All News articles – Page 80
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NewsAlex orders double-deck coaches
GERMANY: Bombardier Transportation has received a €10m order to supply seven double-deck coaches to Regentalbahn. Announcing the order on April 3, the manufacturer said the Arriva Deutschland subsidiary is first private operator in Germany to order its double-deck coaches. They will be delivered from the Görlitz plant in the ...
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NewsThree-stage programme to update RZD’s fleet
RUSSIA: Plans to give Russian Railways a fleet of modern diesel and electric locomotives are being implemented as part of a two-phase network expansion strategy. Boris Lukov reports.
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NewsGrube nominated to replace Mehdorn
GERMANY:?Rüdiger Grube has been nominated by the federal government to replace Deutsche Bahn’s Chairman & Chief Executive Hartmut Mehdorn, who tendered his resignation on March 30 in the wake of further revelations about the covert surveillance of DB staff. Grube is currently Director of Corporate Development at car manufacturer Daimler, ...
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NewsBombardier signs Stansted airport train order
UK: Preferred bidder Bombardier Transportation has signed a £173m contract to supply and maintain a fleet of 120 EMU cars for services between London and Stansted Airport, the company announced on April 2. The trains are worth £155m, and will be built at Derby for delivery between March and ...
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NewsRDC in French freight venture
FRANCE:?Transport minister Dominique Bussereau announced on March 31 the creation of a joint venture to promote local and wagonload freight services. The company is intended to provide expertise, financial and project planning assistance and operational input to encourage small businesses to transport freight over short distances by rail - the ...
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NewsThe bloodbath is coming
EUROPE: Liberalisation of international passenger services is intended to boost customer choice, but fierce competition between rail and air could result in consolidation, says Christian Rossi.
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NewsAmtrak plans fleet refurbishment
USA: A programme for the repair and return to service of stored passenger coaches and locomotives was presented to the Federal Railroad Administration by Amtrak at the end of March, all to be funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act which has $1*middot;3bn set aside for the passenger operator. ...
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Dallas commuter line grant
USA: Construction could get underway in April on the Denton County Transportation Authority’s A-Train commuter rail project now that a $250m grant has been received from the Texas Department of Transportation. The 33·8 km, five-station line will connect Denton to Carrollton, a transfer point to Dallas Area Rapid Transit’s ...
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NewsPacific National for sale
AUSTRALIA: Asciano confirmed on March 16 that it was putting up for sale two of the country’s most recognised transport and logistics brands: Patrick Stevedores and Pacific National. In the face of the global financial crisis, the company plans to sell either the container port business or its rail freight ...
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NewsTraining in a virtual world
SIMULATORS: The latest driver training programmes offered by Orca Railway Systems include fuel saving and train-handling strategies to cut operating costs; remote diagnostics allow software maintenance and upgrading via the internet. Mary Anne Throop reports from Vancouver.
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NewsLoubinoux to lead UIC headquarters
INTERNATIONAL: The current Managing Director of SNCF International, Jean-Pierre Loubinoux, has been selected as the first Director-General of Services at the International Union of Railways. The appointment was decided at an assessment meeting in Paris on March 30, ahead of a special meeting of UIC’s General Assembly on March 31. ...
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NewsAlstom takes stake in Transmash
RUSSIA: Alstom Transport agreed on March 31 to take a 25% plus one share stake in Transmashholding. The move builds on an existing partnership between the two companies that has seen the Alstom-TMH joint venture selected by RZD as a strategic partner to supply 1 210 double-deck passenger cars. ...
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NewsMehdorn to step down from DB
GERMANY: The controversy over accusations that Deutsche Bahn had undertaken covert surveillance of its own staff claimed its most high profile victim on March 30, when Chairman & CEO Hartmut Mehdorn tendered his resignation. Although by the end of the day Mehdorn’s offer had not been formally accepted, it was ...
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NewsUtrecht hosts Rail-Tech show
NETHERLANDS: The seventh Rail-Tech Europe exhibition is being held at the Royal Dutch Jaarbeurs in Utrecht on March 31 to April 2.
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NewsVoestalpine buys US track component maker
LEADING EDGE ENTERPRISES: The VAE Nortrak North America subsidiary of Voestalpine has acquired Leading Edge Enterprises, a US supplier of specialist track materials including injection moulded plastic, cast ductile iron and manganese steel parts. Leading Edge's plant at Decatur in Illinois will operate under the VAE Nortrak brand. Voestalpine ...
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NewsTighter times ahead
UK: Economic recession is starting to put strains on the UK rail industry, after steady growth in the years following privatisation. Stringent efficiency targets have been set for Network Rail over the next five years, and concerns are emerging that some franchises may not meet ambitious revenue projections.
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NewsEuskoTren to the airport
SPAIN: Tendering will begin shortly for the first phase of a €36·9m extension of the EuskoTren network to Bilbao Airport, comprising a 3·1 km double-track alignment from Matiko to La Ola with 1·9 km in tunnel. Matiko station would be rebuilt and the railway covered over, ‘improving pedestrian routes ...
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NewsAdvisors sought for national rail plan
JORDAN: The government will shortly appoint financial, legal and technical advisers to assist with the development of a national rail network. On January 26 Transport Minister Alaa Batayneh told the Petra news agency that he expected to see detailed cost figures within 10 months, paving the way ...
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NewsTransportable desktop trainers
FRANCE: Campus Veolia Environnement has recently purchased six Simolia portable simulators from Oktal to train its freight drivers on the RFF network. Instead of sending staff to the supplier’s premises for training, the compact desktop units are supplied in a free-standing box which is installed at the customer’s facilities. ...