Main line rail industry news – Page 457
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NewsQbuzz selected for Dutch rail and bus operating contract
NETHERLANDS: The province of Zuid-Holland announced on January 10 that it had selected the Qbuzz subsidiary of FS Group’s Busitalia business as preferred bidder for a contract which combines the operation of MerwedeLingelijn services on the Geldermalsen – Dordrecht route with the provision of local bus services. EBS and incumbent ...
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NewsSNCF plans TGV efficiency drive to compete with air and bus
FRANCE: National rail operator SNCF is planning to restructure its high speed operations over the next three years to improve fleet utilisation and facilitate the withdrawal of its oldest TGV trainsets. According to the head of Voyages SNCF Rachel Picard, the changes are expected to reduce operating costs by between ...
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NewsUK railway news round-up
Network Rail has announced that the lines from Three Bridges to Brighton and Lewes will be closed during the school half term periods from October 20-28 2018 and February 16-24 2019 to permit a ‘once in a generation’ upgrade to the southern end of the Brighton Main Line. This will ...
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NewsNewag selected to supply 20 electric locos to PKP IC
POLAND: PKP Intercity has selected Newag as preferred bidder to supply and maintain 20 electric locomotives, with options for up to 10 more. Deliveries are due to be completed within 30 months of contract signature. The tender specifies that the 160 km/h locos must have at least 95% availability. ...
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NewsPassenger LNG trial starts
SPAIN: Development Minister Íñigo de la Serna joined Energy Minister Álvaro Nadal on January 8 to mark the start of what is claimed to be the first trial of liquefied natural gas as a fuel for passenger rail traction, being undertaken by national operator RENFE in conjunction with Bureau Veritas ...
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NewsCRRC to supply 200 Roca EMU cars
ARGENTINA: Transport Minister Guillermo Dietrich has given his approval for an order to be placed directly with CRRC Qingdao Sifang of China for the supply of 200 EMU cars for the Roca commuter network in Buenos Aires, with an estimated cost of US$316∙5m. Joining a fleet of 42 EMUs previously ...
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NewsStadler to supply FGC EMUs
SPAIN: Catalunya regional operator FGC has awarded Stadler Rail a €99∙5m contract to supply 15 four-car Class 115 EMUs. The four-car trainsets are to be deployed from 2019 on FGC’s 1 435 mm gauge Vallès network serving Sabadell and Terrassa north of Barcelona. Following the completion of an extension to ...
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NewsJerusalem A1 fast line opening date announced
ISRAEL: The newly built A1 fast line to Jerusalem will open on March 30, Transport Minister Israel Katz has announced. Only one of the two tracks electrified at 25 kV 50 Hz will be operational at first, limiting services to two trains per hour in each direction. The previously announced ...
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NewsSuburban services introduced to Beijing
CHINA: Beijing Suburban Railway Co inaugurated two services on December 31 linking the capital with its outer suburbs. The Sub Central Line links Beijing Xi with the sub-administrative centre of Tongzhou to the east of the city. Services run from Beijing Xi to Beijing main station through the 9·2 ...
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NewsBetter franchise design could have reduced TSGN disruption, says NAO
UK: Some of the extensive disruption experienced by passengers on the Thameslink, Southern & Great Northern franchise over the last three years could have been avoided if the Department for Transport had taken more care to consider passengers in its design of the franchise, head of the National Audit Office ...
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NewsMendrisio – Varese cross-border services begin
EUROPE: Regional train operator TILO began revenue passenger services on the 17·7 km cross-border line between Mendrisio in Switzerland and Varese in Italy on January 7. This followed an inauguration ceremony on December 22, when guests included President of the Swiss Confederation Doris Leuthard, Italian Minister of Transport Graziano Delrio, ...
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NewsGibela moves into South African EMU factory
SOUTH AFRICA: In the first week of January the Gibela joint venture of Alstom and local partners Ubumbano Rail and New Africa Rail moved into its new factory and training centre in Dunnottar, 50 km east of Johannesburg. This is being built as part of a €4bn contract to supply ...
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NewsEast Coast Rail Link contracts awarded
MALAYSIA: Main contractor China Communications Construction Co has appointed AECOM to provide site supervision services for the construction of stations, viaducts, tunnels and depots for the East Coast Rail Link project, and has awarded HSS Integrated a 83m ringgit contract to provide supervising consultancy services for Package 1 which covers ...
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NewsBourgogne-Franche-Comté and Grand Est order multiple-units
FRANCE: Firm orders with a total value of €100m covering the supply of 14 more Coradia Polyvalent multiple-units to the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté and Grand Est regions were announced by Alstom on January 8. Bourgogne-Franche-Comté has ordered eight four-car electric multiple-units, known as Régiolis by SNCF, while Grand Est has opted for ...
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NewsVilnius – Klaipeda electrification agreed
LITHUANIA: Tenders are to be called this year for electrification of the 350 km main line from the port city of Klaipeda to the junction with the electrified line from Kaunas to Vilnius, after the board of national railway LG gave its approval during December. The project would also involve ...
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NewsBudapest Rákos – Hatvan upgrade gets underway
HUNGARY: Work to modernise and upgrade the Budapest Rákos – Hatvan section of the Budapest – Miskolc main line is to get underway during February for completion by December 31 2020. The line forms part of Pan-European Corridor V, and also handles significant suburban traffic. A HF62bn contract covering the ...
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NewsDüsseldorf trams reach ISS Dome
GERMANY: Düsseldorf’s tram network was extended by 2 km on January 7, when a northern extension of Line 701 was inaugurated. The new route from Rath S-Bahn station to ISS Dome has three stops. The €30m cost of work was funded entirely by the city.
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NewsMore Vamos light rail vehicles ordered for Bielefeld
GERMANY: Bielefeld transport operator moBiel announced on January 4 that it had ordered a further 24 Vamos light rail vehicles from a consortium of Heiterblick and Kiepe Electric. The contract is worth €90m. Leipzig-based Heiterblick will supply bodyshells and bogies, with Düsseldorf-based Kiepe Electric responsible for electrical equipment. Like ...
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NewsWorld rail freight news round-up
Finland's first open access operator Fenniarail quadrupled its contracted freight volumes with the start on January 4 of a contract to haul 30 000 wagonloads/year of imported birch from the Russian border at Vainikkala to UPM's mills at Kaukaa and Kymi. UPM is the first pulp and paper maker to ...
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NewsCRRC to supply locomotives to Jamaica
JAMAICA: Aluminium company Alpart has awarded CRRC Qishuyan Co a contract to supply DF8B diesel locomotives in the first half of 2018. CRRC said the order which was confirmed during December was its first from Jamaica, which is the 104th country where the group has won contracts. ...