Main line rail industry news – Page 349
-
NewsStadler receives first Flirt Akku battery train order
GERMANY: Schleswig-Holstein transport authority NAH.SH has selected Stadler to supply 55 Flirt Akku battery multiple-units to operate regional services and provide 30 years of maintenance. Announcing its selection as preferred bidder on June 19, Stadler said that it will reveal more details when the contract is signed, which is ...
-
NewsRail, metro and tram spending in New South Wales budget
AUSTRALIA: Several rail projects have been allocated funding in the 2019-20 New South Wales budget, which was presented on June 18. The state government is providing A$812m as part of a A$1·8bn package over four years towards the New Intercity Fleet. The RailConnect consortium of Hyundai Rotem, Mitsubishi Electric ...
-
NewsMolasses wagons delivered
RUSSIA: GATX Rail Vostok has taken delivery of 26 molasses wagons of a new design developed by United Wagon Co. UWC said the Type 15-6900-04 developed by its All-Union Research & Development Centre for Transportation Technology and manufactured at its TikhvinChemMash site was the only 1 520 mm gauge wagon ...
-
NewsChina Railway Corp becomes China State Railway Group Co
CHINA: China Railway Corp was officially restructured as China State Railway Group Co on June 18, with China Railway and CR as its official English-language short name and abbreviation. China Railway is a solely state-owned enterprise with registered capital of 1·74tr yuan, established in accordance with company law. Its responsibilities ...
-
NewsHybrid shunting locomotive agreement
RUSSIA: An agreement for the development of diesel-battery hybrid shunting locomotives has been signed by Russian Railways, Transmashholding and lithium-ion battery manufacturer Rusnano. RZD has expressed interesting buying 131 hybrid shunters over six years, subject to approval of the prototype. These would be used at major stations and in depots. ...
-
NewsFlixTrain seeks to enter French passenger market
FRANCE: FlixMobility GmbH has lodged an application with rail regulator Arafer to launch five inter-city routes from January 1 2021. The FlixTrain-branded services would cover four domestic routes as well as one international route. The proposed services are seven return trains per day between Paris Nord and Brussels Nord ...
-
NewsBudapest – Beograd corridor upgrading contract signed
HUNGARY: A US$2·078bn contract to implement a major modernisation of the Hungarian section of the Budapest – Beograd route was signed on June 12. The scope includes doubling-tracking the 150 km route from Budapest Soroksár to the border at Kelebia, installing ETCS Level 2 and work to permit 160 ...
-
NewsDB tests CCTV analytics at Berlin station
GERMANY: Technology designed to automatically detect anomalous behaviour which could lead to train services being disrupted is to be tested at Berlin-Südkreuz station from June 18. The project is being undertaken by Deutsche Bahn, the federal police and technology suppliers IBM Germany, a consortium of Hitachi, Conef and MIG, and ...
-
NewsERA becomes cross-border authorisation body
EUROPE: The European Union Agency for Railways has taken on responsibility for vehicle authorisation, safety certification and ERTMS trackside system approval with effect from June 16, opening what it called ‘a new era of single and simplified authorisation and certification processes in Europe’. This forms part of the technical pillar ...
-
NewsSJ wins north Norway operating contract
NORWAY: The SJ Norge subsidiary of Sweden’s national passenger operator has been selected for the Lot 2 Nord operating contract, national railway agency Jernbanedirektoratet announced on June 17. The contract covers long-distance passenger services on the Dovrebanen and Nordlandsbanen routes from Oslo to Trondheim and Bodø, as well as the ...
-
NewsNapier to Wairoa line reinstated
NEW ZEALAND: KiwiRail has completed rehabilitation of the 115 km Napier – Wairoa line, which was mothballed in December 2012 following severe storm damage. The project was supported with NZ$6·2m from the Provincial Growth Fund. ’Our next focus is to establish a log-hub in Wairoa so we are ready to ...
-
NewsWorld rail freight news round-up
The Queensland government is to provide A$20m/year for four years to reduce Queensland Rail track access charges on the Mount Isa corridor, which operator Aurizon says have contributed to freight being sent by road. Mercitalia subsidiary TX Logistik has obtained a B licence enable it to operate in Denmark from ...
-
NewsSão Paulo airport EMU unveiled
BRAZIL: CRRC Qingdao Sifang has unveiled the first of eight eight-car Class 2500 electric multiple-units that it is supplying for São Paulo suburban operator CPTM’s Line 13 to Guarulhos Airport under a contract awarded in September 2017. The 12·2 km Line 13 was inaugurated in June 2018, and is currently ...
-
NewsMethanol wagon order
RUSSIA: United Wagon Co’s TikhvinChemMash is to supply 100 Type 15-6880 methanol tank wagons to chemical company Shchekinoazot by the end of July. The wagons will have a capacity of 88 m3 or 73 tonnes, up to 2 tonnes more than older designs, with 25 tonne axleload bogies. ...
-
NewsNext-generation Acela trainsets take shape
USA: Alstom invited guests to its Hornell factory in New York state on June 12 to showcase the progress it is making in producing the next generation of Acela high speed trainsets for Amtrak. Amtrak says that ‘significant progress’ is being made in production of the fleet, which is expected ...
-
NewsRailway supply industry news round-up
Head of the Russian Republic of Mordovia Vladimir Volkov officially reopened RM Rail’s Ruzkhimmash factory in Saransk on June 10. It had been mothballed in 2014, but has reopened to produce lightweight aluminium-bodied hopper wagons and high-capacity container flat wagons. South African industrial and infrastructure group Aveng has completed the ...
-
NewsTransdev orders Regio-S-Bahn Bremen Flirts
GERMANY: Transdev subsidiary NordWestBahn has awarded Stadler a €100m contact to supply 16 Flirt electric multiple-units for use on Regio-S-Bahn Bremen/Niedersachsen services from December 2022. The order announced on June 13 follows the award in April of a competitively-tendered contract for incumbent NordWestBahn to continue to operate the services from ...
-
NewsPPP partners to develop Utah freight railway
USA: Proposals for the construction of a 160 km freight railway to serve the Uinta Basin region of Utah state are to be taken forward under a public-private partnership, with the aim of starting construction in 2022. The Uinta Basin Railway is being promoted by the Seven County Infrastructure Coalition, ...
-
NewsLausanne station to be rebuilt
SWITZERLAND: The Federal Office for Transport has approved plans for Swiss Federal Railways to proceed with the reconstruction of Lausanne station. Announcing the decision on June 3, BAV said that the government would contribute SFr900m towards the SFr1∙3bn cost. The main objective is to extend the platforms to a length ...
-
NewsTAZARA seeks opportunities with the private sector
AFRICA: The Tanzania-Zambia Railway Authority board is seeking to develop open access operations to increase traffic on its network, ‘in view of the good performance by the private operator so far’. Following its meeting in Dar es Salaam on June 1, the board directed the railway’s management to appoint a ...