News – Page 9
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NewsHungarian consortium proposes Talgo takeover
SPAIN: Hungarian consortium Ganz-Mavag Europe has put forward a €619m offer to buy 100% of Talgo, which said the offer was attractive. However, the Spanish government is not keen to see the company in foreign ownership, and options including a potential takeover by CAF are reportedly ...
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Rail Business UKNew concourse in London Waterloo station vision
UK: Network Rail and Lambeth Council have unveiled ‘an ambitious long-term plan’ for the redevelopment of London Waterloo station and its surroundings. This sets out aspirations to make the station easier to navigate, reduce platform congestion and interchange times, and enable easier movement. The proposals include: ...
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NewsBattery tender for freight loco to be developed
AUSTRALIA: Freight operator Aurizon has been awarded a A$9·4m grant from the Australian Renewable Energy Agency to develop, test and trial a battery electric tender to be used in conjunction with a modified diesel locomotive. The tender, described as ‘essentially a big battery-pack on wheels’, will ...
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Rail Business UKScheidt & Bachmann rethinks the ticket machine
TICKETING: Scheidt & Bachmann is testing a prototype ticket vending machine it has developed for the UK market as the result of its first ‘total rethink’ in more than 20 years. At the Transport Ticketing Global exhibition, Scheidt & Bachmann told Rail Business UK that the ...
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NewsBeograd – Niš railway to be upgraded for 200 km/h
SERBIA: Minister of Construction, Transport & Infrastructure Goran Vesić has announced that modernisation of the 230 km Beograd – Niš line to enable 200 km/h running is to start in 2025. Completion is envisaged by the end of 2028. In March last year the European Bank ...
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NewsMSC’s purchase of Italo stake approved
ITALY: The European Commission has approved Mediterranean Shipping Co’s planned acquisition of a 50% stake in open access high speed train operator Italo-NTV from Global Infrastructure Partners. The transaction announced in October was examined under the normal merger control procedure, with the Commission concluding that there ...
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NewsCheaper rolling stock financing predicted as Luxembourg protocol comes into force
INTERNATIONAL: A global treaty designed to make it easier and cheaper for the private sector to finance railway rolling stock came into force on March 8. The Luxembourg Rail Protocol to the Cape Town Convention on International Interests in Mobile Equipment is a treaty under the ...
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NewsABB to set up traction centre after Queensland EMU contract win
AUSTRALIA: ABB has been awarded a US$150m contract to provide complete traction packages for 65 electric multiple-units which Hyundai Rotem is to supply under the Queensland Train Manufacturing Programme. The company is also to invest US$6m to establish a traction centre of excellence in Maryborough with ...
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NewsSpanish gauge-changing technology to integrate Ukrainian railways with the EU
UKRAINE: The use of automatic gauge-changing wheelsets to speed up the movement of freight wagons between Ukraine’s 1 520 mm broad gauge network and the 1 435 mm standard gauge of neighbouring European Union countries is to be piloted by national railway Ukrzaliznytsia and Spanish infrastructure ...
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In depthTraction Technology: The weak case for hydrogen
Reinhard Christeller examines the state of the art for using hydrogen in rail traction, and finds that the case for widespread adoption is weak, even if emerging ‘white hydrogen’ fuel holds more potential.
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Rail Business UKRailX freight booking app targets growth
UK: RailX has secured a £150 000 loan from NPIF Mercia Debt Finance to enable it to further develop its rail freight booking app and target new customers. RailX was launched after Steve Freeman, the former Managing Director of Doncaster’s rail terminal iPort Rail, and rail ...
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NewsRail sector welcomes step towards emissions calculation standardisation
EUROPE: The European Parliament’s Environment and Transport committees have jointly adopted a draft report on a proposed EU Regulation which would establish a common methodology to enable fair comparisons of the greenhouse gas emissions from different modes of transport. This was welcomed by the Community of ...
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Rail Business UKLondon – Stirling open access train service approved
UK: The Office of Rail & Road has given the go-ahead for Grand Union Trains to launch an open access passenger service between London and Stirling. Access rights have been approved from June 2025 to June 2030. ORR said the services would use existing off-lease diesel ...
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NewsMexican passenger rail reform plans unveiled
MEXICO: A package of 20 proposals for legislative reforms intended to support the restoration and development of passenger services on the existing rail network has been presented to the Chamber of Deputies. The proposals announced in February would give the government the power to grant concessions to ...
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Rail Business UKPorterbrook purchases Long Marston Rail Innovation Centre
UK: Porterbrook has purchased the freehold of the Long Marston Rail Innovation Centre from St Modwen. ‘This deal provides absolute clarity for our business, our shareholders and the wider rail industry over the long-term future of Long Marston Rail Innovation Centre’ said Poterbrook CEO Mary Grant ...
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NewsŚląskie voivodship orders Newag EMUs
POLAND: The Śląskie voivodship has signed a 1·3bn złoty contract with Newag for the supply of 26 four-car Impuls2 electric multiple-units for use by regional operator Koleje Śląskie. The order was announced on February 29 and includes maintenance as well as an ...
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NewsOpen Sales & Distribution Model API sandbox launched
EUROPE: Train ticket retailing technology company Benerail has launched an Open Sales & Distribution Model API sandbox as an experimental ‘playground’ for companies to share ideas and collaborate. The OSDM was developed jointly by UIC, train operators and ticket vendors to provide a European industry standard ...
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NewsSoftware to enhance Slovenian timetable planning
SLOVENIA: National railway Slovenske Železnice has awarded Siemens Mobility subsidiary Hacon a contract to supply and support software for timetable and train path management, including a train path ordering module. The TPS.plan software will include a detailed representation of the infrastructure, rolling stock and signalling. This ...