Main line rail industry news – Page 422
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NewsAmber Train agreement signed
EUROPE: An agreement for the regular operation of the Amber Train branded container service linking the Baltic States was signed by Lithuanian Railways, Latvia’s LDZ Logistika and Estonia’s EVR Cargo at a meeting in Tallinn on May 29. This follows the operation of a trial service on April 19, which ...
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NewsRailway supply industry news round-up
European ticket retailer Loco2 and insurer TicketPlan now offer a cancellation protection service which enables customers to apply for reimbursement of non-refundable multi-leg journeys in the event of strikes or other unforeseen cancellations. For example, if a customer has an order containing two non-refundable tickets and one leg is cancelled, ...
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NewsTransnet looks abroad
SOUTH AFRICA: State-owned transport group Transnet officially launched its international subsidiary Transnet International Holdings on May 30. Constituted as a separate legal entity, with its own Board of Directors, TIH is intended to leverage Transnet’s core skills in the operation of ports, railways and pipelines, as well as promoting intra-African ...
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News'Milestones' reached in Siemens Alstom merger process
INDUSTRY: At a meeting on May 30 the Alstom board approved the convening of shareholders’ meetings on May 17 where resolutions relating to the proposed merger with Siemens Mobility would be submitted for approval. On May 28 France’s Ministry for Economy & Finance had granted Siemens foreign investment authorisation for ...
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NewsBasel to test electric bus
SWITZERLAND: Basel bus operator BVB is to test a VDL Citea SLFA-181 Electric bus on all its bus routes later this year. The pilot project is intended to give BVB experience of electric bus operation. The low-floor articulated bus will be 18·1 m long. Its 248 kWh battery pack ...
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NewsBombardier presents Traxx DC3 locomotive
ITALY: ‘The new Traxx DC3 represents a generational leap in the market, a state-of-the-art locomotive, able to maximise energy efficiency, ensuring greater load, traction capacity and lower energy consumption’ said Luigi Corradi, CEO & Managing Director of Bombardier Transportation Italy, when the first of the new freight locos was officially ...
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NewsNovocherkassk signs new tram contract
RUSSIA: Trading company Fobos-TS has won a 78m rouble contract to supply four trams to Novocherkassk. Deliveries are due by the end of September. The vehicles are likely to be made by Uraltransmash. Earlier this month Fobos-TS signed a contract to supply 20 UTM trams to Kazan. Novocherkassk ...
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NewsMinisters urge that Rastatt lessons are learnt
EUROPE: Transport ministers have issued a Declaration calling for rapid implementation of measures to mitigate the effects of a major incident such as the seven-week closure last August of the Rhein Valley main line between Basel and Karlsruhe in Germany following a tunnel collapse beneath the alignment at Rastatt. The ...
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NewsVästlänken construction launched in Göteborg
SWEDEN: Construction of the Västlänken cross-city tunnel in Göteborg was officially launched on May 30, with a groundbreaking ceremony attended by Mattias Landgren, State Secretary at the Ministry of Industry, Trafikverket Director General Lena Erixon, Johnny Magnusson, Chairman of Västra Götaland region and the leader of Göteborg City Council ...
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NewsDelhi – Kolkata line to get ETCS Level 2
INDIA: Plans for a pilot installation of the European Train Control System on one of the country’s busiest main lines have been approved by the Indian Railway Board, following government calls for a re-evaluation of its resignalling strategy. As part of a broader investment strategy and a drive to improve ...
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NewsDenmark – Sweden cross-border metro project moves forward
EUROPE: København Mayor Frank Jensen and Malmö Mayor Katrin Stjernfeldt Jammeh announced the formation of a partnership to promote the cross-border Øresundsmetro project at the Fehmarnbelt Days 2018 conference in Malmö on May 28. The Øresundsmetro Executive partnership will be chaired by former Danish Labour Minister Jørn Neergaard Larsen. ...
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NewsUtsunomiya light rail line breaks ground
JAPAN: A groundbreaking ceremony for the Utsunomiya light rail project took place on May 28. The ¥45·8bn project was approved in 2016 and opening is planned in March 2022. The 14·6 km line would link JR East’s Utsunomiya station with Shimotakanezawa in the neighbouring town of Haga to the ...
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NewsBoth Chennai metro lines extended
INDIA: Underground extensions of both lines of the Chennai metro were inaugurated on May 25, adding a total of 7·4 km to the network. The Blue Line was extended by 4·8 km northeast from Little Mount to AG-DMS, with four stations. The Green Line was extended east ...
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NewsThales acquires Danish driver-advisory specialist
EUROPE: To strengthen its traffic management capability, Thales announced on May 29 that it had completed the acquisition of Danish technology specialist Cubris. The København-based start-up is a market leader in connected driver advisory systems, having developed the GreenSpeed equipment used by DSB and Banedanmark, as well as regional operator ...
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NewsSt Petersburg metro Line 3 extended
RUSSIA: A northwestern extension of St Petersburg metro Line 3 was inaugurated on May 26. The 5 km underground extension from Primorskaya to Begovaya includes an intermediate station at Novokrestovskaya on Krestovsky Island. This station serves Saint-Petersburg Stadium, which will be one of the venues of the 2018 FIFA ...
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NewsTehran metro car order derailed
IRAN: A deal for Stadler Rail to supply rolling stock for two of the country’s metro networks is expected to collapse as a result of US President Donald Trump’s decision to pull out of the 2015 nuclear limitation agreement and reimpose sanctions. At the end of February, ...
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NewsFortescue plans rail link to fourth mine
AUSTRALIA: Around 143 km of new railway is to be built in the Pilbara region of Western Australia as part of a A$1·7bn development programme announced by Fortescue Metals Group Chief Executive Elizabeth Gaines on May 28. The extension from the Solomon Hub will connect the group’s planned Western Hub ...
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NewsKuala Lumpur – Singapore high speed project faces cancellation
ASIA: Recently elected Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad vowed on May 28 to cancel the Kuala Lumpur – Singapore high speed rail project, with the Chinese-backed East Coast Rail Link also set to be dropped. Mahathir told local media that a number of major projects would come under immediate review ...
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NewsLine 8 completed in Delhi
INDIA: Delhi metro Line 8 is now complete, following the inauguration of the Kalkaji Mandir – Janakpuri West section by Delhi’s Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and Minister of Housing & Urban Affairs Hardeep Singh Puri on May 28. Passenger services started at 06.00 the following day. The 24·8 km ...
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NewsTest running begins on European Marmaray alignment
TURKEY: An inaugural diesel test train operated along part of the European section of Istanbul’s 77 km Marmaray cross-city suburban corridor on May 23. Transport Minister Ahmet Arslan was onboard the diesel locomotive that ran between Halkalı and Kazlıçeşme, a distance of 20 km. This forms part of the route ...