Main line rail industry news – Page 482
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NewsSt Petersburg orders more PK TS trams
RUSSIA: PK Transportnye Systemy is to supply three 100% low-floor unidirectional three-section trams to St Petersburg operator Gorelektrotrans under a 255m rouble contract. The only other bid came from trading company Elektrotransport, which works with UKVZ. However, the company’s cheaper bid was rejected on the grounds of non-compliant documentation. ...
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NewsShiraz metro extension inaugurated
IRAN: A southeastern extension of Shiraz metro Line 1 was inaugurated on August 22. The 10·5 km extension runs from Vali-e Asr to Shahid Dastgheyb. Intermediate stations are open at Fazilat and Shahid Doran, with five more due to open later. The initial 10·5 km section of the city’s first ...
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NewsUK railway news round-up
Operating under the South Western Railway brand, the First MTR South Western Trains 70:30 joint venture of FirstGroup and MTR Corp took over from Stagecoach’s South West Trains with the start of the new South Western franchise on August 20. The new franchise runs for seven years with an option ...
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NewsRailpool orders Traxx MS locomotives
EUROPE: Leasing company Railpool has awarded Bombardier Transportation a contract to supply 20 Traxx MS electric locomotives between May 2018 and December 2019. The locomotives will be assembled at the Kassel plant, with bodyshells supplied from Wrocław and bogies from Siegen. They will be suitable for use in 12 countries, ...
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NewsRolling stock refurbished for Madrid Line 5 upgrade
SPAIN: At its central rolling stock workshops in Canillejas, Metro de Madrid is currently undertaking a €20m programme to refurbish the 42 Series 2000 trainsets operating on Line 5 as well as 12 Series 3000 trainsets that are to be deployed on this route during 2018. This forms part of ...
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NewsBombardier and Bouygues to sell Gautrain concession stakes
SOUTH AFRICA: Engineering and construction services company Murray & Roberts has signed a memorandum of understanding to acquire the 8·5% stakes in Gautrain concessionaire Bombela Concession Co held by Bouygues Travaux Publics and Bombardier Transportation. Commercial terms for the deal worth a total of R405m have been agreed and agreements ...
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NewsRastatt blocked until October 7, says DB
GERMANY: The Karlsruhe – Basel section of European Rail Freight Corridor 1 will remain closed until October 7, following the tunnel collapse at Rastatt on August 12, infrastructure manager DB Netze confirmed on August 22. Explaining that a sudden inrush of water had destabilised the boring of a new tunnel ...
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NewsApproval for 80 tonne capacity container wagons
RUSSIA: United Wagon Co subsidiary TikhvinSpetsMash has obtained certification enabling the production of flat wagons with a capacity of 80 tonnes for transporting 40 ft containers or tank-containers with hazardous loads. Designed by the All-Union Research & Development Centre for Transportation Technology, the Type 13-6851-05 wagon has 25 tonne axleload ...
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NewsHKX to suspend services from October to December
GERMANY: Hamburg-Köln-Express is to suspend its open access passenger service from October 4 until the December 10 timetable change. Announcing the decision on August 21, the company said the two-month break in the off-peak season would be used ‘to better adapt HKX to customer needs’ and develop an attractive product ...
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NewsAlstom signs first main line signalling contract in Argentina
ARGENTINA: Alstom announced on August 22 that it had signed its first contract to supply main line signalling equipment in Argentina, a €10m deal to renew electro-mechanical interlockings at Marcos Paz, General Las Heras, Empalme Lobos and Lobos on the Sarmiento commuter route in Buenos Aires. As subcontractor to Constructora ...
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NewsBLS bids to take over Simplon car shuttle
SWITZERLAND: BLS has applied to the Valais canton to take over the car-carrier shuttle service between Brig and Iselle currently run by Swiss Federal Railways, which is not seeking to renew its concession when it expires in December. If its application succeeds, BLS would operate the service from the December ...
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NewsBalfour Beatty wins Bristol – Cardiff electrification contract
UK: Balfour Beatty announced on August 22 that it had been awarded a contract by Network Rail to electrify 64 route-km of the Great Western Main Line between Bristol Parkway and Cardiff. Main works are due to start this month with completion expected towards the end of 2018. Contract award ...
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NewsDB Netz orders RailRoadRunner ultrasonic rail inspection systems
GERMANY: Infrastructure manager DB Netz has awarded Vossloh Rail Services subsidiary Gleistechnik Süd a framework contract for the supply of RailRoadRunner manually-guided ultrasonic rail inspection systems. The inspection components and a weatherproof tablet computer are integrated into a lightweight but sturdy trolley suitable for inspecting rail over short distances, such ...
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NewsTexas-Mexico rail border facility upgraded
NORTH AMERICA: Kansas City Southern, US Customs & Border Protection and Mexican customs agency SAT inaugurated a joint rail freight processing facility at the Laredo border crossing in Texas on August 17. The facility enables Mexican export processing to be undertaken at the US railhead, with equipment ...
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NewsFirst Doha metro trains arrive in Qatar
QATAR: The first four trains for the Doha metro arrived at Hamad Port on August 19, following a 21-day journey from the Port of Kobe in Japan. Their arrival is two months ahead of schedule, and they will be transferred to the Al Wakra Depot shortly. Kinki Sharyo is building ...
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NewsIndian government approves new metro policy
INDIA: The government has made private-sector participation a mandatory requirement for metro projects that are to receive a national funding contribution. A new metro policy approved on August 16 ‘seeks to enable realisation of growing metro rail aspirations of a large number of cities but in a responsible manner’, ...
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NewsFreight operators reschedule to avoid Rastatt tunnel collapse
EUROPE: Rail freight operators are working to implement diversionary routes for north-south intermodal traffic, after German infrastructure manager DB Netze confirmed that the key Karlsruhe – Basel section of Rhine-Alpine Rail Freight Corridor 1 would remain closed for an estimated six weeks following a tunnel collapse at Rastatt on August ...
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NewsSolaris to supply electric buses to Kristiansand
NORWAY: Solaris has won a contract to supply five Urbino 12 electric buses to operator Boreal Norge for use on two routes in Kristiansand, the supplier announced on August 21. The buses are due to enter service on routes 10 and 13 in mid-2018. The 12 m long buses ...
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NewsRailways prepare for total solar eclipse
USA: Amtrak is to run a special train on August 21 to enable people to reach one of the best locations for viewing the first total solar eclipse to be visible from the continental USA since 1979, and the first to be visible coast-to-coast since 1918. The Eclipse ...
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NewsWorld rail freight news round-up
The Canadian government is providing C$250 000 to support the Vancouver Fraser Port Authority in assessing real-time information on the performance of rail freight to and from the Port of Vancouver. A concept phase will focus on the grain and fertiliser sectors, and address data quality issues. ‘This project will ...