Main line rail industry news – Page 446
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NewsCP share buyback follows Q4 successes
CANADA: Canadian Pacific has completed its second share repurchase programme, the railway confirmed on February 8. CP had announced on December 11 its intention to buy back up to 755 000 common shares from two third-party sellers under two consecutive programmes to be completed by May 14. The first completed ...
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NewsTesting begins on Firenze tram line T3
ITALY: Test running on tram route T3 in Firenze began on February 12 using a Sirio tram that Hitachi Rail Italy delivered to the city on February 9. Tests are underway on the Careggi – Piazza Dalmazia section at the northern end of the route. Due to ...
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NewsNetwork Rail unveils CP6 business plan
UK: A strong focus on safety, reliability and performance underpins Network Rail’s objectives for the five-year Control Period 6, which starts on April 1 2019. Publishing its strategic business plan on February 13 for regulatory approval, the infrastructure manager explained how it expects to spend the £47bn allocated for CP6 ...
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NewsPraha reintroduces 14T trams
CZECH REPUBLIC: The first series-modernised Škoda 14T tram is about to enter service in Praha, following the successful testing of a prototype. City transport operator DP Praha plans to have 14 more modernised trams in service by the end of the year, with all 57 to be modernised by 2020. ...
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NewsWabtec signs SunRail PTC contract
USA: Wabtec Corp has signed a $62m contract to design, install, test and commission Positive Train Control for the 100 km Central Florida Rail Corridor used by SunRail commuter services around Orlando. Wabtec is to provide its Interoperable Electronic Train Management System equipment for 24 locomotives and driving cars, as ...
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NewsHupac traffic grows despite the 'Rastatt effect'
EUROPE: Switzerland-based intermodal transport operator Hupac carried 763 101 road consignments by rail in 2017, an increase of 3·5% on the previous year. This was despite the seven-week blockade of the Rhine Valley route near Rastatt, which resulted in the loss of more than 30 000 consignments. Traffic in the ...
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NewsBudamar acquires 50% stake in wagon manufacturer
SLOVAKIA: Freight company Budamar Logistics signed a deal to acquire a 50% stake in Poprad-based wagon manufacturer Tatravagónka on January 31. The price was not disclosed, and the deal is subject to regulatory approval. Formed in 1994 but tracing its roots to 1922, Tatravagónka has been controlled since 2006 by ...
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NewsHybrid OLE maintenance machine completes endurance testing
AUSTRIA: The HTW 100 E³ hybrid motor tower vehicle developed by Plasser & Theurer for overhead line inspection and maintenance has been successfully tested in the Climate Wind Chamber at Rail Tec Arsenal in Wien. Launched at the IAF track technology fair in Münster last June, the HTW 100 E³ ...
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NewsHydrogen train to be tested in the UK by 2020
UK: The Rail Safety & Standards Board is working with Alstom with the aim of piloting a hydrogen powered train in late 2019 or early 2020, RSSB Chief Executive Mark Phillips said on February 12. Philips was responding to a speech by Transport Minister Jo Johnson, who said he ‘would ...
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NewsNorfolk Southern positioning for growth
USA: Norfolk Southern has announced plans to invest $1·8bn in capital projects during 2018, as it pursues the objectives set out in its Strategic Plan adopted in 2016. With a focus on improving service and operational efficiency while maintaining safety, the capital spending will be broadly in line with the ...
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News'Tomorrow’s Trains Today' funding announced
UK: The winners of £3·5m of government funding under the ‘First of a Kind: Demonstrating Tomorrow’s Trains Today’ innovation programme were announced by Transport Minister Jo Johnson on February 12. T The FOAK competition is part of the Department for Transport’s wider Accelerating Innovation in Rail scheme. The first ‘challenge’ ...
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NewsNew alignment opens with the longest railway tunnel in the Balkans
GREECE: The first train ran on the recently-completed 54 km Tithorea – Lianokladi line on February 2, following the formal handover of the new line on January 31. The route forms part of a 106 km double track alignment which is being built between Tithorea and Domokos to replace a ...
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NewsInternational consortium formed to bid for Kuala Lumpur – Singapore High Speed Rail project
ASIA: The formation of a consortium to bid for work on the Kuala Lumpur – Singapore high speed rail project was announced by Malaysian construction company George Kent, Alstom, Siemens, Italian state railway FS Group and track contractor Porr on February 12. The companies said the consortium was ‘a powerful ...
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NewsWorld rail freight news round-up
In co-operation with TurkRail, Hupac has launched a twice-weekly shuttle connection carrying tanks, swap-bodies and containers between Rotterdam, Duisburg and Istanbul Halkali with as transit time of one week. The 65 000 m2 Arken Combi Terminal at the Port of Göteborg was officially opened on February 7, enabling freight to ...
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NewsSerbia – Bulgaria line modernisation agreement signed
SERBIA: An agreement to co-finance modernisation of the 104 km line from Niš to Dimitrovgrad near the Bulgarian border was signed by the European Investment Bank, the Ministry of Construction, Transport & Infrastructure and railway infrastructure manager Infra ŽS on January 31. Upgrading of the single track non-electrified line is ...
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NewsNetwork Rail awards Stoneblower operating contract
UK: Infrastructure manager Network Rail has appointed Balfour Beatty to operate and maintain of its fleet of Stoneblowers, which pneumatically inject ballast under the sleepers to fill voids and restore track geometry. The four-year contract is worth more than £40m. It covers a minimum of 2 800 maintenance shifts per ...
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NewsElectric buses enter service in Bettembourg
LUXEMBOURG: Voyages Emile Weber subsidiary Autocars Pletschette put seven electric buses into service in Bettembourg on February 8. They are in service on the 13 km, 23-stop Line 305, which becomes the country’s first bus route to use only battery buses. VDL has supplied the fleet of Citeas LLE-99 ...
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NewsFlytoget’s first CAF Oaris trainset nears completion
NORWAY: Dynamic testing with the first of eight four-car Oaris trainsets that CAF is building for Norwegian operator Flytoget is due to begin in April. One set will travel to Velim in the Czech Republic for trials before the trains enter service on Flytoget’s Airport Express service between Gardermoen Airport ...
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NewsEurostar to launch London – Amsterdam service in April
EUROPE: Direct London – Amsterdam high speed services will begin on April 4, cross-channel high speed operator Eurostar announced on February 9. Offering a journey time of 3 h 41 min between London St Pancras and Amsterdam Centraal, Eurostar will run an initial two trains per day. However, there will ...
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NewsSingapore – Malaysia metro joint venture
ASIA: Malaysia’s Prasarana and Singapore’s SMRT have accepted a Letter of Offer jointly issued by Malaysia’s Prime Minister’s Department and Singapore’s Land Transport Authority for the two companies to form a joint venture to design, build, finance, operate and maintain the Johor Bahru – Singapore Rapid Transit System Link cross-border ...