Main line rail industry news – Page 492
-
NewsPrime Minister inaugurates Stockholm Citybanan
SWEDEN: Revenue services began operating through the new Stockholm Citybanan tunnels at 05.00 on July 10, following formal inauguration by Prime Minister Stefan Löfven the previous day. He was joined for the ceremonies at Odenplan by Minister of Infrastructure Anna Johansson, Trafikverket Director General Lena Erixon and the head of ...
-
NewsCarolyn Griffiths
Carolyn Griffiths has been elected as President of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers for 2017-18. The founding Chief Inspector of the UK’s Rail Accident Investigation Branch and currently a Non-Executive Director of Irish Rail, she succeeds Jon Hilton.
-
NewsXRL trainset arrives in Hong Kong by rail
CHINA: The signalling and communications systems on the Hong Kong and Mainland sections of the Guangzhou – Shenzhen – Hong Kong Express Rail Link high speed line were connected on July 5, enabling the third of the nine trainsets for the future service to be delivered from CRRC Qingdao ...
-
NewsWorld rail freight news round-up
Iran’s national railway RAI has signed an agreement for the cross-border line under construction at Astara to be managed by Azerbaijan’s ADY for 15 years, and for ADY to operate the break-of-gauge transhipment facility for 25 years. ArcelorMittal has awarded PKP Cargo a 1·3bn złoty three-year contract to haul ...
-
NewsCars delivered from China to Belgium by rail
INTERNATIONAL: Cars manufactured at Volvo’s Daqing plant in China have been exported to Europe by rail for the first time. The S90 executive saloons were transported in specially designed 40 ft shipping containers. These can hold three cars at different angles in order to maximize the use of available space, ...
-
NewsArianna slab track selected for Marlengo tunnel
ITALY: South Tirol infrastructure manager STA has awarded Wegh Group a contract to install its Arianna slab track system through the Marlengo tunnel on the Merano – Malles Venosta line. The lower rail height compared to the existing ballasted track will provide the additional clearance necessary for the installation of ...
-
NewsMünchen S-Bahn operations tendering process begins
GERMANY: Bayern railway authority BEG has started the tendering process for operations of the München S-Bahn network. This includes plans to refurbish the existing train fleet ahead of its replacement. Incumbent operator DB Regio is to be awarded an interim contract running for two years from the end of ...
-
NewsJR East to build ALFA-X 360 km/h Shinkansen testbed
JAPAN: East Japan Railway has announced its intention build a further high speed test train, as part of a programme to develop its next generation of Shinkansen trains. JR East announced on July 4 that it expects to put the 10-car unit into operation in the spring of 2019. Dubbed ...
-
NewsBelgrano Sur heads for Constitución
ARGENTINA: On July 6 the Ministry of Transport announced the start of work on a new elevated alignment for the 1 000 mm gauge Belgrano Sur commuter route in Buenos Aires. Running for 5∙6 km, it will enable Belgrano services to run into the Plaza Constitución terminus of the 1 ...
-
NewsElectric-battery train on test
CHINA: An electric CRH inter-city trainset equipped with an onboard battery for use on non-electrified lines is on test in Inner Mongolia. Manufacturer CRRC Changchun Railway Vehicles says the trainset can run at more than 200 km/h when using overhead power or at speeds up to 160 km/h using battery ...
-
NewsCautious welcome for EU-Japan rail accord
INTERNATIONAL: European railway suppliers’ association UNIFE has welcomed the political agreement between the European Commission and the Japanese government on EU-Japan free trade, announced during a visit to Brussels by Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on July 6. With the key points now agreed, the text is expected to be ...
-
NewsRailway supply industry news round-up
In order to focus on the road sector, Sensys Gatso Group has signed an agreement for Ricardo Rail to sell its Automatic Pantograph Monitoring System and later manufacture it under licence. ‘This strategic co-operation with Ricardo Rail allows us to focus on our core business, while still being able ...
-
NewsEuro Cargo Rail restructuring on course
FRANCE: DB Cargo subsidiary Euro Cargo Rail announced on July 4 that restructuring had completed a key stage, with its redundancy programme agreed by the unions and approved on June 23 by the government regional office responsible for employment. ECR had begun negotiations with the unions in December 2016, originally ...
-
NewsNorthern’s Pacer replacement multiple-units under construction
UK: The first of the Civity UK multiple-units ordered for Arriva’s Northern franchise in northern England are now under construction at CAF’s factories at Irun and Zaragoza in Spain. The 25 two-car and 30 three-car Class 195 diesel multiple-units and 31 three-car and 12 four-car 25 kV 50 Hz Class ...
-
NewsBHEL and Kawasaki sign metro rolling stock agreement
INDIA: BHEL and Kawasaki Heavy Industries signed a technology collaboration agreement on June 29 covering the manufacture of stainless steel metro cars and bogies. Under the agreement, design, engineering and manufacturing facilities are to be established at BHEL’s Indian site using Japanese technology. BHEL says that the agreement ...
-
NewsICF rolls out new generation Kolkata metro train prototype
INDIA: Indian Railways’ Integral Coach Factory in Chennai rolled out the first of two prototype metro trainsets for the Kolkata metro on July 4 in the presence of Railway Board Chairman A K Mittal. According to ICF, the use of three-phase IGBT AC traction equipment and regenerative braking means ...
-
NewsJeffrey Rosen
The US Senate has confirmed lawyer and former Amtrak board member Jeffrey Rosen as Deputy Secretary at the federal Department of Transportation.
-
NewsUK railway news round-up
Caledonian Sleeper has introduced a bus link from Crianlarich to Oban for a 14-week trial period, operated by West Coast Motors and funded by Transport Scotland. This avoids the need for passengers to wait at Crianlarich for the next train. The bus connects with sleeper arrivals on Monday to Saturday ...
-
NewsDB Regio retains re-routed RB27 contract
GERMANY: Following a European tender, the Rheinland, Rhein-Ruhr and Rheinland-Pfalz Nord transport authorities announced on June 30 that they had selected incumbent DB Regio NRW for the next contract to operate passenger service RB27 from Mönchengladbach to Köln and Koblenz. The contract runs for seven years from December 2019 and ...
-
NewsKuala Lumpur – Singapore high speed rail tender to be called this year
ASIA: Almost 400 participants from 165 supply, consultancy, finance and operating organisations attended an industry briefing organised by Kuala Lumpur – Singapore high speed line project promoters MyHSR Corp and Land Transport Authority on July 5. The event in Singapore was held to provide information and seek feedback on the ...