Main line rail industry news – Page 408
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NewsCaustic soda wagons on stream
RUSSIA: United Wagon Co’s TikhvinChemMash plant has supplied leasing company GATX Rail Vostok with 20 tank wagons suitable for transporting caustic soda and other chemicals. The Type 15-6900 wagons have high axleload bogies and a tank volume of 54·5 m³, giving a capacity 5 tonnes higher than older designs and ...
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NewsValle d’Aosta operating contract awarded
ITALY: The Valle d’Aosta Autonomous Region has selected incumbent Trenitalia as the winner of the next contract to operate its regional passenger services between Aosta, Ivrea and Torino. Trenitalia said it beat second-ranked Arriva to win the contract, which was awarded on the basis of the most economically advantageous offer. ...
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NewsGATX announces long-term wagon order
USA: Leasing company GATX Corp has entered into an agreement to purchase 7 650 wagons from American Railcar Industries over five years from April 2019. The order announced on August 1 covers a mix of tank and other types of wagon, and there is an option for up to 4 ...
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NewsVossloh acquires Australian sleeper manufacturer
AUSTRALIA: Vossloh Australia signed a contract for the acquisition of concrete sleeper manufacturer Austrak from Laing O'Rourke on August 3. The transaction is expected to close in Q3 2018, subject to regulatory approval, with Austrak becoming part of the Tie Technologies business unit within Vossloh’s Core Components division. The deal ...
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NewsGo-Ahead wins E-Netz Allgäu operating contract
GERMANY: Bayern railway authority BEG and Baden-Württemberg’s Ministry of Transport have jointly selected Go-Ahead as the winner of the E-Netz Allgäu operating contract. The contract award announced on August 3 following a European tender covers the operation of around 2·6 million train-km/year on the München – Buchloe – Memmingen – ...
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NewsCoil wagons enter service
ITALY: FS Group freight subsidiary Mercitalia Rail announced on August 2 that it had put into service the first 33 of 240 steel coil wagons which it ordered from Greenbrier last year. The wagons are equipped with real-time monitoring sensors which are powered by an onboard energy harvesting and storage ...
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NewsRailway supply industry news round-up
Timken Co has agreed to acquire linear guide, telescopic rail and linear actuator supplier Rollon Group from Chequers Capital and IGI Private Equity. Rollon has 600 staff and manufacturing sites in Italy, Germany and the USA. The debt-funded transaction is expected to close in late September. Bombardier Transportation has awarded ...
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NewsSaft celebrates 100 years in the rail industry
SAFT: Battery supplier Saft will celebrate its centenary in the rail industry at InnoTrans 2018. As well as announcing several contract wins at the event, it will be showing its latest range of batteries. Upgraded versions of Saft’s MRX, MSX, SMRX and SRA nickel on-board back-up power batteries will ...
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NewsSiemens Mobility becomes legally separate business
SIEMENS: The Siemens Mobility division became a legally separate entity 100% owned by Siemens AG on August 1. The change forms part of a wider restructuring of the Siemens group under its Vision 2020+ corporate strategy which aims to give individual businesses more entrepreneurial freedom. Ahead of its planned merger ...
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NewsMidland Metro third-generation tram procurement launched
UK: The West Midlands Combined Authority has begun the process of procuring a third generation of trams for the Midland Metro line, including future extensions. The start of procurement follows a market sounding exercise undertaken earlier this year. The planned framework contract with an estimated value of ...
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NewsAlstom signs Athens tram contract
GREECE: Attiko Metro signed a contract with Alstom on July 27 for the supply of 25 trams. The contract is worth €54m excluding VAT, and includes spare parts and maintenance equipment. The EU is providing co-funding from its European Regional Development Fund. The first tram is expected to enter ...
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NewsTest running begins on whole of first Hanoi metro line
VIETNAM: Test running on Hanoi metro Line 2A was extended to the southern terminus of Yen Nghia on August 1, meaning that testing is now taking place on the whole line. Test running between the northern terminus of Cat Linh and Ha Dong had started in July. Passenger services ...
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NewsLEO Express announces Lint DMU fleet
CZECH REPUBLIC: LEO Express announced on August 2 that it had secured a portfolio of 15 Alstom Lint diesel multiple-units for use from December 2019 or earlier on routes which it hopes to operate under public service contracts with local authorities. LEO Express said it was in negotiations to agree ...
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NewsVossloh's vision for smarter tracks
VOSSLOH: A vision for intelligent railway infrastructure will be presented by Vossloh at InnoTrans 2018 under the slogan ‘The Smart Rail Track’. Innovations and smart technologies will be grouped into five ‘themed worlds’, focusing on key topics such as track availability, noise and carbon emissions and life-cycle costs. Novel materials ...
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NewsRussian passenger fleet renewal continues
RUSSIA: National railway RZD has updated the details of its passenger rolling stock procurement for 2018. Pavel Burtsev, Head of Passenger Transport at RZD, told Railway Gazette in July that a total of 686 vehicles would be acquired for long-distance traffic. These would comprise 611 single-deck hauled coaches (589 couchette ...
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NewsSunRail heads south
USA: Orlando commuter rail operator SunRail began revenue operations on its 27·4 km southern extension from Sand Lake to Poinciana on July 30. Serving central Florida’s Orange and Osceola counties, the extension adds a further four stations to the 51·5 km route with 12 stations which opened in May ...
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NewsWabtec invests in communications technology company Rajant
USA: Wabtec Corp has made a minority equity investment in mobile wireless communications technology company Rajant, and will jointly develop and market Rajant’s Kinetic Mesh networking products in the rail market. ‘Rajant understands the underlying communications challenges rail systems are confronted with, and we continue to customise our radio technology ...
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NewsTrenitalia signs Umbria operating contract
ITALY: Umbria’s regional government has agreed a contract for Trenitalia to continue to operate local passenger services until 2032. The deal signed in Perugia on July 27 includes investment of more than €236m in improvements to service quality and the replacement of around 80% of the rolling stock used in ...
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NewsCoastal Pacific service to restart in December
NEW ZEALAND: KiwiRail’s tourist-focused Coastal Pacific service from Christchurch to Picton is to restart on December 1, two years after being suspended as a result of damage to the line caused by the 7·8 magnitude Kaikoura earthquake of November 14 2016. Infrastructure repairs allowed the Main North Line to be ...
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NewsCable protection products to be launched at InnoTrans 2018
FEDERAL-MOGUL: Two wire and cable protection products developed for the rail industry using technologies proven in the aerospace industry will be launched by New Federal-Mogul Powertrain at InnoTrans 2018. Roundit 2000 FR Grip provides abrasion protection fir wire harnesses at operating temperatures from -50°C to +85°C, and can be applied ...