Main line rail industry news – Page 472
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NewsRail Baltica agreement ratified by all three parliaments
EUROPE: The intergovernmental agreement for the development of the Rail Baltica 1 435 mm gauge route has now been ratified by all three of the Baltic States, after the Lithuanian parliament voted 96 in favour and 0 against with one abstention on October 10. The agreement sets out principles including ...
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NewsVoters back second line to Slovenian port
SLOVENIA: A government proposal to build a second track on a new alignment to increase speeds and capacity on the route from the port of Koper to the main line at Divača has been backed by voters in a referendum. The existing single-track line is 44·3 km long, but the ...
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NewsUK railway news round-up
The Department for Transport has published guidance to local authorities on mitigating security vulnerabilities outside railway, bus and coach stations. Advice on the prevention of terrorist activities in public environments includes staff vigilance, mitigation, rubbish management, bicycle storage, street environments, vendors and vending machines, parking control, CCTV, construction works and ...
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NewsFirst Flexity Wien tram nearing completion
AUSTRIA: The first of 119 Flexity trams that Bombardier Transportation is building for to Wiener Linien is nearing completion at the manufacturer’s plant in the capital. The Wien transport operator awarded Bombardier a framework contract in 2015 covering up to 156 trams. The €431m base order for 119 trams ...
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NewsProduction of next-generation Acela Express fleet underway
USA: Production of the bodyshells and principal components for the Avelia Liberty high speed trainsets ordered for Amtrak’s premium Acela Express service has begun at Alstom’s Hornell factory in New York state, the manufacturer has confirmed. The fleet is expected to enter service in 2021-22. Alstom displayed a ...
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News
Production starts at Indian electric locomotive factory
INDIA: Alstom officially commenced production at its newly-built electric locomotive factory at Madhepura in Bihar state on October 11. The plant has been developed on a 100 ha greenfield site by a joint venture of Alstom (74%) and Indian Railways (26%) under a contract for Alstom to supply 800 Prima ...
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NewsFaiveley Transport awarded Paris EMU subsystem contracts
FRANCE: Faiveley Transport has been awarded contracts totalling more than US$100m to supply subsystems for 71 X'Trapolis Cityduplex double-deck electric multiple-units which SNCF has ordered from a consortium of Alstom and Bombardier Transportation for use on Paris suburban lines D and E. Wabtec company Faiveley Transport is to ...
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NewsSophie Heurtault Malherbe
FRANCE: Sophie Heurtault Malherbe has been named Finance Director at Transports Publics Genevois, where Sheba Corti becomes Director of Human Resources. Both have joined the TPG management board headed by Director General Denis Berdoz.
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NewsTrainline increases international options
TICKETS: Trainline announced on October 5 that it had added a further 11 websites to its portfolio, along with Dutch, Swedish, Danish, Norwegian, Czech, European and Brazilian Portuguese, Polish and Mandarin Chinese options to take the number of languages offered to 14. Prices are now offered in a further 15 ...
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NewsBochum tram extension opens
GERMANY: An extension of the Bochum tram network opened on October 7. Construction of the 2·6 km route between Unterstrasse and Langendreer S-Bahn station in eastern Bochum began in September 2012, and includes five stops and a new traction substation. This is the first phase of a ...
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NewsDB Regio selected for Dieselnetz Ulm contract
GERMANY: Following a European tender, Bayern railway authority BEG has selected incumbent DB Regio to operate Dieselnetz Ulm passenger services from December 2020 until December 2032. The contract covers regional services on the Ulm – Memmingen (– Buxheim) and Ulm – Weißenhorn routes which are to be operated using new ...
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NewsSilverRail offers B2B ticket sellers access to SNCF inventory
FRANCE: Business-to-business travel technology company SilverRail has announced that it has become the first non-SNCF partner to be able to connect to the French national operator’s ticket inventories via its Portail d’Acces aux Offres API. This will enable travel management companies and online travel agents across the world to use ...
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NewsStadler unveils TEX Rail Flirt DMU
USA: Stadler displayed its first US-built Flirt diesel multiple-unit at the APTA exhibition in Atlanta on October 9. Unveiling three of the six cars from the initial trainset, Martin Ritter, CEO of Stadler US, said it was the company’s first ‘self-propelled commuter rail train to be Federal Railroad Administration-compliant’. Ritter ...
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NewsInfotainment available on Shatabdi Express service
INDIA: Digital services company Trolex|Aporta is to supply its Juxta closed-network infotainment package for Northern Railway’s New Delhi – Habibganj Shatabdi Express services. Passengers will be able to stream entertainment and news directly to mobile devices using a secure local wi-fi network, without buffering and without needing a connection ...
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NewsSiemens invests in remote monitoring specialist Wi-Tronix
USA: Siemens announced on October 9 that it had made a ‘significant’ equity investment in Wi-Tronix, which provides remote monitoring, video analysis and predictive diagnostic software as a service for rail infrastructure and rolling stock operators. Terms were not disclosed, and Wi-Tronix is to remain a standalone, founder-led company. Around ...
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NewsAir Nostrum applies to operate Madrid — Montpellier open access service
EUROPE: Via its subsidiary Intermodalidad de Levante SA, airline Air Nostrum has applied to Spanish competition authority CNMC to operate a high speed open access service between Madrid and Montpellier in France from October 5 2018. Departures from Madrid would be at 07.45 and 15.30, with services leaving Montpellier at ...
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NewsAlstom unveils passenger locomotive for Azerbaijan Railways
AZERBAIJAN: The first of 10 Prima M4 electric passenger locomotives for national railway ADY was unveiled at Alstom’s Belfort factory in France on October 9. Speaking at the unveiling, ADY Deputy Chairman Hijran Valehov said important steps were being taken to modernise the operator’s locomotive fleet. Alstom is building the ...
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NewsDB consortium selected for California high speed rail consultancy contract
USA: California High-Speed Rail Authority announced on October 6 that the DB Engineering & Consulting USA consortium has submitted the highest-scoring proposal for the Early Train Operator services contract. The winner of the ETO contract would provide CHSRA with an operating perspective during the planning and procurement of civil works, ...
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NewsTesting begins on Lahore Orange Line
PAKISTAN: Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif officially launched dynamic tests of the first metro train for the Lahore Orange Line on October 8. ‘The Orange Line is not just a public transport project, but a means of extending to citizens respect and delivering a world-class transport facility’, said Sharif. ...
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NewsElizabeth O’Neill
USA: Elizabeth O’Neill has been named acting CEO of Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority, in succession to Keith Parker who stepped down last month. Currently the agency’s Chief Legal Counsel, she will be supported by recently appointed Deputy General Manager Arthur Troup.