Main line rail industry news – Page 777
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NewsCzech passenger market opening in sight
CZECH REPUBLIC The government has backed the Ministry of Transport's plans to call tenders by the end of the year for the operation of subsidised long-distance passenger services on five routes from December 2016: Praha - Ústí nad Labem - Cheb Praha - Ústí nad Labem - D??ín ...
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NewsZSSK Cargo seeks partners
SLOVAKIA: National freight operator ZSSK Cargo has invited expressions interest in acquiring stakes in two of the three subsidiaries which are to be established under the reform plan which the government approved in July. ZSSK Cargo is to become purely an operating company, 100% state owned but holding stakes in ...
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NewsFortaleza awards East Line contract
BRAZIL: A consortium of Acciona and Cetenco Engenharia has been awarded a R$2·3bn contract to build the Fortaleza metro East Line. The 12·4 km East Line will have 12 stations, of which 11 will be underground. It is expected to carry 400 000 passengers/day, and will provide interchange with ...
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NewsCuvillier presents SNCF reform proposals
FRANCE: SNCF is to be reinstated as the overall managing entity for rail infrastructure and operations under draft legislation presented to the Conseil des Ministres by Transport Minister Frédéric Cuvillier on October 16. The bill is expected to go to parliament following municipal elections in March 2014. The ministry said ...
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NewsKampala passenger service planned
UGANDA: The government has awarded Rift Valley Railways a contract to operate a pilot commuter service between central Kampala and Namanve, parallel to a busy road corridor. A service to Nalukolongo is planned if this proves successful. RVR's 2005 concession to operate the Kenya - Uganda railway did ...
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NewsMidland Metro unveils first CAF tram
UK: Birmingham City Council leader Sir Albert Bore unveiled the first of 20 CAF Urbos 3 trams for the Birmingham – Wolverhampton Midland Metro line at Wednesbury depot on October 16. The tram had been delivered from CAF’s Zaragoza factory in two sections on low-loaders, with a sea crossing ...
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NewsBursa circular tramway opens
TURKEY: The Bursa tramway opened on October 12, with trams running anti-clockwise around the single-track circular route in the city centre. The 6·5 km line has 12 stops, including two interchanges with the Bursaray light metro network. The line was built by COMSA under an €8m contract that covered ...
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NewsWork starts on Jaipur metro Phase IB
INDIA: Work on Phase IB of the Jaipur metro started on October 1. The short extension from Chandpole to Badi Chaupar will include 1·4 km of bored tunnel and 400 m of cut-and-cover tunnel. The Indian office of Taiwanese company Continental Engineering Corp is to undertake this ...
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NewsChris Fenton
Chris Fenton, formerly Director of Marketing & Strategy at Amey, will succeed Len Porter as Chief Executive of the UK’s Rail Safety & Standards Board on January 6.
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NewsNews in Brief
In an effort to reduce fuel costs, Ireland’s Iarnród Éireann is to reconfigure its multiple-unit fleet as shorter units to allow train lengths to be more closely matched to demand. Poland’s Pomorskie voivodship has awarded PR a 30·96m złoty contract to operate regional services around Gdynia for 12 months ...
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NewsJR East to install ATACS on Tokyo suburban line
JAPAN: East Japan Railway has confirmed its intention to introduce its Advanced Train Administration & Communications System on the Tokyo suburban network in the autumn of 2017. The company announced on October 8 that the moving-block train control system will be deployed on the 37 km Saikyo Line between Ikebukuro ...
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NewsWork starts on Jakarta metro
INDONESIA: A groundbreaking ceremony for Jakarta’s first metro line was held at Dukuh Atas on October 10, led by Jakarta Governor Joko Widodo. ‘After 24 years of dreaming to have an MRT, some may even have forgotten it. Finally the dreams of Jakarta residents will come true’, said Widodo. ...
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NewsHyderabad metro car prototype on show
INDIA: Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy has unveiled a prototype of the new metro cars which Hyundai Rotem is to supply for the Hyderabad metro under an Rs18bn contract signed in 2012. The stainless steel prototype is half the length of the cars ordered, which would ...
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NewsICF rolls out Mumbai suburban EMU
INDIA: The first of 72 new 12-car electric multiple-units being procured by Mumbai Railway Vikas Corp for Central and Western Railway suburban services has been officially unveiled at the Integral Coach Factory in Chennai. Following the launch on October 1, the prototype unit is expected to undergo test running in ...
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NewsKTZ staff visit Sweden
KAZAKHSTAN: Assisted by local partner Grontmij, 20 staff from Kazakh national railway KTZ have completed a placement in Sweden to learn about the country's experience of market reform, and the wider European railway reform process. The sessions also covered the operation and development of inter-city and high speed passenger ...
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NewsPRASA and Alstom sign R51bn EMU contract
SOUTH AFRICA: Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa and the Alstom-led Gibela joint venture signed a R51bn contract for the supply of 3 600 electric multiple-unit cars on October 14. These will form 600 trainsets to be delivered in 2015-25. In addition, Gibela will provide technical support and spare ...
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NewsFrank Gropengiesser
Dr Frank Gropengiesser is to succeed Dr Norbert Klapper as CEO of Voith Turbo’s Rail Division and a member of its management board on November 1; he joins from Knorr-Bremse, where he is currently CEO of the European Rail Business Unit.
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NewsInput needed to secure stations
EUROPE: Funded under the European Union’s FP7 research programme, the Secure Station project is seeking input via an online survey from transport users as part of its study to develop improved guidelines for the design of major transport hubs. Secure Station is seeking to reduce the risk of all types ...
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NewsWorld rail infrastructure market October 2013
Australia: Lead contractor Samsung C&T has awarded subcontracts for construction of the 342 km heavy haul railway being developed as part of the Roy Hill Iron Ore Project. Calibre Group is to undertake detailed design, NRW has a A$620m contract for earthworks and John Holland a A$257m contract covering railway ...
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NewsStadler power module for Russian DMU
RUSSIA: Metrowagonmash has developed a prototype DP-M diesel multiple-unit jointly with Stadler. As with the Swiss firm's GTW family, the traction equipment is mounted in a separate section between the passenger vehicles. However the Russian GTW+ version is larger, with four rather than two axles on the powered section.