All Railway Gazette International articles in March 2020 – Page 11
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NewsTurnout monitoring pilot project
FINLAND: A pilot project to use real-time data to provide warnings of potential turnout failure is being undertaken by the national railway’s VR FleetCare subsidiary and the Finnish Transport Infrastructure Agency, Väylävirasto. Equipment from internet of things specialist Vire Labs is being used to monitor 80 turnouts ...
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Rail Business UKHull Trains suspends services ‘to protect long-term future of business’
UK: Open access operator Hull Trains announced on March 29 that was temporarily suspending services with effect from midnight, in a move which it said aimed to ‘safeguard the future of the business’ in the ‘unprecedented circumstances’ of the coronavirus pandemic. Arrangements have been made for tickets ...
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NewsWorld rail freight news round-up
Dutch rail freight industry body RailGood has called on the government and infrastructure managers to ensure round-the-clock operation of at least one rail corridor to and from all seaports, multimodal hubs and industrial complexes during the coronavirus crisis. It also called for a temporary suspension of charges ...
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Metro Report InternationalParis metro simulators updated
FRANCE: Corys has completed the renovation of Paris operator RATP’s metro train driving simulators. RATP has a total of 23 compact simulators and one full-scope simulator. New PCs have been deployed, computer generated images switched to Matrix technology, and the functionality of the Octys system and scenario ...
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Rail Business UKFirstGroup says new Great Western contract has ‘appropriate balance’ of risk and reward
UK: The Department for Transport has directly awarded incumbent FirstGroup a new three-year contract to continue to operate Great Western services from the expiry of the current direct award on April 1 2020 until March 31 2023, with a possible extension of up to one year at ...
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Rail Business UKSoutheastern given direct award management contract
UK: The Department for Transport has announced a direct award contract for incumbent Govia to continue operating the South Eastern franchise, which covers commuter and regional passenger services between London, Kent and East Sussex. The contract announced on March 30 runs from April 1 2020 to ...
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Metro Report InternationalLow-key opening for København metro Line M4
DENMARK: ‘It was different to what we had imagined,’ said Henrik Plougmann Olsen, CEO of København metro operator Metroselskabet after planned celebrations to mark the opening of Line M4 on March 28 were cancelled because of the coronavirus. ‘The trains just started running over the new section, ...
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NewsHessische Landesbahn orders Stage V compliant Alstom DMUs
Source: Alstom Design & Styling GERMANY: Hessische Landesbahn has placed a €120m firm order for Alstom to supply 30 two-car Coradia Lint 41 regional diesel multiple-units for use on Wetterau West-Ost services from 2022. These will be the first Coradia Lint 41 DMUs to be equipped with ...
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NewsRecord long-distance passenger traffic at DB in 2019, but freight falls back
A record number of passengers travelled on DB’s inter-city trains in 2019. GERMANY: Deutsche Bahn announced on March 26 that it had carried 150∙7 million passengers on its ICE and IC services during 2019, an increase of 1∙9% over the previous year; it was the fifth ...
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Rail Business UKGrand Central commits to revised timetable, but Blackpool launch likely to be delayed
UK: Asked whether Grand Central was planning to follow the other East Coast Main Line open access operator Hull Trains in temporarily stopping operations because of the coronavirus pandemic, Grand Central Managing Director Richard McClean told Rail Business UK on March 30 ‘we remain committed to providing ...
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Rail Business UKRSSB offers membership fee payment delay
UK: Rail safety and standards body RSSB has offered its members with an annual turnover below £10m the chance to defer payment of their 2020-21 membership levy for until later in the year. The measure affects more than half of RSSB’s members, who can continue to ...
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NewsLocomotive for Guinea rolled out
GUINEA: The first of 14 series-build diesel locomotives ordered by the SMB-Winning consortium in December has been unveiled at CRRC Qishuyan’s plant in Changzhou. The Type DF8B 3·3MW Co-Co locomotives follow on from two prototypes, with all 16 scheduled to be delivered ...
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Metro Report InternationalMoscow Metro’s Line 15 completed
RUSSIA: Mayor Sergei Sobyanin inaugurated a 14·4 km six-station extension of Moscow Metro’s Line 15 from Kosino to Lefortovo on March 27. Also known as the Nekrasovskaya Line, Line 15 serves the capital’s eastern suburbs. Construction began in 2012, with the outmost ...
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Metro Report InternationalBerlin studies U-Bahn extensions
GERMANY: Three extensions of the Berlin U-Bahn network have been deemed ‘structurally and technically’ feasible, according to a study commissioned by the city government.
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NewsAuvergne-Rhône Alpes region orders EMUs
FRANCE: Acting on behalf of the Auvergne-Rhône Alpes region, SNCF has awarded Bombardier Transportation a firm order to supply 19 Regio 2N double-deck EMUs totalling 114 cars. They are scheduled to enter service on the Lyon – Mâcon and Lyon – Valence lines in mid-2023. The 83 ...
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Rail Business UK£40m support package for Wales & Borders services
UK: The Welsh Government’s Minister for Economy & Transport Ken Skates has announced a £40m package of support to ensure the continued operation of a skeleton Wales & Borders rail service during the coronavirus pandemic. The Welsh Government is working with Transport for Wales and operator TfW ...
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Urban In DepthHungary boards the tram-train
With only 163 000 inhabitants, the city of Szeged in southern Hungary boasts four tram lines and six trolleybus routes. Now it is adding the country’s first tram-train project, reports Benjámin Zelki.
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Rail Business UKBalfour Beatty awarded Motherwell station contract
UK: Balfour Beatty has been appointed as contractor for redevelopment of Motherwell station as a £14·5m regional transport hub. The project is being undertaken through a partnership between ScotRail, North Lanarkshire Council, Strathclyde Partnership for Transport and Transport Scotland. It includes a new station building with a ...
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Rail Business UKFirst vehicles delivered to lengthen Northern Ireland DMUs
UK: Translink has taken delivery of the first three of 21 intermediate cars ordered from CAF to extend seven existing NI Railways Class 4000 diesel multiple-units from three to six cars for use on busier routes. This will provide around 1 600 additional seats every day. The ...