Main line rail industry news – Page 109
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NewsTaiwan Railway restructured as state-owned corporation
TAIWAN: Control of the national rail network has been transferred to a newly established Taiwan Railway Corp, as successor to the former Taiwan Railway Administration. Transformation of the railway from a government department into a state-owned corporation had been under discussion since 2002, but was given ...
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NewsUK underwrites financing for another section of Turkish high speed rail network
TURKEY: The UK government’s export credit agency UKEF has agreed to underwrite a €1·03bn loan arranged by Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group for three Turkish companies to construct Turkey’s 140 km long Yerköy – Kayseri route modernisation scheme. UKEF has partnered with export credit agencies from Italy ...
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NewsBari – Bitritto railway opens
ITALY: Revenue passenger services on the newly-built Bari – Bitritto line began on January 9, following an inauguration ceremony the previous day. The standard gauge electrified single-track line is 11·9 km long, with 2·5 km running parallel to the existing Bari – Taranto main line and ...
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NewsKiwiRail orders track inspection car
NEW ZEALAND: KiwiRail has awarded MerMec a contract to supply a replacement track evaluation car. MerMec said the vehicle would provide ‘exhaustive’ real-time track analysis using 12 inspection and measurement systems including lasers, cameras and others sensors. MerMec CEO Luca Necchi Ghiri said the contract announced ...
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NewsÖBB orders the latest evolution of the Mireo EMU family
AUSTRIA: Austrian Federal Railways has placed a firm order for 70 electric multiple-units based on a development of Siemens Mobility’s established Mireo design. The €800m order announced on January 19 is the first to be placed under a €5bn 10-year framework agreement covering up to 540 ...
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NewsNarrow gauge hydrogen trains ordered as operator aims to be ‘modern and sustainable‘
ITALY: Reginal operator Ferrovie della Calabria has awarded Stadler a firm order to supply and maintain a further three 950 mm gauge hydrogen multiple-units. The order announced on January 18 has been placed under a June 2023 framework agreement awarded jointly by FdC and Sardinian transport ...
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NewsAlstom selected for Romanian loco order
ROMANIA: Railway reform authority ARF has named Alstom preferred bidder for a contract to supply 16 four-axle electric locomotives. The announcement was made on January 16, with formal award of the contract subject to a 10-day standstill period. The order worth 767·5m lei+VAT, including 20 ...
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NewsRENFE ticket sales competition commitments made legally binding
SPAIN: Commitments which national train operator RENFE made to address the European Commission’s concerns regarding the supply of data to rival ticketing retailers have been made legally binding under EU antitrust rules. ‘Today’s decision opens up competition in online rail ticketing services in Spain’, said Margrethe ...
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NewsDB Regio places order as Coradia Stream high capacity becomes Coradia Max
GERMANY: DB Regio has ordered nine three-car and nine five-car Alstom Coradia Max partly double-deck electric multiple-units. The announcement of the order on January 18 comes after the Länder of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Schleswig-Holstein and Hamburg awarded DB Regio the contract to operate Ostsee-Alster service RE1 between Hamburg ...
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NewsChanges to EU lorry regulations could hit rail freight
EUROPE: European Commission proposals to revise the Weights & Dimensions Directive covering lorries could have ‘disastrous consequences’ for the rail sector, according to industry associations CER, ERFA, UIC, UIP and UIRR. The Commission has proposed allowing zero-emission lorries and lorries carrying freight which is moved using ...
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NewsInnoTrans 2024 to be more international than ever
INNOTRANS: The InnoTrans 2024 trade fair will be the most international yet, with Messe Berlin reporting that more than 60% of booked exhibitors will come from outside Germany. According to the organiser, more than 99% of the display area covering 42 halls and a total of ...
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NewsFinancing backs CargoBeamer expansion
EUROPE: French private debt manager Flexam Invest Asset Management has financed 40 wagons which CargoBeamer is using to transport non-craneable lorry semi-trailers by rail, principally between Calais and Perpignan. This includes 24 wagons manufactured at a plant which CargoBeamer opened in Erfurt in 2022 to produce ...
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NewsRail Logistics Europe restructures ahead of Fret SNCF breakup
FRANCE: SNCF’s freight and logistics division Rail Logistics Europe has announced a series of leadership changes in preparation for the breakup of Fret SNCF. Following an investigation by the European Commission into potentially illegal state aid for the ailing rail freight operator, the Ministry of Transport ...
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NewsDutch-German cross-border rail connection approved
EUROPE: The German Land of Niedersachsen has approved the start of preliminary works paving the way for the reintroduction of a passenger service on the freight-only line from Neuenhaus to Coevorden in the Netherlands. The Land has applied for federal funding to cover 90% of the ...
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NewsLuzon inter-regional railway study underway
PHILIPPINES: The Department of Transport and the national PPP Center have commissioned Systra and PwC Philippines/Isla Lipana & Co to undertake studies for the North Long Haul Inter-Regional Railway Project.
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NewsRENFE28 management strategy approved
SPAIN: Innovation, digitalisation, boosting public services, leadership in the high speed market, profitability of the freight sector and the improvement of production processes are key objectives outlined in the RENFE28 management strategy which was approved by the national operator’s board on January 12. The four-year plan ...
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NewsWork begins on third Kazakhstan – China railway
KAZAKHSTAN: Prime Minister Alikhan Smailov has formally launched the construction of a third cross-border railway link to China. The 272 km double-track line from Ayagoz to Bakhty and a new border crossing near Tacheng in northern Xinjiang is scheduled to open in 2027. It would connect ...
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NewsGround-penetrating radar helps pre-empt track problems
AUSTRALIA: Queensland Rail and Zetica have begun analysing ground-penetrating radar data to map the condition of unseen parts of the state’s 4 600 km railway network. The GPR equipment was mounted on a Queensland Rail vehicle during a measuring campaign which ran February to April 2023. ...