Main line rail industry news – Page 532
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NewsAdriatic – Baltic rail freight service launched
EUROPE: What is described as the first direct rail freight service between the ports of Trieste in Italy and Kiel in Germany was launched by TX Logistik on behalf of Turkish logistics company EKOL on January 25. There are connections with shipping services to and from Scandinavia, Greece, and Turkey. ...
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NewsGrizzly bear study aims to reduce collisions with trains
CANADA: A five-year study to identify and address the underlying causes of collisions between grizzly bears and trains has been completed by Canadian Pacific, Parks Canada and the universities of Alberta and Calgary. There have been 10 confirmed rail-caused grizzly bear mortalities in the Banff and Yoho national parks over ...
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NewsRM Rail aims to increase wagon exports
RUSSIA: The development of innovative wagon designs, an increase in exports and expansion of the range of castings offered are included in wagon manufacturer RM Rail’s priorities for 2017, according to CEO Pavel Ovchinnikov. The company significantly developed its export activities in 2016, supplying wagons and components to Iran, Cuba, ...
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NewsRailway supply industry news round-up
SNCB is assessing market interest in the sale of all of part of its 92% stake in consultancy business Transurb. The other 8% is owned by Brussels transport operator STIB. RZD International has signed a memorandum of understanding for co-operation with Greek national railway group OSE’s ERGA OSE construction ...
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NewsTwo new EMU fleets as DB Regio selected for Rheintal contract
GERMANY: The selection of DB Regio as preferred bidder to operate Rheintal passenger services for 12½ years from June 2020 was announced by the Land of Baden-Württemberg on January 26. Award of the contract is subject to the 10-day regulatory standstill period. The so-called Netz 4 routes had been tendered ...
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NewsTendering starts for Bogotá — Belencito
COLOMBIA: National infrastructure agency ANI has begun tendering for a contract worth up to 720m pesos to operate the 257 km Bogotá — Belencito route. Proposals are due to be submitted by 10.00 on February 7. Bidders are expected to include Dracol Líneas Férreas which has operated the 914 mm ...
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NewsMinsk metro selects Stadler rolling stock
BELARUS: Stadler Minsk CEO Philipp Brunner told local media on January 23 that Stadler had been selected to supply 10 trainsets for the Minsk metro. Brunner gave no further details, but it seems likely that the rolling stock is to be used on metro Line 3, currently under construction. ...
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NewsTGVmax offers unlimited travel for less than a car-share
FRANCE: A new online ticketing product offering passengers aged 16 to 27 unlimited travel on long-distance services for €79 a month was announced by SNCF on January 23. TGVmax will be available on 94% of TGV and Intercités services and on every day of the year, with the exception of ...
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NewsRancagua Express carries first passengers
CHILE: State railway EFE began trial operation of its new commuter service between Santiago and Rancagua on January 24. During the initial phase, there are three departures from the capital during the morning peak, and one at 20.45 on Fridays. There are departures from Rancagua at 07.20, 10.00 and 19.30. ...
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NewsChannel Tunnel security centre opened
EUROPE: Channel Tunnel operator Eurotunnel inaugurated a security control centre at its French terminal in Coquelles on January 18. The decision to make the ‘major investment’ in the centre was taken following a meeting in summer 2015 between the UK’s then Home Secretary Theresa May and her French counterpart Bernard ...
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NewsModertrans wins first order for fully low-floor Gamma trams
POLAND: Modertrans has submitted the best offer to supply 50 trams to MPK Poznań, the transport authority announced on January 23. The Poznań-based supplier beat Pesa and a Stadler-Solaris consortium. Modertrans will supply 30 unidirectional and 20 bidirectional trams of 30·5 m to 32·5 m long under the 397m ...
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NewsMetafrax takes delivery of chemical wagons
RUSSIA: United Wagon Co’s TikhvinChemMash has delivered 20 chemical tank wagons to Metafrax, and is to establish a servicing centre at the chemical company’s production site. Designed to be suitable for a wide range of chemicals, the Type 15-6900-01 wagons which Metafrax plans to use for transporting formalin ...
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NewsSiemens to supply Indian Railways with traction equipment
INDIA: Siemens has announced a series of contracts to supply traction equipment to Indian Railways’ Diesel Locomotive Works in Varanasi. A contract worth Rs980m covers the design, supply and installation of 48 sets of AC traction equipment for twin-cab high horsepower diesel locomotives. To be produced at Siemens’ Nashik factory, ...
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NewsTrenitalia joins FirstGroup to bid for UK franchises
UK: Two weeks after the Italian state railway group entered the UK rail market by agreeing to acquire the Essex Thameside franchise from National Express, FS Italiane subsidiary Trenitalia UK announced on January 24 that it was joining FirstGroup to bid for the East Midlands franchise and the forthcoming West ...
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NewsWeaker demand in China and North America hits Knorr-Bremse sales
KNORR-BREMSE: Weaker demand for high speed trains in China and a cyclic slowdown in the North American locomotive and wagon business contributed to a 5·8% year-on-year fall in Knorr-Bremse AG’s sales to a €5·49bn in 2016, the company announced on January 23. Incoming orders of €5·68bn were slightly higher than ...
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NewsGE diesels arrive in Karachi
PAKISTAN: More than 200 VIPs and guests gathered in the port of Karachi on January 23 to mark the arrival of the first seven of 55 Evolution Series ES43ACi diesel locomotives being built for Pakistan Railways by GE Transportation. Being supplied under a 10-year agreement valued at US$400m, locomotives built ...
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NewsVirtual reality railway station used for staff training
UK: Arriva Trains Wales is training staff to spot potential platform-train interface hazards by using a £100 000 interactive virtual reality ‘cave' which replicates a station platform, complete with computer-generated passengers. The three-walled room at ATW’s driver training centre in Cardiff uses projectors and screens to create an immersive ...
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NewsBNSF announces 2017 capital investment plan
USA: BNSF Railway announced a 2017 capital expenditure plan worth $3·4bn on January 19. As with 2016’s $3·9bn capital plan, the largest element of the programme is the replacement and maintenance of infrastructure on the 52 000 route-km network in 28 US states and three Canadian provinces. This has been ...
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NewsSBB launches multi-modal trip planning apps
SWITZERLAND: Swiss Federal Railways has launched SBB Reiseplaner apps for iOS and Android, providing a door-to-door trip planner based on HaCon’s Hafas platform which includes multi-modal public transport connections, car sharing provider Mobility, private cars and private or hired bikes along as well as car and cycle parking. The user ...
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NewsHitachi shows how Trenitalia’s Rock will roll
ITALY: A mock-up of one of the driving cars from the double-deck regional electric multiple-units which Hitachi Rail Italy is to supply to Trenitalia was unveiled at the manufacturer’s Pistoia plant on January 20. In August 2016 Trenitalia awarded Hitachi a €333m firm order for 39 five-car Caravaggio high-capacity double-deck ...