Main line rail industry news – Page 909
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NewsEtihad Rail orders EMD locomotives
UAE: Etihad Rail has awarded Electro-Motive Diesel a contract to supply seven SD70ACS heavy-haul freight locomotives for the first phase of its national railway programme. The locomotives are to be delivered in 2012, with the first trains scheduled to run in 2013. EMD has previously won orders ...
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NewsZürich West tram extension nears completion
SWITZERLAND: Zürich transport operator VBZ has begun test running on the 3 km Zürich West extension of tram Route 4 from Escher-Wyss-Platz to Altstetten Nord, scheduled to open on December 11. Seven stops will serve the Zürich West area where redevelopment is expected to increase the number of local ...
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NewsFreiburg begins work on tram extension
GERMANY: A groundbreaking ceremony in Freiburg on July 26 launched work on the 1·8 km Zähringen tram extension north from Reutebachgasse to Dorfbach, where it will serve a park and ride site on the city boundary. The three-stop extension of the metre-gauge network along a mostly segregated and grassed alignment ...
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NewsNews in Brief
Construction of Namibia’s N$80m Ondangwa – Oshikango railway has restarted after a delay of more than a year, which the transport ministry blamed on non-delivery of rails. Earthworks are now complete, and 5000 tonnes of rail have been delivered from Austria. Westfalen-Lippe transport authority NWL ...
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NewsFortaleza metro South Line test running underway
BRAZIL: Test running began on June 17 on a 2·5 km section between Rachel Queiroz and Virgilio Tavora on the South Line of the Fortaleza metro (RG 1.11 p54). ‘Today is a victory’, announced Ceará State Infrastructure Minister Adail Fontenele, confirming that civil works for the rest of the 24 ...
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NewsLGV Bretagne PPP contract signed
FRANCE: The €3·3bn PPP contract for construction and maintenance of LGV Bretagne-Pays de la Loire was signed in Paris on July 28, by RFF President Hubert du Mesniland and Pierre Berger, Managing Director of Eiffage. This follows the signing of a final agreement on the funding package in Rennes on ...
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NewsSiemens awarded Hungarian ETCS contract
HUNGARY: Infrastructure agency NIF has awarded Siemens a €53m contract to supply ETCS Level 2 equipment for the 65 km route running southwest from Budapest-Kelenföld to Székesfehérvar. Commissioning is scheduled for 2013. Siemens said on July 26 that its plants in Budapest, Wallisellen and Braunschweig would provide two Simis electronic ...
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NewsNew Starts funding
USA: Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood announced a funding package worth $1·58bn on June 27 for 27 urban transport projects across the country under the New Starts initiative. While some of this total includes Full Funding Grant Agreements which are already in place, $345m has been allocated to rail projects as ...
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NewsSignal failure suspected in Wenzhou crash
CHINA: ‘Design flaws’ in the signalling on the Ningbo – Wenzhou high speed line led to the fatal rear-end collision near Wenzhou on July 22, according to the recently-appointed head of the Shanghai Railway Bureau An Lusheng. The accident is now reported to have killed 39 people and injured 192. ...
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New team in place at DSB
DENMARK: Two new board members will take up their posts at DSB this month as the national passenger operator restructures its management team following the recent financial problems at its DSBFirst joint venture. DSB announced last month that Christian Roslev (pictured) would be joining the board on August and ...
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Fiona Tordoff
Fiona Tordoff is to become Chief Executive of the Institution of Railway Operators next month, following the retirement of Chris Daughton who has led the IRO for 10 of its 11 years in existence.
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Dinesh Trivedi
Dinesh Trivedi has been appointed as Minister of Railways in India, succeeding Prime Minister Manmohan Singh who had been acting minister for two months following the departure of Mamata Banerjee to become Chief Minister of West Bengal in May.
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Debra Johnson
Debra Johnson has been named acting Executive Director & CEO of the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency, following the resignation of Nathaniel Ford on June 30.
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Mark Langman
Mark Langman has been designated Route Managing Director for Network Rail’s new Wales Route, which is to be established in October with a local headquarters in Cardiff (RG 4.11 p28). He was previously Route Director for NR’s Western Route, which included Wales.
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NewsCIT Rail orders 5000 wagons
USA: On July 26 CIT Rail announced it had placed orders for a total of 5 000 covered hopper and tank wagons to be supplied by various manufacturers during 2012. 'It is important that we maintain a young, modern fleet of high-quality railcars that enable carriers and shippers to maximise ...
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NewsAlstom to equip West Papua mining railway
INDONESIA: Mining company PT Freeport Indonesia has awarded Alstom a contract worth around €90m to supply railway systems and train control equipment for a mining railway in West Papua. Alstom said on July 28 that it would supply track, catenary, electrical substations, signalling and telecoms equipment for the internal railway ...
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NewsBarcelona tunnel complete
SPAIN: Development Minister José Blanco visited Barcelona on July 26 to mark completion of the tunnel that will carry high speed trains under the city centre between Sants and La Sagrera. The 2 300 tonne earth pressure balance TBM 'Barcino' reached an extraction shaft located at the intersection ...
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NewsUIC figures show growth in global rail traffic
INTERNATIONAL: Statistics from UIC members indicate an average overall growth of 3·4% in freight tonne-km in 2010, confirming economic and trade recovery, as well as a 3·5% increase in passenger-km due in part to rail development in Asia, particularly India. Publishing the figures on July 27, UIC said there was ...
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NewsNorth-south tram line approved
SLOVAKIA: On June 30 Bratislava council approved construction of the first phase of a long-awaited urban transport backbone which will be centred on a north-south light rail route connecting Safárikovo námestie in the city centre with Bosákova ulice in Petrzalka. This will involve heavy renovation of the old bridge ...
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NewsProgress Rail announces Brazilian locomotive plant
BRAZIL: Progress Rail Services has leased a previously disused plant at Sete Lagoas in Minas Gerais state where it will assemble Electro-Motive Diesel branded locomotives for the South American market. Progress Rail Services said on July 25 it is planning 'significant investment' in the facility, which will be operated by ...