Main line rail industry news – Page 441
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NewsShift2Rail launches fuel cell research
EUROPE: Recognising growing interest around the world in the use of fuel cells and hydrogen as an alternative to railway electrification, the Shift2Rail joint undertaking announced on March 19 that it had decided to commission research into the technology. Noting that ‘electrifying the transport system is a major priority to ...
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NewsOuargla tramway inaugurated
ALGERIA: Minister of Public Works & Transport Abdelghani Zaalane inaugurated a tram line in Ouargla on March 20. Construction of the 9·7 km route with 16 stops was undertaken by a consortium of Rover Alcisa, Elecnor and Assignia Infrestructuras under a €228m contract awarded in 2013. The Cital ...
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NewsD-Train to target US transit market
USA: Next year could see the deployment of Vivarail D-Train diesel multiple-units in North America, under proposals being developed by Railroad Development Corp. RDC Chairman Henry Posner III told Railway Gazette that the remanufactured London Underground trainsets offered a unique opportunity to test the market for urban rail services in ...
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NewsEuroest presents battery hybrid locomotive
ROMANIA: Euroest has unveiled its first LHy-M battery hybrid shunting locomotive, which is to be tested by Tehnotrans Feroviar at the Black Sea port of Constanta. Based on an extensively rebuilt LDH1250 diesel-hydraulic locomotive, the 72 tonne four-axle LHy-M has a 400Ah lithium ion battery powering two 155 kW ...
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NewsRegional corridor studies to go ahead
AUSTRALIA: The federal government has selected three projects for development under the Faster Rail Prospectus announced as part of the 2017 budget. The aim of the programme is to develop proposals for faster rail services between major cities and their surrounding regions, to support ‘continued economic success’. The budget allocates ...
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NewsAmber Train to link the Baltic States
EUROPE: The freight businesses of the national railways of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia have agreed to co-operate to organise an Amber Train intermodal container service running from Šeštokai on the Polish-Lithuanian border to Riga and Tallinn. Representatives of the three railways met in Riga on March 12, and agreed on ...
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NewsJohn Laing sells Intercity Express Programme stake
UK: Following the receipt of final bids earlier in the week, John Laing Group plc announced on March 13 that it had agreed to sell its 15% stake in the Intercity Express Programme Phase 1 to insurance and asset management company AXA. The deal is worth is £227·5m net of ...
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NewsRail Baltica tram feasibility study commissioned for Tallinn
ESTONIA: Rail Baltica project promoter RB Rail and the Ministry of Economic Affairs & Communications have awarded Egis Rail a €171 000 contract to undertake a feasibility and technical study for proposed a tram connection from the future Rail Baltica station in the Ülemiste area of Tallinn to the Vanasadam ...
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NewsWorld rail freight news round-up
The European Rail Freight Association has said government rules which would enable Dutch infrastructure manager ProRail to vary track access charges must ‘reflect the ability of rail to compete with road rather than looking inwardly at the railway system’. ERFA said track access charges account for between 20% and 35% ...
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NewsWorld rail infrastructure market - March 2018
Brazil: CPTM has awarded Alstom an €11m contract to modify signalling on São Paulo Line 9 for the Varginha extension. China: China Railway Construction Corp has won a 18·4bn yuan contract to build a metro line in Shenzhen. Shanghai Shentong Metro Group has awarded the Line 14 signalling ...
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NewsItalian booking technology for c2c
UK: London commuter operator c2c is working with developer IBM to bring the Italian state railway group’s PICO multi-channel and medium-independent ticket retailing technology to the UK market this year, Trenitalia UK Chairman & Managing Director Ernesto Sicilia told the Transport Ticketing Global 2018 conference. PICO enables passengers to purchase ...
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NewsBuenos Aires RER to be built through a PPP
ARGENTINA: The government intends to use a public-private partnership model for the project to create an RER network in Buenos Aires, it announced at a presentation for potential investors held on March 13. Minister of Finances Luis Caputo explained that a PPP would allow the government to pay off ...
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NewsHeavy haul rail fastening contract awarded
CHINA: Shanxi Jingshen Railway Co has awarded Pandrol a contract to supply almost 880 000 Fastclip FC-16 rail fastening sets for 232 track-km of heavy haul line under construction in central China. The line will connect with a 400 track-km section of the Menghua heavy haul railway where Pandrol is ...
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NewsÖskemen tram operations suspended
KAZAKHSTAN: Tram operations in Öskemen were suspended on March 12, after debts accumulated by operator Takhami Put led to a limiting of the traction electricity supply. The 16·5 km, 1 524 mm gauge network dating from 1959 operated four routes. The fleet consisted of 31 Type 71-605 ...
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News‘Milestone’ contracts boost Talgo order intake
TALGO: Spanish rolling stock manufacturer Talgo signed new orders totalling €700m in 2017, its highest intake since 2011, and increased its order backlog to €2·8bn as of the end of the year, representing more than seven times its full-year revenue. Net turnover of €384m was down from €580m in 2016, ...
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NewsRailway supply industry news round-up
Through its local subsidiary TMH Argentina, Transmashholding of Russia has begun work on a US$3m programme to refurbish and reopen the Mechita rolling stock workshops in the province of Buenos Aires. Under the terms of an agreement signed on December 20 2017, TMH Argentina is to lease the site for ...
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NewsCRRC trains enter service on Kuala Lumpur airport link
MALAYSIA: The first three of the six electric multiple-units which Express Rail Link ordered from CRRC Changchun to increase capacity on the 1 435 mm gauge Kuala Lumpur International Airport rail link have entered service, after being officially unveiled by Minister of Transport Liow Tiong Lai on March 13. ERL ...
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NewsSecond driverless line takes Delhi metro over 250 km
INDIA: Passenger services on the first phase of Delhi metro Line 7 began on March 14, taking the city’s network to 252 route-km with 185 stations. The route between Majlis Park and Durgabai Deshmukh South Campus is 21·6 km long with 12 stations. When completed, Line 7, also known ...
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NewsRailway project leads to political crisis in Slovenia
SLOVENIA: Prime Minister Miro Cerar announced his resignation on March 14, after a court annulled the result of a September 2017 referendum in which 53·5% of voters had backed the government’s plans to build a 27 km second track to increase capacity on the route serving the Port of Koper. ...
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NewsUK railway news round-up
The 10 000 'millennial' Railcards for 26 to 30-year-olds which were made available on March 13 sold out, with demand overwhelming the website. The railcards offered on a trial basis cost £30 for one year and offer a third off most fares Playing on stereotypes of the dietary habits of ...