Main line rail industry news – Page 529
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NewsRailway supply industry news round-up
Russian Railways and Siemens have opened a data processing and analysis centre in Moscow to support condition-based maintenance of Lastochka EMUs. This follows the centre in München-Allach for European fleets; a third centre for North America is to be commissioned in the coming months. Network Rail Consulting has established ...
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NewsFinal Leonardo option exercised in Milano
ITALY: Milano transport operator ATM signed a €106m contract on February 8 for Hitachi Rail Italy to supply nine trainsets for metro Lines 1 and six trains for metro Line 2. The Leonardo trains will be built at HRI’s plants in Reggio Calabria and Napoli, with deliveries to be ...
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NewsTom Stables
Tom Stables has taken over responsibility for UK rail activities at National Express following the retirement of Andrew Chivers.
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NewsLugano tram-train project receives regional funding
SWITZERLAND: The Grand Council of Ticino has approved SFr1·5m towards the first phase of a tram-train project serving Lugano. This follows the approval of SFr300m by the Federal Council in November. The first phase, planned to open in 2020, would build around 4 km of new double-track alignment to ...
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NewsTrimble buys machine vision company
USA: Trimble has acquired automated lineside inspection system manufacturer Beena Vision for an undisclosed price, the company announced on February 8. Founded in 2003, Beena Vision supplies machine vision and other non-contact detectors which can be used for the detailed and automated condition monitoring of components on passing trains, providing ...
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NewsAstra Trans Carpatic launches open access night train
ROMANIA: Open access operator Astra Trans Carpatic ran its inaugural train from Arad to Bucureşti Nord via Sighişoara and Braşov overnight on February 2. The new operator is backed by Valer Blidar, who also owns rolling stock manufacturer Astra Vagoane Călători Arad which has supplied two six-car rakes of ...
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NewsInterserve wins Network Rail station facilities management contract
UK: Network Rail has awarded Interserve a five-year contract to manage facilities at 11 major stations, the first time the infrastructure manager has awarded one large facilities management contract rather than multiple separate deals. The £65m agreement announced on February 6 covers waste management, landscaping, pest control, adverse weather ...
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NewsIndustry backs faster ERTMS deployment
EUROPE: The Chief Executives of the eight signalling companies that are members of the UNISIG association renewed their commitment to the development and roll-out of the European Rail Traffic Management System at a meeting in Brussels on February 7 attended by DG Move Director-General Henrik Hololei, ERTMS Co-ordinator Karel Vinck ...
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NewsACC to refurbish Paris metro cars
FRANCE: The board of Paris metro operator RATP has named ACC Ingénierie et Maintenance as preferred bidder for a contract to refurbish up to 130 steel-wheeled MF77 trainsets operating on lines 7 and 8. Potentially costing up to €82m, the refurbishment programme is being equally funded by RATP and Ile-de-France ...
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NewsG&W buys Heart of Georgia Railroad
USA: Genesee & Wyoming has agreed to acquire Atlantic Western Transportation Inc, the parent company of the Heart of Georgia Railroad short line. The deal announced on February 8 is subject to customary closing conditions, including Surface Transportation Board approval, and is expected to be completed in the second quarter ...
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NewsPorto approves two metro extensions
PORTUGAL: Meeting on February 7, the board of Metro do Porto SA approved plans to build two extensions to the city’s light metro network. Running for a total of 9∙2 km and expected to cost €287m to build, the extensions would be used by over 33 000 passengers day, according ...
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NewsTechnology strategy for the 'age of the digital train'
UK: A strategy identifying 12 'key capabilities' that the rail sector needs to develop in order to increase capacity and improve customer service in the 'age of the digital train' was published by a group of industry bodies led by standards organisation RSSB on February 7. Endorsed by the Rail ...
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NewsArabian architecture and palm trees inspire Riyadh metro train
SAUDI ARABIA: Alstom unveiled a Metropolis trainset for the Riyadh metro at its Katowice factory in Poland on February 7. The Metropolis trainset destined for Line 6 is the fifth that Alstom has produced for Riyadh; the first left the factory on January 10. Deliveries are due to be completed ...
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NewsSingapore awards high speed railway design contract
SINGAPORE: Land Transport Authority has appointed AECOM Singapore and a team of specialist consultants to conduct the advanced engineering study for the complete design of the Singapore section of the future high speed line to Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia. The contract includes the provision of architectural, civil engineering, electrical, mechanical ...
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NewsMetafrax takes delivery of ‘wagons of the future’
RUSSIA: United Wagon Co’s TikhvinChemMash plant has begun series production of Type 15-6880-01 tank wagons for methanol producer Metafrax. This is the second model of UWC tank wagon to use modern design techniques to increase capacity while complying with the GOST Tpr loading gauge, with the capacity of 71·7 ...
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NewsLineside connectivity company TeleRail launched
UK: A company which aims to provide purpose-built trackside communications networks for on-train connectivity has been formed by Nigel Wallbridge, a co-founder of Nomad Digital and a director until its sale to Alstom at the end of 2016. Initially focusing on the UK market, TeleRail plans to offer ‘a vastly ...
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NewsTechnically complex tank wagon certified
RUSSIA: Following testing, TikhvinChemMash has obtained federal certification for what it says is one of the most technically complex wagon types to be developed by parent company United Wagon Co's All-Union Research and Development Centre for Transportation Technology. The Type 15-6913 tank wagon is designed for carrying molten sulphur, with ...
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NewsRebecca Saltzman
Rebecca Saltzman has succeeded Tom Radulovich as President of San Francisco’s Bay Area Rapid Transit, while Robert Raburn becomes Vice-President.
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NewsMeasure and act on what passengers want
UK: InterCity West Coast franchisee Virgin Trains has been able to improve passengers’ satisfaction with boarding, seating and on-board entertainment by working with customer relationship data company ITG Creator and using Qlik’s visual analytics platform. More than 200 000 responses to surveys e-mailed to people who had booked tickets ...
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NewsCoradia Liner enters service
FRANCE: SNCF’s first Alstom Coradia Liner V160 electro-diesel multiple-units entered passenger service on the Paris – Troyes – Belfort route on February 6. SNCF placed a €346m order for 34 six-car Coradia Liners in October 2013. Part of Alstom’s Coradia Polyvalent family, they are intended to replace locomotive-hauled stock on ...