Main line rail industry news – Page 664
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NewsFour bidders shortlisted for London Overground operating concession
UK: Four bidders have been shortlisted for the next contract to operate London Overground services, Transport for London announced on June 29. The shortlisted bidders are: Arriva Rail London Ltd (Deutsche Bahn);LoKeGo Ltd (51:49 joint venture of Keolis (UK) Ltd and Go-Ahead Holding Ltd);Metroline Rail Ltd (owned by Singapore-based transport ...
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NewsChennai metro opens
INDIA: The Chennai metro opened for passenger services on June 29, with the first train being flagged off by Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa. The first 10 km section of Line 2 runs north on an elevated alignment from Alandur to Koyambedu with five intermediate stations. ...
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NewsKnorr-Bremse to transfer production from München
GERMANY: On June 29 Knorr-Bremse announced plans to move 184 permanent and 118 fixed-term production and assembly jobs at its Rail Vehicle Systems division from München to sites in Berlin, Budapest, Suzhou and Nankou by mid-2017. The München site will in future focus on development, project management and sales, ...
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NewsPorterbrook unveils Pacer DMU life-extension demonstrator
UK: Porterbrook Leasing has unveiled a Class 144 diesel multiple-unit which has been refurbished to demonstrate how the interior of ex-British Rail Pacer vehicles could be upgraded to comply with modern accessibly standards and provide a more welcoming passenger environment. The 144e Evolution would offer a transformed passenger experience ‘at ...
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NewsLTE metro trial completed
FRANCE: Huawei and Alstom announced on June 29 that they had completed a live pilot test of 4G LTE multi-service broadband radio networking technology for metros. Huawei describes this as the first of its kind and says that it ‘marks a major step forward in the LTE commercialisation of communication-based ...
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NewsDelhi metro orders more cars
INDIA: Delhi Metro Rail Corp has awarded a Rs15bn contract for Bombardier Transportation to supply 162 metro cars. The contract award was announced on June 29. The cars are to be manufactured at Bombardier’s Savli and Vadodara plants, as part of the government’s ‘Make in India’ programme to promote ...
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NewsFlexible mobile phone tickets on test
UK: Mobile phone tickets valid on services operated by multiple train operators are being piloted in two separate areas covering 86 stations in northern England. Previous m-Ticket products were limited to specific services, but those on trial are available for travel on any CrossCountry, First TransPennine Express, Northern, Virgin ...
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NewsRoad-rail crane trucks simplify maintenance planning
UK: Network Rail has commissioned a fleet of 20 all-wheel drive FUSO Canter trucks adapted for road road-rail use with the addition of hydraulically lowered and raised rail wheels. The infrastructure manager previously relied on a combination of standard road vehicles and hired-in rail vehicles. The Canters can perform both ...
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NewsSENSR acquired by Georgetown Rail Equipment Co
USA: Georgetown Rail Equipment Company has acquired structural monitoring equipment manufacturer SENSR from Reference LLC. ‘We are very excited to be able to expand our product offerings to the rail industry and beyond by acquiring a very key product that is showing itself to be important and valuable to the ...
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NewsEIB signs €180m loan for ADIF
SPAIN: An agreement that will see the European Investment Bank lend a total of €180m to ADIF Alta Velocidad was signed in Madrid on June 26, in the presence of Development Minister Ana Pastor, EIB Vice-President Román Escolano and ADIF Alta Velocidad President Gonzalo Ferre. An initial tranche of €100m ...
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NewsČD and Škoda unveil InterPanter EMU
CZECH REPUBLIC: Rolling stock manufacturer Škoda Transportation and national operator ČD unveiled the first of 14 long-distance EMUs at the Velim test circuit on June 25. ČD had ordered the fleet in August 2014 at a cost of KC2·6bn. Branded ‘InterPanter’ following a public competition organised by ČD and Škoda ...
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NewsPakistan Railways ‘out of intensive care’
PAKISTAN: Minister of Railways Khawaja Saad Rafique has said Pakistan Railways is now ‘out of intensive care’. The federal budget for 2015-16 has allocated Rs41bn for PR’s non-staff costs, a business class Karachi – Islamabad passenger service has been launched and freight services to Iran restarted. The 2015-16 budget ...
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NewsElectrification on hold as Network Rail spending is ‘reset’
UK: Infrastructure manager Network Rail’s agreed works programme for Control Period 5 from 2014 to 2019 is to be reviewed and ‘reset’, Secretary of State for Transport Patrick McLoughlin told the House of Commons on June 25, with the planned electrification of the Midland Main Line and trans-Pennine routes to ...
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NewsMÁV-Start orders more Flirts
HUNGARY: National passenger operator MÁV-Start has selected Stadler Bussnang as preferred bidder to supply 21 electric multiple-units for use on Budapest suburban services. The contract is expected to be signed in July, with funding from EU sources. Tenders were called in March, and MÁV-Start said Stadler had submitted the most ...
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NewsSNCF announces eight-year transformation of Paris-Nord
FRANCE: Gares et Connexions, the station management subsidiary of national railway holding group SNCF, is to refurbish and expand Paris-Nord station in a phased programme lasting until 2023. The plans were announced by SNCF President Guillaume Pepy and Anne Hildago, Mayor of Paris, on June 24. At the heart of ...
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NewsAvanza preferred bidder for Lisboa operating contracts
PORTUGAL: Spanish bus and light rail operator Avanza has been named as preferred bidder to operate the metro and urban transport networks in Lisboa, under contracts worth a total of €1∙1bn. According to Avanza, the metro operating contract is worth €450m and would run for a term of eight and ...
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NewsSenior roles filled at CRRC
Following the official launch of CRRC Corp Ltd with the completion of the merger of rolling stock manufacturers China CNR Corp and CSR Corp, CRRC held its first board meeting on June 1.Former CNR Chairman Cui Dianguo (photo) was elected Chairman of CRRC, while former CSR Chairman Zheng Changhong and ...
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NewsEltel wins Stockholm light rail maintenance contract
SWEDEN: Stockholm transport authority Storstockholms Lokaltrafik has awarded Eltel a six-year contract to maintain the Lidingöbanan and Spårväg City light rail lines from the start of 2016 until the end of 2021. The scope includes preventive and corrective maintenance of the track, electrification and signalling. The contract win is ...
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NewsTågkompaniet wins Norrtåg operating contract
SWEDEN: The Norrtåg group of local transport authorities has selected Tågkompaniet for a contract to operate regional passenger services in northern Sweden from August 20 2016 until the December 2025 timetable change. The contract covers six routes: Umeå – Sundsvall;Storlien – Sundsvall;Vännäs – Umeå;Lycksele – Umeå;Luleå – Umeå;Kiruna - ...
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NewsTransnet signs R2·8bn locomotive loan
SOUTH AFRICA: A R2·8bn loan agreement was signed by freight operator Transnet and Germany’s KfW Development Bank on June 22. Transnet is to use the proceeds to fund the acquisition of 240 Bombardier Transportation electric locomotives it has ordered as part of its programme to acquire 1 064 locomotives from ...