Main line rail industry news – Page 811
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NewsCFR Marfa privatisation bids invited
ROMANIA: The Ministry of Transport formally advertised the sale of a 51% stake in national rail freight operator CFR Marfa on April 5. The starting price is 797m lei. Documentation will be available from April 9, with preliminary and non-binding offers to be submitted by April 23. The prequalified bidders ...
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NewsRoy Hill railway contract awarded
AUSTRALIA: Construction of the proposed 342 km railway to serve the Roy Hill iron ore mine in the Pilbara region of Western Australia is on course for completion by November 2015, following the award of an A$5·9bn contract to Samsung C&T. Under the deal, South Korea’s second largest construction company ...
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NewsHigh speed track and electrification contract awarded
MOROCCO: A consortium of Colas Rail, local subsidiary Colas Rail Maroc and Egis Rail has been awarded a design and build contract covering track, overhead electrification and facilities at two work sites on the 183 km high speed line being built between Tanger and Kénitra Announcing the contract on April ...
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NewsPanamá metro trainset on test in Barcelona
PANAMA: A Metropolis trainset built for Line 1 of the Panamá City metro by Alstom Transport at its Santa Perpètua de Mogoda plant in Spain has begun eight weeks of traction, braking and endurance trials on the FGC network in Barcelona. Based at FGC’s Rubí depot, the trainset is being ...
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NewsManuel Niño
Manuel Niño has been appointed Secretary General of Infrastructure at Spain’s Ministry of Development, while his former post as Director General of Railways has been filled by Miguel Pozo.
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NewsChengdu aims to complete 291 km of metro by 2020
CHINA: The second phase of the Chengdu metro network which was approved on February 25 would see a further 183·3 km of line completed by 2020. Together with the Phase 1 works still in progress, this would take the network to 291·3 route-km and eight lines. Line 1 will be ...
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NewsFRA assesses Northeast Corridor upgrading options
USA: The Federal Railroad Administration issued on April 2 a Preliminary Alternatives Report to mark the start of the Department of Transportation’s formal study of options to develop the Boston – New York – Washington Northeast Corridor. FRA says its report, entitled ‘NEC Future’, is the first step to developing ...
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NewsRegioJet awarded pilot Czech operating contract
CZECH REPUBLIC: The Ministry of Transport announced on March 26 that it had awarded private operator RegioJet a contract to run subsidised passenger services on the 144 km Ostrava - Opava - Krnov - Olomouc route for 15 years from December 2014. This is intended as the pilot for the ...
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NewsMetLife invests in IEP
UK: MetLife Inc, a US-based provider of insurance and pensions products, announced on April 4 that it had acquired a minority stake in Agility Trains West Ltd for an undisclosed sum. This consortium was formed by Hitachi Rail Europe and John Laing Investments to supply and maintain a fleet of ...
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NewsTanger - Kénitra high speed line signalling contract signed
MOROCCO: National railway ONCF has awarded a consortium of Ansaldo STS France and Cofely Ineo a €120m contract to design and supply signalling and telecoms for the 183 km high speed line under construction between Tanger and Kénitra. Consortium leader Ansaldo STS is to provide ETCS Level 1 and 2 ...
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NewsPowerHaul fuel savings demonstrated
UK: GE Transportation has published the results of a series of back-to-back fuel consumption comparisons between its Class 70 PowerHaul locomotive and the GM-EMD Class 66. This follows a study on improving the fuel efficiency of diesel traction undertaken by Ricardo for the Department for Transport. Ricardo put forward a ...
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NewsHuawei to provide GSM-R in South Africa
SOUTH AFRICA: Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa has awarded a consortium of Huawei and local partner Altech Alcom Matomo a R485m contract to equip 1 200 km of commuter routes in Cape Town, Durban and Gauteng with GSM-R communications. The contract signed on March 28 covers the provision of ...
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NewsRJ Corman Signaling launched
USA: Short line operator and railway construction, maintenance and repair contractor RJ Corman Railroad Group has entered the signalling design and supply market with the creation of RJ Corman Signaling. 'Work on the Nicholasville, Kentucky, facility is nearing completion', said Mike Wilson, Vice-President of the new subsidiary. 'We have identified ...
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NewsArriva RP awarded Kujawsko-Pomorskie contracts
POLAND: Kujawsko-Pomorskie voivodship has awarded Arriva RP two contracts covering the provision of regional passenger services on around two-thirds of the electrified routes in the voivodship. Arriva RP already operates the non-electrified routes under a 10-year contract signed in 2009. The latest contracts run for two years from the December ...
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NewsStrukton Rail increases stake in CLF
ITALY: Strukton Rail announced its intention to increase its stake in Italian railway construction, maintenance and renewals contractor CLF from 40% to 60% on March 30. Unieco holds the remaining 40% stake in CLF, which has 500 employees and reported turnover of €121m in 2012. Strukton Rail has been ...
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NewsDSB reshuffle
DSB’s Commercial Director Gert Frost has resigned following the Danish state-owned passenger operator’s decision to streamline all operational activities under one director. His responsibilities will be taken over by Susanne Mørch Koch (photo), who will in turn pass on the management of long-distance and regional services to Director of Commuter ...
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NewsTokyo Metro inaugurates Shibuya connection
JAPAN: Through services between the metro networks in Tokyo and Yokohama began running on March 16, with the inauguration of a new connection between Tokyo Metro’s Fukutoshin Line and Toku Railway’s Toyoko Line at Shibuya in the southwest of the capital. Opened in 2008, the 1 067 mm gauge Fukutoshin ...
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NewsQueensland coal railway terms agreed
AUSTRALIA: Aurizon and GVK Hancock have signed non-binding terms for the development of a 495 km standard gauge railway and associated port infrastructure capable of handling 60 mtpa which would enable the exploitation of coal reserves in Queensland’s Galilee Basin. Last year GVK Hancock received primary environmental approvals for the ...
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NewsMetro Line 2 opens in Santo Domingo
DOMINICAN REPUBLIC: President Danilo Medina inaugurated the second line of the Santo Domingo metro on April 1. Line 2 runs on an east-west alignment from María Montez to Eduardo Brito. The 12·8 km line has 14 stations, including an interchange with the north-south Line 1 at Juan Pablo Duarte. ...
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NewsDB orders Twindexx Vario EMUs for Main-Spessart services
GERMANY: Bombardier Transportation announced a €113m firm order to supply Deutsche Bahn with 12 four-car Twindexx Vario electric multiple units on April 2. The contract has been placed within a December 2008 framework agreement. The latest batch of double-deck EMUs are to be used on Main-Spessart services between Bamberg, Würzburg, ...