Main line rail industry news – Page 556
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NewsRailcare orders last-mile Vectrons
SWITZERLAND: Siemens announced on September 22 that it had received an order for seven Vectron freight locomotives from Railcare, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Swiss retail group Coop. The locomotives will be used to haul intermodal consignments in Switzerland, Austria and Germany, drawing traction current at 15 kV 16⋅7 Hz AC. ...
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NewsEC250 high speed EMU presented to SBB
INNOTRANS: Stadler CEO Peter Spuhler and Swiss Federal Railways CEO Andreas Meyer officially presented the EC250 Giruno low-floor electric multiple-unit on September 21 at InnoTrans 2016. A five-car formation is on display at the trade show, and the first complete set will be assembled at the company’s Bussnang plant in ...
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NewsLightweight chargers and transformers
INNOTRANS: ABB presented two product developments at InnoTrans 2016, with improved energy efficiency, weight and size. ABB has developed the Bordline BC battery charger, which is about 90% smaller and 80% lighter than its predecessor, and achieves an efficiency of more than 95%, compared with the 90% of previous ...
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NewsMTR to open Kwun Tong extension on October 23
CHINA: MTR Corp is now carrying out operational trials and system testing ahead of the opening on October 23 of the 2⋅6 km extension of the Kwun Tong Line to Ho Man Tin and Whampoa in Kowloon. Whampoa will replace Yau Ma Tei as the western terminus of the route, ...
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NewsMetro miller-grinder unveiled
LINSINGER: Launched at the InnoTrans 2016 fair in Berlin, the small-profile MG11 rail profiling machine developed by Austrian specialist Linsinger combines both milling and grinding units in a single vehicle, in order to make best use of limited track time on busy urban rail networks. Designed to fit within the ...
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NewsInspection train on track
HUNGARY: MÁV Group has unveiled the FMK-008 two-car track inspection train. Present at the event on Track 1 at the InnoTrans trade fair were Ilona Dávid, President & CEO of MÁV Zrt, András Csépke, CEO of MÁV-Start Zrt and János Béli, Managing Director of MÁV KFV Kft. Able to ...
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NewsFRA awards more crossing upgrading grants
USA: The Federal Railroad Administration has awarded $25m in grants to increase safety at level crossings across the country. A total of 23 projects in 14 states and the District of Columbia received funding. FRA received 40 eligible applications requesting a total of $67·5m, far in excess of the appropriation ...
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NewsTransnet to introduce RailRunner
SOUTH AFRICA: RailRunner of the USA announced on September 20 that its local subsidiary had signed a 20-year agreement with Transnet to put its semi-trailers capable of operating on both road and rail into service on the South African network. RailRunner services between Cape Town and Gauteng are due to ...
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NewsAarhus Variobahn presented at InnoTrans 2016
INNOTRANS: Stadler Pankow Managing Director Ulf Braker and Aarhus Letbane CEO Claus Rehfeld presented the first Variobahn for Aarhus at InnoTrans on September 21. Stadler is supplying 14 Variobahn trams from its Pankow plant and 12 Tango tram-trains from its Altenrhein factory for the Letbane project, which is due ...
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NewsWork resumes on Napoli metro Line 7
ITALY: Construction work has restarted on metro Line 7 in Napoli, having been suspended in 2012 due to financial constraints. The occasion was marked by a ceremony at the unfinished Monte Sant’Angelo station on September 20, attended by President of the Campania region Vincenzo De Luca and ...
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NewsAtkins seeks European partners
INNOTRANS: UK-based multi-disciplinary consultancy Atkins is seeking to expand its European business with a greater focus on what it terms a ‘full-service’ model. Speaking to Railway Gazette International at InnoTrans, David Brewer, Rail Market Director, said that the company would initially target Scandinavia, building upon its existing activity in that ...
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NewsJernbaneverket receives multi-purpose maintenance unit
NORWAY: Havard Vestgren, Director, Transport at infrastructure company Jernbaneverket presided at the handover of a two-axle multi-purpose maintenance vehicle in the InnoTrans outdoor display area on September 21. The Wintrak 2.2-52 L vehicle was the third of 21 units that Jernbaneverket ordered from Windhoff two years ago, a pair ...
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NewsJR East offers Suica on Apple Pay
JAPAN: East Japan Railway is to offer its Suica smart ticketing and contactless payment system on Apple Pay from October, having redesigned Suica for iPhone7 and Apple Watch Series 2 devices. Users can add their Suica card or season ticket to their device, keeping all their credit and pre-paid cards ...
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NewsFirst Jazz delivered for Sicily
ITALY: National operator Trenitalia took delivery of the first of six Alstom Jazz EMUs for its Sicilian network at Palermo Centrale station on September 20. The new unit then operated a service to Bagheria and back for invited guests. The Jazz fleet is due to enter passenger service on September ...
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NewsWikov launches next-generation traction drive at InnoTrans 2016
INNOTRANS: Czech manufacturer Wikov is using InnoTrans 2016 to display for the first time a prototype of its next-generation compact drive unit. Aimed at low-floor trams and electric multiple-units, the unit is the result of three years of development in co-operation with the University of West Bohemia's Regional Innovation Centre ...
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Stadler introduces Eurodual UK locomotive
UK: The first of 10 Stadler Class 88 Eurodual UK locomotives for leasing company Beacon Rail, fitted with ABB electric and Caterpillar diesel traction equipment and to be operated by open access freight and charter operator Direct Rail Services, was presented at InnoTrans on September 20 . Based on the ...
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NewsShanghai chosen to pioneer commercial CBTC over LTE
CHINA: Specialist telecoms company Huawei is currently testing an application of CBTC over LTE on Line 5 of the Shanghai metro with a view to launching a commercial version on Line 6 in the future. This follows a pilot application in France after Huawei signed a Memorandum of Understanding with ...
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NewsPassenger name regulation could destroy cross-border rail
BELGIUM: The European Commission, train operators and passenger representative groups have expressed grave concern over draft legislation introduced into the Belgian parliament on September 19 which could threaten the viability of cross-border passenger trains. Proposed as a reaction to the terrorist attacks in Brussels earlier this year, as well as ...
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NewsVibration to power level crossings
UK: A research programme partly funded by the UK Department for Transport and undertaken by the Institute of Railway Research at Huddersfield University has confirmed the potential for powering level crossings using vibration harvesting. The IRR research has focused on the potential for using vibration caused by passing trains to ...