Main line rail industry news – Page 473
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NewsWorld rail freight news round-up
MK Reftrans has bought four power cars, along with flat wagons and refrigerated containers for the planned launch of a service carrying frozen fish from Vladivostok to Moscow and perishable goods in the other direction. The first delivery of 40 containers is planned for this month, with a transit time ...
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NewsKaliningrad provides alternative to Eurasian freight route via Brest
INTERNATIONAL: Containers on what was said to be the first rail freight service to be routed from Łódź in Poland to Chengdu in China via the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad were transhipped between the 1 435 mm and 1 520 mm gauge networks at Chernyakhovsk on September 25. The 9559 ...
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NewsBombardier Transportation opens Italian maintenance facility
ITALY: Bombardier Transportation has officially opened a locomotive and rolling stock maintenance depot at Contship Italia’s Rail Hub Milano site in Melzo. The facility is designed to offer ‘pit-stop’ frequent, brief and high-turnover operations, with a capacity of around 400 locomotive maintenance operations per year. ‘The Melzo depot will enable ...
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NewsBattery trolleybus presented in Linz
AUSTRIA: Linz city transport operator Linz Linien has presented a prototype double-articulated battery trolleybus. Linz Linien ordered 20 Exqui.City buses from Van Hool in 2015. These are due to enter service by the end of 2019, when they will replace the current fleet. Being built at Van Hool’s ...
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NewsLoan signed for Bangalore metro Reach 6
INDIA: The European Investment Bank has signed a €500m loan agreement for the Reach 6 metro project in Bangalore, in what it says is its largest ever loan to India. The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank is also expected to support the project. Due to open in 2021, the 22 ...
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NewsKochi metro extension opens
INDIA: The second phase of the Kochi metro opened on October 3. The 5 km extension south from Palarivattom to Maharaja’s College adds five stations to the city’s only metro line, which is now 18 km long. The first phase of the metro between Aluva and Palarivattom ...
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NewsVolgograd agrees tram leasing deal
RUSSIA: Volgograd municipality has agreed a leasing deal for 20 vehicles to operate on its fast tram line. UKVZ will supply two batches of 10 Type 71-623-03 trams, with deliveries to be completed by the end of March 2018. The 543·3m rouble deal with Sberbank Leasing runs until December ...
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NewsModerus Gamma on test in Gdańsk
POLAND: A Moderus Gamma tram started test running on the network in Gdańsk on October 4, initially on route 9. Modertrans unveiled its first fully low-floor tram in November. The vehicle is 32 m long, 2 400 mm wide and 3 650 mm high, with capacity for 244 passengers ...
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NewsM62 diesel locomotive rebuilt as an electric
POLAND: Following an official unveiling at the Trako trade fair in Gdańsk, certification testing has started with a Type 207E electric freight locomotive which Rail Polska has produced by extensively rebuilding an Lugansk-built M62M diesel locomotive, known as the Type ST44 in Poland. In 2015 Rail Polska decided to ...
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NewsRailway supply industry news round-up
Liebherr-Transportation Systems has opened a service centre at Reiden in Switzerland to provide air-conditioning and hydraulic system support services to Swiss rail vehicle manufacturers and operators. The Greenbrier Companies received orders for 2 500 wagons valued at $200m in its fourth quarter to August 31. ‘Order activity in the fourth ...
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NewsStephan Schaller
GERMANY: Currently head of the global motor-cycle division at BMW Group, Stephan Schaller is to take over as President & CEO of Voith with effect from April 1 2018, succeeding Dr Hubert Lienhard, who is retiring after 10 years as CEO and will join the company’s supervisory board.
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NewsThales signs Saudi North–South Railway maintenance deal
SAUDI ARABIA: Saudi Railway Co has awarded Thales a two-year contract to maintain signalling, telecoms and electromechanical systems on the 2 400 km North–South Railway network. This follows from similar one-year contract which was awarded in 2016, building on the relationship formed during the installation and commissioning of the ...
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NewsSNCF and AccorHotels to develop the Orient Express brand
FRANCE: An agreement to exploit the SNCF-owned Orient Express brand within the global luxury hospitality sector was signed by the French national railway and AccorHotels on October 4. AccorHotels plans to develop a chain of hotels under the Orient Express name, and is to acquire a 50% stake in ...
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NewsUK railway news round-up
The Office of Rail & Road has begun a review of the ticket vending machine, issuing system and gate market. This will consider whether any structural or other issues may be distorting competition and having an impact on consumers, for example whether there is anything that is preventing innovation and ...
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NewsWales & Borders franchise invitations to tender issued
UK: The Welsh Government invited shortlisted bidders Abellio Rail Cymru, Arriva Rail Wales, KeolisAmey and MTR Corp (Cymru) Ltd to submit final tenders for the next Wales & Borders passenger franchise on September 28. The franchise is scheduled to start in October 2018. The current franchise held by Arriva Trains ...
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NewsLanzhou – Chongqing mixed traffic artery completed
CHINA: The Minxian – Lanzhou railway was opened on September 29, completing a 862 km north–south artery between Lanzhou and Chongqing. Designed for 200 km/h passenger and 160 km/h freight services, the completion of the line has shortned the route between the two cities by about 650 km and ...
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NewsEickholt to lead Siemens-Alstom integration
INTERNATIONAL: The CEO of Siemens’ Mobility Division, Dr Jochen Eickholt, has been appointed Integration Manager to oversee the planned merger of Siemens' mobility business with Alstom, the company announced on October 4. He took up his new role with effect from October 1, following the announcement of the merger agreement ...
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NewsLonger freight trains to go ahead
GERMANY: Planning for the introduction of 740 m long freight trains across the core national network is to be stepped up, following a favourable evaluation by the Federal Transport Ministry. Secretary of State for Transport Enak Ferlemann said on September 22 that efficient railway infrastructure was needed across the country, ...
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NewsMorogoro – Makutupora standard gauge line contract awarded
TANZANIA: State railway infrastructure authority Reli Assets Holding Co has awarded Turkish company Yapı Merkezi a US$1·92bn contract to build the 336 km Morogoro – Makutupora 1 435 mm gauge line. This is the second phase of a proposed 2 200 km standard gauge network which would connect Dar es ...
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NewsAlstom unveils Coradia Stream modular EMU designs for NS and Trenitalia
EUROPE: Alstom unveiled the latest member of its Coradia electric multiple-unit family on October 2, when it presented full-size mock-ups of the Coradia Stream EMUs to be supplied to the Netherlands and Italy. Coradia Stream is intended as a versatile and modular TSI-compliant platform for 160 km/h regional and 200 ...