Main line rail industry news – Page 790
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NewsSiemens awarded Gurgaon metro extension contract
INDIA: IL&FS Rail has awarded Siemens a €70m turnkey contract to supply electrification, signalling and rolling stock for the 6·5 km Gurgaon metro Phase II extension. The six-station extension to the standard-gauge line is due to open in late 2015 or 2016. It will have a capacity of 30 ...
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NewsDB launches mentoring programme
GERMANY: Following a trial underway since 2011, Deutsche Bahn has launched a mentoring programme for younger female staff in technical roles across the infrastructure and technical divisions of the business. The programme is intended to demonstrate to young women in engineering roles that a future at leadership level is open ...
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NewsSaudi Landbridge design contract awarded
SAUDI ARABIA: The Ministry of Finance's Public Investment Fund has appointed the Italferr engineering consultancy subsidiary of Italian national railway group FS to undertake design work for the US$7bn Landbridge project. Development of the planned 950 km double-track mixed traffic line between Riyadh and Jeddah Islamic Port is being managed ...
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NewsDB signs contract for Škoda Transportation push-pull trains
GERMANY: Deutsche Bahn signed a €110m contract for Škoda Transportation to supply six double-deck push-pull trainsets on August 5. The trainsets are to be used on regional services linking Nürnberg, Ingolstadt and München which DB Regio is to operate on behalf of the Land of Bayern for 12 years from ...
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NewsBydgoszcz selects preferred bidder for tram extension
POLAND: The Tramwaj Fordon subsidiary of Bydgoszcz city council has named a Gotowski-led consortium as preferred bidder to build a new 9·5 km tram line to the Fordon district. The mostly Polish consortium comprises Gotowski, Mosty Łódź, Feroco, Tor-Krak, Kobylarnia and Czech construction company Metrostav. Its bid of 290m ...
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NewsFurther safety measures follow Santiago de Compostela crash
SPAIN: The Ministry of Development announced on August 2 that the ASFA train protection system is to be installed to enforce speed limits on the national network, following recommendations made by rail accident investigation commission CIAF in advance of its report into the derailment at Santiago de Compostela on July ...
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NewsRemote control console
SHUNTING: Höft & Wessel has developed a hand-held control unit for remote control of shunting locomotives and associated equipment. Enclosed in a ruggedised plastic casing with a fold-out data terminal, the almex.cargo unit weighs 600 g including batteries, and can operate for up to 10 h on a full charge. ...
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NewsGeorgian Railway aiming to grow
GEORGIA: Georgian Railway has set out its plans for future development, saying it aims 'to become one of the companies promoting growth of the national economy.' The national railway said a close relationship with freight shippers is a priority. Freight income in the Q1 2013-14 was up 13% on the ...
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NewsTalking technology for UKlight locomotives
UK: The Class 68 UKlight locomotives Vossloh is building for British freight operator Direct Rail Services are to incorporate cab audio warning systems developed by Lütze. Designed to be used in place of piezo buzzer modules, the Lütze Audio Signal Transducer can record and play spoken alerts as well as ...
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NewsProducts & Technology in Brief
Wagon leasing company VTG has developed an anti-climb system which can be retrofitted to tank wagons, protecting the tank floor and the tank itself from damage in the event of a collision. East Japan Railway and Hitachi are to sell anonymised statistical data on users of Suica smart ticketing to ...
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NewsZhengzhou to Hamburg freight train arrives
INTERNATIONAL: An inaugural freight from Zhengzhou in China arrived at Hamburg-Billwerder yard in Germany on August 2. The train was operated on behalf of Zhengzhou International Land Port Development & Construction Co, with DB Schenker responsible for the logistics services outside China. The 10 214 km route through China, Kazakhstan, ...
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NewsDetroit streetcar construction contract awarded
USA: Project promoter M-1 Rail Corp selected Stacy & Witbeck as construction manager and general contractor for the M-1 light rail project in Detroit, it was announced on July 31. The company beat four other bidders. Also known as the Woodward Avenue Streetcar, the 5·3 km line would run ...
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NewsOregon unveils Talgo trainset
USA: The first of two 13-car Talgo America trainsets bought by the state of Oregon was unveiled at a ceremony in Eugene on July 26. Oregon's two Series 8 trainsets will join five existing Talgo trainsets operated by Amtrak on the Cascades corridor between Eugene, Portland, Seattle and Vancouver in ...
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NewsBratislava orders more Škoda Transportation trams
SLOVAKIA: Bratislava transport authority DPB placed a €36·8m firm order for 15 Škoda Transportation Type 29T trams on July 31. This is an option on a €39m contract for an initial 15 Type 30T cars which was signed on July 18. The Type 29T will be a unidirectional version of ...
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NewsTrams on test in Samara
RUSSIA: The first six of eight BKM-62103 trams being supplied to Samara by Belarusian manufacturer Belkommunmash are now on test in the city. Each tram is required to run for at least 100 km before being accepted for service. The 1 524 mm gauge single-section 40% low-floor cars are expected ...
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NewsFeature articles in the August 2013 issue of Railway Gazette International
Comment Learning to live with competition News Main Line Urban Rail Market Industry Innovations Analysis Derailment triggered by loose fishplate UIC approves standardisation strategy DB must separate, says report What price safety? Suppliers need an open market China & Southeast Asia Squaring the triangle Two ...
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NewsPRASA fleet renewal black economic empowerment partners announced
SOUTH AFRICA: Transport Minister Dipuo Peters named the broad-based black economic empowerment partners selected to participate in Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa's 20-year commuter rolling stock renewal programme on August 1. The B-BBEE organisations will hold a stake of 30% in the Gibela Rail Transportation consortium of Alstom and ...
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NewsLease deal funds hybrid shunting locomotive trial
GERMANY: A project to demonstrate the performance and long-term operating costs of diesel-battery hybrid shunting locomotives in daily service was launched by Deutsche Bahn, Alstom, DAL Deutsche Anlagen-Leasing and the Land of Bayern on August 1. Alstom's Stendal plant is to build five H3 three-axle shunting locomotives for DAL, which ...
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NewsCharlotte starts work on Blue Line extension
USA: A groundbreaking ceremony was held on July 18 for the extension of Charlotte’s LYNX Blue Line. The 15 km extension will link Center City with the University of North Carolina campus via North Davidson, adding 11 stops and almost doubling the length of the Blue Line when it opens ...
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NewsMercosur to fund Uruguay rail upgrade
URUGUAY: The Mercosur trading block of South American countries is to make US$83·5m of ‘structural convergence’ funding available to improve freight transport between Uruguay and Argentina, under an agreement signed in Montevideo on July 11. This will go towards a US$127·3m project to upgrade railway infrastructure between Piedra Sola and ...