhaul an initial 30 of its Siemens/Vossloh Class 77 diesel-hydraulic locomotives, to improve reliability, reduce operating costs and minimise downtime. The 4½-year agreement announced on June 23 covers a major overhaul with a predefined scope, plus options ...
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NewsStudy finds uncertainties in rail to bus conversion
Source: Lokaltog DENMARK: Conversion of the Østbanen local railway in eastern Sjælland into a busway could be a viable alternative to renewing the life-expired rail infrastructure, a study has suggested. The infrastructure rail renewals which are required are expected to take 2½ years and cost at least ...
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NewsDedicated logistics concept developed for China – Germany medical glove shipments
INTERNATIONAL: Geodis has organised four shipments of containers carrying millions of disposable medical gloves from Chengdu to Nürnberg by rail for the German government. A batch was also sent to Frankfurt by air. The 40 ft containers are fitted with GEOtags which enable live tracking via GPS. ...
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NewsEast Coast Main Line digital railway funding approved
UK: Network Rail has been authorised to spend £350m on preparatory works for the installation of ETCS Level 2 on the southern section of the East Coast Main Line, the Department for Transport announced on June 22.
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NewsStadler Mannheim formed through acquisition of VIPCO
GERMANY: Stadler has acquired VIPCO GmbH, which has become a new German subsidiary under the name Stadler Mannheim GmbH. The 50 staff in Mannheim, Kassel and Halle will develop hardware and software for train control, communication and diagnosis systems for use across the Stadler Group, including products ...
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NewsWorld rail freight news round-up
United Wagon Co’s TikhvinSpetsMash plant has delivered 100 Type 11-6874 covered vans to Kuchukterminal, which now has a fleet of 220 vans with 25 tonne axleload Type 18-9855 bogies. UWC estimates that more than 5 000 life-expired vans are due to be removed from service by 2022, ...
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NewsETR700 HVAC maintenance contract
ITALY: Liebherr-Transportation Systems is to overhaul and maintain the 39 cab cooling and 157 saloon air-conditioning systems it supplied for the 19 ETR700 high speed trainsets. The former Fyra fleet is now operated by Trenitalia on the Milano – Bologna – Ancona – Lecce corridor. In ...
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NewsVirginia Railway Express operating contract extended
USA: The Virginia Railway Express partnership of the Northern Virginia and Potomac & Rappahannock transport commissions has exercised an option for Keolis to continue operating commuter rail services linking towns in the middle and north of the state with Washington DC for a further five years. VRE ...
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NewsSnälltåget targets 2021 expansion
EUROPE: Citing uncertainties over international travel as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, open access operator Snälltäget has decided to suspend its seasonal overnight trains between Sweden and Germany for 2020 and focus on developing an increased service from 2021.
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NewsFirst approval for AngelStar’s Guardia onboard ETCS
POLAND: The AngelStar joint venture of Stadler and MerMec has obtained type approval for its Guardia onboard ETCS equipment for the first time. Stadler Flirt electric multiple-units for Koleje Mazowieckie have been fitted with Guardia ETCS baseline 3.4.0 equipment which supports dynamic ...
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NewsJR East commissions Robel track machine
JAPAN: East Japan Railway has taken delivery of a Robel Mobile Maintenance System, as part of a strategy to invest in advanced equipment that improves the efficiency of manual track maintenance tasks and worker safety.
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NewsEurostar to test facial biometrics for ‘walk-through’ check-in
EUROPE: A walk-through facial biometric verification system is to be tested which would enable Eurostar passengers to complete ticket checks and border exit processes at London’s St Pancras International station without contact with people or hardware. Passengers opting the use the accelerated pre-boarding option would use ...
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NewsRailway supply industry news round-up
ENSCO Rail has acquired an enhanced user license for Vampire Pro vehicle-track interaction modelling software, including access to the source code for long-term sustainability. ‘Integrating Vampire Pro with automated web-based processes such as our Autonomous Track Geometry Measurement System and data analytics will provide customers with the ...