All Railway Gazette International articles in March 2015 – Page 6
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NewsFirst CSR Roca EMU unveiled
ARGENTINA: On March 5 President Cristina Fernández joined Minister of the Interior & Transport Florencio Randazzo and Minister of Economy & Public Finance Axel Kicillof to present the first four-car EMU to be delivered by CSR Qingdao Sifang of China for the Roca commuter network in Buenos Aires. Following 90 ...
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NewsDB signs first station development framework
GERMANY: Deutsche Bahn’s station management business unit DB Station&Service has signed the first of a planned series of framework agreements with the Länder for the development of new stations. Intended to boost ridership on the rail network, these stations would be located in residential and commercial areas and near traffic ...
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NewsStation navigation app for visually impaired people
UK: A six-week trial due to end on March 13 aims to assist blind and partially sighted people to navigate London Underground stations independently through a smartphone app. The prototype Wayfindr app has been developed by ustwo in response to the Royal London Society for Blind People’s Youth Forum. ...
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NewsVTG posts improved results
EUROPE: Wagon leasing and rail logistics group VTG has announced increased revenue and results for 2014. Turnover was up 4·4% on the previous year to €818m, operating profit up 4·0% to €191m and the board intends to propose a dividend of €0·45, an increase of 7%. The group’s wagon leasing ...
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NewsLet the cosmos flowers bloom!
NORTH KOREA: Railways feature in a number of slogans which were published by the Central Committee and the Central Military Commission of the Workers' Party of Korea to celebrate its 70th anniversary: Railways are the arteries of the country. Let the rail transport sector establish rigid discipline as ...
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NewsElectrification priorities in northern England
UK: An electrification task force set up in December 2013 to produce recommendations for rail electrification in northern England released its final report on March 5. The 32 routes examined have been grouped into three prioritisation tiers, based on their ability to contribute to local economic plans, fit ...
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NewsStockholm metro train design unveiled
SWEDEN: Bombardier Transportation revealed the design of its articulated Movia C30 metro trainsets for the Stockholm metro Red Line at EurasiaRail 2015 in Istanbul on March 6. The air-conditioned trains feature three sets of double doors per car rather than two, as well as a reconfigured seating layout, to ...
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NewsRailsponsible sustainable procurement initiative launched
INTERNATIONAL: The Railsponsible initiative to support continuous improvement of sustainability practices throughout the railway supply chain was formally launched in Utrecht on March 4. Railsponsible aims to share ethical, social and environmental best practice and processes across the rail industry, using common tools to establish a common understanding and improve ...
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NewsSNCB Logistics launches Swiss Xpress
EUROPE: Belgian national freight operator SNCB Logistics has launched a fast single wagonload service between Antwerpen and Basel, which has reduced the transit time from seven to four and a half days. SBB Cargo provides feeder services in Switzerland. The Swiss Xpress trains leave the Belgian port on Mondays, ...
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NewsCaracas metro welcomes refurbished trains
VENEZUELA: The first refurbished first-generation train has entered passenger service on Line 2 of the Caracas metro following six months of work. The oldest trains on the metro, built by Alsthom Atlantique, date from the early 1980s and have run for more than 3 million km. The entire fleet ...
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NewsFeature articles in the March 2015 issue of Railway Gazette International
Feature articles in the March 2015 issue of Railway Gazette International, the leading business journal for railway operators and suppliers, read in 140 countries. Subscribe to Railway Gazette International today. Comment Disruption alert News Main Line Urban Rail Market Industry Innovations Pointers Analysis ...
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NewsVictoria orders more X’Trapolis EMUs
AUSTRALIA: The government of Victoria announced an order for a further five six-car Alstom X’Trapolis electric multiple-units on March 3. The first is expected to enter service by the end of 2016. The government said the order would plug a critical short-term gap in train availability in Melbourne and also ...
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NewsProducts & Technology in Brief
Mobile ticket technology supplier Corethree has signed an agreement with Microsoft which will enable its m-ticket applications to be offered for Windows Phone in addition to iOS and Android devices. RailComm has installed an advanced remote switch and third rail heater control system for Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority. It ...
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NewsSilom Line extension options announced
THAILAND: The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration announced three options for the alignment of the Silom Line metro extension on March 3. In December the city’s Traffic & Transport Office awarded a 40m baht contract to TEAM Consulting Engineering & Management Co for a feasibility study into extending the line north ...
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NewsDelft tunnel and underground station opened
NETHERLANDS: Trains between Rotterdam and Den Haag have started using the new underground station in Delft, following the completion of a week-long blockade to transfer services from the elevated alignment that has carried the main line through the city for more than 150 years. Under the ‘Spoorzone Delft’ project, ProRail’s ...
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NewsJakarta metro trains ordered
INDONESIA: MRT Jakarta has awarded Sumitomo Corp and Nippon Sharyo a ¥13bn contract for the supply of 16 six-car trainsets for the first line of the Jakarta metro. The trainsets will be designed according to the Standard Urban Railway System for Asia specification. This was developed by Japanese railway ...
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NewsUK Eurostar sale price 'ahead of expectations'
EUROPE: The British government announced an agreement to sell its entire stake in Eurostar International Ltd for £757·1m on March 4. Eurostar International owns the UK’s 40% stake in the cross-Channel high speed train operator, with France’s state-owned train operator SNCF holding 55% and its Belgian counterpart SNCB the remaining ...
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NewsSt Petersburg orders more Škoda metro cars
RUSSIA: Škoda Transportation subsidiary OOO Vagonmaš has been selected to supply eight six-car trainsets for St Petersburg metro Line 3. The 3·8bn rouble contract is expected to be signed in the next few days. The vehicles will be lighter than those of the metro’s existing fleet, thanks to the ...
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NewsLyon – Torino railway project now ‘irreversible’
EUROPE: The governments of France and Italy have formally agreed to go ahead with the Lyon – Torino railway project, including the 57 km Mont Cenis base tunnel. France’s President Hollande and Italian Prime Minister Renzi signed the agreement at a Franco-Italian summit on February 24. This enabled the ...
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NewsOttawa O-Train relaunches as Trillium Line
CANADA: Ottawa’s C$60·3m O-Train capacity expansion project was officially completed on March 2, with the entry into service of six Alstom Coradia Lint 41 diesel multiple-units. However, the launch was delayed by a points failure, and services were suspended the following day owing to signalling problems. The line has ...