Main line rail industry news – Page 66
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NewsAlstom to build new type of loco in Astana
KAZAKHSTAN: An agreement for the production of KZ6A electric freight locomotives at the EKZ factory in Astana was signed by Alstom and national railway KTZ during Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev’s official visit to France on November 5. Alstom and KTZ also signed an amendment to a ...
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NewsProtests and resignation follow fatal collapse of station canopy
SERBIA: Minister of Construction, Transportation & Infrastructure Goran Vesić resigned on November 5 in the wake of street protests which followed the fatal collapse of a canopy at Novi Sad station. The 35 m concrete canopy on the outer façade of the building collapsed at around ...
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NewsVR wins Öresundståg operating contract
SWEDEN: The VR Sverige subsidiary of Finland’s national operator has won the next contract to operate Öresundståg services from Göteborg, Kalmar and Karlskrona to Malmö and across the Øresund Bridge to Denmark. The tender was called by Öresundståg AB, which is jointly owned by the ...
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NewsBashteel hub in Greater Cairo opens
EGYPT: President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi inaugurated Bashteel main line station in Giza, west of Cairo, on October 12. Also referred to as the Upper Egypt hub, Bashteel has been built to relieve the congested hub at Ramses, located to the east in the city centre. ...
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NewsDublin commuter rail enhancement design contract awarded
IRELAND: Iarnród Éireann has awarded AtkinsRéalis a contract to provide design services for the DART+ West and South West projects, which are part of the DART+ programme to expand the Dublin Area Rapid Transit network of electrified commuter rail services. The Phase 5a contracts involve reviewing previous ...
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NewsMetro-North unveils bi-mode locos to increase electric operation
USA: New York MTA has unveiled the first of the Siemens Mobility SC42-DM Charger electro-diesel locomotives which will enable it to increase the use of electric traction on Metro-North Railroad commuter services. The operator’s existing batch of GE P32AC-DM locos use electric power only in the ...
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NewsHexafret and Technis to replace French national freight operator Fret SNCF
FRANCE: Two new companies are to take over the operations and maintenance activities of the national railway’s freight business Fret SNCF on January 1 2025. Transport Minister François Durovray has confirmed plans to break up Fret SNCF which were announced by his predecessor Clément Beaune in ...
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NewsRolling stock engineering business sees opportunities in French rail market opening
FRANCE: The liberalisation of the rail market offers new opportunities for SNCF Voyageurs’ rolling stock maintenance and engineering subsidiary Masteris, according to its CEO Remi Peltier, who told Railway Gazette International that ’we want to be present for these opportunities’. SNCF established Masteris in 2009 to ...
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NewsLTG Link unveils appearance of Flirt multiple-units
LITHUANIA: National passenger operator LTG Link has unveiled the future appearance of the Flirt multiple-units to be supplied by Stadler, saying they are intended to be bright, bold and recognisable. The contract awarded in June 2023 covers nine electric multiple-units for inter-city services, plus six battery-electric ...
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NewsFirmer plans for Finnish rolling stock company
FINLAND: Plans are firming up for the creation of a rolling stock owning company which is intended to facilitate competition by making it easier for companies to enter the Finnish rail operating market. VR Group is co-operating with the project to create the rolling stock company, ...
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NewsNATO visit looks at Rail Baltica’s role in military mobility and regional security
LITHUANIA: The NATO Force Integration Unit has visited a Rail Baltica construction site to discuss how the civilian project will also significantly enhance the alliance’s ability to deploy reinforcements in the region.
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NewsOperail privatisation agreement signed
ESTONIA: The purchase and sale agreement for the privatisation of national rail freight operator Operail was signed by the RailProject OÜ subsidiary of winning bidder Tiigi Keskus on October 31. The government took the decision to privatise the national rail freight transport and rolling stock maintenance ...
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NewsHitachi Rail awarded Luxembourg ETCS contract
LUXEMBOURG: National railway CFL and Hitachi Rail have signed a framework agreement for the design and installation of ETCS Level 1 Full Supervision and simplified trackside signalling at Bettembourg and Dudelange stations. ‘This contract signing is a decisive step in our growth strategy’, said Markus Fritz, ...
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News‘If There Were No Shinkansen‘
BOOK REVIEW: With an introduction by Prof Roderick Smith of Imperial College, London, If There Were No Shinkansen is the work of former East Japan Railway Chairman Shuichiro Yamanouchi, who died in 2008. Subtitled High-speed rail experience from its birth to today in Japan, the book ...
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NewsEurostar confirms date for return of direct Amsterdam – London trains
EUROPE: Direct trains between Amsterdam Centraal and London will be reinstated from February 10 2025, with the opening of a higher capacity departure terminal for passengers on Eurostar’s cross-Channel service. Through services were suspended from June 15 because remodelling works meant there was no space for ...
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NewsNJ Transit unveils first Multilevel III double-deck EMU car
USA: The first of NJ Transit’s Multilevel III double-deck electric multiple-unit cars was unveiled by New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy at the operator’s Meadows Maintenance Complex in Kearny on October 30.
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NewsCluj-Napoca cross-city rail project progresses
ROMANIA: Cluj-Napoca city council approved the results of a feasibility study into a 48·8 km suburban rail scheme linking Bonțida with Gârbău via the city’s main station. An application for EU funds is to be lodged before the end of the year, Mayor Emil Boc told ...
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NewsNorth Macedonia reverses rail market opening to save national operator
NORTH MACEDONIA: The government has cancelled the previous administration’s opening up of rail infrastructure access to private and foreign freight operators. Legal changes in December 2023 had opened access to the network. However, in September this year the current government reversed the liberalisation, with Minister of ...