Main line rail industry news – Page 540
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NewsDSB sets IC4 withdrawal date to close an ‘unhappy chapter’
DENMARK: DSB’s trouble-plagued fleet of IC4 diesel multiple-units must be kept going for the time being, but will be phased out from 2024, according to an evaluation report presented to the Parliamentary Transport Committee by the state-owned operator on December 15. Under an agreement with the previous government setting out ...
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NewsTEX Rail federal funding agreement signed
USA: The Federal Transit Administration announced on December 15 that it had signed a $499·4m Capital Investment Grant agreement with the Fort Worth Transportation Authority towards the $1·03bn TEX Rail commuter rail project. The funds are to be disbursed over four years. Construction of the 43 km route began ...
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NewsMPK Wrocław calls off last Modertrans Beta tram option
POLAND: Transport authority MPK Wrocław has ordered a further 13 Moderus Beta trams from Modertrans for 50m złoty. The partly low-floor vehicles are due to be delivered by the end of 2017. The latest order calls off the remaining options from a 23m złoty contract placed in 2015. The ...
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NewsKlang Valley MRT Line 1 opens
MALAYSIA: Passenger services began at 06.00 on December 16 the first phase of Klang Valley MRT Line 1, after the opening by Prime Minister Najib Razak at Kwasa Damansara station the previous day. The first month of travel is free. The 21 km northern section of the route, also ...
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NewsWork starts on Dakar airport rail link
SENEGAL: A ceremony was held in Dakar on December 14 to mark the launch of preparatory works for construction of a 55 km regional express railway, which is intended to link the city centre with a new airport.Among the guests at the ceremony were Senegalese President Macky Sall and representatives ...
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NewsRailway supply industry news round-up
DB Systemtechnik has acquired a 75% stake in InfraView, a Mainz-based company which develops infrastructure and rolling stock diagnostic software. InfraView has worked with DB Netz to develop a predictive maintenance platform for turnouts, which has reduced the number of failures by 50%. Yekaterinburg-based NPO Avtomatika and Czech company ...
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NewsLocomore launches crowd-funded open access service
GERMANY: Crowd-funded open access passenger operator Locomore launched its inter-city service between Stuttgart and Berlin on December 14. Leaving the southern city 39 min behind its scheduled 06.21 departure time, the inaugural train arrived at Berlin Hbf 5 min early. Test running for the service began on December 5. The ...
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NewsNTV’s first Pendolino Italo car unveiled
ITALY: Alstom unveiled the first vehicle from a fleet of 12 Pendolino trainsets it is supplying to private high speed operator NTV at its Savigliano works on December 15. The driving car is the first vehicle to be completed under a €460m contract initially finalised in October 2015. This covered ...
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NewsSNCF launches free wi-fi on TGVs
FRANCE: SNCF began offering passengers free wi-fi on some TGV trainsets on the Paris – Lyon route with effect from December 15. This is the first phase of a wider roll-out which aims to provide wi-fi coverage for around 80% of TGV passengers on high speed and conventional lines by ...
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NewsFirst Brightline trainset delivered
USA: The first of five trainsets which Siemens is building for the privately-financed Brightline inter-city project has arrived in Florida following a 4 900 km journey by rail from the manufacturer’s Sacramento plant. The trainsets will each comprise four stainless-steel coaches, top-and-tailed by diesel-electric locomotives. The initial trainset carries ...
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NewsNürnberg tram extension inaugurated
GERMANY: A 2·4 km extension of Nürnberg’s tram network was inaugurated on December 10, with the entry into service of the northern section of Route 4 from Thon to Am Wegfeld with three intermediate stops. The Land of Bayern contributed €16·8m of the €43·6m project cost. The city’s transport ...
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NewsFourth Railway Package market pillar adopted by European Parliament
EUROPE: The European Parliament voted on December 14 to adopt the final wording for the market pillar of the Fourth Railway Package, concluding ‘almost five years of intense negotiations’ over the European Commission’s proposals. The market pillar will come into force once the texts have been published in the Official ...
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NewsFirst San Martín locos arrive
ARGENTINA: In the presence of Transport Minister Guillermo Dietrich, the first two diesel freight locomotives that CRRC of China has supplied for the 1 676 mm gauge San Martín network were unloaded in the Port of Buenos Aires on December 13. They form part of the 107 locomotives being ...
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NewsRotterdam light rail vehicle loan agreement signed
NETHERLANDS: The European Investment Bank announced on December 14 that it had signed a €120m loan agreement with Rotterdam transport authority RET. The low-interest loan will be used towards the purchase of rolling stock and signalling equipment. RET is purchasing 16 three-section light rail vehicles from Bombardier to operate ...
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NewsMünchen inaugurates Steinhausen tram extension
GERMANY: The Steinhausen extension of München’s tram network opened with the timetable change on December 11. Construction of the 2·7 km eastern extension began on February 26. Running on reserved track from Max-Weber-Platz U-Bahn station to Berg am Laim S-Bahn station, the extension forms the eastern end of Route ...
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NewsMore Artic trams for Helsinki approved
FINLAND: The board of Helsinki transport operator HKL approved the purchase of 20 more trams from Škoda Transportation subsidiary Transtech on December 8. Deliveries of the low-floor Artic trams are due to take place in 2018-19. The 27·4 m long trams from the €57·3m order would be identical to ...
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NewsCarmichael coal railway approved
AUSTRALIA: Indian energy group Adani has received the final approval from the federal government and the state of Queensland for its A$21·7bn project to develop the planned Carmichael coal mine in the north Galilee Basin, together with a 388 km 1 435 mm gauge rail link to a new export ...
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NewsMainzelbahn opens
GERMANY: A day of free travel across the tram network in Mainz marked the opening of the Mainzelbahn extension on December 11. The 9·2 km route links Mainz Hauptbahnhof West and Lerchenberg in the southwest of the city, via the University and Marienborn railway station. There are 16 stops. ...
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NewsG&W buys terminal operator to complement Freightliner
UK: Genesee & Wyoming Inc has entered into an agreement to purchase UK container terminal and road haulage operator Pentalver Transport Ltd from APM Terminals. The transaction is expected to close in Q1 2017. Pentalver operates off-dock container terminals at the major seaports of Felixstowe, Southampton, London Gateway and Tilbury, ...
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NewsGlasgow backs airport tram-train plan
UK: The Glasgow City Region Cabinet agreed on December 13 to formally endorse plans for a tram-train link between Glasgow Airport and the city centre. The project is to be funded from the £1·1bn Glasgow City Region deal signed with the Scottish and UK governments in August 2014. The £144m ...