Main line rail industry news – Page 640
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NewsThameslink Class 700 testing to begin soon
UK: Siemens has now produced more than 380 of the 1 140 bodyshells for the Thameslink Class 700 Desiro City electric multiple-unit fleet at its Krefeld plant in Germany, with two eight-car Class 700/0 and 10 12-car Class 700/1 EMUs now completed. Two 12-car units have been delivered to ...
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NewsLas Heras line to be revived for freight
ARGENTINA: The isolated 285 km route running from Puerto Deseado to Las Heras in Santa Cruz province is to be reopened for freight traffic at a cost of 90∙1m pesos, the government announced on October 5. Disused since 1978, the route is being upgraded to move materials for state-owned ...
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NewsEIB funds RENFE investment
SPAIN: RENFE President Pablo Vázquez and European Investment Bank Vice-President Román Escolano signed an agreement on October 1 that will see EIB provide up to €600m for investment projects over a period of three years. Among the projects to be financed with EIB funding will be an investment programme ...
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NewsChinese-funded consortium to build Jakarta – Bandung fast line
INDONESIA: Construction could start next year on a passenger-dedicated line linking Jakarta with Bandung over a 140 km alignment that would make use of vacant land next to a toll motorway. The approval of the project is the latest twist in a long-running series of negotiations between the authorities in ...
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NewsNorfolk Southern to stop accepting traffic ahead of PTC deadline
USA: Ahead of the now unachievable December 31 deadline for the introduction on PTC on routes carrying passenger trains and certain hazardous freight traffic, Norfolk Southern announced on October 20 that it would stop accepting shipments of poisonous-inhalation-hazard commodities with effect from December 1. NS has also written to Amtrak, ...
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NewsWorld rail infrastructure market October 2015
Argentina: ADIF has awarded contracts worth 523m pesos for the refurbishment of 23 stations on the Belgrano Sur commuter network in Buenos Aires. Work includes raising platform height to match the new DMUs supplied by CNR. Australia: Australian Rail Track Corp has awarded Telstra a 10-year contract to provide ...
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NewsScrap inter-city franchising, say Virgin and Stagecoach
UK: Stagecoach Group and Virgin have called for the replacement of the ‘confused and damaging’ system whereby franchised and open-access train operators compete on inter-city routes. In their joint response to a Competition & Markets Authority consultation on options for increasing on-rail competition, Stagecoach and Virgin suggest a new ...
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NewsKaohsiung tram begins trial operation
TAIWAN: Trial operations on the Kaohsiung tram line started on October 16, with Mayor Chen Chu riding the inaugural service. Full operation on the first phase is expected to begin next year. Until then, the trams are running a taster service every 30 min between 09.00 and 18.30 through ...
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NewsRhein-Ruhr-Express operating contracts signed
GERMANY: Contracts for the operation of Rhein-Ruhr-Express passenger services from December 2018 to December 2033 were signed by National Express, Abellio and a group of five transport authorities at a ceremony in Hamm on October 19. The five RRX routes totalling around 14·6 million train-km per year were tendered as ...
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NewsRhein-Ruhr-Express operating contracts signed
GERMANY: Contracts for the operation of Rhein-Ruhr-Express passenger services from December 2018 to December 2033 were signed by National Express, Abellio and a group of five transport authorities at a ceremony in Hamm on October 19. The five RRX routes totalling around 14·6 million train-km per year were tendered as ...
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NewsCuenca tram starts dynamic testing
ECUADOR: Dynamic testing of the Cuenca tramway began on October 19. The first of 14 trams being supplied by Alstom was shipped from the port of Antwerpen in mid-May after leaving Alstom’s La Rochelle factory, and revenue service is due to begin next year. The 10·5 km standard gauge ...
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NewsMitsubishi Electric acquires Medcom stake
POLAND: Mitsubishi Electric Corp has signed an agreement to acquire a 49% stake in Warszawa-based rolling stock electrical equipment manufacturer Medcom. Medcom supplies auxiliary power supplies and traction inverters to mainly eastern European customers. Announcing the agreement on on October 15, Mitsubishi Electric said the acquisition would support its ambition ...
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NewsWagons arrive from China
ARGENTINA: Minister of the Interior & Transport Florencio Randazzo visited the Port of Buenos Aires on October 16 to inspect the first shipment of 150 wagons to arrive from China, financed by a US$2⋅47bn loan that is being used to fund 3 500 new wagons, 100 diesel locomotives and the ...
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NewsCôte d'Ivoire – Mali railway study
CÔTE D'IVOIRE: On October 15 the Ivorian government signed an agreement for FS Group’s engineering consultancy Italferr to plan a 1 000 km railway corridor which would run north from the port of San-Pédro to Bamako, the capital of Mali. Italferr is to undertake a feasibility study for the ...
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NewsSeoul starts work on Sillim Line
SOUTH KOREA: Construction of the Sillim Line in southwest Seoul started on October 18. The underground metro line is due to be built in 60 months, with revenue service expected to start in 2021. The 7·8 km line would run south from Yeouido to Seoul National University. It will ...
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NewsEIB lends €135m for Bangladesh Railways
BANGLADESH: The European Investment Bank is providing the government with a €135m loan to finance upgrading, double-tracking and signalling renewals on the 72 km Laksam – Akhaura route. The project forms part of a broader programme to upgrade the 321 km Dhaka – Chittagong corridor by 2022. The total project ...
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NewsWorld rolling stock market October 2015
Australia: Stadler has been awarded an A$2m contract to modernise control systems on the Perisher Skitube rack railway trains. China: China Railway Corp has ordered a further 15 eight-car CRH380D high speed trainsets from Bombardier Sifang (Qingdao) Transportation for 2·4bn yuan. Bombardier CPC Propulsion System Co has won ...
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NewsManchester Metrolink operations shortlist announced
UK: Transport for Greater Manchester announced on October 16 that it had shortlisted four bidders for the contract to operate and maintain the Metrolink tram network from 2017. The shortlisted bidders are incumbent RATP Dev, KeolisAmey, National Express Group and Transdev. TfGM expects to issue an invitation to ...
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NewsFirst section of Rail Baltica inaugurated
EUROPE: Lithuanian Prime Minister Algirdas Butkevičius and European Commissioner for Transport Violeta Bulc inaugurated the first completed section of the Rail Baltica standard gauge line with a ceremony at Kaunas station on October 16. Rail Baltica envisages the construction of a 1 435 mm gauge corridor linking Poland with ...
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NewsBlockade to speed Chicago – St Louis upgrade
USA: Amtrak services between Chicago and St Louis have been suspended for 15 days from October 16 to permit major track and signalling renewals on the 455 km corridor, which is being upgraded for 177 km/h operation. This follows four previous eight-day blockades in 2012-15, with further closures expected in ...