Main line rail industry news – Page 979
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NewsOpen access operators complain to Europe
POLAND: On February 2, the Federation of Independent Rail Operators ZNPK announced it had filed a complaint with the European Commission alleging that the Polish authorities are infringing the spirit of EU legislation by giving preferential treatment to incumbent freight operator PKP Cargo. ZNPK officials believe that the revised structure ...
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NewsMoscow airport rail passengers take off
RUSSIA: Business class seating will be introduced on the shuttle trains to Moscow Sheremetyevo Airport this month, under an improvement programme which has seen traffic at airport rail link operator Aeroexpress grow by 4% to 6·8 million passenger-journeys over the past year, despite a 6% drop in airport passengers and ...
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NewsTargeted adverts to support free train wi-fi
WI-FI: 'Transport operators want to attract more people to use train and bus services, and offering free wi-fi during a journey is compelling proposition', according to Dave Palmer of Icomera, which has launched a service offering train operators a path for switching from paid to advertising-supported onboard wi-fi services. MoovManage ...
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NewsMexico City improvement plan
MEXICO: Federal District government leader Marcelo Ebrard launched a 10-point Prevention Maintenance Programme on January 14, designed to improve security and upgrade the Mexico City metro network using funds generated by a one peso fare increase. Measures include X-ray machines and metal detectors in 30 stations, more security staff and ...
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NewsTrains running in Yamal
RUSSIA: Gazprom has announced the launch of regular rail operations on the 525 km Obskaya - Bovanenkovo line on the Yamal Peninsula, providing cost-effective and year-round access to one of the largest untapped gas reserves in the country. Work is underway on the final 47 km from Bovanenkovo to Karskaya, ...
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NewsWork starts on Stuttgart 21
GERMANY. Federal Transport Minister Dr Peter Ramsauer and Deutsche Bahn Chairman Dr Rüdiger Grube officiated at an event on February 2 launching the huge Stuttgart 21 project. Together with Baden-Württemburg Ministerpräsident Günther Oettinger, Mayor of Stuttgart Dr Wolfgang Schuster and Director of the Verband Region Stuttgart Jeannette Wopperer, they ...
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NewsReform gets more cash
THAILAND: At the end of December, the cabinet approved plans for restructuring State Railway of Thailand. It also authorised a further 50bn baht of funding, over and above the 100bn baht for double-tracking, locomotive acquisitions and signalling upgrades which had been approved by the Council of Economic Ministers the previous ...
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NewsStuttgart orders 20 Stadler LRVs
GERMANY: Stuttgarter Strassenbahnen AG signed a €77m order for 20 Tango light rail vehicles with Stadler Pankow on January 26. Deliveries will begin in 2012.Comparable to the operator’s existing fleet of DT8 LRVs, delivered since 1985 by various suppliers, the two-section high-floor Tango cars will be 38·6 m long and ...
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NewsVesuvio Est high speed station approved
ITALY: Infrastructure manager RFI announced on January 22 that it had selected the Italian-Belgian group Phlippe Samyn & Partners to design and build the proposed Vesuvio Est high speed station on the Napoli - Salerno route. To be financed entirely with European funding, the new station is expected to ...
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NewsBilbao rebuilding plan
SPAIN: The Ministry of Development has unveiled plans to rebuild Bilbao Abando station for high speed services, placing tracks underground in order to free up 85000 m2 of land for redevelopment in the city centre. There would be eight 1435 mm gauge tracks on the lowest level of the ...
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NewsTransit City LRT groundbreaking
CANADA: A groundbreaking ceremony was held on December 21 for the 14 km Sheppard East light rail route in Toronto, the first of seven Transit City projects to get underway. Starting from the existing Don Mills terminus of the Sheppard subway, the line will run east along Sheppard Avenue to ...
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NewsMetro-North Railroad M-8s on show
USA: The first two-car set of M-8 EMUs for Metro-North Railroad's New Haven Line went on public display for the first time on December 24. The State of Connecticut is paying almost $700m for 300 vehicles to replace the oldest cars in the existing fleet and expand capacity. In addition, ...
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NewsConstruction control
SWITZERLAND: Transtec Gotthard has awarded Funkwerk Information Technologies a seven-year contract worth in excess of SFr8m covering automatic location detection and train control equipment for construction trains in and around the Gotthard base tunnel. The equipment is based on Funkwerk's AlisterCargo electronic interlocking, which is already in use in a ...
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NewsObama names inter-city rail projects to share $8bn
USA: President Obama announced the high speed and inter-city rail projects which will share $8bn of federal funding during a visit to Tampa, Florida, on January 28. States and local communities were able to compete for the money which was announced in April 2009 as part of the American Recovery ...
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NewsHeavy haul hand over
SWEDEN: The first of a second batch of Bombardier Transportation IORE 2 x 5·4 MW twin-unit electric locomotives was handed over to the Malmtrafik i Kiruna AB heavy haul rail subsidiary of mining firm LKAB on January 26. Nine similar locomotives delivered in 2000-04 are now hauling iron ore trains ...
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NewsHunter Valley loco and wagon orders
AUSTRALIA: QR announced A$126m of orders for locomotives and wagons on January 28, to support Hunter Valley coal haulage contracts awarded by Peabody Energy Australia and Felix Resources. UGL Ltd is to supply 15 Class 5020 C44ACHi diesel locomotives between December 2010 and May 2011 at a cost of A$93m, ...
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NewsRecession-hit wagon deal is revised
USA: The Greenbrier Companies and General Electric Railcar Services have reached an agreement to reduce an order for 11900 tank and hopper wagons which was signed in 2007 when trade was booming, but which GERS sought to cut back once the recession hit demand. The contract has been reduced to ...
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NewsConstruction of Afghan railway launched
AFGHANISTAN: A ceremony on January 22 marked the start of construction of a 75 km rail link from Uzbekistan to the city of Mazar-i-Sharif in northern Afghanistan. The line is being built by Uzbek national railway UTY, which said it will be 'a vivid testimony to the friendly relations between ...
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NewsFujian gets to work
CHINA: A 275 km railway paralleling the coast between Fuzhou and Xiamen in Fujian province opened for freight traffic on December 31, and 200 km/h passenger services are expected to follow in April. The line has 18 stations and has been designed for speeds of up to 250 km/h. Fujian ...
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NewsGenève chooses the Tango
SWITZERLAND: Genève public transport operator TPG has placed an order worth SFr154m for 32 Stadler Tango trams. The contract includes two options for a further 14 and 10 vehicles.The bi-directional six-section vehicles will be 44 m long and 2 300 mm wide with a capacity of 261 passengers, including 88 ...