Main line rail industry news – Page 465
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NewsTrams ordered for Plzeň
CZECH REPUBLIC: Sole bidder Krnovské Opravny a Strojírny is to supply up to 16 Pragoimex EVO2 trams to Plzeň under a KC524m framework agreement. The 100% low-floor two-section trams will be 21·7 m long. Pragoimex, which is majority-owned by KOS, has to date produced one EVO2 tram, which entered ...
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NewsStrategic vision to bring infrastructure and operations closer
UK: On November 29 Secretary of State for Transport Chris Grayling published the government’s ‘strategic vision’ for rail, containing what it says are ‘sweeping proposals’ to bring infrastructure and train operations closer together. In what is described as ‘an evolution’ of the franchising system, single management teams are to be ...
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NewsHyderabad metro inaugurated
INDIA: Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Telangana Chief Minister Chandrashekhar Rao inaugurated the Hyderabad metro on November 28. Revenue services starting the following day on what has become the 10th metro network in India. Two lines have opened, which share an interchange at Ameerpet. Line 1 is 12·2 km ...
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NewsNacala investment package complete
MOZAMBIQUE: Brazilian mining and steel group Vale has signed binding financial contracts which complete the investment structure for the Nacala Logistics Corridor. Announced on November 27, the deal covers US$1·03bn from Japan Bank for International Co-operation, a US$1bn loan insured by Nippon Export & Investment Insurance and a US$400m loan ...
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NewsWorld rolling stock market - November 2017
Austria: ÖBB has resumed tendering for a fleet of coaches for daytime and overnight inter-city services following the withdrawal of an objection by Siemens, which had complained about specification changes. Bombardier is understood to have proposed sourcing bodyshell components from CRRC. Siemens has ordered 128 U-Lift ...
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NewsRail market share falling in France, says regulator
FRANCE: In a report on rail passenger services covering 2015 and 2016, regulatory body Arafer found that rail’s market share had fallen by an average of 0·5% a year since 2011, whereas that of other modes had increased. Published on November 16, the report said that rail had a 9·2% ...
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NewsSNCF to assist PRASA with renewal programme
SOUTH AFRICA: Under a tripartite agreement signed on November 27, SNCF and French government development agency AFD have agreed to provide technical and financial assistance worth R6·2m to suburban passenger operator Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa. Commencing from the start of December, the 12-month partnership will provide technical expertise, ...
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NewsDudley extension receives government funding
UK: The government is to provide £250m from its Transforming Cities Fund towards the construction of an extension of the Midland Metro light rail network serving Birmingham, the West Midlands Combined Authority announced on November 20. The 11 km branch would serve 17 stops. It would run southwest from ...
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NewsLatest Tatra-Yug tram tested in Kamianske
UKRAINE: Tatra-Yug has completed tests of its latest tram design on the network in Kamianske. The Dnipro-based tram manufacturer began testing the K1M6 in September on the 33 route-km 1 524 mm gauge network in Kamianske. Tests were undertaken every day. Tatra-Yug says that it deliberately chose a ...
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NewsToshkent plant produces coaches for export
UZBEKISTAN: Toshkent Plant for the Construction & Repair of Passenger Cars is to deliver the first batch of coaches built to its own design for export. National railway UTY said the plant was improving its capabilities every year, and its ‘Made in Uzbekistan’ Type 61-911 open and Type 61-907 ...
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NewsTunnel bores completed as Tbilisi – Makhindzhauri upgrading progresses
GEORGIA: Staff from national railway GR, contractors and policymakers gathered on November 21 to celebrate the completion of the longest tunnel on the Georgian rail network. Formed of two single bores, the 8·5 km Kvishkheti – Zvare tunnel forms a central element of the modernisation of the main line between ...
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NewsPPF Group buys Škoda Transportation
CZECH REPUBLIC: Investment company PPF Group has acquired rolling stock manufacturer Škoda Transportation under an agreement finalised overnight on November 24-25. Although the purchase price has not been formally announced, it is understood to be in excess of KC10bn. In 2016 Škoda Transportation reported consolidated sales of KC15·7bn, down by ...
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NewsWorld rail freight news round-up
On November 23 DB Cargo UK marked the start of work to construct a Logistics Centre in Wolverhampton for the steel market. Once completed in mid-2018, the centre will be able to handle and store up to 40 000 tonnes of steel coil which would arrive by rail for onward ...
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NewsWeb tool simplifies train path request process
EUROPE: Hit Rail’s H20 Path Request tool has been verified by the European Union Agency for Railways as TSI-compliant, enabling operatiors to streamline their processes for handling path requests across Europe without needing to develop their own tools. The web app hosted in Hit Rail’s HEROS cloud platform allows a ...
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NewsWorld rail market - November 2017
Asia: MyHSR of Malaysia and Land Transport Authority of Singapore have invited companies to ‘share the latest ticketing technology and developments for the purposes of developing a robust ticketing and fare collection approach for the Kuala Lumpur – Singapore High Speed Rail project’. Germany: Go-Ahead is deploying ETC - ...
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NewsHigh Capacity Metro Train mock-up supports design process
AUSTRALIA: The Evolution Rail consortium of Downer, CRRC and Plenary has produced a full-scale mock up of the 65 electric multiple-units for Melbourne suburban services which it is to supply and maintain under the Victorian government’s High Capacity Metro Trains PPP contract. As part of the design process, the 39 ...
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NewsSinara locos arrive in Cuba
CUBA: During a ceremony at the port of Habana on November 23, Unión de Ferrocarriles de Cuba Director General Eduardo Hernández took delivery of seven of the 75 Type TGM8KM diesel-hydraulic locomotives being supplied from Russia by Sinara Transport Machines. UFC is expecting to take delivery of 15 locomotives this ...
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NewsThameslink Programme completion deferred by a year
UK: The Department for Transport has agreed to a proposal from Network Rail and train operator Govia Thameslink Railway which would see introduction of the full 24 trains/h timetable on the Thameslink route through central London deferred by a year to December 2019. With a total value of £7bn, of ...
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NewsVTG increases Hungary – Italy payloads by 350 tonnes
EUROPE: VTG Rail Logistics has operated a trial higher-capacity freight service from Hungary to Italy via Croatia and Slovenia. Regular services are now planned, along with additional routes including from Romania. Subject to infrastructure limitations, VTG hopes to offer trains up to 2 200 gross tonnes and 1 600 tonnes ...
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NewsRailway supply industry news round-up
Visa has launched Visa Global Transit Solutions with the aim of accelerating the roll-out of bank card payment on public transport. ‘We want to make the transportation experience faster, easier and more secure whether someone is traveling by car, flying on holiday or taking public transportation to work‘, said Michael ...