Main line rail industry news – Page 1435
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News
Sale delayed
AS BIDDING was about to close on the sale of Australian National, the federal finance ministry announced on June 20 that privatisation would be delayed by a month. The Office of Asset Sales had shortlisted 15 bidders, who were given until July 31 to submit offers for AN’s freight operations ...
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Land Rover becomes rail rover
All-terrain vehicles from Land Rover are now also able to run on railway track. Conversion work carried out by Permaquip includes fitting Fairmont Tamper Series 1000 Hy-Rail gear, enabling Road/Rail Land Rovers to operate on-rail at up to 32 km/h.Versions available include a general purpose pickup truck, personnel carrier, welders ...
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Financing closer
A DM2·8bn funding package for reconstruction of German Railway's Sachsenmagistrale main line linking Hof with Dresden and Leipzig will be agreed later this year, according to the Parliamentary Secretary to the Federal Transport Minister, Johannes Nitsch. He told Sachsen Economics Secretary Dr Wolfgang Zeller on June 9 that the funds ...
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TARES accord
NORFOLK SOUTHERN and the US-based intermodal specialist ContainerPort Group have set up a joint venture with Cemat of Italy, Swiss piggyback operator Hupac and Intercontainer-Interfrigo to provide seamless transport services between Europe and North America. The five have formed Trans Atlantic Rail Express (Tares), a marketing alliance which will combine ...
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NorthRail agreement soon
CONSTRUCTION of the electrified rail link between Manila and the former US Clark Air Base is expected to get under way before the end of next month, according to Philippines Transportation & Communications Secretary Arturo Enrile. He announced on June 17 that Philippine National Railways and North Luzon Railway Corp ...
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CalTrain boost
BIDS ARE due by September 17 for supply of up to 20 double-deck gallery cars for the CalTrain commuter rail line, including five cab control vehicles. Each must have a wheelchair lift and disabled-accessible toilet. The Peninsula Corridor Joint Powers Board has $30m to buy additional vehicles to ...
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Refurbishment deal
BANGLADESH Railways diesel 2410 was rolled-out of the company’s Central Locomotive Works at Parbatipur on June 2, marking a milestone in a loco maintenance programme being funded by the Canadian International Development Agency. BR Director-General M A Manaf and Canadian High Commissioner Nicholas Etheridge participated in the ceremony to mark ...
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Central Asia link accord
REPRESENTATIVES from China, Kirgizistan and Uzbekistan signed an agreement in the Uzbek capital Toshkent in June for a technical and economic feasibility study into construction of a rail link into western China. According to Uzbek Vice-Premier Rustam Junussows, the three countries also signed an accord on the management of ...
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Northeast night trains revamped
AMTRAK introduced significant changes on July 10 to NortheastDirect services on the Boston - Washington DC - Newport News corridor. Improvements included the relaunch of the Night Owl as the Twilight Shoreliner, an overnight Boston - Washington DC service now including a new Viewliner sleeping car and a first class ...
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Renfe spreads the risk
IN A BID to introduce new rolling stock without incurring further debt, while opening up the railway to market forces in a controlled manner, Spanish National Railways has decided to form ’train service provision’ ventures with manufacturers. A joint venture would lease vehicles from its parent manufacturer and operate them ...
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Guangzhou Line 1 opened
THE 5·4 km Xilang - Huangsha section of Guangzhou metro Line 1 and five stations were formally inaugurated on June 28, as part of the celebrations for the return of Hong Kong to Chinese sovereignty two days later. City and government officials were joined by representatives from the European and ...
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GE repowers Russian-built 2TE10s in Kazakstan
INTRO: Almaty Railway and West Kazakstan Railway are acquiring 32 repowering kits from Erie to upgrade unreliable dieselsAgeing Type 2TE10 locomotives in Kazakstan are suffering poor availability, mainly due to engine and associated parts performance. General Electric of Erie, Pennsylvania, is providing 32 kits of 7FDL12 engines, plus traction alternator, ...
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Second concession awarded
On June 26 the Mexican government accepted the bid by Grupo Ferroviario Mexicano SA for a 50-year concession to run the Ferrocarril Pacifico - Norte. As expected, GFM was the sole bidder, offering 4·197bn pesos for the 6200 km network and the Ojinaga - Topolobampo section of the Chihuahua - ...
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Island network
RARELY today are railway investment projects justified solely as tools for regional development. Even rarer are ones as ambitious as the 2000 km network proposed on the Philip-pine island of Mindanao. Despite the considerable problems afflicting PNR’s main lines on Luzon, the government rightly believes that rail can play a ...
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SNCB to renew diesel fleet
Belgian National Railways is to purchase a fleet of 80 two-car diesel multiple-units for its non-electrified secondary routes. SNCB’s Board of Directors decided on June 27 to award the contract to GEC Alsthom Transporte of Spain, following a Europe-wide bidding process which started in January 1996.To be delivered in 1999-2002, ...
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PR turned over
THREATS to put Pakistan Railways through the mill of change were imple-mented last month when the cabinet ruled that PR be separated from the railway ministry and its management board replaced. The announcement was timed to coincide with the start of a new financial year and marked the opening of ...
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RDC to revive Guatemala Railways
ON JUNE 6 the government of Guatemala awarded a 50 year concession for the restoration, reopening and operation of the country's 914mm gauge national rail network to Compañía Desarrolladora Ferroviaria SA, an affiliate of Pittsburgh-based Railroad Development Corp. The government will receive 5% of gross income for the first two ...
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Market
Australia: Ove Arup & Partners is to study options for a 40 km rail link to serve the coastal resorts of Caloundra and Maroochydore north of Brisbane.Austria: ÖBB has ordered 1314 electronic door mechanisms from Faiveley, which is also supplying 120 doors to LHB for LINT railcars being built for ...
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Flexible Thalys supplements
WITH the aim of making Thalys services more accessible to passengers travelling between the Netherlands and Belgium, a Flexi Supplement valid for two months is available until December 13. With the new product, passengers holding full-fare international tickets can board a Thalys service where the train manager will allocate them ...
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Coruña tramway
JUNE saw the inauguration of a 4 km tramway in the Spanish city of A Coruña, linking the castle of San Antón and the Tower of Hercules. A 15min interval service is provided by two ’heritage’ trams built in the 1920s which have been rebuilt by CAF at Zaragoza.The line ...