Main line rail industry news – Page 535
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NewsRailway supply industry news round-up
The Greenbrier Companies is negotiating to exercise an option to increase its stake in Brazilian wagon manufacturing joint venture Greenbrier-Maxion to 60%. For the quarter to November 30, Greenbrier-Maxion received orders for over 2 000 wagons. ‘The need for high quality transportation equipment is poised to grow based in part ...
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NewsNetwork Rail awards Shotts Line electrification contract
UK: Network Rail has awarded Carillion Powerlines Ltd a £49m contract to electrify the Holytown Junction – Shotts – Midcalder Junction line, as part of a £160m project to provide a fourth electrified route between Edinburgh and Glasgow. The contract covers the installation of 74 track-km of 25 kV 50 ...
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NewsMacedonian operator orders Chinese locomotives
MACEDONIA: National freight and passenger operator MŽ Transport has awarded Chinese manufacturer CRRC Zhuzhou an €8m contract to supply four electric locomotives. Speaking at the signing ceremony on January 10, MŽ Transport CEO Nikola Kostov said the TSI-compliant 25 kV 50 Hz locomotives would offer European and world standards of ...
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NewsUijeongbu light metro operator files for bankruptcy
SOUTH KOREA: Uijeongbu LRT Co filed for bankruptcy at the Seoul Central District Court on January 11. The operator of the light metro line in the city of 500 000 inhabitants 20 km north of Seoul had debts of more than 240bn won at the end of 2016. When ...
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NewsPayPal and Apple Wallet speed Stansted Express booking
UK: Passengers using the stanstedexpress.com website to book tickets for travel on Abellio Greater Anglia’s Stansted Express service from London Liverpool Street to Stansted Airport can now pay via PayPal and add their tickets to Apple Wallet. This removes the need for passengers to print out tickets before travelling. The ...
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NewsSNCF awards €3·75bn Paris RER fleet renewal contract
FRANCE: The SNCF board has formally selected a consortium of Alstom and Bombardier Transportation for a deal to supply up to 355 custom-designed X'Trapolis Cityduplex double-deck trainsets worth €3·75bn for use on Paris RER lines D and E. The order announced on January 11 is the largest-ever contract to be ...
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NewsSNCF awards €3·75bn Paris RER fleet renewal contract
FRANCE: The SNCF board has formally selected a consortium of Alstom and Bombardier Transportation for a deal to supply up to 355 custom-designed X'Trapolis Cityduplex double-deck trainsets worth €3·75bn for use on Paris RER lines D and E. The order announced on January 11 is the largest-ever contract to be ...
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NewsHibiya Line to get longer trains
JAPAN: Tokyo Metro has started trial running with the first of 42 seven-car Series 13000 trainsets, which are expected to enter service on the capital’s Hibiya Line later this year. The 1 067 mm gauge aluminium-bodied trainsets are being built Kinki Sharyo in Osaka, and the first train was delivered ...
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NewsDB and Vlexx win Saarland passenger contracts
GERMANY: The Saarland and Rheinland-Pfalz south and north transport authorities have jointly awarded two contracts for the operation of regional passenger services for 15 years from December 2019. Incumbent DB Regio has won the SaarRB Lot 1 contract to operate 3·2 million train-km/year on the Schweich – Trier – Saarbrücken ...
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NewsTrenitalia buys c2c to enter UK rail market
UK: An agreement in principle for National Express Group to sell its c2c passenger franchisee to the Trenitalia subsidiary of Italian state railway group FS for £70m was announced on January 11. NEG’s c2c holds the Essex Thameside franchise to operate commuter-focused services into London Fenchurch Street, carrying around ...
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NewsDangerous goods transport regulations updated
INTERNATIONAL: An updated version of the Regulations Concerning the International Carriage of Dangerous Goods by Rail came into force on January 1, replacing the 2015 rules which may however continue to be applied until June 30 2017. RID applies to international rail transport between 44 countries in Europe, Asia and ...
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NewsRift Valley Railways for sale
AFRICA: Egypt-based energy and infrastructure group Qalaa has confirmed that ‘preliminary negotiations are ongoing’ with several prospective local and international buyers for its 73·76% stake in Kenya – Uganda railway concessionaire Rift Valley Railways. On January 5 Qalaa said no official offer had yet been made or any agreement reached. ...
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NewsDaugavpils selects Belkommunmash trams
LATVIA: Belkommunmash has submitted the best offer to supply trams for Daugavpils, city tram operator Daugavpils Satiksme announced on January 5. The Belarusian manufacturer is to supply eight single-section trams for a total cost of €2·1m. In 2014 Daugavpils Satiksme ordered eight single-section trams and four three-section trams ...
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NewsNS completes green energy transition
NETHERLANDS: National passenger operator NS is now operating all of its electric trains using wind-generated power, following a three-year transition in association with natural gas, electricity and heat supplier Eneco. According to a personal video message from CEO Roger van Boxtel, NS is the first railway in the world to ...
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NewsAlstom to maintain Ferromex locomotives
MEXICO: Ferromex has awarded Alstom a five-year contract to maintain 219 EMD and GE diesel freight locomotives The contract announced on January 9 includes condition-based and predictive maintenance which will include oil and vibration analysis and remote monitoring. This is expected to bring a reduction in operating costs. ...
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NewsElaine Chao
Elaine Chao has been selected as US Secretary of Transportation by President-elect Donald Trump.
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NewsChangsha – Zhuzhou – Xiangtan Intercity Railway opens
CHINA: The Changsha – Zhuzhou – Xiangtan Intercity Railway in Hunan Province opened for passenger services on December 26. There are 21 stations on the 95·5 km Y-shared route from Changsha to the two termini. Services are operated using eight-car CRH6F electric trainsets from CRRC Qingdao Sifang. The alignment ...
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NewsTenders called for first tram-train project in Hungary
HUNGARY: Tenders have been called for a tram-train route to be developed between Szeged and Hódmezővásárhely in the south of the country. The cost of infrastructure is estimated at HF13·25bn and rolling stock at HF10bn, and the project will be fully financed by the EU. The route will incorporate ...
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NewsToshiba targets European hybrid locomotive market
GERMANY: Japan’s Toshiba and DB Cargo have agreed to undertake a feasibility study for the joint development and subsequent purchase of an initial 100 battery-diesel hybrid locomotives for shunting and short-distance freight operations. Test vehicles are expected to be available by the end of 2019. The value of the deal ...
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NewsPassenger locomotives for Nigeria unveiled
NIGERIA: The first two diesel locomotives built to haul passenger trains on the Abuja – Kaduna line have been rolled out at the CRRC Dalian factory in China. The 1 435 mm gauge Type CDD3B1 locomotives have a maximum speed of 150 km/h, and are designed to cope with local ...