News
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NewsPetroCity plans general freight railway
BRAZIL: Industrial group PetroCity Portos SA is pursuing plans to develop a new railway to serve the states of Espírito Santo and Minas Gerais, running inland from a proposed port, logistics and business complex at Urussuquara, south of São Mateus on the Atlantic coast.
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News
Connecting Europe Express to tour 26 countries in 36 days
EUROPE: Marking Europe Day on May 9 and the EU Year of Rail , the European Commission has confirmed the programme for its Connecting Europe Express exhibition train. Intended to demonstrate ‘the power of rail to connect people and businesses’, the project will also celebrate ...
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News
Sotetsu orders Hitachi EMUs to work Tokyo through services
JAPAN: As part of its ¥15∙7bn capital investment plan for the 2021 financial year, Yokohama-based Sagami Railway is to order four eight-car Series 21000 EMUs from Hitachi.
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News
SNCF launches Ouigo high speed services in Spain
SPAIN: The first fare-paying passengers were due to board Ouigo services on the morning of May 10 as SNCF’s low-cost high speed rail subsidiary entered the Spanish domestic market, competing with RENFE on the Madrid – Barcelona route.
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Rail Business UK
Zipabout shows passengers their last mile options
UK: A last mile feature has been added to the Rail Delivery Group’s National Rail ‘Alert Me by Messenger’ function, which uses Facebook’s messaging platform to provide passengers with alternative routes to help maintain social distancing if their journey is predicted to be busy or disrupted. ...
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Rail Business UK
Mass cancellations as Hitachi trains grounded by cracks
UK: A significant number of train services were cancelled over the weekend of May 8-9 after cracks were discovered in electric and electro-diesel trains constructed by Hitachi Rail for several operators.
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News
VTG sees ‘huge potential’ in Turkish freight market
TURKEY: VTG has announced a ‘sharp expansion’ in the Turkish market, bundling the activities of VTG Rail Europe, VTG Rail Logistics and VTG Tanktainer under local subsidiary VTG Nakliyat. Offices have been opened in Halkalı and Pendik on the European and Aisan sides of the ...
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News
Electrification to increase Ukraine – Poland iron ore export capacity
UKRAINE: National railway Ukrzaliznytsia has begun a project to electrify the 94 km line from Kovel to Izov and the Polish border. The route handles 90% of rail freight tonnage between the two countries, mainly iron ore being exported from the Kryvyi Rih region to steelmakers ...
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News
New Zealand’s 10-year Rail Plan prioritises resilience and reliability
NEW ZEALAND: The government has published a 10-year Rail Plan, setting out its ambitions for a ‘resilient and reliable’ rail network and outlining its investment priorities. The plan does not provide a definitive list of investments or funding commitments, but is intended as a sign ...
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News
Industrial espionage concerns raised over third-party train maintenance contract
GERMANY: Swiss rolling stock manufacturer Stadler has raised concerns about the potential for industrial espionage after Go-Ahead awarded the international subsidiary of Transmashholding a contract to maintain a fleet of electric multiple-units ordered for use on E-Netz Allgäu services in Bayern. Stadler is worried that ...
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Rail Business UK
NI Railways targets zero emissions by 2040
UK: Translink is to assess the options for procuring zero-emission trains in support of its recently published Climate Positive Strategy, which sets out an ‘ambitious’ target to achieve a 50% reduction in train, bus and building emissions by 2030, net zero emissions by 2040 and to ...
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News
Maranhão Railway to serve deepwater port
BRAZIL: Plans are taking shape for the construction of a heavy haul railway and deepwater port in northeastern Brazil, in order to accommodate rising export traffic from the mining and agricultural sectors.
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News
Akiem joins autonomous railpod project
FRANCE: Rolling stock leasing company Akiem has signed a letter of intent paving the way for a financial and industrial partnership to develop the Taxirail concept for an autonomous ‘railpod’ ultra light rail shuttle vehicle. The Taxirail concept has been developed in Bretagne by EXID ...
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News
Pandemic brings ‘bleak’ first quarter for European railways
EUROPE: The coronavirus pandemic continues to have a heavy impact across the rail sector, according to the Community of European Railway & Infrastructure Companies’ Covid Impact Tracker.
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In depth
UK: HS2 progress overshadowed by coronavirus and controversy
While construction of HS2’s initial phase between London and the West Midlands is forging ahead despite local protests, completion of the 540 km ‘Y network’ as originally outlined in 2010 now appears much less certain. Nick Kingsley reports.
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News
Hydrogen trains for the Heidekrautbahn
GERMANY: Federal Transport Minister Andreas Scheuer has authorised investment of €25m in a project to introduce hydrogen fuel cell trains in the Land of Brandenburg. Announcing the grant at Basdorf station on the Niederbarnimer Eisenbahn on May 3, Scheuer said this would be ‘a giant ...
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Metro Report International
Acciona to eliminate Melbourne rail/tram crossing
AUSTRALIA: Victoria’s Major Transport Infrastructure Authority has selected an Acciona-led consortium to rebuild a section of Melbourne’s Frankston suburban line, eliminating two level crossings southeast of the city and the flat crossing between rail and tram routes at Glenhuntley.
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News
Portugal’s Beira Baixa link reopens after 12 years
PORTUGAL: Trains returned to the 46 km section of the Beira Baixa line between Guarda and Covilhã on May 2 for the first time in 12 years, with a formal reopening ceremony taking place the following day.
