Main line rail industry news – Page 784
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NewsTrack renewals to accelerate passenger services in eastern Michigan
USA: Work began on September 9 on the first element of a three-stage programme to raise speeds over 50 km of mixed-traffic railway in Michigan as part of a wider initiative to accelerate passenger services between Detroit and Chicago. Much of the work will focus on track renewals between Jackson ...
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NewsWest Island Line tracklaying complete
CHINA: A ceremony was held at Hong Kong University station on September 8 to mark the completion of tracklaying on MTR Corp’s 3 km West Island Line between the existing Sheung Wan station and the over-run tunnel beneath Kai Wai Man Road in Kennedy Town. With the new extension now ...
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NewsSmartphone ticketing targets special events
USA: Mobile ticketing specialist Masabi has launched a smartphone app to enable San Diego Trolley passengers to buy day passes for special events in the city. Branded MTS mTicket, the Cloud-based mobile ticketing and fare collection application can be downloaded from either the Apple iTunes store or Google Play for ...
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NewsCarpentras branch to reopen
FRANCE: Work is underway to reopen the 16 km branch from Sorgues-Châteauneuf-du-Pape to Carpentras to passenger traffic, with the aim of introducing services between Avignon and Carpentras at the end of 2014. Infrastructure work including track renewals for a maximum speed of 120 km/h, resignalling and the closure of nine ...
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NewsNews in Brief
India’s West Central Railway has begun trials with a WDM2G genset locomotive rebuilt from a WDM3D by DMW Patiala. It has three 800 hp Cummins QSK-19 engines and a maxiumum speed of 105 km/h. Fuel consumption is expected to be 20% lower than a conventional locomotive. DB Regio has ...
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NewsRailway supply industry news in brief
Tram and bus manufacturer Solaris has announced plans for a 14m złoty expansion of its bodyshell plant at Sroda Wielkopolska in Poland, enlarging the production hall from 4500 m2 to 7100 m2 and providing more office space. Uralvagonzavod and UVZ Baltija have begun construction of wagon manufacturing plant at ...
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NewsScheidt & Bachmann to supply Eurobahn ticketing
GERMANY: Scheidt & Bachmann announced on September 6 that it had been awarded a contract by Keolis Deutschland to supply a new ticketing system for the three local networks in Nordrhein-Westfalia and Hesse operated under the Eurobahn brand. The new system is due to enter service in December 2013. The ...
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NewsKraków plans three-line metro network
POLAND: The city of Kraków’s spatial planning team has published a study for a three-line metro, which has been endorsed by Mayor Jacek Majchrowski. The report targets construction to start in 2018 if the city authorities approve financing estimated at 3bn złoty. A significant part of this ...
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NewsPhase One of National Gateway completed
USA: The ‘on-time, on-budget’ completion of Phase One of the National Gateway programme was announced on September 5, enabling double-stack intermodal services to be operated between the CSX terminals in Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, and North Baltimore, Ohio. Enlarging bridges and tunnels to accommodate double-stack trains between the Mid-Atlantic and Midwest, the ...
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NewsLondon Underground depot upgraded to maintain new trains
UK: London Underground has completed a £180m modernisation of its Neasden depot to provide facilities for the routine maintenance of Bombardier Transportation S Stock trainsets used on the Metropolitan Line. BAM Nutall undertook the civil, mechanical and electrical works for the depot modernisation, Thales was responsible for signalling including ...
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NewsAfter-sales service for Lorraine Régiolis fleet
FRANCE: In preparation for the delivery later this month of the first of 10 Régiolis multiple-units to operate local TER services in the Lorraine region, Alstom officially opened an after-sales service centre within the SNCF rolling stock maintenance workshops in Metz on September 5. The event was attended by Patrick ...
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NewsICF signs R&D agreements
INDIA: Integral Coach Factory has signed three memoranda of understanding as part of a strategy of improving the standard of the coaches produced at its plant in Chennai. The National Institute of Design in Ahmedabad is to assist with developing improved sleeping cars and air-conditioned coaches. The Indian Institute of ...
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NewsAgreement signed for Barcelona port link
SPAIN: On September 4 an agreement to build a new rail connection to the Port of Barcelona was signed by the Ministry of Development and the Catalunya regional government. Other partners in the project include railway infrastructure authority ADIF and regional operator FGC. Through equal contributions from ADIF and Barcelona ...
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NewsHong Kong awards SCL Phase 1 signalling contract
CHINA: MTR Corp has awarded Thales a HK$642·5m contract to install communications-based train control on the first phase of the Shatin – Central Link. ‘Extending and upgrading a heavily-used network without impacting on our customer service is a challenging task. We look forward to having Thales’s team with their ...
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NewsLine 2 opens in Alacant
SPAIN: Line 2 of the Alacant tramway opened on September 4, connecting Sant Vicent del Raspeig with the rest of the network. Speaking at the opening ceremony, President of Valencia Generalitat Alberto Fabra said that the new route ‘makes the city much more sustainable, ecological and comfortable for its citizens’. ...
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NewsRed Line funded in Maryland’s $1·5bn transport package
USA: Construction of Baltimore’s east-west Red Line light rail route is expected to get underway in 2015, following the announcement of a $1·5bn transport investment programme by Maryland’s Governor Martin O’Malley on September 4. This is intended to support schemes totalling $4·4bn included in Maryland Department of Transportation’s draft six-year ...
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NewsSiemens to supply mobile reactive power compensation systems
SWITZERLAND: In what Siemens says is a world first, Swiss Federal Railways has awarded Siemens’ Smart Grid Division a SFr9·3m contract to design and supply mobile 15 MVAr reactive power compensation systems which can be deployed by rail. These will be used to stabilise the traction voltage and improve ...
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NewsGB Railfreight expands Class 66 fleet
UK: Eurotunnel subsidiary GB Railfreight announced on September 3 that it had ordered a further eight Class 66 locomotives from Electro-Motive Diesel Inc. The manufacture and supply agreement was signed at Rannoch station on the route between Glasgow and Fort William by GB Railfreight Managing Director John Smith and Paul ...
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NewsEFE orders more Alstom EMUs
CHILE: State railway EFE has ordered a further 12 X’Trapolis Modular EMUs from Alstom, exercising an option within a €54m contract for 12 units announced in October 2012. Each capable of accommodating 376 passengers, the new two-car EMUs are due to enter service during the first half of 2014 on ...
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NewsSee-through station planned for Bydgoszcz
POLAND: Railway holding company PKP SA has unveiled proposals for the modernisation of Bydgoszcz Główna station. This follows a feasibility study undertaken by Ernst & Young and Atkins. Instead of demolishing and replacing the historic island platform building, a new structure is to be built outside the tracks. This would ...