Main line rail industry news – Page 731
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NewsBratislava orders 30 ForCity Plus trams
SLOVAKIA: Bratislava transport authority DPB has excercised an option for Škoda Transportation to supply a further 30 ForCity Plus trams and provide 15 years of maintenance support. The order covers 15 bi-directional Type 30T trams for delivery in late 2015 at a cost of €39·3m, and 15 unidirectional Type 29T ...
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NewsRussia One tram prototype revealed
RUSSIA: An unusually-styled prototype tram was unveiled at the Innoprom 2014 industrial exhibition in Yekaterinburg on July 9. Branded Russia One or R1, it has been developed by the Uraltransmash tram manufacturing subsidiary of defence and rolling stock supplier Uralvagonzavod, in partnership with design agency OKB Atom. According to the ...
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NewsRift Valley Railways capital investment plans
AFRICA: Kenya – Uganda railway concessionaire Rift Valley Railways plans to make capital investments totalling more than US$100m during the current year. On July 8 the operator announced the final US$69·6m drawdown from a US$164m debt facility which was raised from international financiers in 2011 to fund a US$287m five-year ...
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NewsHot springs at InnoTrans 2014
CONTITECH: Air spring systems designed for use in extremely hot or cold conditions in Saudi Arabia and Kazakhstan will be showcased on the ContiTech stand. These will include the newly-developed K air spring designed to withstand temperatures as low as -50°C. ContiTech will also be presenting air actuators ...
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NewsDiesel-hydraulic locomotive developed
ROMANIA: A 1 260 hp diesel-hydraulic locomotive for shunting and light freight applications has been developed by Grampet Group’s Electroputere VFU rolling stock manufacturing and Reloc Craiova refurbishment subsidiaries. Branded ‘Terra Nova’, the four-axle locomotive is targeted at export markets. Initial discussions have begun with potential customers, while certification tests ...
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NewsIndian Railways budget makes the case for change
INDIA: Presenting his first budget since the new government took office, Railways Minister D V Sadanand Gowda said on July 8 that he wanted to see Indian Railways become ‘the largest freight carrier in the world’, having recently ‘achieved the distinction of entering the select club’ carrying more than one ...
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NewsChinese-backed Tehran – Mashhad electrification contract signed
IRAN: A consortium bringing together Chinese companies CMC and SU Power with subsidiaries of local industrial group MAPNA has been awarded a contract to install and maintain overhead electrification equipment on the 926 km Tehran – Mashhad line, and procure 70 electric locomotives. The engineering, procurement, construction and finance contract ...
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NewsContractors prequalify for Makkah metro civil works
SAUDI ARABIA: The Mayor of Makkah Osama Al Bar has announced that 10 of the 16 international consortia which expressed interest in the two civil works contracts for Phase 1 of the city’s metro project have prequalified to submit tenders. Civil works contracts 1 and 2 are expected to be ...
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NewsIndustry News in Brief
China CNR Corp raised US$1·2bn selling 1·8 billion shares in a Hong Kong IPO in May. The company had listed in Shanghai in 2009. CBR has also signed a strategic co-operation agreement with Export-Import Bank of China with the aim of increasing its export activities. On June 6 Wabtec announced ...
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NewsRefrigerated freight services launched
USA: McKay TransCold launched TransCold Express last month, saying it is 'the first refrigerated boxcar unit train connecting the Midwest and West Coast in over half a century'. The service runs over the BNSF network between Selma in California and the RidgePort Logistics Center 60 km southwest of Chicago, where ...
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NewsNanjing opens two lines
CHINA: Nanjing metro Line 10 and suburban line S1 to the airport opened on July 1. Line 10 was built as a 15·9 km Olympic Stadium – Yushanlu extension of Line 1’s 5·7 km Andemen – Olympic Stadium branch, which it has now absorbed. Line 10 has one elevated and ...
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NewsTransport projects allocated Growth Deal funding
UK: A number of transport schemes are included in the government’s Local Growth Fund allocations announced on July 7. Local Enterprise Partnerships formed by English local authorities and businesses were able to bid for money from the fund to spend on match-funded projects which are intended to support their local ...
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NewsSouth Coast Rail project management contract awarded
USA: The $2·3bn South Coast Rail project to provide electrified commuter services from Fall River and New Bedford to Boston has moved ‘decisively from planning to design and construction’ Massachusetts Department of Transportation Secretary & CEO Richard A Davey announced on June 18, when MassDOT awarded Vanesse Hangen Brustlin and ...
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NewsDouble-tracking progress in Sumatra
INDONESIA: Minister of State-Owned Enterprises Dahlan Iskan attended celebrations on the island of Sumatra on June 10 to mark completion of 22 km of double-tracking between Niru and Prabumulih on the 370 km Palembang – Bandar Lampung line. In addition, 11 stations have been opened along the route, five in ...
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NewsHuawei awarded Addis Abeba light rail telecoms contract
ETHIOPIA: Huawei has been awarded a contract to provide its Mass Transit eLTE communications technology for the Addis Abeba light rail project. Huawei will provide fixed and wireless communications to support applications including telephony, SCADA, fare collection and IP-based video surveillance. The north–south and east–west lines totalling 31 km ...
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NewsSaudi Railway Polytechnic established
SAUDI ARABIA: Last year TQ Education & Training was awarded a five-year contract to provide training and management services to the Saudi Railway Polytechnic, which has been established in Buraydah through a partnership between Saudi Arabia Railways and Technical & Vocational Training Corp. TQ is responsible for developing the curriculum ...
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NewsFeature articles in the July 2014 issue of Railway Gazette International
Feature articles in the July 2014 issue of Railway Gazette International, the leading business journal for railway operators and suppliers, read in 140 countries. Subscribe to Railway Gazette International today. Comment Balancing public and private Richard Hope reflects on 50 years of change in the rail sector ...
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NewsKatra line opens with pride of place on the railway map
INDIA: Prime Minister Narendra Modi flagged off the first train to inaugurate the Udhampur – Katra section of the rail link to Jammu & Kashmir on July 4, saying it represented ‘a triumph of every Indian spirit to overcome the arduous hurdles of nature for reaching the people in this ...
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NewsAarhus selects light rail contractors
DENMARK: A consortium of Stadler and Ansaldo STS has been selected as preferred bidder for a turnkey contract to build and equip the first stage of the Aarhus light rail scheme. Project promoter Aarhus Letbane I/S expects to sign the contract ‘before the summer’, following more than a year of ...
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NewsUPS to move China – Europe containers by rail
INTERNATIONAL: Express logistics operator UPS announced on June 30 that it was adding a full container load rail option between China and Europe to its portfolio of transport services. UPS will initially offer rail movement on two routes: Chengdu – Łódź and Zhengzhou – Hamburg. These will be augmented by ...