Main line rail industry news – Page 520
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NewsTransport for West Midlands to take Midland Metro in-house
UK: Transport for West Midlands is to take over the day-to-day operations of the Midland Metro light rail line when the current contract held by National Express ends in October 2018. ‘Metro is embarking on an unprecedented period of expansion and we believe bringing services in-house will provide the extra ...
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NewsLutz confirmed as DB Chairman as board reshaped
GERMANY: Meeting on March 22, the Deutsche Bahn AG Supervisory Board confirmed the appointment of Dr Richard Lutz as CEO of the national railway, succeeding Dr Rüdiger Grube who stepped down as Chairman of the Management Board in January. Having served as Chief Financial Officer since 2010, Lutz had been ...
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NewsVivarail battery-powered demonstrator on test
UK: Vivarail has begun testing a former London Underground D78 car which it has converted into a demonstrator vehicle for the use of onboard batteries. Testing of the vehicle’s range and performance are being undertaken at the Quinton Rail Technology Centre, to help inform plans for the future development of ...
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NewsMontecargo privatisation negotiations completed
MONTENEGRO: The Ministry of Finance has completed negotiations for Polish group OT Logistics to acquire a 51% stake in national rail freight operator Montecargo and a 30% stake in Port of Bar operator Luka Bar. The privatisation must now be approved by parliament. Under the final agreement, OT Logistics ...
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NewsCables designed to increase fire safety
CABLES: Industrial cabling supplier Nexans has launched the Flamex SI-FR range of fire-resistant cables for onboard power and control systems. These are designed to withstand harsh operating conditions including variations in temperature, snow, rain, sunlight and heavy vibration, and can also operate at up to 170°C with a maximum operating ...
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NewsStadler selected for high-capacity EMU contract
HUNGARY: Sole bidder Stadler Bussnang has been selected for a framework contract to supply high-capacity electric multiple-units, national passenger operator MÁV-Start announced on March 17. Further negotiations will now take place before a firm order is signed. MÁV-Start called tenders in December for the supply of up to 40 ...
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NewsStadler selected for high-capacity EMU contract
HUNGARY: Sole bidder Stadler Bussnang has been selected for a framework contract to supply high-capacity electric multiple-units, national passenger operator MÁV-Start announced on March 17. Further negotiations will now take place before a firm order is signed. MÁV-Start called tenders in December for the supply of up to 40 ...
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NewsPisa Mover inaugurated
ITALY: An automated peoplemover linking Galileo Galilei Airport with Pisa Centro railway station was inaugurated on March 18. Travel is free until March 26. Pisa Mover services take 4 min to complete the 1·8 km route, which includes an intermediate station at San Giusto/Aurelia, where there is a 1 ...
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NewsFehmarn Belt link 'when, not whether', as consultancy contracts signed
EUROPE: Denmark to Germany tunnel project promoter Femern A/S signed two technical consultancy contracts on March 21. ‘This marks a very important day for the project’, said Technical Director Henrik Christensen. ‘It's now a question of when, not whether, construction gets underway. Everything is ready on the Danish side and ...
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NewsFirst refurbished Budapest Line M3 trainset enters passenger service
HUNGARY: The first modernised metro train entered service on Budapest metro Line M3 on March 20. The six-car set was modernised by Transmashholding subsidiary Metrowagonmash, the original supplier. Two more are due to enter service in the next two weeks. Metrowagonmash beat six other bidders to be selected in ...
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NewsStadler awards Merseyrail depot construction contract
UK: Stadler Rail Services UK has awarded BAM Nuttall a contract worth around £20m to build the depot in Kirkdale where it will maintain the fleet of 52 electric multiple-units which Stadler Bussnang is to supply for Merseyrail services, and also to refurbish the existing Birkenhead North depot. ‘We have ...
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NewsDolnośląskie awards four-year operating contract
POLAND: Dolnośląskie voivodship has awarded national local passenger train operator PolRegio (formerly known as Przewozy Regionalne) a contract to operate local passenger services in 2017-20. The deal is worth a total of 153·6m złoty over four years. The voivodship is to pay PolRegio 50m złoty/year in 2017, with its payments ...
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NewsGySEV orders Vectron locomotives
EUROPE: Hungary to Austria cross-border operator GySEV has signed a contract for Siemens to supply five Vectron locomotives, with an option for a further four. The firm order announced on March 17 covers three triple-system electric locomotives, and two dual-system locomotives with last-mile engines. The locomotives will be equipped with ...
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NewsIntereuropa-FLG becomes Rail Cargo Logistics
SLOVENIA: Intereuropa-FLG has been renamed Rail Cargo Logistics, after Austrian Federal Railways’ subsidiary Rail Cargo Group increased its stake in the business from 50% to 74% to become the majority shareholder. Ljubljana-based Intereuropa-FLG has been part of the Rail Cargo Group since 2005. It offers a range of freight services ...
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NewsIstanbul – Dhaka – Yangon corridor plan to improve South Asia rail connectivity
ASIA: Officials and policy makers from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Iran, Kazakhstan, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, Russia and Turkey attended a conference on March 15-16 to discuss proposals to improve international rail connectivity in South & Southwest Asia. The event in Delhi was organised by United Nations Economic & Social Commission ...
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NewsWorld rail freight news round-up
Russia's government has launched a programme offering financial support for the replacement of life-expired shunting and other locomotives used on industrial railways which do not form part of the national network. On March 15 Mexico’s Economic Competition Commission published an abstract of a preliminary report which has concluded that there ...
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NewsLow emissions locos delivered to Texas
USA: Knoxville Locomotive Works has begun delivering its largest order for low-emissions diesel locomotives. The Type SE10B and SE15B locos were ordered by Locomotive Solutions for use at chemical plants in Texas, with partial funding from the Texas Emissions Reduction Plan administered by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality. ...
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NewsRFI approves WEGH under-sleeper pads
ITALY: Infrastructure manager RFI has approved the use of WEGH Group’s concrete sleepers with under-sleeper pads on the national network. The USP has two surfaces, one attached to the underside of the sleeper using a machine built by WEGH’s Olmi division to ensure consistency, and a resilient portion which is ...
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NewsTrump proposes dramatic cuts to Amtrak operations and capital project grants
USA: In a blueprint for its proposed Financial Year 2018 budget, the Trump administration is planning to cut funding for the Department of Transportation to $16bn, a 13% reduction on that available for FY2017. Under the proposals, swinging cuts would be made both to passenger train and municipal transport operations ...
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NewsVityaz-M trams enter service in Moscow
RUSSIA: Two prototype Vityaz-M trams entered revenue service in Moscow on March 17. They had arrived at arrived at the Bauman depot on January 27. Moscow tram operator Mosgortrans ordered 300 three-section trams from a consortium of Transmashholding subsidiary Metrowagonmash and PK Transportnye Systemy last year. Deliveries from TMH’s ...