Main line rail industry news – Page 485
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NewsState aid for Slovakian depots approved
SLOVAKIA: Government support of €96·5m which would enable national operator ZSSK to build three light maintenance workshops has been approved by the European Commission. The workshops at Nové Zámky, Zvolen and Humenné would undertake routine work on passenger rolling stock including cleaning, refilling the water tanks and minor repairs. ...
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NewsWorld rolling stock market August 2017
Canada: Project developer Rideau Transit Group has awarded Alstom a €200m contract to supply 38 Citadis Spirit light rail vehicles for Stage 2 of Ottawa's O-Train Confederation Line. Montréal's AMT has awarded CRRC Tangshan a contract to supply 24 loco-hauled double-deck commuter coaches. K+S Potash has taken delivery ...
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NewsAuckland DMUs shipped to Mozambique
MOZAMBIQUE: Eight diesel multiple-units as well as spare parts are being shipped from New Zealand to Mozambique, where they are to operate passenger services around Maputo. The 1 067 mm gauge two-car units have been surplus to requirements since electrification in Auckland in 2014. ‘Selling the trains reduces Auckland Transport’s ...
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NewsBharat Wagon & Engineering Co to close
INDIA: The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs has approved the Ministry of Railways’ proposal to close the loss-making Bharat Wagon & Engineering Co Ltd, which has manufacturing facilities at Mokama and Muzaffarpur in Bihar. The government is to provide a one-off grant of Rs1·5bn towards a severance package for the ...
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NewsKnoxville Locomotive Works obtains Tier 4 certification
USA: Knoxville Locomotive Works has obtained EPA Tier 4 emission certification for its SE Series of four-axle and six-axle diesel locomotives. KLW produces remanufactured locomotives based on EMD and GE components and new MTU engines. The Tier 4 certification includes shunting locomotives rated at 2 000, 2 200 and 2 ...
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NewsIDB funds San Martín electrification
ARGENTINA: The Inter-American Development Bank announced on August 24 that it had approved a U$400m loan to fund electrification of the San Martín commuter route in Buenos Aires, running for 76∙3 km from the Retiro terminus to Pilar. As well as electrification at 25 kV AC, the programme will include ...
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NewsRailway supply industry news round-up
IVU Traffic Technologies has acquired Zürich-based consultancy Soft Tech Informatik as a basis for grown in Switzerland. ‘The aim is to bundle our joint activities under one roof in order to give our customers here even better service and to tap into the additional potential of the Swiss market’, said ...
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NewsAlstom awarded €135m EMU maintenance contract
SWEDEN: Arriva has awarded Alstom a €135m contract to maintain 99 Coradia Nordic EMUs owned by the Skånetrafiken regional transport authority. The contract runs for eight years from December 2018, aligning with the next Pågatåg operating contract which Skånetrafiken has awarded to incumbent Arriva. The next operating contract is designed ...
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NewsCaledonian Sleeper coaches ready for testing
UK: The first five of the 75 coaches that CAF is building for Caledonian Sleeper services between Scotland and London have arrived at the Velim test centre in the Czech Republic, where they will undergo several weeks of dynamic testing. The two seating cars, two sleeping cars and a club ...
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NewsSt Petersburg orders more PK TS trams
RUSSIA: PK Transportnye Systemy is to supply three 100% low-floor unidirectional three-section trams to St Petersburg operator Gorelektrotrans under a 255m rouble contract. The only other bid came from trading company Elektrotransport, which works with UKVZ. However, the company’s cheaper bid was rejected on the grounds of non-compliant documentation. ...
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NewsShiraz metro extension inaugurated
IRAN: A southeastern extension of Shiraz metro Line 1 was inaugurated on August 22. The 10·5 km extension runs from Vali-e Asr to Shahid Dastgheyb. Intermediate stations are open at Fazilat and Shahid Doran, with five more due to open later. The initial 10·5 km section of the city’s first ...
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NewsUK railway news round-up
Operating under the South Western Railway brand, the First MTR South Western Trains 70:30 joint venture of FirstGroup and MTR Corp took over from Stagecoach’s South West Trains with the start of the new South Western franchise on August 20. The new franchise runs for seven years with an option ...
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NewsRailpool orders Traxx MS locomotives
EUROPE: Leasing company Railpool has awarded Bombardier Transportation a contract to supply 20 Traxx MS electric locomotives between May 2018 and December 2019. The locomotives will be assembled at the Kassel plant, with bodyshells supplied from Wrocław and bogies from Siegen. They will be suitable for use in 12 countries, ...
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NewsRolling stock refurbished for Madrid Line 5 upgrade
SPAIN: At its central rolling stock workshops in Canillejas, Metro de Madrid is currently undertaking a €20m programme to refurbish the 42 Series 2000 trainsets operating on Line 5 as well as 12 Series 3000 trainsets that are to be deployed on this route during 2018. This forms part of ...
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NewsBombardier and Bouygues to sell Gautrain concession stakes
SOUTH AFRICA: Engineering and construction services company Murray & Roberts has signed a memorandum of understanding to acquire the 8·5% stakes in Gautrain concessionaire Bombela Concession Co held by Bouygues Travaux Publics and Bombardier Transportation. Commercial terms for the deal worth a total of R405m have been agreed and agreements ...
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NewsRastatt blocked until October 7, says DB
GERMANY: The Karlsruhe – Basel section of European Rail Freight Corridor 1 will remain closed until October 7, following the tunnel collapse at Rastatt on August 12, infrastructure manager DB Netze confirmed on August 22. Explaining that a sudden inrush of water had destabilised the boring of a new tunnel ...
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NewsApproval for 80 tonne capacity container wagons
RUSSIA: United Wagon Co subsidiary TikhvinSpetsMash has obtained certification enabling the production of flat wagons with a capacity of 80 tonnes for transporting 40 ft containers or tank-containers with hazardous loads. Designed by the All-Union Research & Development Centre for Transportation Technology, the Type 13-6851-05 wagon has 25 tonne axleload ...
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NewsHKX to suspend services from October to December
GERMANY: Hamburg-Köln-Express is to suspend its open access passenger service from October 4 until the December 10 timetable change. Announcing the decision on August 21, the company said the two-month break in the off-peak season would be used ‘to better adapt HKX to customer needs’ and develop an attractive product ...
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NewsAlstom signs first main line signalling contract in Argentina
ARGENTINA: Alstom announced on August 22 that it had signed its first contract to supply main line signalling equipment in Argentina, a €10m deal to renew electro-mechanical interlockings at Marcos Paz, General Las Heras, Empalme Lobos and Lobos on the Sarmiento commuter route in Buenos Aires. As subcontractor to Constructora ...
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NewsBLS bids to take over Simplon car shuttle
SWITZERLAND: BLS has applied to the Valais canton to take over the car-carrier shuttle service between Brig and Iselle currently run by Swiss Federal Railways, which is not seeking to renew its concession when it expires in December. If its application succeeds, BLS would operate the service from the December ...