Main line rail industry news – Page 320
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NewsJR East tests Saphir Odoriko luxury EMUs
JAPAN: East Japan Railway has started driver training with the first of two Series E261 EMUs which are being supplied by Kawasaki Heavy Industries to operate the Super Odoriko service linking Tokyo to the scenic Izu peninsula, where the Fuji-Hakone National Park is famed for its hot springs.
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NewsPortugal’s only private operator sees concession extended
PORTUGAL: On December 12 the government announced its intention to extend until 2024 the public service contract held by private operator Fertagus, which runs suburban trains serving communities on both sides of the river Tagus in Lisboa. The Council of Ministers suggested that the four year, ...
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NewsSecond ERTMS pilot line commissioned
DENMARK: Commercial operation using ETCS Level 2 Baseline 3 has started on Banedanmark’s Roskilde – Køge line in Sjaelland, which forms the second Early Deployment Line for the national Signalling Programme. Alstom is installing ETCS on the eastern half of the national network under the Fjernbane Øst ...
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NewsGailtalbahn electrification goes live
AUSTRIA: Electric passenger services on the 31 km Gailtalbahn route between Arnoldstein and Hermagor in southern Kärnten began with the December 15 timetable change. Work to install the 15 kV 16·7 Hz overhead equipment began in June 2018, as part of a programme to electrify all lines ...
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NewsWabtec opens Indian engineering and technology centre
INDIA: The Wabtec India Engineering & Technology Centre was inaugurated on December 12. The company is investing US$5m in the facility, which will occupy five floors of a building on the ITC Green Campus in Bangalore. This will house engineering teams from across the company’s digital electronics ...
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NewsDesiro Mainline EMUs ordered for Mecklenburg-Vorpommern
GERMANY: Alpha Trains has ordered seven Siemens Mobility Desiro Mainline electric multiple-units which it will lease to Ostdeutsche Eisenbahn. The EMUs are to be used on Ostseeküste-Ost regional services RE9 Rostock – Stralsund – Binz/Sassnitz and RE10 Rostock – Stralsund – Züssow, which are being operated ...
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NewsPesa and PKN Orlen to develop hydrogen fuel cell trains
POLAND: Rolling stock manufacturer Pesa and energy company PKN Orlen signed a letter of intent to develop hydrogen fuel cell trains on December 12. The agreement covers knowledge exchange and testing, with the aim of developing the technology for commercial use in the freight and passenger sectors. ...
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NewsLightweight bogie made from recycled carbon fibre
UK: A prototype passenger vehicle bogie made from recycled carbon fibre was unveiled at the Railway Industry Association’s Unlocking Innovation event at the University of Huddersfield on December 10. The bogie is being developed through a two-year programme being undertaken by a consortium of fibre recycling company ...
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NewsWorld rail freight news round-up
This month SBB Cargo began operating three trains from Feldschlösschen’s brewery at Rheinfelden to Thun, Rickenbach and Crissier. The Rickenbach route is only 40 km, the shortest distance over which Feldschlösschen has switched shipments from road to rail. A Sim Factor training simulator for Newag Dragon ...
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NewsERFA calls for state aid guidelines to be updated
EUROPE: The European Rail Freight Association has called on the new European Commission to modernise the State Aid Guidelines for Railway Undertakings to take into account developments in the 11 years since the current guidelines were created. The organisation which represents new entrants to the freight market ...
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NewsBombardier to refurbish Regina EMUs
SWEDEN: Leasing company AB Transitio has awarded Bombardier Transportation a SKr280m five-year contract for the heavy maintenance and refurbishment of 54 two-car and five three-car Regina regional electric multiple-units. Pre-series refurbishment of the first of the EMUs is expected to be completed by mid-2020, with the rest ...
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NewsRail associations welcome EU Green Deal proposals
EUROPE: Railway industry associations have welcomed the transport sector proposals in the EU Green Deal package outlined by new Commission President Ursula von der Leyen during a plenary session of the European Parliament on December 11.
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NewsStation aims to reduce driving to car factory
GERMANY: A station has been opened with the aim of reducing the use of cars to access the Audi automotive factory in Ingolstadt. ‘The new station is a milestone for public transport in the region and a clear commitment to a sustainable ...
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NewsEasing the strain of working at height
The Paexo Shoulder device was initially aimed at the automotive sector but is now seeing adoption in rail applications where regular overhead work is required. INTERNATIONAL: Medical technology company Ottobock is targeting the rail sector with its Paexo Shoulder exoskeleton tool. Developed under a six-year R&D ...
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NewsUnderstanding fuel cell applications
USA: Having undertaken research into alternative propulsion technologies to support the order for North America’s first commercial hydrogen-powered train, the Center for Railway Research & Education at Michigan State University is to host a seminar on the topic in Long Beach on January 29-31.
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NewsShunting locomotives to be converted to dual-fuel
ESTONIA: State-owned oil shale company Enefit Kaevandused and Latvian technology supplier DiGas have agreed to convert two TEM2 and TEM18 diesel shunting locomotives to diesel and LNG dual-fuel power by mid-2020. Based on testing with other types of shunting locomotive, DiGas estimates that retrofitting the locos will ...
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NewsRailway supply industry news round-up
United Wagon Co’s Tikhvin factory has completed the 100 000th wagon since it began production in January 2012. The open wagon is one of 20 000 which are to be delivered to State Transport Leasing Co by the end of 2022. UWC said there are now ...
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NewsCourse builds opportunities for ex-military personnel
UK: Govia Thameslink Railway is sending staff from Southern’s newly-formed in-house maintenance team on an intensive five-week Level 1 foundation course in property maintenance run by Chichester College. The Building Heroes charity puts ex-servicemen and women through the same course, with Southern helping towards the cost of ...
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NewsDMUs delivered to Manila
PHILIPPINES: A ceremony at Manila’s South Harbor on December 11 marked the arrival of two three-car diesel multiple-units, which are to enter service on Philippine National Railways’ routes from FTI station to Tutuban and Malabon from December 16. The DMUs form part of a ...
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NewsHerat province railway construction contract signed
AFGHANISTAN: A contract for the design and construction of the first phase of the fourth section of the railway being built to link Khaf in Iran with Herat province has been signed by the Afghanistan Railway Authority and Kazak company Integra Construction. The ...