Main line rail industry news – Page 439
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NewsGWR to manage Heathrow Express service
UK: The Heathrow Express premium airport service between London Paddington and Heathrow Airport is to continue running until at least 2028 under a new agreement announced on March 28. The non-franchised service is currently operated in-house by Heathrow Airport Ltd, which will continue to own the service and be responsible ...
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NewsWest Coast Partnership invitations to tender issued
UK: The Department for Transport issued invitations to tender for the West Coast Partnership franchise on March 27. The contract will cover the operation of InterCity West Coast services from September 15 2019 until 2031, and the planning of the initial service on High Speed 2 in partnership with project ...
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NewsAtocha Phase 2 unveiled
SPAIN: Development Minister Íñigo de la Serna has unveiled plans for the second phase of a capacity expansion programme at Madrid Atocha station, designed by architect Rafael Moneo. In preparation for the opening of the 1 435 mm gauge tunnel under Madrid to Chamartín, built at a cost of €322m ...
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NewsVinkovci – Vukovar electrification project backed
CROATIA: Proposed EU co-financing for the electrification and upgrading of the route from Vinkovci to the River Danube port of Vukovar has been backed by the JASPERS technical assistance partnership of the European Commission, the European Investment Bank and the European Bank for Reconstruction & Development. The project is costed ...
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NewsSiemens and Alstom sign agreement for ‘the birth of a new champion’
INDUSTRY: A business combination agreement for the proposed merger of Siemens’ Mobility division with Alstom was signed by the two companies on March 23. The BCA sets out the terms and conditions agreed by the companies, building on a memorandum of understanding signed on September 26 2017 and the conclusion ...
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NewsMore Crossrail trains ordered
UK: Transport for London has awarded Bombardier Transportation a contract to supply a further five nine-car Class 345 Aventra electric multiple-units for use on the Elizabeth Line, taking its total order to 70 trainsets. The order announced on March 27 includes an expansion of the existing train services agreement to ...
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NewsLocomotive Workshop Rotterdam joint venture announced
NETHERLANDS: Siemens and leasing company Mitsui Rail Capital Europe have agreed to establish an equally-owned locomotive servicing and maintenance joint venture to be known as Locomotive Workshop Rotterdam. Subject to regulatory approval, the formation of the company is expected to be completed in the first half of 2018. A groundbreaking ...
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NewsNorway’s ERTMS programme moves forward
NORWAY: National infrastructure manager BaneNOR is pushing ahead with its national ERTMS roll-out following the award of three key contracts as part of an NKr20bn 10-year digitisation programme. Formal contract signing is expected at the beginning of April. The BaneNOR board agreed on March 14 to award the NKr5·5bn trackside ...
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NewsNovi Sad bridge completed
SERBIA: A ceremonial first train carried guests including European Transport Commissioner Violeta Bulc, Minister of Construction, Transport & Infrastructure Zorana Mihajlović and local officials across the new combined road and rail bridge over the River Danube between Novi Sad and Petrovaradin on March 26. Revenue services are scheduled to begin ...
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NewsSecond tram line opens in Izmir
TURKEY: The Konak tram line in Izmir opened to passengers at 10.00 on March 24. Travel is free for the first 45 days. The 12·8 km route runs from Fahrettin Altay metro station in the west to Halkapınar metro and Izban station in the east via Konak metro station ...
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NewsWaratah Series 2 EMU delivered
AUSTRALIA: The first of 24 eight-car Waratah Series 2 double-deck suburban electric multiple-units has been delivered to Sydney. The new fleet is expected to be in service by early 2019. Ordered from Downer EDI in December 2016 under the New South Wales government’s A$1·5bn ‘More Trains, More Services’ programme, the ...
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NewsVästtrafik selects Bombardier to supply EMUs
SWEDEN: Västra Götaland transport authority Västtrafik has selected Bombardier Transportation as the winner of a SKr3·8bn contract to supply 40 three-car electric multiple-units for regional passenger services. The order is intended to support an increase in ridership to 130 000 passengers/day by 2035, triple the number carried in 2006. The ...
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NewsMARC operating contract extended
USA: Maryland Transit Administration has awarded Bombardier Transportation a $288m five-year extension to its contract to operate the Maryland Area Regional Commuter network’s Brunswick and Camden lines. The existing contract awarded in 2012 covers the operation and maintenance of the fleet of diesel locomotives and coaches, including Bombardier vehicles, as ...
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NewsTrenitalia orders regional EMUs
ITALY: National passenger operator Trenitalia has awarded Alstom four contracts to supply a total of 54 electric multiple-units for use in the Abruzzo (four EMUs), Liguria (15), Marche (four) and Veneto (31) regions. The orders with a total value of around €330m have been placed within a August 2016 framework ...
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NewsJakarta light metro train rolled out
INDONESIA: Hyundai Rotem has rolled out the first of eight two-car light metro trainsets for Jakarta at its Changwon factory. The Korean company was selected last year to supply rolling stock for the first phase of a light metro network that is due to open in in time for ...
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NewsPowerlines takes over Carillion stake in joint venture
UK: Powerlines Group has taken over the 50% stake in the Carillion Powerlines Ltd joint venture which had been held by insolvent construction company Carillion plc, giving it 100% ownership. Carillon employees working at Carillion Powerlines Ltd will now be transferred to Powerlines Group’s British subsidiary SPL Powerlines UK, securing ...
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NewsWorld rail freight news round-up
Lineas has expanded its Green Xpress enhanced wagonload freight network with the launch of a Lyon Xpress service linking Lyon and Antwerpen in 16 h, with onward connections to the Netherlands, Germany, Sweden, Slovakia. Lyon Xpress initially runs twice a week, leaving Lyon on Thursday and Saturday, but is to ...
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NewsWorld rail market - March 2018
Europe: Cross Rail, BLS Cargo, Rotterdam Rail Feeding, InRail and Captrain are using Hit Rail‘s Hermes VPN for the exchange of train composition messages in ‘soft compliance’ with Telematics Applications for Freight TSI requirements. Netherlands: Amsterdam transport authority GVB has awarded Indra a contract to supply 130 ticket vending ...
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NewsOstrów Wielkopolski selects Ursus Bus
POLAND: MZK Ostrów Wielkopolski has selected Ursus Bus as preferred bidder to supply six electric buses. Ursus’ offer of 15·4m złoty beat a bid from Solaris. The first three buses are due to be delivered in February 2019, with the remainder to be delivered in two months later. ...
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NewsSJ selects Trimble monitoring and analytics systems
SWEDEN: National passenger operator SJ is to deploy Trimble’s R2M remote diagnostics and C2M component condition monitoring systems to improve its real-time analytics capability. R2M processes diagnostic data from rolling stock in real time to provide a comprehensive view of the overall fleet status, including specific and potential vehicle faults. ...