Main line rail industry news – Page 722
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NewsTrans-Kazakhstan railway opens
KAZAKHSTAN: President Nursultan Nazarbayev gave the signal to launch operations on east-west and north-south lines totalling 1 200 km on August 22. Speaking to staff at stations along the routes from a teleconference in Zhezkazgan, Nazarbayev said the opening of two routes on the same day was a first ...
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NewsNagpur metro foundation stone laid
INDIA: Prime Minister Narendra Modi laid the foundation stone for the two-line Nagpur metro August 21. A 19·7 km north-south line is planned to connect Automotive Square with Mihan City on a mostly elevated alignment, with an underground section at the southern end. Interchange will be provided ...
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NewsOlsztyn selects new tramway contractors
POLAND: Skanska signed a 150m złoty contract with the city of Olsztyn on August 19 for the construction of 6 km of tram route by September 2015. Construction of the standard gauge network officially began in September 2012, but in 2013 the city terminated FCC Construcción’s contract, citing a ...
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NewsTemperature control on China - Europe trains
CONTAINER: UNIT45 has developed a 45 ft diesel-electric temperature-controlled container designed for China - Europe rail journeys of up to 20 days. 'By incorporating a specially designed 800 litre diesel tank into the power unit, we have solved the problem that most rail operators cannot provide a reliable power supply ...
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NewsLasers produce 3D map of French railways
FRANCE: A StreetMapper mobile laser scanning system has been used to produce detailed three-dimensional maps of several hundred kilometres of the French rail network to support studies for modernisation and electrification works. The StreetMapper was developed by 3D Laser Mapping and IGI, and is operated by FIT ESIC. The companies ...
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NewsMontpellier Sud de France station bidder selected
FRANCE: Infrastructure manager RFF has selected a consortium led by Icade as preferred bidder for the public-private partnership contract to design and build Montpellier Sud de France station. The station on the new line between Nîmes and Montpellier is due to open in the fourth quarter of 2017. It ...
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NewsElectrical measurement tools at InnoTrans
LEM: Electrical measuring technology supplier LEM will highlight its 42 years of experience in reducing the size, weight and cost of equipment, while maintaining performance requirements. A range of products will be on show at InnoTrans 2014, including an EM4TII on-board energy meter for both DC and AC vehicles, control ...
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NewsJump into a virtual world
TRAINING: Pennant has produced a prototype Goods Yard Shunter Trainer by combining virtual reality goggles with computer simulation technology originally developed for training military parachutists. Simulation is an established tool for driver training, says John Churchman, Senior Business Development Manager, but 'we now have the ability to place an individual ...
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NewsMetro station energy efficiency project
SPAIN: As part of the EU-backed Sustainable Energy Management for Underground Stations research project, Passeig de Gràcia station on Barcelona metro Line 3 has been fitted with 50 sensors to monitor the power consumption of subsystems including lighting, escalators, lifts and ventilation. The multinational Seam4us project partners envisage that ...
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NewsWashington Silver Line receives federal funding
USA: On August 20 Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx announced a $1·28bn Transportation Infrastructure Financial Innovation Act loan for the second phase of the Washington metro Silver Line extension. This is part of a $1·87bn combined commitment of TIFIA loans for the Silver Line Phase 2, which the Department of ...
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NewsWaterloo ION light rail breaks ground
CANADA: A groundbreaking ceremony was held on August 21 for Stage 1 of the ION Light Rail Transit project on Dutton Drive in Waterloo, the future site of the operations and maintenance facility. Stage 1 covers the 19 km of light rail from Conestoga Mall in Waterloo to Fairview ...
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NewsAlstom selected for Algerian inter-city contract
ALGERIA: National railway SNTF has selected Alstom Transport as preferred bidder for a contract to supply 17 electro-diesel multiple-units for long-distance services. Award of the €200m contract announced on August 19 is subject to a 10-day standstill period. The trainsets would be based on the Coradia Liner design ordered by ...
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NewsTokyo Monorail plans to extend
JAPAN: Tokyo Monorail Co has confirmed that it plans to extend the Tokyo Monorail line by 3 km from Hamamatsucho to Tokyo main line station. The project is expected to cost ¥109·5bn and be completed in 10 years. The monorail line currently runs from Haneda International Airport to Hamamatsucho, ...
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NewsTrack recording, tamping, transport and training
PLASSER & THEURER: The GMTZ self-propelled track recording car for DB Netz will on show on the outdoor tracks at InnoTrans, along with a Unimat 09-4x4/4S universal tamper. The 140 km/h GMTZ offers an interior height of 2 000 mm while still fitting within the restricted clearances of the Berlin ...
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NewsAkiem orders more Traxx Locomotives
EUROPE: Bombardier Transportation has signed a contract to supply leasing company Akiem with 10 Traxx DC locomotives for use on freight services in Italy and Poland. The order announced on August 21 is worth €33m at list prices. An option for up to 10 more could take the total ...
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NewsNorthern Line extension contractor selected
UK: London Underground announced on August 21 that it had selected Ferrovial Agroman Laing O’Rourke to design and build the 3·3 km extension of the Northern Line from Kennington to Nine Elms and Battersea. The six-year contract covers the main construction works and is worth £500m. The £1bn project ...
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NewsTramRus tram running in Moscow
RUSSIA: The first tram produced by the TramRus joint venture of Alstom and Transmashholding for Moscow commenced ‘trial commercial operation’ on August 20. The 100% low-floor 1 524 mm gauge tram has been developed from Alstom’s Citadis family and adapted for local conditions, including very cold winters and hot ...
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NewsIndian-Czech railway co-operation agreement
INDIA: The Ministry of Railways, Czech national passenger operator ČD and Czech supply industry association ACRI signed a memorandum of understanding for technical co-operation on August 19. Potential areas of co-operation specified in the memorandum include the development of automotive traffic, raising the speeds of IR passenger trains to 200 ...
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NewsFirst Haramain high speed trainset revealed
SAUDI ARABIA: Saudi Railways Organization President Mohamed Khaled al Suwaiket visited the first trainset for the Haramain High Speed Rail project at the Talgo’s factory at Rivabellosa in Spain on August 11. The 450 km high speed line will link Makkah with Madinah, via Jeddah and King Abdul Aziz International ...
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NewsChina to Brazil by train and plane
INTERNATIONAL: DB Schenker combined its rail, lorry and air freight services to deliver a 21 tonne shipment of mobile phone components from China to Brazil for the first time, with a journey time of 24 days compared to between 50 and 55 days by sea. The components travelled 10 124 ...