Main line rail industry news – Page 756
-
NewsDB’s London – Frankfurt plan in doubt again
EUROPE: Deutsche Bahn has cast further doubt on the introduction of direct high speed services between Germany and London, citing authorisation delays to its fleet of Class 407 Velaro D high speed trainsets now being delivered by Siemens. At a press launch on February 18 marking the introduction of the ...
-
NewsDouble-tracking progress in southern Java
INDONESIA: Japan Transportation Consultants has been awarded a US$15m contract by the Directorate-General of Railways to supervise the double-tracking of 76 km of the southern trans-Java main line. The award of the marks a further stage of work to enhance capacity and reduce journey times on the main line between ...
-
NewsProducts & Technology in Brief
UK passenger operator Southern has introduced Recite cloud-based customisation on its website, enabling visually impaired or dyslexic passengers to use text to speech options, and change colour and contrast settings easily. Tenmat has developed reinforced phenolic composite wear parts including wagon bearing bushes and suspension damper plungers which ...
-
NewsLinda Bohlinger
A former Executive Director at commuter rail agency Tri-Rail, Linda Bohlinger has joined Parsons Brinckerhoff’s Los Angeles office as Principal Consultant.
-
NewsGolden Horn metro bridge opens
TURKEY: A 3·5 km extension of Istanbul metro line M2 from Sishane to Yenikapi including the Haliç metro bridge across the Golden Horn was opened by Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Febraury 15. The US$671m extension connects the two parts of the European side of the city. There are ...
-
NewsStudents attend Central Mesa light rail welding
USA: Welding students from the East Valley Institute of Technology watched and assisted with the welding of the first rails for the Central Mesa light rail extension of the Valley Metro in Phoenix, Arizona, on February 8. The process was described to the students by the Valley Transit Constructors ...
-
NewsFlytoget seeks more trains
NORWAY: Oslo Gardermoen Airport rail link operator Flytoget is seeking expressions of interest in a contract to supply eight trainsets worth an estimated NKr15bn. These would be in addition to the existing electric multiple-units which have been in operation for 17 years. The new stock is required to have ...
-
NewsMünchen to double transport investment
GERMANY: München utility body SWM and transport operator MVG have announced planned investments of €335m for 2014. This is more than double the investment made in 2013. The budget includes €175m for new metro cars, including completion of payments for the Siemens C2 trainsets ordered in 2010. A tender ...
-
NewsKraków Główny station concourse opened
POLAND: A new concourse beneath Kraków Główny station was inaugurated by PKP SA on February 15, completing a project to rebuild the city's main rail, bus and local transport gateway to modern European standards. Built at cost of 130m złoty co-funded by the EU, the 12 630 m² concourse offers ...
-
NewsJoanna Whittington
The UK’s Office of Rail Regulation has named Joanna Whittington as Director of Railway Markets & Economics; she joins from utilities regulator Ofgem.
-
NewsNantes - Châteaubriant tram-train launches this month
FRANCE: Tram-train services on a 64 km route linking Nantes and Châteaubriant are to be launched by SNCF on February 28. The tram-train service will use part of a former Nantes - Rennes railway route which originally opened in 1877. The Nantes - Châteaubriant section closed to passenger traffic in ...
-
NewsNagpur metro approved
INDIA: The government has given final approval to the Nagpur metro, which will see two lines totalling 38 km opening by 2020. The first route is to connect Automotive Chowk with Mihan, where an international airport is being built. The second would run between Prajapati Nagar and ...
-
NewsSaft awarded IEP battery order
UK: Hitachi Rail Europe has awarded Saft a contract to supply batteries to provide up to 3 h of back-up power for lighting, ventilation, door-opening and communications systems on the Class 800 and Class 801 trainsets being built under the Intercity Express Programme. The compact 'plug and play' underfloor battery ...
-
NewsPajares base tunnel electrification contract awarded
SPAIN: Infrastructure manager ADIF has awarded a consortium of Alstom and Isolux Corsán a €28m contract to design, supply and maintain 25 kV electrification including the traction substation and overhead line equipment for the 44·3 km route under construction between La Robla and Pola de Lena. The new line includes ...
-
News24 h power
POWER: Primus Wind Power offers small wind turbines for off-grid applications such as powering line-side equipment. Designed for winds speeds as low as 10 km/h, the turbines costing around US$1 000 can be combined with solar panels on new or existing trackside installations, generating solar power during the day and ...
-
NewsFunding constrains ambitions in 2014 Indian Railways budget
INDIA: The parlous state of Indian Railways' finances was flagged up by Railways Minister Mallikarjun Kharge when he presented an interim budget to the lower house of parliament on February 12. With elections expected in May, the interim budget is intended to keep IR operational until the new government takes ...
-
NewsLima metro Line 2 prequalification
PERU: Investment agency ProInversión has prequalified three consortia for the concession to build, operate and maintain Lima metro Line 2. Award of the 35-year, US$5·7bn concession is scheduled for February 28. The prequalified consortia are: Consorcio Nuevo Metro de Lima: ACS, FCC Construcción, Impregilo, AnsaldoBreda, Cosapi; Consorcio Metro Subterráneo ...
-
NewsSmart trams in Linz
AUSTRIA: Linz Linien, Kapsch CarrierCom and Bombardier have announced the results of a ‘smart tram’ pilot project which began in September. Sensors were fitted to 23 Bombardier Cityrunner trams. These collected data on 50 parameters and transmitted them to the operations control centre for analysis. The results were then ...
-
NewsUnion Pacific announces $3·9bn capital plan for 2014
USA: The Union Pacific Corp board has approved a $3·9bn capital spending plan for 2014. This is up $300m on 2013, primarily because the number of locomotives to be acquired will be increased from 100 last year to 200 this year, and greater investment is to be made in capacity ...
-
NewsTrinity sells more wagons to Element Financial Corp
USA: Trinity Industries has sold a second tranche of wagons to Element Financial Corp under a $2bn alliance announced by the companies during December. The sale announced on January 28 comprises a portfolio of existing leased wagons worth $396m. They will be managed by Trinity Industries Leasing Co. Trinity ...