Main line rail industry news – Page 512
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NewsDB Cargo UK confirms job cuts and reform
UK: Freight operator DB Cargo UK has confirmed that it is to launch its ‘future business model’ on July 2, having reached an agreement on the changes with the unions which represent the majority of its workforce. Discussions with ASLEF, RMT, TSSA and Unite began in October 2016 when DB ...
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NewsADB loan for Ferghana Valley electrification
UZBEKISTAN: The Asian Development Bank has approved a US$80m loan towards a US$177m project to electrify 145·1 km of single track line linking Pap, Namangan and Andijon in the Ferghana Valley. Completion is planned for the second quarter of 2020. The ADB loan will finance supervision services and the procurement ...
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NewsRoslagsbanan narrow gauge EMU contract signed
SWEDEN: A SFr232m contract for Stadler to supply Stockholm transport authority SL with 22 custom-designed three-car electric multiple-units for the 891 mm gauge Roslagbanan suburban line has been signed. Deliveries are scheduled for 2020, with entry into service in 2022. There is an option for a further 45 units. Stadler ...
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NewsAubin Grove station opens
AUSTRALIA: Aubin Grove station on Perth’s suburban Mandurah Line opened on April 23. The station was built at a cost of A$72m as part of the A$125m Aubin Grove road and rail project. It has 2 000 parking bays, along with bicycle facilities, six bus feeder services, a kiosk, toilets, ...
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NewsLeeds transport funding package confirmed
UK: A £173·5m four-year funding package for public transport improvements in Leeds was confirmed by Transport Minister Andrew Jones on April 21. In addition, FirstGroup has agreed in principle to commit £71m to providing 284 new low-emission buses by 2020. West Yorkshire Combined Authority is to use the funding to ...
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NewsBombardier places ‘breakthrough’ order for ABB transformers
AUSTRIA: Bombardier Transportation has placed the first contract for ABB’s Effilight roof-mounted traction transformer design, ordering 42 transformers for installation on 21 Talent 3 electric multiple-units which it is to supply to Austrian Federal Railways for use in the Vorarlberg region. The Effilight has a patented cell design which ABB ...
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NewsCRC orders more CRH1A-A high speed trainsets
CHINA: China Railway Corp’s Nanning Railway Bureau has placed an order for 40 CRH1A-A high speed train cars with Bombardier Sifang (Qingdao) Transportation Ltd.Bombardier says that the order is intended to support the ongoing integration of Guangxi's regional high speed routes into the national network of Passenger-Dedicated Lines. The contract ...
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NewsWork starts on Boyolali airport rail link
INDONESIA: Construction has started on a 13·5 km rail link to serve Adi Soemarmo International Airport in the central Java state of Boyolali, following a groundbreaking ceremony on April 8 attended by President Joko Widodo. Due to be completed within two years, the line will connect the airport with Solo ...
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NewsDouble track to Chittagong
BANGLADESH: The government has signed a memorandum of understanding with Chinese contractors to regauge and double-track the Dhaka – Chittagong main line via Akhaura and Comilla.According to Railways Minister M Mazibul Hoque, the work is to be undertaken by China Railway Eryuan Engineering Group, which last year was awarded the ...
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NewsStagecoach and SNCF lead Virgin-branded bid for HS2 operations
UK: On April 24 a consortium led by Stagecoach Group with SNCF and Virgin Holdings as minority partners submitted a formal expression of interest in bidding for the Department for Transport’s upcoming West Coast Partnership franchise.The WCP franchise is scheduled to begin in May 2019. The winner will take over ...
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NewsTram components 3D printed on demand
GERMANY: Siemens is using 3D printing to reduce its lead times for the supply of customised tram components from weeks to days while eliminating the cost of specialised tooling and the need to keep parts in stock. Siemens has seen an increase in demand for customised parts, but the ...
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NewsFlat wagons certified
RUSSIA: RM Rail has obtained certification for two designs of flat wagon designed for heavy loads and a service life of 32 years. The Type 13-1258 wagon is designed for transporting wheeled and heavy crawler vehicles, steel structures, heavy containers, tank containers for dangerous goods of up to 36 tonnes ...
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NewsKaiserstuhlbahn electrification contract awarded
GERMANY: Local rail infrastructure manager SWEG Schienenwege has awarded Powerlines Group a contract to electrify the 37·6 km Kaiserstuhlbahn linking Riegel-Malterdingen with Gottenheim and Breisach to the northwest of Freiburg. Forming part of the Breisgau-S-Bahn 2020 project, this will enable Kaiserstuhlbahn services to be integrated with the Freiburg – Breisach ...
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NewsBergen airport tram extension opens
NORWAY: The extension of Bergen’s Bybanen light rail line from Birkelandsskiftet to Kokstadflaten and the airport at Flesland was officially opened with a ceremony on April 21. Passenger services started the following day. The opening of the latest section of the line completes the 7 km Lagunen – Flesland third ...
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NewsUnited Wagon Co forms tank container subsidiary
RUSSIA: Rolling stock manufacturing group United Wagon Co has established a subsidiary to arrange multimodal tank container and container shipments in the CIS region, southeast Asia and the Middle East. Unicon 1520 will have a fleet of high-capacity flat wagons produced by UWC, as well as tank containers ...
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NewsWorld rail freight news round-up
Ukrainian national railway UZ and Polish broad gauge line operator PKP LHS have agreed a 1bn hryvna joint project to electrify the 80 km route from Kovel in Ukraine to the border in 2018-19. According to UZ figures 90% of rail freight between Ukraine and Poland uses the route, and ...
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NewsChinese locomotive arrives in Serbia
SERBIA: The first of two CRRC Zhuzhou locomotives ordered by state electricity generator Elektroprivreda Srbije in April 2016 has arrived in Obrenovac, after being shipped from China to the Romanian port of Constanța then by continuing by river to Sremska Mitrovica. The 7 MW six-axle CRRC Zhuzhou locomotive with a ...
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NewsCapitol Corridor Charger unveiled
USA: The first of six Siemens SC-44 Charger locomotives for northern California’s Capitol Corridor inter-city route from Sacramento to Silicon Valley, San Francisco, Oakland and Berkeley was unveiled on April 18. A 30-day period of revenue testing is expected to begin by the end of April, ahead of entry into ...
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NewsSiemens launches 'internet of trains' Digital Rail Services business
USA: Siemens has formed a Digital Rail Services business to improve rail operations by creating an ‘internet of trains’ making intelligent use of data generated by sensors on infrastructure and vehicles. The Digital Rail Services business is based at the Georgia Institute of Technology Campus in Atlanta. It aims to ...
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NewsChampagne and nature inspire Tobu Railway’s Revaty EMUs
JAPAN: Tobu Express put eight Series 500 electric multiple-units into traffic on limited express services with its timetable change on April 21. The three-car EMUs are equipped with retractable end gangways and are designed for easy splitting and joining to enable multiple destinations to be served from Tokyo’s Asakusa station. ...