Main line rail industry news – Page 498
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NewsRussian Railways orders updated platskartny coaches
RUSSIA: Russian Railways has decided to order a new batch of platskartny coaches, its most basic style of long-distance rolling stock. RZD had been concerned that the open-plan dormitory-style accommodation in the third class cars was no longer attractive to passengers, and had been considering only ordering sleeping cars with ...
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NewsSecond Bergen tram line approved
NORWAY: Bergen city council has approved plans for a second tram line. Construction of the 10·8 km route with nine stops is due to begin in 2018 and is expected to cost NKr6·2bn. Once complete in 2022, it would offer a 19 min end-to-end journey time. Starting at from ...
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NewsIstanbul metro Line M9 to receive EBRD loan
TURKEY: The European Bank for Reconstruction & Development has announced that it is providing a loan to Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality towards the construction of metro Line M9. EBRD is providing an €88·3m loan, with a further €250m coming from the European Investment Bank. The total project cost is €338·3m. ...
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NewsPassenger assistance to be stepped up as NGR EMUs enter service
AUSTRALIA: Queensland Rail is to recruit additional station staff to assist mobility-impaired passengers using the six-car EMUs being supplied to Queensland Rail under the New Generation Rollingstock PPP concession. The first of 75 sets are now expected to enter service later this year, CEO Nick Easy confirmed on June 27. ...
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NewsAurizon restructuring
Joining from Alinta Energy, Michael Riches takes over as Group Executive, Network, at Australian freight operator Aurizon with effect from July 1. He succeeds Alex Kummant who is stepping down after five years with the company. The change comes with the implementation of a new management structure announced by Managing ...
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NewsUK railway news round-up
RSSB has published two pieces of research into future traffic management systems. Developing & Evaluating Dynamic Optimisation for Train Control Systems is the result of collaboration between University College London and the University of Birmingham, and looks at increasing capacity using dynamic algorithms to control train paths. SafeCap+ led by ...
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NewsVirgin Trains East Coast making a loss, Stagecoach confirms
UK: New commercial terms for the InterCity East Coast franchise are being discussed with the Department for Transport, Virgin Trains East Coast’s majority owner Stagecoach Group confirmed on June 28. Announcing its preliminary results for the year to April 29 2017, Stagecoach said it expected to finalise new commercial terms ...
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NewsUnited Wagon Co opens Estonian wagon servicing centre
ESTONIA: Russian rolling stock manufacturer United Wagon Co has opened service centre at Skinest Rail’s Valga depot to provide warranty and post-warranty support for modern wagons operating in the Baltic States. UWC says its service centre ‘is unique in the Baltic States’, having specially trained staff and holding the documentation ...
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NewsFuxing China standard high speed trainsets enter service
CHINA: Two designs of China Standard Electric Multiple-Unit officially entered service on the Beijing – Shanghai high speed line on June 26, following an extensive programme of test running. Services were launched when a CRRC Sifang CR400AF Blue Dolphin trainset departed from Beijing South station at 11.05 while a CRRC ...
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NewsTicket manufacturer acquires ITSO-certified smart card supplier
UK: Magnetic, thermal, barcode and smart ticket manufacturer BemroseBooth Paragon has acquired Buralls InfoSmart, which is certified to produce smart cards compliant with the ITSO standard. BBP supplies almost one billion magnetic stripe tickets a year to UK train operators, as well as many kinds of ticket for other UK ...
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NewsAnsaldo STS awarded €100m RFI framework contract
ITALY: Infrastructure manager RFI has awarded Ansaldo STS a two-year framework agreement worth €100m for the provision of technical assistance, maintenance and upgrading services. The contract announced on June 27 covers all existing Ansaldo STS systems on RFI’s conventional and high speed lines, along with the reconfiguration and upgrading of ...
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NewsVTG expands US and Russian wagon fleets
VTG: Leasing company VTG has strengthened its position in the US market and completed a ‘major strategic step’ in Russia through a series of wagon acquisitions. VTG Rail Inc has expanded its US fleet to around 5 200 vehicles with the acquisition of Redwood Rail’s 1 135 grain, cement, sand, ...
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NewsAirline veteran Richard Anderson to head Amtrak
USA: National passenger operator Amtrak named Richard Anderson as its next President & Chief Executive on June 26. The former CEO of Delta and Northwest Airlines will take up the post on July 12, acting as co-CEO with incumbent Wick Moorman until December 31. Moorman had joined Amtrak in September ...
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NewsLoco manufacturer obtains first IRIS certification in Kazakhstan
KAZAKHSTAN: The Astana-based EKZ joint venture of Alstom (50%), national railway KTZ (25%) and Transmashholding (25%) has obtained International Railway Industry Standard certification. Bernard Peille, Managing Director of Alstom in South CIS, said EKZ was ‘proud’ to be the first railway vehicle manufacturer in the country to obtain IRIS certification, ...
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NewsMurray Basin gauge conversion contract awarded
AUSTRALIA: A contract for regauging and upgrading more than 1 000 route-km of railway serving the Murray Basin region was announced on June 26 by Federal Minister for Infrastructure & Transport Darren Chester and Victoria’s Acting Minister for Public Transport Luke Donnellan. A joint venture of McConnell Dowell and Martinus ...
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NewsWorld rail market June 2017
Canada: Bombardier has announced a six-year C$700m agreement for IBM to support the integration of IT services across its Transportation and Aerospace businesses in 47 countries. Mauritania: Rafamet is to supply heavy haul operator SNIM with a UGE 400 N underfloor wheel lathes. Peru: Barcelona metro operator TMB ...
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NewsCharles-de-Gaulle Airport rail link funding model approved
FRANCE: The proposed financing mechanism for the construction of the CDG Express dedicated rail link between Paris Est station and Charles-de-Gaulle Airport has been approved by the European Commission. Under the current proposals, the 32 km link is to be built and operated by a 50:50 joint venture between SNCF ...
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NewsUralchem modernises ammonia wagon fleet
RUSSIA: United Wagon Co’s TikhvinChemMash plant has supplied fertiliser producer Uralchem with a batch of ammonia tank wagons offering a capacity of 92·7 m3 and 60·2 tonnes, an increase of between 5% and 10% compared to older designs. Designed for loading ammonia at temperatures down to -33°C, the wagons incorporate ...
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News500th Vectron locomotive ordered
CZECH REPUBLIC: European Locomotive Leasing has awarded Siemens a contract to supply a further eight Vectron electric locomotives. The locomotives will be rated at 6·4 MW and have a maximum speed of 200 km/h. ELL is to lease them to České Dráhy for use hauling Praha – Berlin EuroCity passenger ...
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NewsHŽ Cargo debt cancellation approved by European Commission
CROATIA: The European Commission announced on June 21 that it had approved the government’s provision of state aid worth 975m kuna to national freight operator HŽ Cargo. In May 2015 the government decided to convert HŽ Cargo’s debt to the state into equity, providing the operator with relief from repayment ...