All Railway Gazette International articles in March 2012
All articles published this month.
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NewsRAI commissions new turntable
IRAN: It is not often that we receive reports about the commissioning of new turntables, but on February 29 one was formally inaugurated at Mashhad by Mohammad Hadi Ziari, President & Director-General of national railway RAI. In the past, single-ended diesel locomotives had been turned at Mashhad using a triangle. ...
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NewsNew York MTA selects Bombardier to supply 300 metro cars
USA: The New York MTA board selected lowest bidder Bombardier for a contract to supply 300 metro cars on March 28. Bombardier's bid of $600m beat a rival offer from a consortium of Alstom and Kawasaki Heavy Industries. From late 2016 the R179 cars will replace R32 vehicles which entered ...
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NewsSJ to replace DSB in Göteborg
SWEDEN: An agreement has been reached for Swedish national passenger operator SJ to succeed DSB Väst as operator of Göteborg local and regional services from May 1, DSB announced on March 30. The Danish national operator's contract with local transport authority Västtrafik was intended to run to 2018. However DSB ...
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NewsItalo to launch on April 28
ITALY: Open access high speed trains will begun running between Napoli and Milano on April 28, operator NTV confirmed on March 30. The company says its investment of €1bn will offer passengers ‘the first choice of who they travel with’ over the country’s high speed network. NTV will initially start ...
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NewsChinese EMU enters service in Rio de Janeiro
BRAZIL: The first of 30 electric multiple-units which CNR Changchun is supplying for Rio de Janeiro suburban services was officially launched by Carlos José Cunha, President of operating concessionaire SuperVia, state Deputy Governor Luiz Fernando Pezão and Secretary of Transport Julio Lopes on March 20. 'The first journey on a ...
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NewsShatin to Central Link approved
CHINA: Hong Kong's Chief Executive-in-Council formally approved the 17 km Shatin to Central Link on March 27. The Legislative Council is expected to authorise funding for the estimated HK$64·9bn metro project before its summer recess, enabling construction to start in mid-2012. Although developed as one project, the SCL is to ...
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NewsADB signs US$250m Bangalore Metro loan
INDIA: Bangalore Metro Rail Corp Ltd and the Asian Development Bank signed a US$250m loan agreement for Phase II of the Namma Metro project on March 27. 'The loan represents a number of firsts for ADB in its partnership with India,' said ADB Country Director Hun Kim. 'This is ...
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NewsBeijing orders Line 14 metro trains
CHINA: Bombardier Transportation and its Chinese joint venture partner New United Group have been selected to supply the propulsion equipment for a fleet of 63 trains to operate Beijing Metro Line 14. Under construction since April 2010, Line 14 is being built in two phases, with Phase I expected to ...
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NewsArriva Danmark signs new Vestbanen contract
DENMARK: Arriva Danmark has signed a contract to operate passenger services on the Varde - Nørre Nebel branch in western Jylland for a further six years. The 38 km route is owned by the local authority through its railway company Vestbanen, and has been operated by Arriva under contract ...
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NewsUK franchise pre-qualified bidders announced
UK: The pre-qualified bidders for the Great Western, Thameslink and Essex Thameside passenger rail franchises were announced by the Department for Transport on March 29. Absent from the lists was Spanish national operator RENFE, which had reportedly been seeking to enter the UK market. Great Western First Great Western ...
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News
Andy Byford
Andy Byford was confirmed as CEO of the Toronto Transit Commission on March 12. The former NSW RailCorp Chief Operating Officer replaced Gary Webster, who was dismissed on February 21 following a disagreement with Mayor Rob Ford over light rail development.
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NewsBurundi and Rwanda railway study
AFRICA: Canarail has been awarded a C$4m contract to undertake studies for the second phase of a proposed railway from Dar es Salaam to Rwanda and Burundi. The study is being funded by the African Development Bank through the Rwanda Transport Development Agency, which is representing the transport ministries of ...
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NewsAll Aboard Florida plan announced
USA: Florida East Coast Industries Inc has announced that it is to produce an 'investment grade' ridership study for a $1bn privately owned, operated and maintained inter-city passenger service carrying business travellers and tourists between Miami and Orlando. Revealing outline plans for All Aboard Florida on March 22, property and ...
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NewsGoogle's virtual Rhätische Bahn goes live
SWITZERLAND: Panoramic images of Rhätische Bahn's 122 km Albula and Bernina lines between Thusis and Tirano are now available on Google Street View. Martin Sturzenegger, Head of Sales & Marketing at RhB, said the virtual train ride will help promote the railway as an experience for tourists before, during and ...
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NewsLongest single-piece level crossing installed
NETHERLANDS: Strukton installed the Netherlands' longest level crossing slabs at Zoeterwoude over the weekend of March 24-25. The level crossing carries heavy lorry traffic, requiring a durable design. Voestalpine Railpro prefabricated and delivered 36 m long concrete slabs with pre-mounted rails for each track. A heavy crane was used ...
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NewsTrackSAFE foundation aims to cut fatalities
AUSTRALIA: The TrackSAFE foundation was formally launched at an event in Sydney on March 28. The not-for-profit organisation is backed by 11 rail companies and has four key aims: Improving level crossing safety Reducing trespass on rail property; Reducing suicides and attempted suicides; Providing support for employees who witness ...
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News
Mayor becomes Minister
Former Mayor of Granadero Baigorria Alejandro Ramos (photo) was sworn in as Argentina's Transport Minister on March 8, replacing Juan Pablo Schiavi. Schiavi resigned on the previous day due to poor health, having recently undergone heart surgery. His decision closely followed a fatal rail crash for which he is currently ...
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NewsOntario to sell Northland rail businesses
CANADA: The government of Ontario announced on March 23 that it is to 'wind down' the Ontario Northland Transportation Commission, an agency established in 1902 which operates a 1 100 km rail network in the north of the province. A transition board has been appointed to divest ONTC's 'commercially valuable' ...
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NewsETCS Level 2 on test in Madrid
SPAIN: The start of trials of ETCS Level 2 on the cross-city tunnel between Atocha, Sol and Chamartín in Madrid was marked on March 26 when Development Minister Ana Pastor travelled by train from Tres Cantos to Sol. According to the ministry, this is the first application of ETCS Level ...
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NewsNetwork Rail awards ETCS development contracts
UK: Framework agreements for the development and design of ETCS for applications on Network Rail have been awarded to Ansaldo STS, Infrasig, Invensys Rail and Signalling Solutions Ltd, the infrastructure manager announced on March 27. Starting in April, the collaborative agreements cover a one-year development phase to 'confirm' the design ...