Main line rail industry news – Page 927
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NewsFyra shuttles run through to Breda
NETHERLANDS: NS Hispeed finally began running Fyra services between Amsterdam and Breda on April 4, when the interim locomotive-hauled shuttle was extended from Rotterdam to Breda. Operating at half-hourly intervals, the trains take 67 min from Amsterdam Centraal to Breda, including intermediate stops at Schiphol Airport and Rotterdam Centraal. The ...
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Akhtar returns to Pakistan Railways
Pakistan: Saeed Akhtar has returned to Pakistan Railways as General Manager, Operations, replacing Ashfaq Khattak who has been moved to General Manager, Development. Akhtar had been GM Operations before being appointed Federal Government Inspector of Railways. The former General Manager, Development, Shahid Ahmad has been named Managing Director of Pakistan ...
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NewsAlaska Railroad tenders Port MacKenzie extension works
USA: Tenders are to be invited this month for construction work on the first section of Alaska Railroad’s 51 km Port MacKenzie Extension, following the publication of the final Environmental Impact Statement by the Surface Transportation Board’s Office of Environmental Analysis on March 25. The line is intended to connect ...
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NewsAlstom and CNR exhibiting at SIFER
FRANCE: Held every two years, the Sifer trade exhibition returns to its accustomed venue at Lille's Grand Palais on April 5-7 with more than 200 exhibitors from 13 countries already finalised. Two headline names stand out. Alstom will be exhibiting for the first time as part of the Northern France ...
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NewsSpeedier data collection
GERMANY: Trimble has added to its rail data product range with the acquisition of the GEDO CE Trolley from German firm Vermessungsbedarf. The trolley is designed to speed the collection of track alignment and loading gauge data for maintenance purposes; it is particularly suited to measuring older infrastructure. The vehicle ...
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NewsExpo branch revived
SPAIN: ADIF has awarded a joint venture of Iberovías, Sando and Elecnor a €324m contract to convert the branch to La Cartuja into route C2 of the Sevilla suburban network. Covering a total of 12 km, the project includes conversion of 53 km originally built for high speed ...
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NewsGO Transit tracks change hands
CANADA: Metrolinx, the regional transport agency for Greater Toronto and Hamilton, Ontario, confirmed on March 30 that it had completed the purchase of a section of CN's Kingston Subdivision for C$299m. Running eastwards from Toronto’s Union station to Pickering, Ontario, the two and three-track line is primarily used by GO ...
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NewsDSB CEO dismissed over accounting irregularities
DENMARK: National passenger operator DSB has confirmed the dismissal of its Chief Executive Søren Eriksen following an extraordinary board meeting on March 29. Eriksen had been fired by the board and Transport Minister Hans Christian Schmidts on March 17, ahead of the publication of DSB’s annual results the following day. ...
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SNCF Proximités appoints senior management team
France: SNCF Proximités Director General Jean-Pierre Farandou (photo) has announced several senior appointments to strengthen the management team at the national railway’s business unit which operates urban and regional passenger services in France.Christian Cochet has been appointed Deputy Director General with responsibility for development, while Céline Sibert becomes Secretary General ...
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NewsAdelaide orders A-City EMUs
AUSTRALIA: The Government of South Australia has placed an A$269m order for 22 three-car suburban EMUs from Bombardier Transportation, the manufacturer announced on March 31. The trains are required to operate suburban services around Adelaide on four lines that are to be electrified at 25 kV 50 Hz AC by ...
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NewsCalifornia applies for federal high speed funding
USA: At a board meeting on March 30, California High-Speed Rail Authority voted unanimously to apply for federal high speed rail funding previously allocated to Florida. The $2·43bn grant was rejected by Florida Governor Rick Scott on February 16, effectively cancelling that state’s plan to build a 135 km line ...
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NewsVossloh reports record sales
EUROPE: Vossloh Group has reported full-year pre-tax profits of €152·1m in 2010, a 10·3% increase on the previous year. The company also recorded its highest-ever sales of €1·35bn, up by 15·1% on 2009. Vossloh attributed almost half of its revenue growth to its Rail Services business unit, formed following the ...
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NewsDriverless metro line opened in Busan
SOUTH KOREA: Busan Transportation Corp inaugurated its driverless light metro Line 4 on March 30, following 11 days of trial running between March 15 and March 25. The 12·7 km route runs east from Minam on metro Line 3 to Anpyeong and provides an interchange to metro Line 1 ...
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NewsADB loan supports Hanoi metro Line 3
VIETNAM: The Asian Development Bank has agreed to provide US$293m in funding to support construction of Line 3 of Hanoi’s urban rail master plan. The decision adds to loans already in place from EIB and Agence Française de Développement. The 12·5 km first phase of the heavy metro line will ...
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NewsDB calls temporary halt to Stuttgart 21
GERMANY: Deutsche Bahn announced on March 29 its intention to cease work temporarily on the Stuttgart 21 project to rebuild the city’s main station. DB Board Member, Technical, Dr Volker Kefer confirmed that no further contracts would be let and no more construction work undertaken until a new government has ...
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NewsCrossrail issues rolling stock shortlist
UK: Crossrail Ltd announced on March 30 that it had shortlisted Alstom, Bombardier, CAF, Hitachi and Siemens for the contract to supply rolling stock and depot facilities for the new east-west route across London. ‘Work continues to finalise our detailed requirements for the new trains and we expect that shortlisted ...
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NewsVR orders more double-deckers
FINLAND: As part of its rolling stock renewal strategy, Finnish state-owned operator VR has ordered a build of special-purpose double-deck coaches to operate with its growing fleet of InterCity2 vehicles.VR has ordered 12 driving coaches and 15 restaurant cars from Finnish supplier Transtech Oy for delivery in 2013-14. Valued at ...
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NewsHS1 freight draws closer
UK: The trial of a Class 92 locomotive with fully operational TVM430 cab signalling on High Speed 1 has been ‘an outstanding success’, according to DB Schenker (UK) Ltd. The test run on March 25 from Dollands Moor to Singlewell marked a ‘significant milestone’ in the five-year programme to modify ...
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NewsMilano metro continues to expand
ITALY: A 3·7 km extension of Milano metro Line 3 from Maciachini north to Comasina entered service on March 26, adding four new stations to the Yellow Line. Interchange with LeNord local rail services is provided at Affori Nord. The next metro line to enter service in Milano will be ...
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NewsNew York MTA dedicates East Side Access TBMs
USA: Following a dedication ceremony in New York on March 21, two tunnel boring machines should soon begin digging the final set of tunnels for the East Side Access project. These will connect the Long Island Rail Road with Grand Central Terminal. The 642-tonne TBMs, named Tess and Molina by ...