Main line rail industry news – Page 279
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NewsBowen Rail prepares to haul Carmichael coal
AUSTRALIA: Queensland-based Bowen Rail Company has applied to the Office of the National Rail Safety Regulator for accreditation as a train operating company, having already started the procurement of locomotives and wagons. Describing itself as a ‘next-generation rail business, created to transport Queensland’s high quality resources ...
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NewsVectron locomotives approved for operation in Denmark
DENMARK: The first three of 42 Siemens Mobility Vectron AC electric locomotives ordered by national passenger operator DSB are expected to be delivered this month, after the Transport, Construction & Housing Authority granted approval for operation in Denmark on September 15. The 6·4 ...
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NewsFRA approvals pave way for Texas high speed line construction
USA: Construction of the Texas Central high speed line linking Houston with Dallas is expected to start in the coming months following completion of the regulatory approval process. This concluded on September 21 when the Federal Railroad Administration released a pre-publication version of its final Rule ...
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NewsOuigo España sets date to launch Falbalá
SPAIN: High speed open access services between Madrid and Barcelona under the Falbalá brand are now expected to be launched on March 15 2021. The launch had originally been planned for December this year, but was delayed by the Covid-19 pandemic. Announcing the new date on September ...
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NewsLegal dispute over aborted NRZ investment plan
ZIMBABWE: National Railways of Zimbabwe’s decision to terminate a US$400m recapitalisation agreement is being challenged in court by the Diaspora Infrastructure Development Group, which is seeking damages worth US$236m. In mid-September, DIDG instructed its lawyers to sue NRZ and Transport Minister Joel Biggie Matiza following the termination ...
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NewsSighișoara – Brașov route modernisation contract awarded
ROMANIA: National railway CFR SA has awarded the Asocierea RailWorks consortium of Alstom and civil and railway works partners Aktor, Arcada and Euroconstruct the Lot 2 Caţa – Apaţa contract to modernise a 28 km section of the 128 km Sighișoara – Brașov route. Consortium leader Alstom’s ...
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NewsEU ministers commit to foster freight corridors
EUROPE: EU transport ministers endorsed a formal declaration in Berlin on September 21 committing them to ‘support international rail freight and further strengthen the Rail Freight Corridors’. Acknowledging that the Rail Freight Corridors had ‘proven to be very effective in developing common measures facilitating the enhancement of ...
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NewsEffiShunter 1600 broad gauge fleet expands
UKRAINE: Czech manufacturer CZ Loko has unveiled the first of four 1 520 mm gauge EffiShunter 1600 Co-Co diesel-electric locomotives which were ordered by steelmaker ArcelorMittal Kryvyi Rih in July 2019. The 123-tonne centre-cab locomotives are heavily rebuilt from ČKD-built CME3 locos, have 1 000 kW CAT ...
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NewsInnoTrans goes digital with 2021 event preview
INNOTRANS: A virtual foretaste of the InnoTrans 2021 trade fair is being offered by the InnoTrans Preview, which organiser Messe Berlin is holding during the week when the global railway industry’s biggest event would normally have been happening. The Preview includes more than 60 company and product ...
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NewsTrans-Europ-Express renaissance proposed
EUROPE: A network of international long-distance high speed passenger services spanning much of western Europe could be launched by 2025 if proposals announced by Germany’s Federal Minister for Transport Andreas Scheuer at a virtual conference of Europe’s transport ministers on September 21 are taken forward. The proposals ...
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NewsLNVG orders more double-deck coaches
GERMANY: Niedersachsen transport authority LNVG has awarded Bombardier Transportation an contract to supply a further 12 Twindexx Vario double-deck intermediate coaches and two driving cars. Scheduled to enter service on routes to Hamburg from autumn 2022, the coaches will be equipped with CCTV, ...
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NewsSerbia – Montenegro line upgrade planning agreement
SERBIA: A €21m agreement to develop conceptual designs and prepare documentation for the planned modernisation of the 210 km line from Valjevo to Vrbnica and the border with Montenegro was signed by infrastructure manager Infra ZS and Russian Railways subsidiary RZD International on September 21. Trains on ...
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NewsEuropean digital automatic coupler deployment planned by 2030
EUROPE: A memorandum of understanding committing to the EU-wide deployment of a digital automatic coupler by 2030 was signed by representatives of the European rail freight sector on September 18. The signatories said Europe was ‘trailing the world’ as ‘the last continent to use standard manual couplers’. ...
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NewsMazzola to succeed Lochman at CER
EUROPE: Alberto Mazzola was elected as the next Executive Director of the Community of European Railway & Infrastructure Companies at the CER General Assembly on September 21.
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NewsStaff invited to design TGV M livery
FRANCE: With the first SNCF’s next-generation TGV M power cars and trailers taking shape at Alstom’s factories in Belfort and La Rochelle respectively, the operator and its supplier have invited their staff to come up with a design for the livery of the two test trains.
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NewsKeolis Downer to run Adelaide suburban network
AUSTRALIA: Keolis Downer has been awarded an A$2·1bn contract to operate the 122 km Adelaide Metro suburban rail network for eight years from the end of January 2021, with an optional four-year extension.
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NewsProcessing track survey data
USA: Image processing specialist Ardenna has launched its cloud-based Rail-Inspector system for monitoring the condition of track and infrastructure assets using aerial survey images. Rail-Inspector is designed to process survey images and generate quantifiable track condition that can support data-driven maintenance decisions. It identifies and measures railway ...
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NewsWagons to reduce grain delivery costs
RUSSIA: This month Eskom-Agro will take delivery of a batch of United Wagon Co Type 19-9549 hopper wagons which are being financed by RSHB Leasing. Designed to transport a wide range of grain and grain mill products, the wagons have 25 tonne axleload bogies and a capacity ...
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NewsWarszawa – Vilnius passenger service to launch next year
EUROPE: A letter of intent for the launch of a Warszawa – Vilnius passenger service was signed by the Lithuanian national railway’s passenger business LTG Link and its Polish counterpart PKP Intercity on September 17. The service is expected to start in late 2021, offering a journey ...