Main line rail industry news – Page 923
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News
VR-Group names Chairman
Finnish state-owned company VR-Group, which encompasses passenger and freight operations as well as infrastructure maintenance, has appointed Hannu Syrjänen as Chairman, succeeding Lauri Ratia who was holding the post on a temporary basis. Syrjänen was formerly CEO of media group Sanoma.Riku Aalto, head of Finland’s largest trade union Metalli, has ...
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NewsLombardia regional operator Trenord launched with €250m train tender
ITALY: The Trenitalia-LeNord joint venture created to run regional passenger services in Lombardia was officially branded as Trenord on April 29, marking the end of the 'experimental' phase which has seen the Lombardia division of national passenger operator Trenitalia merged with the LeNord services of long-established regional operator FNM. The ...
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NewsWork progresses on Edmonton light rail extension
CANADA: May 2 marked the start of major construction work on the 3·3 km, three-station light rail extension in Edmonton, running from Churchill to the Northern Alberta Institute of Technology. The tracks will be at grade except for a 700 m long, 18 m deep tunnel between Churchill and MacEwan. ...
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NewsWuhan metro continues to expand
CHINA: On April 21 the feasibility study for the second phase of Wuhan metro Line 4 was approved by a panel of experts in China. The Line 4 project involves construction of a 33·2 km east-west route with 28 stations connecting the districts of Hanyang and Wuchang. Total cost ...
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NewsBanedanmark awards track renewal contract
DENMARK: Infrastructure manager Banedanmark has awarded a joint venture of Strukton Rail and Aarsleff a contract to renew 38 km of track on the Bramming - Tønder route in southwest Denmark. The work to be undertaken from June to mid-August includes ballast cleaning and the renewal of 13 turnouts, which ...
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NewsMagnetic separation
SAFETY: The use of temporary fences to protect worksites is becoming more common, as railways come under pressure to keep busy lines open during maintenance and upgrading work. Such fences are typically secured to spikes driven into the ground or clipped to adjacent tracks. The RSS magnetic safety fence is ...
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NewsProducts & Technology in Brief
The German Federal Ministry for Economics & Technology has approved funding for a 42-month research project into the use of composite materials to reduce noise caused by wagon brakes. TMD Friction and four other suppliers are to investigate the cost-effectiveness of retrofitting existing wagons with composite blocks, which can reduce ...
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NewsFTA signs agreement to fund Central Corridor
USA: Representatives of the Federal Transit Administration and the Metropolitan Council signed a full funding grant agreement worth $478m in St Paul on April 26. The federal government is now committed to provide half of the $957m needed to build the 18 km Central Corridor light rail project linking Minneapolis ...
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NewsIndustry News in Brief
Rolling stock manufacturer CAF has announced a profit of €129·6m for the 2010 calendar year, up 4·3% on 2009. Net turnover was up 25% at €1576m, while EBITDA was up 19% at €194m. As of December 31 the company had an order backlog of €4519m, more than 55% of ...
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NewsChennai metro trackwork ordered
INDIA: Chennai Metro Rail Ltd has signed a €73m contract with the consortium of Alstom and Larsen & Toubro to supply trackwork for the 45 km two-line double-track metro network now under construction in the city.The scope of the contract includes design, supply, installation, testing and commissioning of 105 km ...
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NewsLima metro operator chooses Alstom Metropolis trains
PERU: Alstom has been awarded a €130m contract to supply 19 five-car Metropolis trainsets to operating concessionaire Tren Lima – Línea 1 for the Tren Eléctrico metro project in Lima. Proinversión, an agency promoting private investment in Peru, awarded a 30-year concession for the operation and maintenance of Line ...
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NewsPeculiar Knob contract signed
AUSTRALIA: Genesee & Wyoming Australia has ordered nine 4 400 hp locomotives and plans to order rolling stock and other facilities taking its total investment to A$67m after signing a contract to haul iron ore from the Peculiar Knob mine which is being developed by WPG Resources in central South ...
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News
Price to join ORR
Former UK Home Office Chief Economist Richard Price, currently Chief Economist & Director of Performance at the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs, is to join the Office of Rail Regulation as Chief Executive. He will succeed Bill Emery, who steps down in June.The ORR has also announced the ...
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NewsExtremadura high speed PPP tendering launched
SPAIN: The Ministry of Development announced on April 26 the start of tendering for two PPP contracts to complete the 450 km high speed line between Madrid and Badajoz in Extremadura. The winning bidders would part-finance work with a combined estimated cost of €3·83bn, including maintenance over a period ...
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NewsGWI launches Antwerpen port shunting service
BELGIUM: Rotterdam Rail Feeding has launched Antwerp Rail Feeding to provide shunting and short-haul services at the Port of Antwerpen, its US-based parent company Genesee & Wyoming Inc announced on April 27. ARF has taken delivery of a Belgian-certified Vossloh G2000 DBNL, and plans to acquire further locomotives. RRF provides ...
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NewsLoco order takes Trenitalia E464 fleet to 688
ITALY: Trenitalia has placed a €128m firm order for a further 50 Class E464 electric locomotives, Bombardier Transportation announced on April 27. To be delivered in 2012-13 as an option on a 2009 contract for 100 locomotives, they take Trenitalia's total E464 order to 688 locomotives, of which 570 are ...
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NewsAngel Trains completes debt refinancing
UK: Rolling stock leasing company Angel Trains Group announced the completion of a long-term debt refinancing programme through its subsidiary The Great Rolling Stock Company Ltd on April 26, saying this will 'de-risk' the business and provide 'a stable financial platform for the company to develop further'. The £450m five-year ...
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NewsMétéor to serve Saint-Ouen from 2017
FRANCE: Speaking at a round-table forum with local authority and transport representatives from Paris and Ile-de-France on April 26, RATP President Pierre Mongin confirmed that the capital’s fully-automated metro Line 14 would be extended from Saint-Lazare to the northwestern suburb of Saint-Ouen by 2017. Mongin said a new transport master ...
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NewsKnorr-Bremse opens HVAC facility
UK: Knorr-Bremse has renamed Sigma Coachair's UK business as Knorr-Bremse Rail Systems (Burton) Ltd and moved its UK rail heating, ventilation and air-conditioning activities to new premises in Burton upon Trent during April. The changes follow the acquisition of Australian HVAC supplier Sigma Coachair Group by Knorr-Bremse Asia Pacific (Holding) ...
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NewsFirstGroup to pull out of troubled DSBFirst joint venture
DENMARK: FirstGroup has confirmed that it is to sell its 30% stake in the DSBFirst joint venture which has contracts to operate passenger trains in Denmark and southern Sweden. State-owned passenger operator DSB announced the resignation of the FirstGroup members on the boards of DSBFirst Danmark A/S and DSBFirst Aps ...