All Railway Gazette International articles in March 2010 – Page 4

  • Tunnel breakthrough (Photo: DB AG/Frank Kniestedt).
    News

    High speed tunnels broken through

    2010-03-08T05:00:00Z

    GERMANY: Federal Transport Minister Peter Ramsauer, DB Chief Executive Rüdiger Grube and Sachsen-Anhalt Transport Minster Karl-Heinz Daehre watched the breakthrough of the 6 466 m western bore of the Bibra tunnel on March 3. The 6 970 m Finne tunnel was also holed through on the same day. Three twin-bore ...

  • tn_wheelsets-hot_09.jpg
    News

    Industry News in Brief

    2010-03-07T05:00:00Z

    This month Electro-Motive Diesel will complete a new facility for the rebuilding of traction motors and other electrical equipment at San Luís Potosí in Mexico. 'EMD continues to invest extensively in providing after-sales service', according to CEO John S Hamilton. 'We have previously established turbocharger and engine remanufacturing capabilities, and ...

  • tn_generic-tracks-cz_40.jpg
    News

    Plastic railway bridges

    2010-03-06T05:00:00Z

    USA: Two short bridges on a freight line near the Fort Eustis Army Transportation Corps base in Virginia, USA, are to be replaced by structures consisting almost entirely of recycled plastic. The plastic materials should allow the weight limit of the structures to be increased to 118 tonnes, giving greater ...

  • The first driverless trainset for Roma Metro Line C at the Velim test track in the Czech Republic.
    News

    Roma Line C cars start tests at Velim

    2010-03-05T09:55:00Z

    ITALY: The first driverless trainset for Roma Metro Line C has arrived at the Velim test track in the Czech Republic for commissioning trials ahead of the opening of the first section of the line next year. AnsaldoBreda is supplying 30 six-car trainsets to the Metro C consortium which ...

  • tn_de-vias-dmu.jpg
    News

    DSB buys into German passenger market

    2010-03-05T05:00:00Z

    GERMANY: Danish national railway DSB has acquired 50% stake in Frankfurt-based regional train operator VIAS GmbH, giving it a foothold in the German market which it will use to bid for future operating contracts. Subject to regulatory approval the deal will be completed by May. 'VIAS is a well run ...

  • tn_ru-wagons-in-yard_07.jpg
    News

    Freight One to order 15 000 wagons

    2010-03-04T14:54:00Z

    RUSSIA: Modernisation of the national wagon fleet was one of the key tasks allocated to Freight One when it was created as a standalone subsidiary of Russian Railways in 2007. Freight One bought 8 000 wagons in 2009, almost half the total Russian output, and it plans to purchase ...

  • Three-car train on the Docklands Light Railway.
    News

    Docklands Light Railway rolls out three-car trains

    2010-03-04T13:13:00Z

    UK: London's Docklands Light Railway ran its first public three-car trains between Bank and Lewisham on February 23. The extended trains will increase capacity on the operator’s busiest route by 50% and will be rolled out across the DLR network as demand increases.The 30-month £325m project involved extending platforms to ...

  • tn_us-bnsf-hydrogen-loco-lustig_01.jpg
    News

    Fuel cell testing begins

    2010-03-04T11:00:00Z

    USA: BNSF has begun in-service testing of the experimental hydrogen fuel cell shunting locomotive developed in partnership with Vehicle Projects and the Department of Defense. The trials are being undertaken at the railway's yard in Commerce, California. 'As far as we know, this is the first hydrogen fuel cell locomotive ...

  • Niers-Rhein-Emscher-Netz launch.
    News

    Veolia strengthens position

    2010-03-04T05:00:00Z

    GERMANY: With the December timetable change NordWestBahn took over Niers-Rhein-Emscher-Netz services under a 16-year contract with the Rhein-Ruhr transport authority which is expected to generate total revenue of €500m. The contract will be expanded at the end of this year with the addition of services from Oberhausen to Duisburg-Ruhrort and ...

  • The CEM cars for Metrolink arrived in the USA onboard Intermarine USA's Ocean Charger.
    News

    Metrolink's Crash Energy Management coaches arrive

    2010-03-03T12:55:00Z

    USA: The first two of 117 double-deck coaches incorporating Crash Energy Management being supplied by Hyundai Rotem to southern California commuter operator Metrolink under a $229m contract were unloaded at the Port of Long Beach on March 2. The initial pair of cars were built in South Korea, but the ...

  • tn_il-jerusalem-testram.jpg
    Metro Report International

    First tram test run in Jerusalem

    2010-03-03T08:45:00Z

    ISRAEL: A Citadis light rail vehicle made the first test run in Jerusalem on February 24, along a newly-energised 3 km section of track between the depot near French Hill and Ammunition Hill junction. The event was watched by senior officials from the municipality and light rail concessionaire CityPass, along ...

  • tn_talgo-articulation_01.jpg
    News

    Oregon joins Wisconsin to get better price on Talgos

    2010-03-03T05:00:00Z

    USA: Oregon Department of Transportation has announced an $36·6m order for two 13-car passenger trainsets to be supplied by Talgo America for use on Amtrak's Cascades service from 2012. The Eugene - Vancouver route is currently operated using three Talgo Pendular 200 sets owned by the state of Washington and ...

  • tn_transmash-logo_09.jpg
    News

    Alstom signs agreement to acquire 25% stake in Transmash Holding

    2010-03-02T14:30:00Z

    RUSSIA: During state visit to France by President Dmitry Medvedev, Alstom and Transmash Holding signed documents on March 1 firming up the strategic partnership agreement which had been signed on March 31 last year. Subject to certain conditions being met within six months, Alstom will acquire a 25% + 1 ...

  • Angel Trains has bought three High Speed Train sets from Sovereign Trains.
    News

    Angel Trains in Grand Central HST sale and lease-back deal

    2010-03-02T13:44:00Z

    UK: Rolling stock leasing company Angel Trains has bought three High Speed Train sets from Sovereign Trains, sister company of open access operator Grand Central Railway. The inter-city diesel trains will be leased back to the operator under a contract running to December 2016, Angel Trains announced on March 2. ...

  • tn_jp-JRE-Series_E6-shinkansen-cropped.jpg
    News

    JR-East prepares to test Series E6

    2010-03-02T11:26:00Z

    JAPAN: East Japan Railway confirmed in February that it expects to take delivery in July of its first pre-production Series E6 mini-shinkansen trainset, designed for 320 km/h operation on the Tohoku Shinkansen route. The train will undergo an extensive testing and commissioning programme before entering revenue service in March 2013 ...

  • tn_il-a1-fast-line-anava-jcn_01.jpg
    News

    Netanyahu’s rail expansion plans approved

    2010-03-02T11:15:00Z

    ISRAEL: The Ministry of Transport & Road Safety announced on February 24 that the government had approved the US$7·2bn first phase of the ‘Israel Ways’ transport investment package, promoted by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Transport Minister Yisrael Katz. The ambitious plan originally envisaged expenditure of US$14bn ...

  • Wagons.
    News

    Wagon production drops 47%

    2010-03-02T05:00:00Z

    USA: Production of wagons for the North American market has fallen off dramatically due to the struggling economy. Estimates for 2009 show a 47% drop from the previous year when 21 541 new wagons were rolled out. There is little demand for new equipment, with operators having about 600 ...

  • Impression of Stadler Rail rack locomotive for MRS Logística in Brazil.
    News

    Rack superpower for Brazilian freight line

    2010-03-01T09:11:00Z

    BRAZIL: Stadler Rail is to supply MRS Logística with what the manufacturer claims will be the most powerful rack-and-pinion locomotives ever built. The 5 MW locomotives will haul freight trains on the 9 km steeply-graded section of the 1 600 mm gauge line from São Paulo to the port of ...

  • Metrowagonmash DMU
    News

    ZS awards first of three train contracts

    2010-03-01T05:00:00Z

    SERBIA: ZS has selected Russian firm Metrowagonmash to supply 10 two-car diesel multiple-units for regional and suburban services. These will form the first of three batches of rolling stock being procured to modernise the national railway’s passenger fleet. The order is being partly funded by a ...