All News articles – Page 84
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NewsVictorians seek more VLocity
AUSTRALIA: The Victoria state government has awarded Bombardier Transportation a €75m contract to supply a further 32 VLocity DMU cars. They will be delivered in 2010-11 as a mix of two and three car sets. VLocity DMUs entered service on 1 600 mm gauge V/Line Passenger routes between ...
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NewsFreight loco sets off for Australia
AUSTRALIA: Siemens' München-Allach plant has rolled out the first of 23 electric locomotives ordered by Pacific National in 2007. The 1 067 mm gauge Class 7100 locos will be used on coal traffic in Queensland. The first is due to arrive in Brisbane at the beginning of April, with the ...
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NewsErie scales back
GE: Locomotive production at General Electric Transportation’s Erie plant is to be cut by approximately 40% this year in response to the global economic slowdown. The company expects to complete around 485 locos in 2009, compared with 861 in 2008 and 907 in 2007. Around 350 of the 5 600 ...
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NewsWorld infrastructure market February 2009
China: An alliance of Ansaldo STS and Zhejiang Zheda Insigma is to supply CBTC for the 29 km Shenyang metro Line 2 and 14 km Chengdu Line 1. Europe: Replacement of a bridge across the border between Germany and Poland near Frankfurt (Oder) was completed within 10 months of the ...
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NewsQuébec - Windsor high speed study contract placed
CANADA: The governments of Québec, Ontario and Canada have awarded the EcoTrain consortium a C$3m contract to update previous feasibility studies for high speed rail services along the Québec - Windsor corridor, Transport Canada announced on February 23. EcoTrain comprises Dessau, MMM Group, KPMG, Wilbur Smith & Associates and ...
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NewsA change of partners
EUROPE: SNCB has found a new partner to operate international services to southern France and Spain, reports Laurent Charlier.
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NewsGKB signs €50m Stadler DMU order
AUSTRIA: Graz-Köflacher Bahn placed a €50m order for 13 Stadler GTW 2/8 diesel multiple-units on February 20. Deliveries will run from the second half of 2010 to the end of 2011. The Land of Steiermark is meeting 25% of the cost of the three-section DMUs, which will be deployed ...
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NewsRails under the Bosporus
TURKEY: Five years after the start of construction in Istanbul, work on the long-planned Marmaray link between Europe and Asia is well underway. The project is due for completion in 2011, with trains expected to start running the following year.
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NewsContracts February 2009
Africa: A team from Seneca is visiting the Egyptian and Moroccan railways this month to assess proposed investment projects on behalf of the US federal Enterprise Development Network. Canada: Parsons has transferred to 21Net responsibility for providing wi-fi on VIA Rail services between Windsor and Québec. Czech Republic: Private ...
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NewsObama boosts high speed rail and transit spending
USA: At a ceremony in Denver on February 17, President Barack Obama officially signed the American Recovery & Reinvestment Act, a $787bn economic stimulus measure which provides nearly $50bn in direct funding for transport investment. The 1 100-page bill provides $8·4bn for transit, $1·3bn for Amtrak, $8·4bn for high ...
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NewsCoach donation prepares for Laos railway launch
LAOS: Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn of Thailand is expected to inaugurate the cross-border rail connection on March 5, with public services beginning at 16.20 that day. From March 6 there will be two daily return trips across the Thai-Lao Friendship bridge, taking 15 min between Nong Khai and the ...
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NewsBombardier to announce second-generation Electrostar
UK: Bombardier Transportation will unveil design studies for its second generation of Electrostar EMU at the Railtex 2009 exhibition, which is to be held in London on March 10-12. The Electrostar family has become the most successful post-privatisation EMU in the British market, with more than 1 600 ...
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NewsJR East announces hybrid train fleet
JAPAN: East Japan Railway is to introduce a further 10 diesel-battery hybrid DMUs in autumn 2010. The announcement follows the success of three Kiha E200 single-car units developed with Hitachi and launched on the Koumi line in July 2007. The 10 additional DMUs will be used on services ...
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NewsProducts & Technology in Brief
Japan’s Railway Technical Research Institute is assessing the feasibility of detecting faults in level crossing barrier mechanisms by measuring electrical currents during the raising and lowering of faulty barriers and comparing to normal values. Two types of barrier are being used, with the aim of developing a means of identifying ...
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NewsSuccessful tests on Bangkok airport line
THAILAND: Minister of Transport, Sophon Zarum, and State Railway of Thailand Chairman Youtdana Tupcharoen travelled on test run of Bangkok's Airport Express on February 12. In 2005 SRT awarded Siemens Mobility and Thai partners B Grimm and Sino Thai Engineering & Construction the contract to build a 28 km ...
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NewsFaster freight through MidAmerica
USA: Canadian National and Norfolk Southern have announced an initiative to share tracks to create a MidAmerica Corridor which will shorten their routes for traffic between Chicago, St Louis, Kentucky and Mississippi. The plan comprises three elements. Subject to regulatory approval and the signing of definitive agreements, NS will ...
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NewsTubes in the desert
SAUDI ARABIA: Saudi Railways Organisation has installed a 900 m section of Tubular Track on its main line between Harad and Al Tawdihiyah. The line carries containerised freight between the Gulf port of Dammam and Riyadh, but sand is a perennial problem and teams are on permanent standby to clear ...
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NewsSeries E5 design unveiled
JAPAN: East Japan Railway unveiled the exterior and designs for its next generation of Shinkansen trains on February 3. A pre-production Series E5 trainset is due to be rolled out in June for testing, as a precursor for the fleet to operate between Tokyo and Shin Aomori following the opening ...
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NewsEmissions rules change the landscape
ENGINES: At the end of 2008 Electro-Motive Diesel announced an order from Canadian National Railway for a further 40 SD70M-2 locomotives to be delivered in early 2010. These will use the 710 series diesel engine, which reached a milestone when the 7 500th engine was completed in late 2008. The ...
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NewsWires going up in Iran
IRAN: Russian Railways President Vladimir Yakunin attended a ceremony marking the formal start of work to electrify the line from Tabriz to Azarshahr on February 9. The 46 km line linking central Tabriz to the university town of Azarshahr is being electrified at 25 kV 50 Hz under a ...