News – Page 186
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NewsPrasa reopens Durban suburban line using X’Trapolis EMUs
SOUTH AFRICA: Passenger Agency of South Africa has restarted a limited passenger service on the 17 km Durban – KwaMashu suburban rail line. A reopening ceremony on September 12 was attended by Minister of Transport Sindisiwe Chikunga and CEO of the Prasa Group Hishaam Emeran. While ...
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NewsTesting starts on next phase of Hokuriku Shinkansen
JAPAN: Trial running has started on the next section of the Hokuriku Shinkansen, which is scheduled to open for revenue service on March 16 2024.
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Metro Report InternationalTurku council backs light rail proposal
FINLAND: Turku city council has approved the further development of plans for a light rail line. The proposal was approved by the city council on October 2 after two years of development and consultation. The double-track-line would run 12 km from Satama in the west through ...
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Metro Report InternationalPublic feedback incorporated into Boston Green Line LRV specifications
USA: Public feedback is being incorporated into the specifications for the Type 10 Supercar light rail vehicles which CAF is to supply for Boston’s Green Line. ‘It’s important for riders to know that we care about both their safety and also their experiences on the system’, ...
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Rail Business UKClass 37 solid oxide fuel cell demonstration
UK: Colas Rail has collaborated with G-Volution to demonstrate the use of solid oxide fuel cells running on biofuel to generate power for the auxiliary systems on a Class 37 locomotive, reducing the load on the main engine. SOFCs use bio-fuels such as Bio-LPG, Bio-LNG and ...
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In depthResearch: Developing a data interface standard
The IDX4rail research initiative aims to create an open-source data converter to mitigate the challenge of differing interface standards for data transfer in the German urban and main line rail sectors.
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Metro Report InternationalPromoter defends Montréal REM cost escalation
CANADA: Despite ‘extraordinary circumstances and exceptional technical challenges’, the construction costs for Montréal’s REM automated light metro have been kept ‘within a very competitive budget compared with other similar major transportation projects around the world’, according to project promoter CDPQ Infra. The first 17 km section ...
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Rail Business UKNetwork Rail to study composite sleeper profiles
UK: Network Rail has awarded Dutch company Lankhorst Rail a contract to assist with the development of the next generation of railway sleeper. The infrastructure manager plans to use Lankhorst’s KLP composite sleepers manufactured from recycled plastic reinforced with steel to investigate the bending stiffness, flexibility ...
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NewsLuxury cruise train to link Uzbekistan’s Silk Road cities
UZBEKISTAN: Italian luxury hospitality company Arsenale has announced plans to launch a luxury cruise train to take tourists between Toshkent, Samarkand, Bukhara and Khiva from late 2026. A memorandum of understanding for the project was signed with national railway UTY and the government’s Tourism Committee in ...
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NewsDhaka – Bhanga railway across the Padma Bridge opens
BANGLADESH: The 82 km line from Dhaka to Bhanga via the 6·2 km Padma Bridge was inaugurated by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on October 10, ahead of the start of commercial services on November 1. The Prime Minister said the inauguration of the line marks a ...
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NewsBrandenburg operating contract awarded
GERMANY: Berlin-Brandenburg transport authority VBB has awarded incumbent Hanseatische Eisenbahn a contract to operate two local passenger services. The contract covers the operation of 0·256 million train-km/year on services RB73 Neustadt (Dosse) – Pritzwalk and RB74 Meyenburg – Pritzwalk West. Following a call for tenders, the ...
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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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Rail Business UKReadypower acquires Total Rail Solutions
UK: Rail and infrastructure services company Readypower Group Ltd has acquired 100% of the share capital of plant hire, subcontracting and labour provision company Total Rail Solutions. RGL said TRS needed additional investment as it had been ‘struggling financially for some time in a difficult market’, with ...
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NewsCanada’s High Frequency Rail programme moves to RFP stage
CANADA: National transport minister Pablo Rodriguez has formally launched the Request for Proposals for the planned High Frequency Rail project to create a Québec City to Toronto rail corridor with dedicated passenger tracks. The RFP process will last until summer 2024, the government announced on October ...
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NewsNew entrant seeks to launch passenger trains on seven routes in Italy
ITALY: Privately owned new entrant Longitude Holding has submitted requests to operate passenger services on one international and six domestic routes, rail regulator ART has confirmed to Railway Gazette International.
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Rail Business UKAmcoGiffen to offer HyperTunnel tunnelling technology
UK: Contractor AmcoGiffen has signed an exclusive distributor agreement to use HyperTunnel’s robot underground construction technology in the UK rail sector. This includes digital twins, robotics, 3D printing and digital underground surveying, supported by AI and VR. Applications could included the enhancement, repair, rehabilitation and monitoring ...
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Metro Report InternationalSantiago metro Line 3 reaches Plaza Quilicura
CHILE: A 3·8 km northwestern extension of Santiago metro Line 3 has opened from Los Libertadores to Plaza Quilicura. The ceremony on September 25 was attended by President Gabriel Boric, Minister of Transportation & Telecommunications Juan Carlos Muñoz, and other dignities. The extension serves two intermediate ...
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In depthGermany: A digital platform to manage freight flows
Having raised €3·6m in an investment round earlier this year, German company Rail-Flow is growing its range of digital tools to ease access to rail freight services.
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Metro Report InternationalLondon Lost Property Office finds new home
UK: Transport for London’s Lost Property Office has moved from its previous site in South Kensington to a location in West Ham which offers more space and enables faster processing. The Lost Property Office recovers more than 200 000 items each year, including 4 400 wallets, ...
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NewsOre branch planned to serve Serra Azul
BRAZIL: Plans to build a 32∙4 km line to carry mineral traffic in Minas Gerais have been submitted to national land transport agency ANTT. Linking Itaùna to Igarapé to the southwest of Belo Horizonte in the so-called Iron Quadrangle, the project has been put together by ...