News – Page 182
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Rail Business UKFreight operator trials brake monitoring technology
UK: GB Railfreight has completed a four-week test of technology developed in collaboration with Icomera, DG8 and SENSEi which uses battery-powered remote sensors to share status and out-of-tolerance alerts with drivers and control centres during rolling stock pre-checks. Drivers receive sensor data directly to an app ...
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NewsGotthard Base Tunnel repairs could take until September 2024
Photo: SBB SWITZERLAND: The 57 km Gotthard Base Tunnel may not fully reopen until September 2024, 13 months after a derailed freight train badly damaged the track in the western bore. In an update on November 2 Swiss Federal Railways said the damage to the world’s ...
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NewsICE 3neo interior offers ‘living room atmosphere and comfort at 300 km/h’
GERMANY: The first of Deutsche Bahn’s ICE 3neo high speed trainsets to be fitted with a redesigned interior has entered passenger service. Siemens Mobility is supplying DB Fernverkehr with a total of 90 ICE3neo trainsets. The first 16 which began entering service from December 2022 have ...
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Metro Report InternationalBrno orders more trams
CZECH REPUBLIC: Brno operator DPMB has awarded Škoda Group a firm order to supply a further 15 ForCity Smart 45T trams. This will enable the replacement of obsolete KT8 trams dating from the late 1980s and early 1990s. The latest order announced on November 11 has ...
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NewsGauteng and Eastern Cape suburban services restored
SOUTH AFRICA: Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa has restarted services on the Pretoria – Kempton Park suburban rail line in Gauteng province, and reintroduced a limited service on the Gqeberha – Uitenhage line in Eastern Cape province. Local rail services across the country had been ...
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NewsDanish locomotive and wagon workshop opened
DENMARK: Freight operator DB Cargo Scandinavia has opened a locomotive and wagon maintenance workshop in Fredericia. The operator expects to create 40 jobs at the site, which will repair and maintain its fleet of 52 locomotives and hundreds of wagons. Tools include the use of augmented reality ...
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NewsPandrol launches Common Interface to futureproof non-ballasted track
INTERNATIONAL: Pandrol has launched a Common Interface System for ballastless track, so that the fastenings can be adapted quickly and affordably to meet changing performance requirements.
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Metro Report InternationalGlimble MaaS app launches in Trieste
ITALY: Arriva has begun offering its Glimble mobility-as-a-service platform in Trieste, covering buses, boats, bike sharing and on-demand services. ‘We want to encourage people to view buses, bikes and other modes of transport as a single network rather than separate services’, explained Angelo Costa, Managing Director ...
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NewsSJ to run Stockholm Pendeltågen as MTR withdraws
SWEDEN: Regional transport authority Storstockholms Lokaltrafik has reached agreement for state-owned passenger operator SJ AB to take over the operation of Stockholm’s Pendeltåg commuter services with effect from March 3 2024.
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NewsNamibian railway modernisation loan approved
NAMIBIA: The African Development Bank has approved a US$196·4m loan to support the second phase of Namibia’s Transport Infrastructure Improvement Project. The loan approved on October 31 will cover 51·8% of the total cost, leaving the Namibian government to provide the remaining 48·2%. The project aims ...
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NewsPesa selected to supply 62 EMUs to Romania
ROMANIA: Railway reform board ARF announced on October 30 that it had selected Pesa Bydgoszcz to supply 62 electric multiple-units for use on regional services. A contract worth between 3·2bn and 4·2bn lei is to be signed following the standstill period when losing bidder Alstom can ...
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Metro Report InternationalMelbourne G Class tram mocked up for testing
AUSTRALIA: A full-size mock-up of Melbourne’s future G Class tram has been produced to obtain feedback from passenger, driver, technical and accessibility groups ahead of series production. In 2022 Victoria’s Department of Transport awarded Alstom a €700m framework contract to supply 100 customised Flexity 2 trams ...
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In depthComment: UK turns its back on rail growth
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s decision to abandon the remaining phases of the High Speed 2 programme reflects the UK government’s growing antipathy to rail investment and equivocation about climate targets, leaving Britain’s railway without a clear plan for future expansion.
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NewsPilbara heavy haul battery locomotive unveiled
AUSTRALIA: A FLXdrive battery-powered heavy haul locomotive for iron ore mining company Roy Hill has been unveiled at Wabtec’s factory at Erie in the USA. ‘This FLXdrive locomotive represents a major step in the journey to a low-to-zero-emission future’, said Wabtec President & CEO Rafael Santana ...
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NewsNijmegen – Roermond upgrading and electrification contract awarded
NETHERLANDS: Infrastructure manager ProRail has awarded Swietelsky Rail Benelux a contract to upgrade, partly double-track and electrify the 88 km Nijmegen – Roermond line. The Maaslijn is one of the longest and most intensively used diesel-operated single-track lines in the Netherlands, with the Arriva-operated services carrying ...
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Rail Business UKRegulator approves Network Rail’s £43·1bn five-year plan
UK: The Office of Rail & Road has published its final determination setting out how Network Rail plans to use the £43·1bn being made available to fund infrastructure operation, maintenance and renewal during the five-year Control Period 7 starting on April 1 2024. Network Rail has ...
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NewsEuropean Commission says Spain has failed to apply Single European Railway Area rules
SPAIN: The European Commission has decided to refer Spain to the Court of Justice of the European Union, saying it has failed to correctly transpose and apply Directive 2012/34/EU establishing a Single European Railway Area. The Commission explained on October 18 that it believed the Spanish ...
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Metro Report InternationalUrban transport industry news round-up
This week’s round-up of news from the urban transport sector.
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Metro Report InternationalDubai invites expressions of interest for metro Blue Line
UAE: Dubai’s Roads & Transport Authority has invited expressions of interest in a design and build contract covering civil works, railway systems and rolling stock for the planned metro Blue Line. Around 15·5 km of the 30 km line would be underground and 14·5 km elevated. ...
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NewsFreight railways revived in northern Argentina
ARGENTINA: Trenes Argentinos Cargas has restarted freight services on a 158 km section of the Belgrano Cargas metre-gauge network in the north of the country after a 10-year hiatus. The railway connecting Pichanal with Río Del Valle has reopened following extensive reconstruction. The inaugural train on ...