All Railway Gazette International articles in March 2015 – Page 5
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NewsTGV relaunch planned
FRANCE: Voyages SNCF Director Rachel Picard has outlined the strategy that the national operator is to implement with the aim of making the TGV once again the preferred mode of transport, in the face of rising competition that includes ride-sharing. At the same time, cost savings averaging €80m a year ...
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NewsEmission-free trains to support railway reopening
GERMANY: A letter of intent was signed on March 19 between Alstom Transport and the municipality of Calw in the Land of Baden-Württemberg paving the way for emission-free fuel cell trainsets to operate on the so-called Hermann-Hesse line from 2018. Closed to revenue-earning traffic in 1988, the Calw – Weil ...
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NewsRail industry news in brief - March 2015
The European Commission has approved €220m from the Cohesion Fund for MÁV-Start’s purchase of 42 Stadler Flirt EMUs ordered in 2013. The port of Bordeaux has appointed Europorte 'to develop a full logistics chain' at its Le Verdon terminal. DB International is to support the development of ...
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NewsSBB awards on-track plant contracts
SWITZERLAND: Swiss Federal Railways has awarded contracts totalling SFr136m a year for the lease of 65 tampers, cranes and other track maintenance plant over periods of five to 10 years. The contracts are due to come into effect at the end of 2015, when the current agreements signed in 2006 ...
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NewsFirst Urbos tram arrives in Freiburg
GERMANY: The first CAF Urbos 100 tram for Freiburg was delivered on the night of March 16-17. Freiburg public transport operator VAG signed a contract with CAF in March 2013 for 12 seven-section 100% low-floor trams for its metre-gauge network. The contract value does not exceed €40m, although the ...
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NewsAjay Shukla
The Indian Railway Board has appointed Ajay Shukla as Member, Traffic; he also retains his current post as Additional Member (Commercial).
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NewsDr Ben Möbius
Dr Ben Möbius, currently at lobbying group BDI, is to succeed Dr Ronald Pörner as head of the German railway industry association VDB on July 1.
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NewsWorld rolling stock market March 2015
Bangladesh: India's Rites has signed what it says is its first contract to export broad gauge passenger coaches to BR. The order covers a total of 120 stainless steel sleeper and seating cars to be manufactured by RCF Kapurthala. Botswana: BR has called tenders for the supply of 37 ...
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NewsWorld rail infrastructure market March 2015
Argentina: The government has awarded Supercemento SAIC two further contracts worth 196m and 262m pesos for electrification of the 26·8 km Berazategui – La Plata section of the Buenos Aires – La Plata route. Brazil: Kapsch CarrierCom is to implement a Tetra digital radio network for Rio de Janeiro ...
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NewsMore efficient tram air-conditioning
GERMANY: Berlin city transport operator BVG has awarded Liebherr-Transportation Systems a contract to equip one its Bombardier Flexity trams with an experimental occupancy-dependent fresh air control system. Liebherr’s modelling has predicted that this could reduce the energy consumption of the tram’s air-conditioning system by up to 13%. CO2 sensors ...
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NewsFirst Great Western plans AT300s to Cornwall
UK: Two fleets of new trains and potentially a third will be introduced on the Great Western network over the next four years under the terms of a direct-award franchise announced by Secretary of State for Transport Patrick McLoughlin on March 23. These would boost capacity on the network by ...
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NewsCSR unveils hydrogen fuel cell tram
CHINA: A prototype tram powered by hydrogen fuel cells was unveiled at the CSR Sifang factory in Qingdao on March 19. According to CSR Qingdao Sifang Chief Engineer Liang Jianying, the tram is able to run for 100 km at speeds up to 70 km/h before the cells need to ...
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NewsFlytoget orders CAF Oaris trainsets
NORWAY: Oslo Gardermoen airport rail link operator Flytoget has awarded CAF a €120m contract to supply eight four-car Oaris trainsets, along with spare parts and technical support. The new electric multiple-units are scheduled to enter services from early 2018, supplementing Flytoget’s current fleet of 16 Adtranz EMUs on services between ...
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NewsMTR launches open access inter-city service
SWEDEN: Head-to-head competition came to the 455 km Stockholm – Göteborg corridor on March 21 when open access operator MTR Express launched commercial services. Initially operating around 50 trains per week, rising to 90 from August, MTR Express is offering an end-to-end journey time of 3 h 19 min with ...
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NewsSifer 2015 draws infrastructure firms
FRANCE: No less than 22% of the exhibitors participating in the ninth Sifer trade fair taking place in Lille on March 24-26 will be first-time entrants, according to organisers Mack Brooks Exhibitions. Around 400 companies are participating in the event, which is expected to attract up to 5000 visitors. This ...
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NewsIndian high speed rail study bids called
INDIA: The Ministry of Railways has invited bids to undertake feasibility studies for the development of high speed lines in three corridors, at an estimated cost of Rs300m. Minister of Railways Suresh Prabhu made clear when announcing the railway budget and five-year action plan in February that his priority was ...
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NewsMike Lowenger
The Railway Association of Canada has created a new position of Chief Safety Culture Officer, appointing its Vice-President of Operations & Regulatory Affairs, Mike Lowenger, to the role.
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NewsEuropean Commission launches investigation into proposed 520 km/h test track
SPAIN: The European Commission is to undertake an in-depth investigation into whether proposals for public funding of a planned high speed rail test centre near Málaga would be compatible with state aid rules. The Spanish government has proposed that the planned Centro de Ensayos de Alta Tecnología Ferroviaria would ...
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NewsEx-Bielefeld tram modernised in Łódź
POLAND: A modernised ex-Bielefeld type M8C tram is ready to enter service in Łódź. City transport operator MPK Łódz bought 14 ex-Bielefeld Type M8C trams from Stropex in 2013. The modernisation of the first of these was finished in November after about six months of work at MPK Łódź’s ...
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NewsJakarta scraps monorail in favour of light rail
INDONESIA: Work could start in the fourth quarter of this year on the first phase of a light rail network in Jakarta, the President of state-owned construction firm PT Adhi Karya, Kiswodarmawan, told the company’s annual meeting on March 20. Last year the Ministry of State Enterprises selected Adhi ...