Main line rail industry news – Page 525
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NewsWorld rail freight news round-up
The VIIA Britanica 'rail motorway' service connecting Calais with Le Boulou near the Spanish border resumed operating on February 7. It had been suspended on July 10 2016 after migrants had attempted to gain access to lorry trailers on the approaches to Calais. The China-Europe Land-Sea Fast Intermodal ...
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NewsA pivotal year for Norfolk Southern
USA: ‘2016 was a pivotal year as Norfolk Southern began implementing its new strategic plan’, said Chairman, President & CEO James A Squires when presenting the railway’s annual results on January 25. ‘We delivered $250m of productivity savings and recorded our best ever operating ratio, notwithstanding challenging business conditions.’ Net ...
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NewsBiomass paint tested on Polish locomotives
POLAND: Rolling stock manufacturer Newag is using two Type 15D diesel locomotives to test paint supplied by Lankwitzer Lackfabrik which incorporates Covestro’s Desmodur Eco N 7300 coating hardener made from renewable raw materials. ‘The coating formulated with this product performs just as well as a conventional coatings, but uses primarily ...
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NewsPresident opens renovated Baku station
AZERBAIJAN: President Ilham Aliyev attended a ceremony on February 10 marking the completion of a two-year project to modernise Baku station and national railway company ADY’s offices. The Moorish-style station building dating from 1884 has been restored externally, while the interior dating from a refurbishment in 1926 and the adjacent ...
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NewsMallorca electrification contract awarded
SPAIN: A joint venture of Siemens, MAN and Sampol has been awarded a €25m contract to electrify at 1∙5 kV DC the 31 km of single track between Enllaç and Manacor on the 1 000 mm gauge SFM network on Mallorca. Main works are expected to begin in March. The ...
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NewsTX Logistik launches Leipzig – Verona service
EUROPE: Mercitalia Rail company TX Logistik has expanded its freight network with the launch of a service between the DUSS terminal at Leipzig in Germany and the Quadrante Europa Terminal in Verona in Italy. Traffic is expected to include vehicle components, chemicals and consumer goods. ‘We are providing the first ...
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NewsCAF delivers first Luxembourg tram
LUXEMBOURG: The first tram for the line under construction in Luxembourg City arrived in the early hours of February 9 from CAF’s factory in Zaragoza. CAF is supplying 21 Urbos trams under an €83m contract signed in 2015. Nine are required for the first section of the line, which ...
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NewsInterpipe delivers wheels for a harsh environment
SAUDI ARABIA: Ukrainian company Interpipe has delivered an initial batch of 3 000 wheels to Saudi Railways Organization, under a long-term contract awarded last year which covers the supply of 14 000 wagon and locomotive wheels of 838 mm, 920 mm and 1 046 mm diameter. Local conditions in Saudi ...
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NewsCN performing well in a mixed economic environment
CANADA: ‘Despite facing difficult winter conditions in December, CN delivered very strong fourth-quarter results and throughout 2016 demonstrated once again its ability to perform well in a mixed economic environment’, said President & CEO Luc Jobin when presenting the company’s annual results on January 24. ‘We saw weaker volumes during ...
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NewsTatra-Yug to supply trams to Alexandria
EGYPT: Alexandria Passenger Transportation Authority signed a contract on February 6 for Tatra-Yug to supply 15 trams. The Ukrainian manufacturer beat Stadler and CRRC to win the order; three other bidders did not make it to the second round. To be used on Alexandria’s 32 km standard gauge network, ...
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NewsRailway supply industry news round-up
Russian Railways and Siemens have opened a data processing and analysis centre in Moscow to support condition-based maintenance of Lastochka EMUs. This follows the centre in München-Allach for European fleets; a third centre for North America is to be commissioned in the coming months. Network Rail Consulting has established ...
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NewsFinal Leonardo option exercised in Milano
ITALY: Milano transport operator ATM signed a €106m contract on February 8 for Hitachi Rail Italy to supply nine trainsets for metro Lines 1 and six trains for metro Line 2. The Leonardo trains will be built at HRI’s plants in Reggio Calabria and Napoli, with deliveries to be ...
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NewsTom Stables
Tom Stables has taken over responsibility for UK rail activities at National Express following the retirement of Andrew Chivers.
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NewsLugano tram-train project receives regional funding
SWITZERLAND: The Grand Council of Ticino has approved SFr1·5m towards the first phase of a tram-train project serving Lugano. This follows the approval of SFr300m by the Federal Council in November. The first phase, planned to open in 2020, would build around 4 km of new double-track alignment to ...
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NewsTrimble buys machine vision company
USA: Trimble has acquired automated lineside inspection system manufacturer Beena Vision for an undisclosed price, the company announced on February 8. Founded in 2003, Beena Vision supplies machine vision and other non-contact detectors which can be used for the detailed and automated condition monitoring of components on passing trains, providing ...
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NewsAstra Trans Carpatic launches open access night train
ROMANIA: Open access operator Astra Trans Carpatic ran its inaugural train from Arad to Bucureşti Nord via Sighişoara and Braşov overnight on February 2. The new operator is backed by Valer Blidar, who also owns rolling stock manufacturer Astra Vagoane Călători Arad which has supplied two six-car rakes of ...
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NewsInterserve wins Network Rail station facilities management contract
UK: Network Rail has awarded Interserve a five-year contract to manage facilities at 11 major stations, the first time the infrastructure manager has awarded one large facilities management contract rather than multiple separate deals. The £65m agreement announced on February 6 covers waste management, landscaping, pest control, adverse weather ...
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NewsIndustry backs faster ERTMS deployment
EUROPE: The Chief Executives of the eight signalling companies that are members of the UNISIG association renewed their commitment to the development and roll-out of the European Rail Traffic Management System at a meeting in Brussels on February 7 attended by DG Move Director-General Henrik Hololei, ERTMS Co-ordinator Karel Vinck ...
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NewsACC to refurbish Paris metro cars
FRANCE: The board of Paris metro operator RATP has named ACC Ingénierie et Maintenance as preferred bidder for a contract to refurbish up to 130 steel-wheeled MF77 trainsets operating on lines 7 and 8. Potentially costing up to €82m, the refurbishment programme is being equally funded by RATP and Ile-de-France ...
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NewsG&W buys Heart of Georgia Railroad
USA: Genesee & Wyoming has agreed to acquire Atlantic Western Transportation Inc, the parent company of the Heart of Georgia Railroad short line. The deal announced on February 8 is subject to customary closing conditions, including Surface Transportation Board approval, and is expected to be completed in the second quarter ...