Main line rail industry news – Page 440
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NewsModertrans and Tramwaje Śląskie sign single-section tram contract
POLAND: Tramwaje Śląskie has placed an order for 10 single-section trams from Modertrans. The contract signed on March 8 is worth 29m złoty excluding VAT, and is co-funded by the EU. Modertrans is to deliver the eight unidirectional and two bidirectional vehicles to operate on the network centred on ...
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NewsRailway supply industry news round-up
On March 3 the Hellenic Republic Asset Development Fund announced that national train operator Trainose, which was bought by FS Group last year, had submitted the only binding offer for a 100% stake in rolling stock maintenance business EESSTY. Greece’s privatisation agency said the evaluation process would begin immediately. ...
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NewsThameslink Programme nears completion as final EMU rolls out
UK: The last of 115 Class 700 electric multiple-units for the Thameslink route was rolled out at Siemens’ Krefeld factory in Germany on March 8. In 2013 the Department for Transport awarded the Cross-London Trains consortium led by Siemens a £1·6bn contract to supply 60 eight-car and 55 12-car ...
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NewsEskişehir ForCity tram delivered
TURKEY: Škoda Transportation has delivered the first of 14 ForCity Classic trams that it is supplying to Eskişehir. The metre-gauge tram is to undergo 2 000 to 3 000 km of dynamic testing in Eskişehir, with some of the fleet also being tested on the Bratislava network. Škoda ...
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NewsInter-city coach order placed
POLAND: Long-distance operator PKP Intercity has signed a contract with Poznań-based FPS H Cegielski for the design and manufacture of up to 81 TSI-compliant coaches for operation at 200 km/h. FPS had been announced at the end of last year as sole bidder for the tender issued in June 2017; ...
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NewsCovilhã — Guarda reopening moves closer
PORTUGAL: Minister of Planning & Infrastructure Pedro Marques and European Transport Commissioner Violeta Bulc participated in a ceremony on March 5 to mark the official start of work to upgrade the 46∙5 km Covilhã — Guarda route, closed to traffic since 2009. With 10 km already completed by Infraestruturas de ...
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NewsHull Trains Managing Director steps down
UK: Will Dunnett has resigned as Managing Director of Hull Trains, in a move which the East Yorkshire to London open access inter-city operator said was unrelated to the extensive and ongoing disruption after its DMU fleet suffered damage during the recent ‘Beast from the East’ bad ...
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NewsSouth International Corridor launched
PORTUGAL: Prime Minister António Costa joined his Spanish counterpart Mariano Rajoy and European Transport Commissioner Violeta Bulc at a ceremony in Elvas on March 5 to mark the start of work on the South International Corridor. This will combine new construction and upgrades to create a route from the ports ...
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NewsWien U-Bahn Type X trainset design unveiled
AUSTRIA: The design of the 34 six-car Type X metro trainsets which Siemens is to supply for the Wien U-Bahn was unveiled by operator Wiener Linien on March 8. The Type X trainsets will be used in fully automatic service from 2024 on the future Line U5, which will be ...
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NewsDanish transit freight joint venture to end
EUROPE: Swedish freight operator Green Cargo has decided to withdraw from its DB Cargo Scandinavia joint venture with DB Cargo. The joint venture mainly handles transit traffic through Denmark for the two companies, but Green Cargo said the owners had been unable to reach agreement on certain issues, primarily concerning ...
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NewsUK railway news round-up
Italian open access operator NTV, Spanish national operator Renfe and Transdev of France have obtained pre-qualification questionnaire passports enabling them to express interest in franchise competitions without having to resubmit detailed technical information. Southeastern has announced an enhanced compensation package for passengers stranded on trains during severe disruption at Lewisham ...
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NewsPrivate operator begins services on St Petersburg fast tram route
RUSSIA: Passenger services on the initial phase of the fast tram route in St Petersburg began at 07.00 on March 7, making it the city’s first to be operated by a private operator. Travel is free until the end of the month. The 4·2 km section of the planned ...
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NewsIsrael Railways signs Siemens EMU contract
ISRAEL: A contract worth up to €900m for Siemens to supply to Israel Railways with up to 60 four-car and six-car Desiro HC double-deck electric multiple-units over 10 years was signed in Lod on March 7. This includes a firm order for the supply of an initial ...
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NewsFlixTrain to launch Köln – Hamburg service this month
GERMANY: FlixMobility is to launch a FlixTrain-branded open access service on the Köln – Hamburg route on March 24, taking over the rolling stock formerly used by Hamburg-Köln-Express which suspended operation last year. The Berlin – Stuttgart open access service, originally launched by Locomore and is now operated by LEO ...
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NewsAlstom acquires onboard connectivity company 21net
EUROPE: Alstom announced on March 6 that it had signed an agreement to purchase onboard connectivity and infotainment supplier 21net from the Innovacom fund and other investors. The transaction was expected to close within a month. Founded in 2001, 21net has its headquarters in the UK and subsidiaries in Belgium, ...
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NewsConnectors for onboard data networks
CONNECTORS: TE Connectivity has launched a range of M12 rail connectors offering data transmission rates of up to 10 Gb/sec, with full-metal shells shielding against electrical interference. Applications include data and sensor networks, train door control assemblies and HVAC systems. ‘Our compact new connectors can be assembled quickly in the ...
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NewsVIA Rail fleet replacement funded
CANADA: Funding for the procurement of 32 push-pull trainsets to replace the locomotive-hauled stock which VIA Rail operates on the Québec – Montréal – Toronto – Windsor corridor was confirmed in the 2018 federal budget presented by Minister of Finance Bill Morneau on February 27. The value was not released, ...
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NewsBern tram project funding approved
SWITZERLAND: Voters in Bern have approved the canton’s financial contribution towards the construction of a new tram line to Ostermundigen. The planned 4·2 km line with 12 stops would link Viktoriaplatz in the centre of Bern with Ostermundigen in the east. This would replace most of the existing bus ...
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NewsPleven orders more Škoda trolleybuses
BULGARIA: Škoda Electric announced on February 27 that it had been selected to supply 14 trolleybuses to Pleven. The vehicles will be equipped with batteries to enable off-wire operation, and will augment the 40 trolleybuses that Škoda had previously supplied to the city.
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NewsDoha Msheireb Downtown tramway to open this year
QATAR: A 2 km circular tramway is under construction in Doha’s Msheireb Downtown area with opening planned for September. The tramway will serve a ‘smart city’ which is being developed at cost of US$5·5bn by the Qatar Foundation’s Msheireb Properties business with the aim of reviving Doha’s ...