Main line rail industry news – Page 494
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NewsHS2 Phase 1 civil works preferred bidders named
UK: The preferred bidders for two-stage contracts to design and build the civil works including bridges, tunnels, embankments and viaducts for High Speed 2 Phase 1 from London Euston to Birmingham and a junction with the West Coast Main Line near Handsacre were announced on July 17. The contracts are ...
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NewsWorld rail freight news round-up
Belgian infrastructure manager Infrabel has signed an agreement with Carmeuse to reopen a 3∙35 km section of Line 136 from its junction with Line 132 to a new limestone quarry at Hemptinne. Track had been lifted following closure in the 1980s, and the restored branch is due to enter service ...
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NewsClass 319 Flex electro-diesel multiple-units for Wales
UK: The Welsh Government is to provide £1·9m and operator Arriva Trains Wales £1m to lease five Class 319 Flex electro-diesel multiple-units for use on the Wales & Borders franchise from 2018 until at least 2021. First announced by Porterbrook Leasing and Northern franchise operator Arriva in December 2016, the ...
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NewsGovia Thameslink Railway renews ticket sales system
UK: Govia Thameslink Railway is to replace its current desktop ticketing issuing system with Worldline’s @Station mobile point-of-sale technology. Announcing the contract on July 6, Worldline said @Station would provide the operator with ability to 'queue bust' and to cross-sell and upsell both Rail Settlement Plan and non-RSP products. Roll-out ...
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NewsSaskatchewan sells grain wagon fleet
CANADA: Three short lines in Saskatchewan have agreed to purchase Saskatchewan Grain Car Corp’s fleet of 898 hopper wagons from the provincial government for C$9·7m, an average of C$10 800 per wagon. The government decided to leave the wagon business and began the process of selling the wagons in March, ...
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NewsPrototype Rhein-Ruhr-Express EMU unveiled
GERMANY: The prototype for the fleet of 82 Desiro HC electric multiple-units which Siemens is to supply for Rhein-Ruhr-Express services was unveiled at the Wildenrath test centre on July 12. Seven pre-series EMUs are to undergo extensive testing ahead of entry into passenger service at the end of 2018. The ...
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NewsEU funding for Skopje – Sofia link
EUROPE: Two international rail projects in the Western Balkans region are to benefit from European Union funding as part of a package of transport investment agreed at a summit in Trieste on July 12. Under the Transport Community Treaty, the EU has agreed to co-fund seven projects with a combined ...
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NewsSolaris wins battery bus orders
ITALY: Solaris Bus & Coach has won orders to supply 12 Urbino 12 electric buses to ATB Bergamo and 10 similar vehicles to ATM Milano. The buses will have Medcom electrical equipment, with the ZF AVE 130 axles with two 125 kW integrated traction motors powered from a 240 kWh ...
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NewsRailway supply industry news round-up
Alstom recorded orders of €1·91bn in Q1 from April 1 to June 30, with major orders in Canada, Vietnam. Senegal and Germany, the USA and the Philippines. Sales of €1·86bn were up 6% (5% organically) compared to the same period last year, as a result of deliveries of regional trains ...
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NewsEnvironmental survey marks Northeast Corridor progress
USA: The Federal Railroad Administration on July 12 released a Record of Decision marking completion of a Tier 1 environmental review of the Northeast Corridor under the National Environmental Policy Act.This establishes a long-term planning framework for the 735 km corridor linking Boston with Washington DC, along which a series ...
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NewsFS Group signs Iranian co-operation agreements
IRAN: Three co-operation agreements were signed in Tehran on July 11 by CEO of Italy’s national railway group FS Renato Mazzoncini and Islamic Republic of Iran Railways President Saeed Mohammadzadeh. The first agreement is potentially worth €1·2bn and covers the provision of design and construction services for the planned Qom ...
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NewsLuxtram starts test running
LUXEMBOURG: Test running on the first section of the capital’s light rail line was officially launched on July 12, with a ceremony at the new Tramsschapp depot attended by Minister of Infrastructure & Sustainable Development François Bausch, the Mayor of Luxembourg Lydie Polfer and leader of the city council Sam ...
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NewsDavid Brown
David Brown is to become Managing Director of Arriva Rail North in September. Currently CEO of regional agency Transport for the North, he will succeed Alan Chaplin, who has been Acting MD of the Northern franchise since the departure of Alex Hynes.
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NewsUK railway news round-up
On July 12 Labour MP for Nottingham South Lilian Greenwood was elected Chair of the House of Commons Transport Select Committee for the 2017 parliament. Greenwood will formally take up the position when the remaining members of the committee have been named. From July 10 to August 13 the Department ...
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NewsCRRC and Sinara sign rolling stock joint venture agreement
RUSSIA: The chairmen of Russia’s Sinara Group and China’s CRRC Changchun signed an agreement to establish the Sinara-CRRC Rail Transport rolling stock joint venture on July 4, in the presence of national presidents Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping who was on a state visit to Russia. The agreement builds on ...
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NewsCAF selects Newport for UK rolling stock factory
UK: Spanish rolling stock manufacturer CAF has selected the Celtic Business Park at the Llanwern steelworks site near Newport in South Wales as the location of its future UK factory. The 46 000 m2 plant would be designed to accommodate the production of a range of different vehicle types, including ...
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NewsThales awarded Ankara resignalling contract
TURKEY: Thales has been awarded a contract to resignal the 36 km Başkentray route which runs east–west through Ankara from Kayaş to Sincan. The corridor is used by suburban, inter-city and high speed services, and is being upgraded by a joint venture of Gülermak and Kolin under a TCDD project ...
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NewsBombardier to develop Cairo metro proposal
EGYPT: The National Authority for Tunnels and Bombardier Transportation signed a non-binding memorandum of understanding for the development of plans for Cairo metro Line 6 on July 11. Under the terms of the memorandum, Bombardier Transportation is to develop a concept for Line 6 and prepare an ...
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NewsBattery energy recovery and biodiesel in Arriva operating contract
NETHERLANDS: The provinces of Groningen and Friesland named incumbent Arriva as the winner of the next contract to operate their regional passenger rail services on July 11. The contract will run for 15 years from December 13 2020 and is worth €1·6bn. The contract covers fast and stopping services ...
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NewsCAF buys UK engineering consultancy BWB
UK: CAF announced the acquisition of UK transport, infrastructure and environmental consultancy BWB Consulting on July 12, saying the Nottingham-based company would play a ‘major role’ in the Spanish rolling stock manufacturer’s plans to diversify and expand in English-speaking international markets. The phased transaction will take place over the next ...