Main line rail industry news – Page 641
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NewsAMP Capital increases Angel Trains stake
UK: Australian pension investor AMP Capital Investors has increased its stake in UK rolling stock leasing company Angel Trains by acquiring minority interests previously held by Prime Super and STC Funds Nominee. AMP Capital Investors has been an investor in Angel Trains since 2008. It had increased its stake ...
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NewsBAM awarded Aberdeen – Inverness upgrade contract
UK: BAM was appointed principal contractor for the £170m first phase of the Aberdeen – Inverness Improvement Project on October 16, working with Aecom, CH2M, Stobart Rail and Siemens. AIIP is intended to enable ScotRail to operate a half-hourly commuter service between Aberdeen and Inverurie, with additional peak services between ...
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NewsFirst Izmir tram nearing completion
TURKEY: Mayor Aziz Kocaoğlu visited Eurotem’s factory in Adapazari to inspect the first tram for Izmir on October 14. The tram is nearing completion and is scheduled to be delivered along with two others in December. In August 2014 the Eurotem joint venture of South Korea’s Hyundai Rotem and ...
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NewsRanchi plans monorail
INDIA: The Jharkhand government has backed plans for two monorail lines in the state capital Ranchi following a feasibility study undertaken by Infrastructure Development Finance Company which found that a monorail would be preferable to an elevated or underground metro. IDFC is to submit a detailed project report by December. ...
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NewsRail industry news in brief October 2015
Russian Railways and Yingkou Port Group have signed a memorandum of co-operation to create logistics centres in Moscow and Yingkou and a joint venture to manage cross-border cargo clearance and port transhipment. An internal restructuring of Danish national passenger operator DSB came into effect from September 1, creating ...
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NewsPredictive maintenance at the heart of Thameslink EMU depot
UK: ‘We want to prevent malfunctions before they even occur,’ said Siemens Mobility Division CEO Jochen Eickholt when Secretary of State for Transport Patrick McLoughlin officially opened the new rolling stock depot at Three Bridges on October 15. The depot will maintain the 115 Class 700 Desiro City electric ...
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NewsUlm breaks ground on second tram route
GERMANY: The official groundbreaking for the second tram route in Ulm took place on October 15, at the site of the future turning loop on Egginger Weg in Kuhberg, the southern terminus of the line. The 10·5 km line will link the science district in the north of the ...
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NewsIsfahan metro opens
IRAN: The first metro line in Isfahan opened on October 15. The first phase of Line 1 runs for 11 km from Qods in the northwest to Shohada via Kaveh long-distance bus terminal. There are 10 stations. Construction started in 2001 but was subject to delays. The ...
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NewsWashington metro seat refurbishment contract awarded
USA: Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority has awarded First State Manufacturing a five-year contract to refurbish the seats on its fleet of more than 1 100 metro cars. Delaware-based company First State supplies public transport and military aircraft seating and carpets, as well as covers for lorries and missiles. ...
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NewsMelbourne switches on underground 3G coverage
AUSTRALIA: Victoria Minister for Public Transport Jacinta Allan announced on October 15 that 3G mobile coverage had gone live in the City Loop tunnels under the centre of Melbourne. Victoria rail asset owner VicTrack has undertaken the work in co-operation with telecoms operators Optus, Telstra and Vodafone Hutchison Australia. ...
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NewsTrinity Industries and Element Financial extend wagon alliance
USA: On October 14 the TrinityRail Asset Management Co subsidiary of Trinity Industries announced an extension of its alliance agreement with Element Financial Corp, which expects to acquire additional wagons leased to third parties worth up to $1bn in 2016-19. As with purchases made under the existing alliance agreed in ...
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NewsNew York MTA agrees capital funding
USA: New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio and MTA Chairman Tom Prendergast announced on October 10 that they had reached agreement on the remaining funding for the MTA Capital Program. The $26·1bn five-year capital expenditure plan forms the largest ever investment in MTA ...
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NewsÖBB calls tenders for 200-locomotive framework contract
AUSTRIA: Austrian Federal Railways has invited expressions of interest in a framework contract for the supply of up to 200 electric and electro-diesel locomotives equipped to operate in various combinations of European countries. The tender is divided into three lots. Lot 1 covers a ‘Standard Locomotive’, which would be a ...
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NewsStation beacons on test in Boston
USA: Digital media company Intersection is using Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority stations in Boston to test secure closed networks of Gimbal Bluetooth Smart beacons which can trigger location-specific content on apps installed on passengers’ mobile devices. The aim is to test how passengers use wayfinding and other information, whether ...
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NewsPRASA’s Gauteng Nerve Centre completed
SOUTH AFRICA: The Gauteng integrated control centre in Kaalfontein near Johannesburg was handed over to passenger operator PRASA on October 13, and is due to take control of an initial section of the province’s 1 067 mm gauge 3 kV DC electrified main line network from January. The Gauteng Nerve ...
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NewsInit acquires Webus
FRANCE: Init has acquired LC Consultant, which supplies Webus rostering and dispatching software to a mainly French customer base, including the tram operator in Marseille. The LC Consultant team will remain in Saint-Cloud near Paris and will report to Initi’s Initperdis subsidiary based in Hamburg.
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NewsCasablanca orders 50 more Citadis trams
MOROCCO: Casa Transports has awarded Alstom a €100m contract to supply 50 Citadis trams, power supplies and signalling for Line 2 of the Casablanca tramway. Alstom supplied the initial fleet of 74 Citadis trams for the 31 km Line 1 which opened in 2012. Construction of the 22 km ...
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NewsMTR plans musical instrument registration scheme
CHINA: Plans for a registration scheme which would allow large musical instruments to be carried on the Hong Kong metro network have been announced by MTR Corp. Current rules say that items of luggage must not exceed 1 300 mm along any one side, a limit which was brought in ...
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NewsModernised Bydgoszcz Główna station opens
POLAND: The modernised Bydgoszcz Główna station was officially opened to passengers at 10.10 on October 10. A new station building with a 3 500 m2 glass façade has been erected, while the historic island platform building has been modernised along with the platforms and subways. The work used 6 ...
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NewsSiemens supplies locomotives from stock for rapid delivery
EUROPE: Mitsui Rail Capital Europe has ordered a further 21 electric locomotives, Siemens announced on October 13, which will take the leasing company’s Vectron fleet to 56 locomotives. The latest order includes 10 locomotives equipped for 15 kV 16·7 Hz operation in Germany and Austria, and 11 multi-system locomotives also ...