Main line rail industry news – Page 383
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NewsFaster fastening installation in Estonia
ESTONIA: Infrastructure contractor Leonhard Weiss has awarded Pandrol a contract to supply more than 430 000 Fastclip FE rail fastenings for the 65 km line between Tapa and Narva. This follows a previous contract covering the 57 km Tapa – Tartu route. As part of the project, the contractor acquired ...
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NewsVictoria to fund The Overland in 2019
AUSTRALIA: The government of Victoria is to increase its financial support for The Overland passenger service between Melbourne and Adelaide to ensure that it can continue to run until the end of 2019. Operator Great Southern Rail is also to undertake a full review of the service in early 2019 ...
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NewsFSE orders EMUs
ITALY: A €24·2m firm order for Polish manufacturer Newag to supply regional operator Ferrovie del Sud Est with six more three-car Impuls II electric multiple-units was finalised on December 7. In December 2015 FSE ordered an initial five of the Impuls II EMUs, designated ETR.322 in Italy, with an option ...
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NewsNSW appoints Digital Systems programme systems integrator
AUSTRALIA: The New South Wales government has awarded Network Rail Consulting the A$16m System Integrator contract within its Digital Systems programme, which forms part of a A$880m package of planned investment in the Sydney Trains network. The Digital Systems programme contains three main elements: replacing trackside signalling equipment with ...
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NewsGo-Ahead and Transdev selected for Bayern operating contracts
GERMANY: Bayern railway authority BEG named the preferred bidders for two Augsburger Netze passenger operating contracts on December 7. Award of the contracts is subject to no objections being received during the 10-day regulatory standstill period. Go-Ahead is preferred bidder for Lot 1, which is to be awarded by ...
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NewsICF prepares to launch next-generation MEMU
INDIA: A prototype for the next generation of Mainline Electric Multiple-Unit for Indian Railways is expected to be rolled out for test running on December 15, according to Integral Coach Factory General Manager Sudhanshu Mani. Developed at the ICF plant in Chennai, the MEMU family is designed to cater for ...
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NewsSNCF to run fuel cell train in 2022
FRANCE: National operator SNCF expects to start testing hydrogen technology during 2021, and to run its first fuel cell powered train in the first quarter of the following year, according to Deputy Chief Executive Officer, Rail Systems & Technology, Pierre Izard. Addressing a meeting of regional government representatives on December ...
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NewsAlstom wins Israel Railways ETCS contract
ISRAEL: National railway ISR has awarded Alstom a €45m contract to design, supply, install and commission ETCS Level 2 onboard equipment across its fleet. The contract announced on December 10 covers 192 vehicles, with an option for a further 34. Design work is scheduled to start in January 2019, with ...
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NewsFlexity tram enters passenger service in Wien
AUSTRIA: The first Flexity Wien tram entered revenue service on December 6 on Route 67. Bombardier Transportation is delivering 119 trams from its factory in the city until 2025 under a €431m contract signed in 2015 that includes 24 years of maintenance support under the manufacturer’s FlexCare programme. There ...
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NewsSecond tram line opens in Ulm
GERMANY: The second tram line in Ulm was officially inaugurated on December 8 with a day of free travel. Line 2 links Science City in the northwest to Kuhberg in the southwest via a section that is shared with Line 1 between Theater and Ehinger Tor. A total of ...
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NewsWorld rail freight news round-up
On December 3 United Wagon Company announced that it is to supply 75 high capacity flat wagons to wood processing company Kastamonu. The wagons are being supplied in two batches; the first batch now being delivered has a loading capacity of 122 m3 and the second, to be delivered during ...
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NewsRail grapple launched
TOOL: Rototilt has launched a 5 000 kg capacity grapple designed for heavier tasks such as working with rails and sleepers. ‘With the demand we’ve seen for a more powerful grapple module optimised for railway work, it feels good to be able to present the new grapple to our customers’, ...
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NewsRoof antenna offers train connectivity
ANTENNA: Huber+Suhner has launched the Sencity Rail MIMO 5 Port roof-top antenna designed to support onboard passenger connectivity and allow operators to boost their data transmission while using fewer antennas. Designed for 2G/3G/4G cellular applications, the antenna meets the EN 50155 railway standards, is fire retardant and works on non-metallic ...
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NewsBangkok Sukhumvit Line reaches Kheha
THAILAND: A 10 km extension of the elevated Sukhumvit Line in Bangkok was inaugurated on December 6. The southern metro extension runs from Samrong to Kheha, adding eight stations. A depot has been built 1·5 km southwest of Kheha, and Kheha features a 1 200-space park-and-ride site. Construction ...
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NewsConnection concerns raised as Ouigo expands
FRANCE: The European timetable change on December 9 marks a further expansion of SNCF’s low-cost high speed operation Ouigo. Routes to be added to the network include three daily return services between Paris-Lyon and Marseille, and three between Lille-Flandres and Marseille. When Ouigo was launched in April 2013, it operated ...
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NewsSiemens presents first Mireo EMU
GERMANY: Siemens presented the first Mireo electric multiple-unit at its Wildenrath test facility on December 6. The aluminium-bodied modular articulated EMU design is intended for commuter and regional services. DB Regio became the launch customer in February 2017 when it placed a firm order for 24 three-car units. These ...
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NewsRailway supply industry news round-up
Vossloh AG announced on November 30 that it had successfully completed the acquisition of Australian concrete sleeper manufacturer Austrak Pty Ltd from Laing O'Rourke through its Vossloh Australia subsidiary. In future, Austrak will form part of Vossloh’s Tie Technologies business unit, within the Core Components division. Releasing its annual results ...
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NewsRFI completes Adriatic Corridor gauge clearance work
ITALY: Infrastructure manager RFI opened the double-track Frentani tunnel near Ortona south of Pescara on December 2. Built at a cost of €25m, the tunnel is 523 m long and has been excavated 30 m south of the existing single-bore Castello tunnel. RFI now intends to close this bore ...
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NewsŠkoda presents Chemnitz tram
GERMANY: Škoda Transportation has officially presented the first of 14 trams that it is supplying to Chemnitz transport operator CVAG. CVAG and Škoda signed a €35m contract in 2016 for the supply of the bidirectional ForCity Classic trams. The first is expected to enter passenger service early next year, ...
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NewsRhein-Ruhr-Express trains are ready to roll
GERMANY: The first Desiro HC EMUs being built for Rhein-Ruhr Express services by Siemens Mobility are on course to enter service with the December 9 timetable change, following their formal approval by the Federal Railway Office using its new authorisation process. Under a €1·7bn contract from a consortium of local ...