Main line rail industry news – Page 476
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NewsCuba and RZD agree railway modernisation
CUBA: An agreement for the rehabilitation and upgrading of the rail network was signed by national railway Unión Ferrocarriles de Cuba and Russian Railways subsidiary RZD International on September 21, during a meeting in Moscow of the Russian-Cuban Intergovernmental Commission for Economic, Commercial, Scientific & Technological Co-operation. The document ...
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NewsAlstom confirms talks for Siemens Mobility merger
INDUSTRY: Alstom formally confirmed on September 22 that it had been holding discussions regarding a possible ‘combination’ with Siemens’ Mobility Division. Alstom said that no final decision had been made, discussions are on-going and no agreement had been reached. The company would ‘inform the public of any material developments in ...
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NewsNext Antalya light rail line approved
TURKEY: The next phase of Antalya’s Antray light rail network has been approved by Prime Minister Binali Yıldırım. The 12 km route would run from Varsak Sakarya Bulvarı in the north of the city to Eğitim Araştırma Hastanesi in the south via the university. Interchange with the existing east-west ...
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NewsMedina Line construction begins
USA: Southwest Gulf Railroad Co has begun construction of the Medina Line, a 15 km common carrier railway running north from a junction with a line used by Union Pacific and BNSF at Dunlay, 45 km west of San Antonio in Texas. SGRR was incorporated in 2003 as a subsdiary ...
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NewsTrondheim orders Volvo electric buses
NORWAY: Volvo has received what it says is its largest ever order for fully electric buses. It will supply 25 of its 7900 Electric battery buses to Tide Buss in Trondheim. The buses are due to enter service on four routes in in August 2019. Volvo will maintain the ...
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NewsSingapore forms high speed rail infrastructure company
SINGAPORE: Land Transport Authority has formed SG HSR Pte Ltd as wholly-owned subsidiary to act as Infrastructure Company for its part of the Kuala Lumpur – Singapore High Speed Rail project. SG HSR will be responsible for building, owning, funding and maintaining the civil works in Singapore. This will include ...
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NewsRailway supply industry news round-up
Stadler Group has announced that Deputy CEO and manager of the Bussnang plant Thomas Ahlburg will become CEO with effect from January 1 2018. The group’s majority owner, Chairman & CEO Peter Spuhler will retain the role of Chairman, focusing on strategy, mergers & acquisitions and strategic localisation joint ventures. ...
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NewsTendering to begin for Edinburgh tram extension
UK: Edinburgh city council approved the outline business case for extending the city’s tram line from York Place to Leith and Newhaven on September 21. Tendering will now begin to find a potential contractor, before a final decision is taken in late 2018 whether to proceed. The 4·6 km ...
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NewsSJ to order Snabbtåg high speed train fleet
SWEDEN: National passenger operator SJ is to call tenders for the supply of 30 high speed trains suitable for 250 km/h operation. The procurement has been under discussion for some time, and a final go-ahead for the project was given at the company’s board meeting on September 21. According to ...
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NewsGranada light rail line opens
SPAIN: Services on the light rail line in Granada opened to passengers at midday on September 21. The 15⋅9 km route runs from Albolote in the north to Armilla in the south. Thre are 26 stops, of which three are on a 3 km underground section in the city ...
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NewsUK railway news round-up
Direct Rail Services has invited expressions of interest in a contract to design, supply, commission and potentially maintain 10 diesel-electric locomotives for operation on freight and passenger services from Q3 2019. The first of 56 Pendolino trainsets which are to be repainted at Alstom’s new Widnes facility under a £28m ...
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NewsRATP Dev retains Casablanca tram operating contract
MOROCCO: RATP Dev announced on September 18 that it had been awarded a 12-year contract to operate and maintain the Casablanca tram network. The value of the contract, which starts on December 13, was not disclosed. Through its local subsidiary Casa Tram, RATP Dev has been responsible for operating line ...
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NewsISR launches ’Akko – Karmi’el passenger services
ISRAEL: Regular passenger trains began running to the Galilean city of Karmi’el on September 20, with the start of revenue operation on ISR’s 23 km Akko – Karmi’el branch. The double-track branch diverges from the Haifa – Nahariya line between ’Akko and Kiryat Motzkin. Built by Israel Roads Ltd at ...
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NewsČD orders RegioPanter EMUs
CZECH REPUBLIC: National operator ČD has ordered nine Škoda Vagónka Class 650 RegioPanter 3 kV DC/25 kV AC electric multiple-units for delivery by December 2018. This will take ČD fleet of RegioPanter Class 440, 640 and 650 EMUs to 37. ČD intends to deploy the latest batch of EMUs ...
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NewsMinsk – Vilnius corridor electrified
EUROPE: Completion of 25 kV 50 Hz electrification of the route between Minsk and Vilnius was marked with a ceremony on September 16. Work to electrify the final 111 km had begun in September 2015. Work on the 84 km Belarusian section between Maladzyechna and the border near Kena was ...
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NewsAlstom delivers first locomotive bodyshell to India
INDIA: The first bodyshell for the fleet of 800 WAG12 twin-section electric locomotives which Alstom is to supply to Indian Railways was unloaded at Haldia in the Port of Kolkata on September 20, ready for delivery to the factory at Madhepura where the fleet will be assembled. In November 2015 ...
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NewsVirgin Trains launches Seatfrog first class upgrade auction app
UK: In what the inter-city operator claims is a ‘a world first for rail passengers’, Virgin Trains East Coast has worked with travel technology company Seatfrog to launch an iOS and Android app which enables passengers to upgrade standard class tickets to first class by placing bids in an auction ...
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NewsAluminium alloy components increase wagon capacity
RUSSIA: United Wagon Co has obtained certification for its Type 19-9549-02 grain hopper wagon, which uses a high-strength aluminium alloy roof to reduce weight by more than 1 tonne compared to equivalent steel designs while also offering corrosion resistance. This enables to the capacity of the 25 tonne axleload wagon ...
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NewsCoach order and new line agreement signed
BANGLADESH: A contract for Indonesian company PT Inka to supply Bangladesh Railways with 200 coaches was signed on September 14, and was followed two days later by the finalisation of a joint venture agreement for the construction of a new line. The 5·8bn taka coach contract is being financed by ...
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NewsIndustrial Division expands loco fleet
POLAND: Leasing company Industrial Division has signed two agreements to acquire a total of 36 locomotives, which will take its fleet to 170. Under the first deal ID is to take over 31 locomotives currently used by PHU Lokomotiv, including a Pesa Gama Marathon as well as various older electric ...