All Railway Gazette International articles in March 2014
All articles published this month.
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NewsEuropean Locomotive Leasing signs framework for 50 locomotives
EUROPE: New entrant to the leasing market European Locomotive Leasing has signed a framework contract to acquire up to 50 Siemens Vectron AC and multi-system locomotives. The agreement announced on March 31 includes a firm order for an undisclosed number of locomotives to be delivered immediately, with the rest to ...
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NewsEU and Japan negotiate opening rail markets
INTERNATIONAL: Representatives from European Union and Japanese railway operators and the supply industry attended the first meeting of the EU-Japan Industrial Dialogue on Railways which was held in Brussels on March 27. The event was organised by the European Commission's Internal Market & Services department and Japan's Ministry for Land, ...
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NewsHazardous goods information
NORTH AMERICA: An information-sharing and safety practice review is being launched by Class I railroad Canadian National across its network, with a view to ensuring the communities its trains pass through have a better understanding of how hazardous materials are transported. ‘Under our engagement programme, CN is approaching municipal officials ...
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NewsGulf Co-operation Council states discuss OTIF accession
INTERNATIONAL: The Gulf Co-operation Council and the Intergovernmental Organisation for International Carriage by Rail have signed a memorandum of understanding which could lead to the GCC and its six member states Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE acceding to the COTIF convention. The convention provides a legal ...
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NewsOverhead inspection vehicles with ETCS
GERMANY: DB Netz is taking delivery of a further four Robel Bahnbaumaschinen 57.44 catenary maintenance vehicles, fitted with two independent work platforms. Eight vehicles of this type have been in service since 2010, but the latest batch is equipped with ETCS.
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NewsLima metro Line 2 concession awarded
PERU: On behalf of the Ministry of Transport & Communications, on March 28 state investment agency ProInversión awarded the Nuevo Metro de Lima consortium the US$9bn Lima metro Line 2 concession. The consortium will design, finance, build, operate and maintain the 27 km Line 2 running east-west from Ate to ...
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NewsAutomated metro Line M4 opens in Budapest
HUNGARY: Prime Minister Viktor Orbán and Mayor István Tarlós opened Budapest's fourth metro line on March 28, starting a weekend of free travel from 12.00. The 7·4 km Line M4 runs in entirely in two 5·2 m diameter bored tunnels from Keleti railway station, under the Danube to Kelenföld station. ...
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NewsTransPennine EMU fleet delivered
UK: Train operator First TransPennine Express took delivery of the last of 10 Siemens Class 350/4 Desiro electric multiple-units on March 28, 25 months after the £60m contract was signed. The four-car 25 kV 50 Hz EMUs are leased from Angel Trains, and will be used to increase capacity between ...
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NewsFirst Jazz EMU delivered
ITALY: Alstom officially handed over the first of 70 Coradia Meridian electric multiple-units being built for Trenitalia at Roma Termini on March 27. The operator placed the €440m order for the four and five-car 160 km/h EMUs in November 2012. Following the musical themes of the Vivalto and Minuetto trainsets, ...
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NewsCrossrail trains to reach Reading
UK: Transport for London and the Department for Transport announced on March 27 that the western branch of the Crossrail route is to be extended from Maidenhead to Reading. Project sponsors TfL and DfT had previously envisaged that those Crossrail services continuing west from the deep-level platforms at London Paddington ...
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NewsAusterity in Northern Rail direct award franchise
UK: The Department for Transport announced on March 27 that it had directly awarded incumbent Northern Rail a new franchise running from the end of its current franchise on April 1 2014 until February 2016, when a long-term franchise is now expected to be let. DfT said the deal 'marks ...
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NewsSydney opens Inner West light rail extension
AUSTRALIA: The 5·6 km Inner West Extension of the Sydney Light Rail line from Lilyfield to Dulwich Hill was inaugurated by New South Wales Premier Barry O'Farrell and Transport Minister Gladys Berejiklian on March 27. Adding nine stops, including an interchange with Sydney Trains’ Bankstown Line suburban services at Dulwich ...
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NewsCoach order a done deal
POLAND: PKP Intercity is expected to confirm a contract shortly for FPS to supply 20 long distance passenger coaches for Warszawa - Poznan - Szczecin services. Valued at 148 million złoty, the deal covers eight first class, 10 second-class and two restaurant cars, specifying air-conditioned vehicles suitable for 200 km/h ...
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NewsVoith to retrofit Pacer DMU final drives and wheelsets
UK: Rolling stock leasing company Angel Trains has awarded Voith a contract to supply 188 final drives and cardan shafts to improve the reliability and reduce the maintenance costs of Class 142 diesel multiple-units operated by Northern Rail and Arriva Trains Wales. Voith has modified the design of its KE-485 ...
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NewsRecord ridership in a 'challenging year' for SBB
SWITZERLAND: Swiss Federal Railways found 2013 'a challenging year', but carried more than a million passengers/day for the first time while its freight business recorded positive net income for the first time in more than 40 years. SBB's consolidated net income fell from SFr422·5 in 2012 to SFr238·2m in 2013, ...
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NewsRégiolis approved for passenger service
FRANCE: Alstom reports that its Régiolis multiple-unit is now expected to enter passenger service with SNCF on April 22. What the manufacturer describes as ‘an important milestone' in the Régiolis commissioning programme was reached on March 21 when safety regulator EPSF issued its approval for the new train type to ...
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NewsPotential growth in the rail catering sector
INNOTRANS: Many railways see potential growth in the catering sector, which is worth around €1bn a year according to Roger Williams, President of the International Rail Catering Group. InnoTrans 2014 is strengthening its focus on this business, with a new theme of 'Travel Catering & Comfort'. Galley kitchen specialists ...
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NewsWorld rail market March 2014
France: SNCF has appointed Nomosphère to provide wi-fi for passengers at 128 stations by the end of February 2015. Free access will be funded by advertising on the portal managed by Métropolis. Germany: Scheidt & Bachmann is to supply AKN Eisenbahn with FareGo Sales ST|40 ticket machines and back ...
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NewsCantus retains Nordost-Hessen-Netz contract
GERMANY: Following a Europe-wide tender, on March 24 Nordhessen transport authority NVV selected incumbent Cantus for a 15-year contract to operate Nordost-Hessen-Netz regional services between December 2016 and December 2031. The services linking Kassel, Göttingen and Fulda and between Bebra and Eisenach have been operated by the Cantus joint venture ...
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NewsEtihad Rail operation and maintenance joint venture formed
UAE: National railway project promoter Etihad Rail has signed an operations and maintenance joint venture agreement with DB Schenker Rail. The Etihad Rail DB joint venture will initially provide operations and maintenance expertise for the 264 km Phase 1 of the network. Test running is now underway and commercial freight ...