Main line rail industry news – Page 388
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NewsNurminen Logistics sells Russian wagon fleet
RUSSIA: Finnish freight company Nurminen Logistics plc announced on October 30 that it had sold its Russian wagon fleet of around 350 vehicles to TransLes. Part of the Rustranscom Group of freight companies, TransLes is one of the largest wagon operators in Russian forestry sector with a fleet of ...
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NewsMatterhorn Gotthard Bahn locos to be modernised
SWITZERLAND: Matterhorn Gotthard Bahn has awarded Swiss Federal Railways a SFr35·4m contract to modernise nine HGe4/4-II electric locomotives and three BDt driving trailers. The work is to be undertaken at SBB’s Bellinzona works by the end of 2022. The 1·9 MW metre gauge Bo-Bo locomotives equipped for rack operation were ...
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NewsRegioPanter EMUs for Plzeň on test
CZECH REPUBLIC: The first of nine two-car Class 650 RegioPanter electric multiple-units which national operator ČD has ordered from Škoda Transportation for use on the Pňovany – Plzeň – Horažďovice line is undergoing trials at the Velim test circuit, ahead of entry into service with the December timetable change. The ...
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NewsKiwiRail electric haulage reprieved
NEW ZEALAND: The government has agreed to fund the refurbishment of 15 locomotives to enable electric haulage of freight trains on the North Island Main Trunk line to continue. The Brush Class EF electric locomotives dating from 1986-88 have become increasingly unreliable, and in December 2016 KiwiRail announced its intention ...
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NewsLevel crossing upgrading contract awarded
SWEDEN: Trafikverket has selected Portuguese company Efacec and its local partner IndustriSpar to develop, gain approval for and then supply a new generation of automatic level crossing protection systems, including control equipment, interfaces, barriers and road signs. The contract is worth €5m/year for an initial five years, and is renewable ...
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NewsGoldschmidt Thermit Group acquires inspection technology specialist PLR
GERMANY: Welding and maintenance specialist Goldschmidt Thermit Group has acquired Prüftechnik Linke & Rühe, a Magdeburg-based company which provides eddy current and ultrasonic inspection technology for the rail, automotive and aerospace markets. ‘PLR brings extensive know-how in the field of non-destructive testing of rail infrastructure to the Goldschmidt Thermit Group’, ...
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NewsPKP Cargo purchases Dragon 2 locomotives
POLAND: PKP Cargo signed a 45·3m złoty contract for the purchase of three Dragon 2 E6ACTa six-axle electric locomotives from manufacturer Newag on October 25. The locomotives have already been produced and are awaiting regulatory approval for entry into service, which is expected by the end of this year. ...
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NewsHitachi to buy Elliott stake in Ansaldo STS
ANSALDO STS: Hitachi announced on October 29 that it had reached an agreement to acquire the 32% stake in Ansaldo STS held by investment group Elliott. Hitachi is to pay €12·70 per share, giving the deal a value of €807·6m. The transaction is not subject to conditions, and is expected ...
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NewsKomsomolsk-na-Amure tram network formally closed
RUSSIA: Komsomolsk-na-Amure Mayor Andrei Klimov issued an order on October 26 to close the municipal tram operator. Services on the 11 km three-route network had been suspended since September 30, officially because of the poor condition of the branch serving the depot. This followed the closure in May 2018 ...
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NewsSaudi Railway Co and Greenbrier announce joint venture
SAUDI ARABIA: The Greenbrier Companies and Saudi Railway Co have signed an agreement to establish a joint venture to invest in the Saudi rail freight market and potentially the wider Gulf Co-operation Council region. The agreement is subject to the completion of final due diligence by the parties and ...
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NewsSt Petersburg to receive Volgabus electric buses
RUSSIA: Bakulin Motors Group subsidiary Volgabus is to supply 10 electric buses to St Petersburg operator Passazhiravtotrans for use on Route 128. The fully low-floor 12 m long Cityrhytm 12ELF buses are due to arrive by the end of the year. They will have capacity for 90 passengers, including ...
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NewsBranch line to serve Samsun logistics hub
TURKEY: Infrastructure manager TCDD has awarded a TL190m contract for the construction of a railway between the existing Samsun - Sivas line and TCDD's Gelemen rail logistics centre. The lead contractor will be a consortium of Dekovil Entegre Sistemler and Feza Taahut. The contract involves construction of a 6·7 km ...
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NewsGibela assembly plant inaugurated
SOUTH AFRICA: The Dunnottar industrial park where the Alstom-led Gibela joint venture will manufacture new EMUs for Prasa was officially inaugurated by President Cyril Ramaphosa and Transport Minister Blade Nzimande on October 25. The ceremony was also attended by Deputy Minister of Transport Sindisiwe Chikunga and the Premier of ...
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NewsWorld rail freight news round-up
The 40th Traxx MS2 locomotive ordered by Hamburger Hafen & Logistik's rail subsidiary Metrans was handed over by Bombardier Transportation at the Praha Uhříněves container terminal on October 25. The locos are being used to haul trains between the North Sea ports of Hamburg, Bremerhaven, Rotterdam and Antwerpen, and the ...
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NewsTAZARA awards dry port concession
ZAMBIA: Tanzania-Zambia Railway Authority and Dar es Salaam Corridor Group have entered into an agreement for the development of a rail-served dry port at New Kapiri Mposhi. DCG was the winner of a competitive bidding process, and is to develop the facility under a 25-year build-lease-transfer public-private partnership. TAZARA ...
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NewsWorld rolling stock market - October 2018
Australia: The government of Western Australia has prequalified Alstom, the Momentum West consortium of CAF and UGL and a consortium of EDI Rail and Bombardier Transportation for a contract to supply up to 41 six-car EMUs for the Transperth network serving Perth. It expects to select a supplier in early ...
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NewsCatania offers students free travel
ITALY: Università degli Studi di Catania is offering all 45 000 students enrolled in the current academic year free public transport in the city. Free travel is currently valid on all urban bus routes managed by AMT and on the metro, but not on suburban and regional bus lines ...
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NewsDriving innovation in rail freight
EUROPE: ‘We need a quantum leap’, suggested DG Move’s Director of Land Transport Elisabeth Werner, speaking at a workshop in Brussels on October 25 to launch the European Rail Industry Freight Agenda. Emphasising that rail freight had a key role to play in the decarbonisation of European transport, Werner warned ...
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NewsState aid for modal shift approved
BELGIUM: The European Commission has approved a state aid scheme which is designed to encourage the modal shift from road to rail and inland waterway of freight traffic to and from Belgian seaports. The €70m scheme running to the end October 2023 provides a subsidy per train or per ...
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NewsRailway supply industry news round-up
Presenting its Q3 results on October 25, Vossloh said it is expects group sales in 2018 to be ‘toward the lower end’ of the guidance of €875m to €950m. EBIT and the EBIT margin are predicted to be below 2017, mainly as a result of the very strong performance in ...