Main line rail industry news – Page 600
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NewsSamara to test Uraltransmash tram
RUSSIA: A prototype Type 71-409 tram left Uraltransmash’s factory in Yekaterinburg on April 4 for Samara, where it is to undergo testing on the 1 524 mm gauge network. The Uralvagonzavod subsidiary presented its new 100% low-floor model last year. Also available in five-, seven- and nine-section variants, the ...
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NewsHigh tech paint booth for Hitachi plant
UK: The 31 m by 9 m paint spray booth oven built to accommodate rail vehicles at Hitachi Rail’s Newton Aycliffe rolling stock plant has been designed by Junair Spraybooths to optimise running costs while complying with safety requirements. The iSystem touch control is pre-programmed with bake cycles and ...
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NewsAlpha Trains buys multiple-unit fleets
GERMANY: Leasing company Alpha Trains Luxembourg has acquired 89 regional multiple-units from Société Générale subsidiaries Société Anonyme de Crédit à l’Industrie Française and SNC Vindelica. The transaction covers three fleets of multiple-units which are operated by Transdev subsidiaries: 18 three-car and 17 five-car Alstom Coradia Continental EMUs used by NordWestBahn ...
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NewsDigital convergence is coming
ERTMS: ‘Train control is not enough’, suggested UIC Director-General Jean-Pierre Loubinoux in his opening remarks to the 12th ERTMS World Conference, hosted in Brussels last month by Infrabel. He argued that future signalling systems needed to move beyond simply block and speed control, and be integrated ‘more intensively’ with traffic ...
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NewsAppenzell EMU order follows St Gallen groundbreaking
SWITZERLAND: Appenzeller Bahnen announced a SFr36m order for four Stadler Rail electric multiple-units on April 7, three days after a groundbreaking ceremony for the St Gallen – Riethüsli diversion which is being built as part of the St Gallen Durchmesserlinie project to enable through running between its Trogen and Appenzell ...
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NewsMittelfranken DMU order includes 900th Coradia Lint
GERMANY: Alstom announced a €40m contract to supply eight Coradia Lint regional diesel multiple-units to DB Regio on April 8. The 140 km/h DMUs are to be delivered from Alstom’s Salzgitter plant by March 2019 for use on Mittelfranken services around Nürnberg, complementing the fleet of 27 similar Class ...
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NewsToshiba to open Hyderabad electrical systems plant
INDIA: On April 7 Toshiba Corp announced plans to build a rolling stock power conversion and train control system production facility in Hyderabad, which would supply domestic and export markets including the Middle East and Africa. Toshiba Transmission & Distribution Systems (India) is being established as a dedicated railway systems ...
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NewsRailway supply industry news in brief
The first rails produced by Kazakhstan’s Aktobe Rail & Section Works using a rolling mill supplied by Siemens Metals Technologies were ceremonially laid by the President of national railway KTZ Askar Mamin and Almaty regional Governor Amandyk Batalov on April 7. They are to be used for double-tracking a 110 ...
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NewsSantiago takes delivery of driverless metro train
CHILE: The first of 37 driverless trainsets that CAF is supplying for lines 3 and 6 of the Santiago metro was unloaded at Valparaíso port on April 6. In November 2013 a consortium of CAF and Thales won a US$451·9m contract to supply rolling stock and signalling for the ...
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NewsEuropean Commission adopts new rules to widen access to rail infrastructure
EUROPE: New rules designed to create fairer conditions for access to rail infrastructure were adopted by the European Commission on April 7, and will come into force on December 1. The Commission is concerned that EU rail markets are currently ‘characterised’ by dominant operators which may have close ties with ...
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NewsEurotem rolls out Antalya tram
TURKEY: The Eurotem joint venture of South Korea’s Hyundai Rotem and Turkish company Tüvasaş rolled out its first tram for Antalya at its factory in Adapazari on April 4. Eurotem won an order for 18 trams in August 2015. Due to be delivered to Antalya between April and November, ...
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NewsSuzhou Line 2 trams ordered
CHINA: CRRC Nanjing Puzhen is to supply 18 five-section 100% low-floor trams to operate the second tram line in Suzhou. Škoda Electric is to supply electrical equipment through its Chinese joint venture Škoda Kingway Electric. Škoda had previously supplied traction equipment to power cars for the Suzhou metro. ...
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NewsEast Japan Railway on West Midlands franchise shortlist
UK: Three bidders have been shortlisted for the next West Midlands passenger franchise, the Department for Transport announced on April 7. DfT is expected to issue the invitation to tender in July, with bids to be submitted in November. It expects to award the contract in June 2017, ready for ...
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NewsDB launches digital passenger information competition
GERMANY: The DB Information business unit of Deutsche Bahn has launched a second competition for web developers, designers and start-ups to develop novel apps, software or digital tools to enhance the provision of information at major stations across Germany. Part of the wider 'Infrastructure 4.0' initiative to increase the role ...
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NewsCummins QSK95 achieves Tier 4 certification
USA: Cummins received Tier 4 certification for its QSK95 diesel engine from the Environmental Protection Agency on March 31, ‘making it the first single prime power engine’ certified by EPA as meeting the Tier 4 emissions standards for use on locomotives. According to Cummins, the 3 281 kW QSK95 has ...
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NewsVIIA Britanica ‘rail motorway’ launched
FRANCE: SNCF Logistics subsidiary VIIA has launched its VIIA Britanica unaccompanied lorry semi-trailer service between the Port of Calais and Le Boulou near the Spanish border, with the first southbound train departing at 02.00 on March 30. Described as the longest ‘rail motorway’ in Europe, VIIA Britanica avoids a 1 ...
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NewsCTLE rebrands as Alstom Ubunye
SOUTH AFRICA: Alstom announced Alstom Ubunye (‘unity’ in Zulu) as the new name for Commuter Transport & Locomotive Engineering on April 6, when it confirmed that following regulatory approval it had completed the acquisition of a 51% stake in the rolling stock refurbishment business which had been announced on November ...
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NewsSerbian link modernised
SERBIA: The Mala Krsna – Velika Plana section of Pan-European Corridor X reopened to freight traffic on April 1, following a modernisation project which Russian Railways subsidiary RZD International began in October. The 29 km link between lines running east and southeast of Beograd provides an alternative to the Velika ...
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NewsMore Leonardo metro trains ordered for Milano
ITALY: Milano transport operator ATM is to purchase a further 15 Leonardo trainsets for metro Line M2 at a cost of €109m. The order announced on March 29 forms an option on a €220m contract signed with AnsaldoBreda (now Hitachi Rail Italy) in 2012 for 30 six-car trainsets with ...
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NewsMixed gauge to Hendaye
SPAIN: Infrastructure Manager ADIF has awarded a €20·4m contract to install mixed-gauge track between Astigarraga and Irún, the Ministry of Development announced on April 1. Together with earlier contracts for upgrading the signalling and overhead line, this will complete a 1 435 mm gauge corridor between the French border and ...