Main line rail industry news – Page 522
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NewsWorld rail freight news round-up
On February 24 Catalan regional operator FGC signed an agreement transferring to Spanish infrastructure manager ADIF a 3·6 km single-track section of its 1 000 mm gauge network. This is to form part of a new southern rail connection to the Port of Barcelona and will be rebuilt to accommodate ...
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NewsWorld rolling stock market February 2017
Chile: Metro de Santiago has ordered another four driverless trainsets from CAF, as an add-on to a €160m contract signed in 2013 to supply and maintain 37 five-car trainsets for lines 3 and 6. China: The first of 11 four-car driverless Innovia APM 300 trainsets being supplied by Bombardier ...
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NewsBelgrano locos on test
ARGENTINA: The first two diesel locomotives supplied by CRRC of China successfully completed their first day of testing on the 1 000 mm gauge Belgrano network on February 22, the Ministry of Transport has announced. State-owned freight operator Trenes Argentinos Cargas undertook testing between San José and Dean Funes in ...
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NewsERTMS with satellite positioning trial completed
ITALY: A final test train ran from Cagliari to Decimomannu in Sardinia on February 24 as part of the ERSAT EAV project to integrate ERTMS with Galileo satellite positioning and public telecoms networks to provide a low-cost train control option for regional and low-traffic rail routes. Technology partner Ansaldo STS ...
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NewsGerman contracts more attractive than UK franchises, says National Express CEO
NATIONAL EXPRESS: German passenger train operating contracts offer more attractive business opportunities than UK franchises, National Express Group CEO Dean Finch said when the transport group's annual results were published on February 23. 'The current UK rail market is one that we believe is not as attractive as our other ...
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NewsChina to Europe less-than-container-load service launched
INTERNATIONAL: Kuehne + Nagel has launched a less-than-container-load rail freight service from Wuhan to Poznań, Duisburg and Hamburg via Russia. Complementing its established full container service, KN Eurasia Express is targeted at shipments from industries such as automotive, high-tech and fashion. Eastbound services from Europe to Asia are also available. ...
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NewsThe Andersons Rail Group reports solid year in weakening market
USA: Diversified agricultural product and rail group The Andersons Inc reports that its Rail Group ‘led the way’ across the business in 2016. Looking forward, it said freight volumes had shown signs of improvement after a difficult operating environment last year, and it believes the Rail Group's lease and wagon ...
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NewsRailway supply industry news round-up
The Greenbrier Companies has rolled outs its 100 000th double-stack intermodal wagon unit at its Gunderson plant in in Portland, Oregon. Greenbrier said it has built approximately 50% of all intermodal double stack wagons operating globally, and produces nearly twice as many as its closest competitor. Having become a ...
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NewsProgress Rail tests remanufactured Tier 4 shunting loco
USA: Progress Rail has completed initial testing of a EMD24B locomotive produced from remanufactured components, and has begun the process of obtaining Tier 4 emissions certification. The 2000 hp locomotive will also undergo 3 000 h of in-service testing with Anacostia Rail Holdings' Pacific Harbor Line, which operates at the ...
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NewsHeavy freight locomotives on test
RUSSIA: Transmashholding’s Bryansk Engineering Plant has rolled out its first 3TE25K2M diesel locomotive, a three-section design developed from the twin-section 2TE25K Peresvet. Designed to haul 7 100 tonne freight trains on the 2 800 km Baikal-Amur Magistral route between Taksimo, Tynda, Komsomolsk-na-Amure and Sovetskaya Gavan on the Pacific coast, the ...
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NewsHelsinki – Tallinn tunnel feasibility studies commissioned
EUROPE: Two consortia have been appointed to study the feasibility of the FinEst Link proposal to build a 92 km under-sea railway tunnel linking Finland and Estonia. A consortium of Ramboll Finland, Sito, Strafica, Urban Research and Pöyry Finland will estimate passenger and freight volumes and undertake a cost-benefit study. ...
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NewsHS2 Phase 1 bill receives Royal Assent
UK: The parliamentary bill for the first phase of the High Speed 2 project received Royal Assent on February 23, marking the final legislative step before full civil works can begin.‘HS2 will be the world’s most advanced passenger railway and the backbone of our rail network’, said Transport Secretary Chris ...
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NewsGreat Britain records 10 years without train accident fatalities
UK: February 23 marked 10 years since the last passenger or staff fatality in a train accident on Great Britain’s national rail network. While there have been fatalities from other causes including trespass and suicide and at level crossings, the last occasion when a passenger died in a derailment ...
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NewsRZD International completes Beograd – Pančevo upgrade
SERBIA: Russian Railways’ RZD International business has completed a three-year modernisation and double-tracking of the 15 km electrified Beograd – Pančevo line, which carries significant suburban traffic as well as international trains to Romania. Krnjača, Ovča, Sebeš and Pančevo Glavna stations have been modernised, a signalling centre built at ...
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NewsEBRD backs Bozankaya metro car manufacturing
TURKEY: The European Bank for Reconstruction & Development is providing bus and rail vehicle manufacturer Bozankaya with a €10m loan to finance expansion of production capacity at its Ankara plant including investment in an automated welding machine. This will support a contract for Bozankaya to act as a subcontractor to ...
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NewsDutch provinces tender operating contract
NETHERLANDS: The provinces of Friesland and Groningen have jointly invited bids for a contract to operate regional rail services for 15 years from December 2020. The contract covers fast and stopping services on the Leeuwarden – Groningen Europapark route, and stopping services on the Eemshaven – Roodeschool – Groningen – ...
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NewsPassenger sector up but freight down at Wabtec
WABTEC: 'During 2016 we faced many challenges, including significant headwinds in our freight and industrial markets', said Wabtec President & CEO Raymond T Betler when presenting the group's annual results on February 21. 'Yet, our financial results were among the best in our history, we generated more cash from operations ...
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NewsNairobi moves ahead with transport plans
KENYA: President Uhuru Kenyatta issued an executive order on February 9 creating the Nairobi Metropolitan Area Transport Authority. Covering the counties of Nairobi City, Kiambu, Kajiado, Machakos and Murang’a, NMATA aims to formulate a ‘sustainable integrated public transport strategy’ based on bus rapid transit and commuter rail routes. It ...
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NewsMashhad metro Line 2 opens
IRAN: The first phase of the second metro line in Mashhad opened on February 20, running northeast-southwest from Kashfrood to Shohada. The 8 km section of Line 2 has six stations, with an additional station due to open at a later stage. The second phase, running southwest ...
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NewsEU backs Croatian electrification project
CROATIA: Plans to modernise and electrify the 24·2 km Zaprešić - Zabok line northwest of Zagreb have been backed by the JASPERS technical assistance partnership, which is managed by the European Investment Bank and co-sponsored by the European Commission and European Bank for Reconstruction & Development. The Ministry of ...