Main line rail industry news – Page 865
-
NewsInter-city EMUs being commissioned for Euro 2012
UKRAINE: National railway UZ has started driver training and commissioning runs with three of the 10 HRCS2 inter-city electric multiple-units being supplied by Hyundai Rotem. The next unit is expected to arrive in mid-May, with the four scheduled to enter revenue service in time for the Euro ...
-
NewsSteelRiver to buy short line group Patriot Rail Corp
USA: Infrastructure investor SteelRiver Infrastructure Partners announced an agreement to acquire short line group Patriot Rail Corp on May 8. Patriot was formed in 2006 and now has 13 US short lines totalling 800 route-km in 13 states. 'Patriot is a highly complementary asset to our existing investment portfolio', said ...
-
NewsKeolis to operate Hyderabad metro
INDIA: Keolis announced on May 9 that it had been awarded a €300m contract by Larsen & Toubro Metro Rail to operate the driverless elevated metro now under construction in Hyderabad. The contract is for a term of eight years with a three-year extension option. The first 7 km of ...
-
NewsQR plans ETCS Level 2 for Brisbane suburban network
AUSTRALIA: Queensland Rail requested expressions of interest on May 9 for the supply of European Train Control System Level 2 lineside and onboard equipment for its South East Queensland electrified suburban network. According to the tender documents, QR is seeking ‘to improve operational safety, improve the capacity ...
-
NewsMon-Hua coal line construction gets the go-ahead
CHINA: The National Development & Reform Commission has approved construction of the 1837 km Mongolia – Huazhong railway to carry coal from Ordos in Inner Mongolia south to Ji’an in Jiangxi via Yulin, Yan’an, Yuncheng, Sanmenxia, Nanyang, Xiangfan, Jingmen and Yuyang. Capacity on the north–south Mon-Hua line will start at ...
-
NewsTrains ordered for Tehran - Mashhad electrification project
IRAN: Wagon Pars has received a contract to design and manufacture 300 passenger vehicles for use on the Tehran - Mashhad route, which is now being electrified. The order covers seating, sleeping and dining cars suitable for speeds up to 200 km/h. Wagon Pars is also negotiating to produce electric ...
-
NewsEtihad Rail to serve Jebel Ali Port
UAE: Proposals for the construction of an intermodal rail terminal at Dubai’s Jebel Ali Port were confirmed on May 8, when Etihad Rail signed a Memorandum of Understanding with port developer DP World. The agreement was signed by Etihad Rail Chairman Nasser Al Sowaidi and Chairman of DP World Sultan ...
-
NewsKTZ pledges to improve knowledge
KAZAKHSTAN: State railway Kazakhstan Temir Zholy has announced plans to offer additional training to 10000 employees over the next eight years. The focus will be on effective management skills, key to bringing extensive modernisation of the country’s railways to completion. Modular courses, led by rail industry experts and tutors from ...
-
NewsGreen signals
NEW ZEALAND: KiwiRail has installed a small hydroelectric plant and solar panels to power signals and lighting at the Tiroroa passing loop. The equipment replaces two diesel generators. These started automatically as a train approached, but the isolated site is only accessible by rail and KiwiRail wanted an alternative to ...
-
NewsVirtual reality planning
UK: Network Rail is using high-definition video and partial three-dimensional virtual reality desktop signal sighting software developed by Gioconda to plan the locations of signals and gantries for the northwest electrification project. The tool helps to ensure signals are located for maximum visibility, and electrification masts will not obstruct existing ...
-
NewsRailway supply industry news in brief
Vossloh MFL Rail Milling has been established as a joint venture between Vossloh Rail Services and Maschinenfabrik Liezen und Giesserei. The companies plan to launch proprietary mobile rail milling technology, which VRS says will offer higher working speeds, an increase in material removal per pass and a superior rail surface. ...
-
NewsPesa to establish tram assembly plant in Kazakhstan
KAZAKHSTAN: Polish rolling stock manufacturer Pesa Bydgoszcz signed a letter of intent to establish a tram assembly facility in Pavlodar when a delegation from the city's development agency visited its twin town of Bydgoszcz during April. An initial two low-floor trams based on Pesa's Twist family adapted to 1 524 ...
-
NewsFEVE to disappear
SPAIN: Under the 2012 national reform programme approved by the Spanish cabinet on April 27, metre gauge operator FEVE is to be spilt into infrastructure and train operating functions that would then be absorbed by their counterparts on the national network, ADIF and RENFE. This is expected to improve efficiency ...
-
NewsHalfway there
BRAZIL: Last month Odebrecht Infraestructura was due to begin tracklaying at Serra Talhada in the state of Pernambuco, where it is upgrading the Recife – Salgueiro route as part of the Transnordestina project. With work finished between Salgueiro and Verdejantes, and nearing completion around São José do Belmonte, some ...
-
NewsSemmering base tunnel ground-breaking
AUSTRIA: A ground-breaking ceremony was held at Gloggnitz on April 25 to officially launch preliminary construction works for the 27·3 km Semmering base tunnel. Opening is planned for 2024. The €3·1bn base tunnel between Gloggnitz and Mürzzuschlag is a key part of the 'new Südbahn' project. It will eliminate the ...
-
NewsVTG launches EcoFret wagon at Multimodal 2012
UK: A prototype three-section flat wagon designed specifically to carry 40 ft deep-sea containers was unveiled by European wagon leasing group VTG Rail at the Multimodal 2012 show in Birmingham on May 2. The close-coupled three-platform vehicle can carry a single 40 ft container on each of the outer platforms ...
-
NewsSuzhou metro Line 1 opens
CHINA: The first metro line in Suzhou opened on April 28, with a ribbon-cutting ceremony and simultaneous departures from the Zhongnan Jie and Mudu termini at 11.18. Suzhou Rail Transit Co's Line 1 runs 25·7 km from east to west with 24 stations. Systra undertook planning work, Siemens and Nanjing ...
-
NewsGCS expands intermodal wagon fleet
RUSSIA: Global Container Service Group has begun taking delivery of 224 flat wagons ordered from Transmashholding's Engels plant. The wagons are to be used on block trains operated by GCS intermodal subsidiary Ruscon, which moves almost 150 000 TEU a year on routes from the Black Sea port of Novorossiysk ...
-
News
Controversy at PR
Having succeeded Muhammad Junaid Qureshi as General Manager, Operations, at Pakistan Railways on March 27, Rana Saeed Akhtar (photo) was arrested two days later on embezzlement and corruption charges. The ongoing investigation into scrap disposal tenders also names Minister for Railways Haji Ghulam Ahmad Bilour and former railways secretary Samiul ...
-
NewsTfL seeks expressions of interest in Crossrail operating concession
UK: Transport for London has placed a notice in the Official Journal of the European Union seeking expressions of interest in the concession to operate future Crossrail services. The concessionaire would start by taking over existing Shenfield - London Liverpool Street services which are expected to be separated from the ...