All News articles – Page 107
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News
Segregation for 200 km/h running
UKRAINE: Minister of Transport & Communications Yosyp Vinsky has announced the designation of a number of UZ’s major inter-city routes as dedicated passenger lines under a US$6·5bn project to permit the operation of 200 km/h services by the time the country co-hosts the UEFA European football championship in 2012 (RG ...
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Galicia upgrade nears end
SPAIN: With the exception of the final 2·3 km into Vigo, where design studies are underway, contracts have now been awarded for all sections of the 155·6 km A Coruña – Santiago de Compostela – Vigo route upgrade. Opening of the 13·1 km Portela – Vilagarcía de Arousa section ...
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NewsSpanish freight to stand alone
SPAIN: Unveiling a package of measures aimed at reviving the national economy, Prime Minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero announced on June 23 that RENFE’s freight business would be established as a stand-alone company within three months. Although 100% state-owned to start with, it is expected that the new venture would ...
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Tram-trains to Mont Blanc
FRANCE: 'We see an amazing future for this line', proclaimed SNCF President Guillaume Pepy on July 6, when he joined the celebrations to mark the centenary of the metre-gauge line between Chamonix and Vallorcine in Haute-Savoie. Accompanied by the President of Rhône-Alpes Jean-Jacques Queyranne and the regional Vice-President in ...
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NewsBetuwe Route is properly open
NETHERLANDS: More than a year after Queen Beatrix inaugurated the purpose-built Betuwe Route freight corridor, capacity restrictions are coming off and revenue operation is starting to ramp up. Eight paths an hour each way will be available from August 1.
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NewsMore VLocity in Victoria
AUSTRALIA: Victoria state premier John Brumby announced the purchase of a further nine three-car VLocity DMUs on July 31, along with an extra centre car to lengthen an existing two-car unit. The Bombardier trains will be used to boost capacity as part of an A$236m package of investment in ...
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Railpool to bridge gap between operators and banks
RAILPOOL: The leasing joint venture formally established this month by HSH Nordbank and KfW IPEX-Bank will target locomotives and passenger rolling stock for lease in Germany and other western European countries, according to Christian Forster, Head of Rail & Intermodal at HSH Nordbank. Forster acknowledged that Railpool is already looking ...
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NewsBeijing - Tianjin high speed line opens for business
CHINA: Tickets for high speed services between Beijing and Tianjin went on sale on July 31, the day before the formal opening of the 117 km line. Testing was successfully completed on June 30, since when 100 000 km of trial running has been undertaken without passengers. Regular services will ...
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NewsFunding agreed for LGV Bretagne
FRANCE: On July 29 Minister for Ecology, Energy, Sustainable Development & Planning Jean-Louis Borloo signed an agreement establishing the funding mechanism and provisional construction timetable for a 132 km extension of the TGV Atlantique high speed line from Le Mans to Rennes. Costed at €3·4bn, the project also involves ...
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NewsBeNEX places €100m Coradia order
GERMANY: Alstom announced a €100m order for 26 Coradia Continental regional EMUs on July 30. The 21 three-car and five four-car trainsets have been ordered by BeNEX, the company established by Hamburger Hochbahn to bid for operating contracts beyond the Hamburg area and now 49% owned by Babcock & ...
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NewsVTG buys wagon manufacturer
GERMANY: Leasing firm VTG announced an agreement to acquire the wagon manufacturing assets of Graaff Group on July 29. Graaff had filed for insolvency in March, owing to 'difficulties in handling a large order and the tight liquidity situation.' Graaff's wagon plant at Elze near Hannover has an annual ...
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NewsSharing tracks in Sydney
AUSTRALIA: High-profile passenger operators battle for train paths with other urban, regional and national passenger and freight carriers. Sydney provides a case study of issues that confront rail operators across the globe.
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NewsSkoda shows locomotive for the third millennium
CZECH REPUBLIC: On July 24 Skoda Transportation's Plzen works unveiled the long-awaited prototype for a fleet of 20 type S 109E electric locomotives ordered by Czech Railways. Marking Skoda Transportation's re-emergence as a major player in the European rail industry, the triple-voltage 200 km/h 109E is the first mainline ...
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NewsEnergy metering is on the way
EUROPE: One compelling message to emerge from IQPC's Greener Rail conference in London on July 17-18 was that on-train metering of electric power use is coming in one form or another. As soaring energy costs reinforce more subtle pressures to cut CO2 emissions, the realisation that what can't be measured ...
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NewsFaiveley to supply Matangi EMU brakes
NEW ZEALAND: Faiveley Transport has won a contract to supply brake controls, bogie brakes and air generation equipment for 45 two-car EMUs which are being built by a consortium of Hyundai Rotem and Mitsui for use on Metlink suburban services in Wellington. Called 'Matangi' from a Maori word for 'wind', ...
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NewsArcapita now owns Freightliner
UK: Clearance from the European Commission has enabled investment bank Arcapita to acquire the entire issued share capital of Freightliner Group Ltd. Completion of the deal took place on July 24, and Arcapita now has outright ownership of Freightliner Group and its subsidiaries. The shares were previously held by 3i, ...
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NewsScott Wilson buys Benaim
BENAIM: Scott Wilson announced on July 24 that it had acquired civil, structural and geotechnical consultancy Benaim in a cash and shares deal worth up to £5·5m. The companies have worked together on projects including the East London Line Extension and Malaysia's KLIA Express airport rail link. Significant recent ...
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NewsOn-train internet acquisition
SWEDEN: On-train internet technology company Icomera announced an agreement to acquire UK hardware supplier Moovera Networks on July 22. 'For some time now Moovera and Icomera have been addressing the same markets from different directions,' said Moovera founder Jim Baker. 'While Icomera has focused on sophisticated and complex ...
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NewsCoal loco commissioning underway
AUSTRALIA: The first two of 45 Class 3800 locomotives being supplied to QR by Siemens will enter service on coal trains in the Goonyella region next month. The 1067 mm gauge 25 kV AC electric locos are being commissioned at QR's Jilalan depot, having arrived in Brisbane on June 23 ...
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NewsHeavy haul in the high north
CANADA: Within a few years, Baffin Island in the Arctic archipelago will see construction of the world's most northerly railway, currently being designed by Canarail. The harsh environment poses daunting challenges in terms of design, construction and operation.