Main line rail industry news – Page 526
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NewsHelsinki – Tallinn tunnel feasibility studies commissioned
EUROPE: Two consortia have been appointed to study the feasibility of the FinEst Link proposal to build a 92 km under-sea railway tunnel linking Finland and Estonia. A consortium of Ramboll Finland, Sito, Strafica, Urban Research and Pöyry Finland will estimate passenger and freight volumes and undertake a cost-benefit study. ...
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NewsHS2 Phase 1 bill receives Royal Assent
UK: The parliamentary bill for the first phase of the High Speed 2 project received Royal Assent on February 23, marking the final legislative step before full civil works can begin.‘HS2 will be the world’s most advanced passenger railway and the backbone of our rail network’, said Transport Secretary Chris ...
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NewsGreat Britain records 10 years without train accident fatalities
UK: February 23 marked 10 years since the last passenger or staff fatality in a train accident on Great Britain’s national rail network. While there have been fatalities from other causes including trespass and suicide and at level crossings, the last occasion when a passenger died in a derailment ...
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NewsRZD International completes Beograd – Pančevo upgrade
SERBIA: Russian Railways’ RZD International business has completed a three-year modernisation and double-tracking of the 15 km electrified Beograd – Pančevo line, which carries significant suburban traffic as well as international trains to Romania. Krnjača, Ovča, Sebeš and Pančevo Glavna stations have been modernised, a signalling centre built at ...
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NewsEBRD backs Bozankaya metro car manufacturing
TURKEY: The European Bank for Reconstruction & Development is providing bus and rail vehicle manufacturer Bozankaya with a €10m loan to finance expansion of production capacity at its Ankara plant including investment in an automated welding machine. This will support a contract for Bozankaya to act as a subcontractor to ...
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NewsDutch provinces tender operating contract
NETHERLANDS: The provinces of Friesland and Groningen have jointly invited bids for a contract to operate regional rail services for 15 years from December 2020. The contract covers fast and stopping services on the Leeuwarden – Groningen Europapark route, and stopping services on the Eemshaven – Roodeschool – Groningen – ...
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NewsPassenger sector up but freight down at Wabtec
WABTEC: 'During 2016 we faced many challenges, including significant headwinds in our freight and industrial markets', said Wabtec President & CEO Raymond T Betler when presenting the group's annual results on February 21. 'Yet, our financial results were among the best in our history, we generated more cash from operations ...
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NewsNairobi moves ahead with transport plans
KENYA: President Uhuru Kenyatta issued an executive order on February 9 creating the Nairobi Metropolitan Area Transport Authority. Covering the counties of Nairobi City, Kiambu, Kajiado, Machakos and Murang’a, NMATA aims to formulate a ‘sustainable integrated public transport strategy’ based on bus rapid transit and commuter rail routes. It ...
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NewsMashhad metro Line 2 opens
IRAN: The first phase of the second metro line in Mashhad opened on February 20, running northeast-southwest from Kashfrood to Shohada. The 8 km section of Line 2 has six stations, with an additional station due to open at a later stage. The second phase, running southwest ...
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NewsEU backs Croatian electrification project
CROATIA: Plans to modernise and electrify the 24·2 km Zaprešić - Zabok line northwest of Zagreb have been backed by the JASPERS technical assistance partnership, which is managed by the European Investment Bank and co-sponsored by the European Commission and European Bank for Reconstruction & Development. The Ministry of ...
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NewsHedgehog to capture regenerative braking energy to power buses
ENERGY: Later this year Dutch company Hedgehog Applications is to undertake a pilot project in Apeldoorn which will use a large battery to store energy regenerated by braking electric trains and use it to recharge electric buses and cars. The project with four electric buses is to be undertaken ...
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NewsOrdsall Chord bridge move brings 'flowing ribbon' link closer
UK: What is claimed to be the first network arch bridge on a UK rail project was swung into place by Network Rail and its construction alliance partners Skanska and BAM Nuttall in Salford on February 21. This required the use of what Skanska said was the UK’s largest crawler ...
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NewsElbe-Altmark operating contract awarded
GERMANY: The transport authorities of Sachsen-Anhalt and Brandenburg have jointly awarded Hanseatische Eisenbahn a contract to operate Elbe-Altmark local passenger services for four years from December 2018. The Enon subsidiary currently operates services in Brandenburg and Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, but this is its first contract in Sachsen-Anhalt. The contract awarded following ...
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NewsBo-Bo-Bo locomotives shipped to Myanmar
MYANMAR: CRRC Dalian has shipped a further pair of locomotives to Myanma Railways, and has now supplied the national railway with more than 50 locomotives ordered in five batches. The metre-gauge Type CKD7B design is customised for local conditions in Myanmar. The 100 km/h locomotives have three two-axle bogies, with ...
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NewsMore X’Trapolis EMUs for Melbourne
AUSTRALIA: Public Transport Victoria has signed a €100m contract for Alstom to supply a further nine six-car X’Trapolis 1·5 kV DC electric multiple-units for Melbourne's 1 600 mm gauge suburban network. Announcing the order on February 21, Alstom said production was expected to begin at its Ballarat plant later ...
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NewsMore X’Trapolis EMUs for Melbourne
AUSTRALIA: Public Transport Victoria has signed a €100m contract for Alstom to supply a further nine six-car X’Trapolis 1·5 kV DC electric multiple-units for Melbourne's 1 600 mm gauge suburban network. Announcing the order on February 21, Alstom said production was expected to begin at its Ballarat plant later ...
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NewsFreight railway orders DMUs for passenger service revival
GERMANY: Local freight railway Bentheimer Eisenbahn has awarded Alstom a contract to supply five Coradia Lint 41 diesel multiple-units as part of the project to reinstate passenger services on the 30 km Bad Bentheim – Nordhorn – Neuenhaus line in Niedersachsen. Passenger services on the route were replaced by railway-operated ...
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NewsBrewery takes delivery of battery shunter
GERMANY: The Warsteiner brewery in Nordrhein-Westfalen has taken delivery of a TeleTrac RW60AEM battery-powered shunting vehicle supplied by Windhoff Bahn- und Anlagentechnik. The 34 tonne vehicle has the capability of hauling up to 12 wagons at the brewery’s container terminal. As well as lowering noise and emissions, the use of ...
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NewsNew locos planned as Mercitalia targets European corridors
ITALY: ‘Radical changes’ to the rail freight and logistics market were unveiled on February 20, when FS Italiane launched its restructured Mercitalia freight business in Milano. Transport Minister Graziano Delrio said major investment by FS was a ‘driving force’ for the country’s growth, with up to €1·5bn to be spent ...
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NewsSiemens forms UK Mobility Digitalisation unit
UK: Siemens Rail Automation announced a restructuring of its signalling and train control activities on February 20, with the formation of a Mobility Digitalisation unit. This aims to bring together products from across Siemens’ businesses, other industries and modes to support the creation of a ‘fully integrated, information-led’ transport network. ...