Main line rail industry news – Page 670
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NewsSherrye Hutcherson
Sherrye Hutcherson joined US Class I Union Pacific from Omaha Public Power District on May 4; she becomes UP’s Vice-President for Human Resources.
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NewsSteve Creighton
Siemens’ UK rail automation business has named Steve Creighton as Delivery Director, Central East. He will have responsibility for a number of signalling projects in eastern England.
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NewsLucky moves on
The Chief Executive of Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa Lucky Montana has revealed that he will not seek to renew his contract with the operator when it ends in March 2016. Speaking to local media, Montana said that his decision to leave PRASA was partly a result of health ...
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NewsUrgent action needed to reverse TET decline
FRANCE: Urgent action is needed to save SNCF’s network of conventional long-distance passenger services, says Philippe Duron in his foreword to a report on the future of these Trains d’Equilibre du Territoire, submitted to the government on May 26. Socialist MP for Calvados, Duron has presided over a committee of ...
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NewsJR West picks MerMec inspection technology
JAPAN: West Japan Railway Company has selected MerMec to supply machine-vision technology for its track inspection fleet, the railway’s General Manager Eiji Tsubone announced at a meeting of the EU-Japan Industrial Dialogue on Railways & Urban Transport Suppliers in Brussels on May 21. Following ‘a long tendering and evaluation period’, ...
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NewsAlstom acquires Balfour Beatty stake in Signalling Solutions Ltd
SSL: Alstom announced its acquisition of Balfour Beatty’s 50% stake in the Signalling Solutions Ltd joint venture on May 28, giving it sole ownership. The price was not disclosed. Alstom said the business would ‘continue to trade as SSL for the foreseeable future.’ The 50:50 joint venture was established by ...
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NewsHitachi Rail Europe opens Milton Keynes office
UK: Hitachi Rail Europe has opened an office in Milton Keynes to house its Learning & Development division and also the project team working on the AT200 electric multiple-units ordered for Abellio's ScotRail franchise. There will initially be 25 staff at the office, with capacity for up to 50. Hitachi ...
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NewsSwitzerland unveils biggest timetable shake-up since Bahn 2000
SWITZERLAND: This year’s timetable change on December 13 will be ‘the most ambitious since the introduction of Bahn 2000 in 2004’, Swiss Federal Railways announced on May 26. Long-distance services are set to expand by 660 000 train-km, or about 1%, while regional services will increase by 2·3 million train-km, ...
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NewsIneco studies Cairo - Luxor high speed line
EGYPT: Spanish state-owned engineering consultancy Ineco announced on May 27 that it is to carry out a feasibility study for building a high speed line between Cairo and Luxor. According to Ineco, this 600 km route between the country’s two principal cities would be major addition to Egypt’s tourist infrastructure. ...
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NewsRail Connection wagon leasing joint venture formed
USA: Industrial and transport sector investment advisor ITE Management and the Rail Connection Inc subsidiary of wagon repair and maintenance company Appalachian Railcar Services have formed a joint venture to acquire, lease and operate wagons. The companies said the Rail Connection LLC joint venture would ‘focus on ...
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NewsVolkerRail awarded Zwolle – Wierden electrification contract
NETHERLANDS: Infrastructure manager ProRail and the province of Overijssel have awarded VolkerRail a contract to electrify the 40 km Zwolle – Wierden section of the 67 km Zwolle – Enschede route. The 1·5 kV DC electrification will enable electric multiple-units to replace diesel in December 2017, when operations are ...
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NewsLine E extension civil works near completion
ARGENTINA: Visiting the extension of Buenos Aires metro Line E from Bolívar to Retiro on May 26, Minister of the Interior & Transport Florencio Randazzo announced that the project would be handed over to the city government ‘in the next few days’. Once civil works had been completed by ...
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NewsŠkoda 109E approved for use in Germany
GERMANY: Škoda Transportation announced on May 22 that regulator EBA had granted its Type 109E multi-voltage electric locomotives unlimited approval for operation in Germany at up to 200 km/h. Czech national operator ČD is hoping to use its Type 109E locos (designated Class 380) to haul the Praha – Berlin ...
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NewsDSB seeks locomotive procurement consultant
DENMARK: National passenger operator DSB has set out details of its plans to acquire 10 to 20 new locomotives, and has invited expressions of interest in a framework contract worth up to DKr60m to provide multi-disciplinary consultancy services to support the procurement project from October 2015. The locomotive order would ...
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NewsVossloh and VR form track joint ventures
FINLAND: Vossloh and the VR Group’s infrastructure construction subsidiary VR Track have formed two joint ventures which will operate three turnout production sites and a long welded rail plant. Vossloh will have a 60% stake in each of the joint ventures, which it expects to have a total annual turnover ...
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NewsPesa Dart on test
POLAND: Pesa’s first Dart electric multiple-unit has started dynamic testing on the line between Bydgoszcz and Warlubie to the northeast. The EMU achieved its maximum speed of 160 km/h on May 21 and the following day was transported to Żmigród for further testing at the Railway Institute. Pesa ...
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NewsIndustry calls for co-ordinated European action on metal theft
EUROPE: A joint statement calling for EU-wide action against metal theft was issued on May 26 by a coalition of 11 associations representing the rail, public transport and energy sectors. The signatories include CER, UIC, UITP and railway police association COLPOFER. The statement calls on EU policy makers to take ...
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NewsHamilton light rail funding announced
CANADA: Ontario’s Premier Kathleen Wynne announced up to C$1bn of provincial funding to cover the entire capital cost of the Hamilton light rail project on May 26. Procurement is expected to begin in 2017, for construction to start in 2019. The planned light rail line would run from McMaster University, ...
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NewsInnoTrans 2016 to introduce Conference Corner
INNOTRANS: InnoTrans 2016 will see the launch of a Conference Corner, enabling exhibitors, associations and transport companies to hold lectures and present papers on the last day of the fair and the following weekend. The programme will include the Maglev 2016 conference, to be organised by International Maglevboard and ...