Main line rail industry news – Page 319
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NewsOpenings expand Chinese high speed rail network
CHINA: The 313 km Xuzhou – Yancheng Passenger-Dedicated Line opened on December 16. It has nine stations and is designed for 250 km/h operation, reducing the fastest journey times from 3 h 51 min on the conventional line to 1 h 31 min on the PDL. The ...
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NewsCroatian cut-off line opened
CROATIA: Prime Minister Andrej Plenković inaugurated the 12·2 km Gradec – Sveti Ivan Žabno cut-off line with a ceremony on December 16, the day after the start of revenue services on the first new line to be built in Croatia for 52 years. ...
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NewsVinkovci – Vukovar electrification contract signed
CROATIA: The contract for modernisation, resignalling, electrification, level crossing upgrading and station modernisation on the Vinkovci – Vukovar line was signed by HŽ Infra, Comsa SA and Comsa Instalaciones Y Sistemas Industriales SA in Vukovar on December 20. The 18·7 km line connects the Zagreb – Vinkovci ...
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NewsWorld rail freight news round-up
TX Logistik changed the Italian terminal of its Leipzig – Verona service from Quadrante Europa to Sommacampagna-Sona from December 15. ‘In Sommacampagna-Sona we are the sole customer for intermodal traffic’, said Norbert Rekers, Regional Director, Central Intermodal Europe. ‘We expect short waiting times and optimised parking spaces.’ ...
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NewsTrenitalia signs Calabria operating contract
ITALY: A passenger operating contract running to 2032 was signed by the Calabria region and national operator Trenitalia on December 11. The agreement provides for expenditure of €300m in the region during the contract period. This includes the €210·2m purchase of 27 Alstom Coradia Stream Pop multiple-units ...
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NewsUnion Pacific completes Positive Train Control implementation
USA: Union Pacific has completed the implementation of Positive Train Control on all sections of its network where federal rules require the safety system to be deployed. ‘PTC is one of the biggest rail industry breakthroughs, designed to keep our crews and communities safer through technology’, said ...
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NewsPopular Landscape Railway In Switzerland rack EMUs ordered
SWITZERLAND: Metre-gauge railway group BVZ Holding has awarded Stadler a SFr45m contract to supply five two-car Abt rack EMUs for use on its 9·4 km Gornergrat mountain railway from 2021. The units will be branded Polaris, derived from POpular LAndscape Railway In Switzerland. The follows the ...
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NewsYibin – Guiyang Passenger-Dedicated Line opens
CHINA: The 372 km Yibin – Guiyang Passenger-Dedicated Line opened on December 16. It has 11 stations and is designed for 250 km/h operation. This completes the 648 km Chengdu – Guiyang line, following the opening of the initial Chengdu – Leshan section ...
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NewsFreight coalition publishes Contingency Management handbook
EUROPE: In a bid to avoid the widespread disruption to international rail traffic which occurred following the tunnel collapse at Rastatt in August 2017, and to provide greater resilience for commercially sensitive traffic, a coalition of rail freight operators and industry associations has put together a Contingency ...
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NewsTenders called to rebuild San Sebastián station
SPAIN: Tenders were issued on December 12 for reconstruction of the main line station in San Sebastián as part of the ‘Basque Y’ high speed programme. The result will be the partial integration of the existing station with the adjacent, underground, bus station, and the incorporation in the finished complex ...
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NewsGo-Ahead takes over Norway’s first tendered services
NORWAY: The first service to be taken over by the private sector as part of the government’s passenger rail tendering programme left Stavanger for Oslo at 06.47 on December 15. National rail authority Jernbanedirektoratet awarded UK-based international transport group Go-Ahead the Lot 1 Sør contract in ...
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NewsRailway supply industry news round-up
Wagon leasing company Ermewa has restructured and refinanced its group debt through a combination of multicurrency secured bank debt and US private placement notes for a total value of circa €1·5bn. It was advised by Watson Farley & Williams, which said it was a ‘complex, high-value transaction, ...
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NewsHitachi Rail STS wins LGV Sud-Est interlocking contract
FRANCE: Infrastructure manager SNCF Réseau has selected Hitachi Rail STS to supply new interlockings for the modernisation of LGV Sud-Est between Paris and Lyon.
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NewsMinisters inaugurate Tel Aviv – Jerusalem through service
ISRAEL: To mark the start of regular electric through services between Tel Aviv Hahagana and Jerusalem Navon via the A1 fast line on December 21, Israel Railways operated its first passenger-carrying train on December 18.
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NewsBattery-electric multiple-unit financing agreed
GERMANY: Mittelsachsen transport authority ZVMS has reached an agreement for an order for 11 battery multiple-units to be financed by mandated lead arranger KfW IPEX-Bank with Nord/LB and Deutsche Kreditbank. The financing package is worth €49m and has a term of 22 years. The order is expected ...
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NewsEtihad Rail heads northeast as Package D awarded
UAE: National railway developer Etihad Rail has awarded the fourth major contract for its Stage Two expansion programme to a joint venture of China Railway Construction Corp and local partner National Projects & Construction. Valued at 4·6bn dinars, the Package D contract covers the ...
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NewsUkraine announces private freight haulage pilot project
UKRAINE: The cabinet has approved plans for a pilot project which would allow private sector companies to haul freight trains on selected sections of the national network. On December 4 Minister of Infrastructure Vladislav Krikli said this could help address a shortage of locomotives at national railway ...
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NewsTrenitalia and Campania region sign operating agreement
ITALY: National operator Trenitalia has signed a 2019-33 service contract with the Campania region which includes plans to invest €680m to improve services. Trenitalia will provide €209m and the region €180m for the purchase and commissioning of 37 trainsets, which are to be delivered from 2020 under ...
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NewsElectrification of Tirol rail network completed
AUSTRIA: ÖBB-Infrastruktur has completed electrification of the 14·4 km section of the Ausserfernbahn between Reutte and Schönbichl on the German border. This completes the electrification of the standard gauge network in the Land of Tirol. The 15 kV 16·7 Hz electrification project included ...
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NewsReform of rail passengers’ rights under discussion
UK: The general approach to reform of Regulation 1371/2007 on rail passengers’ rights has been agreed by the Council of the European Union, which brings together ministers from member states. The Council and the European Parliament will now negotiate the final text, which would be applicable two ...