All News articles – Page 99
-
NewsSix bids to build Polish high speed fleet
POLAND: Six companies had expressed interest in the tender to supply a fleet of 250 km/h inter-city EMUs to PKP Intercity, when the deadline for prequalification closed on October 2. PKP is looking to order 20 trainsets at an estimated cost of €400m. The six bidders are: CAF of Spain, ...
-
NewsAlstom and Transmash bid for double-deckers
RUSSIA: Alstom Transport and Transmashholding have signed a memorandum of understanding to launch a strategic partnership, and agreed to set up a specialist joint venture company to deliver double-deck coaches for the Russian market. As well as providing for technical co-operation between the two firms, the MoU includes an option ...
-
NewsFRA bans mobile phone use
USA: The Federal Railroad Admonistration issued an Emergency Order on October 2 prohibiting railroad crew members from using any private electronic communications devices in locomotive or control cabs. The order followed the release of preliminary information from the National Transportation Safety Board the previous day which indicated that the Metrolink ...
-
NewsMarket reforms revitalise European rail freight
FREIGHT: Does competition between operators improve efficiency and is the separation of infrastructure from operations necessary to develop viable competition? Jeremy Drew compares the impact on customers of railway reforms in three European countries.
-
News
Cheaper HVAC
HEAT PUMP: Train operators in central and northern Europe could save €1000 per coach per year in heating and cooling costs by using heap pumps, according to Faiveley. A compressor and two copper coils containing refrigerant extract heat from the outside air to heat the carriage interior. In warmer weather ...
-
NewsRZD signs funding accord
RUSSIA: On October 3 Russian Railways signed co-operation agreements with the Federal Agency for Rail Transport which will provide 45·6bn roubles of federal funding for two important infrastructure upgrading projects. Signed in Moscow by RZD President Vladimir Yakunin and the Head of Roszheldor Gennady Petrakov, the accord is the first ...
-
NewsTrans-Pennine trains get greener
UK: A second tranche of energy efficiency measures has been implemented by TransPennine Express and Siemens to reduce further the carbon footprint of the Desiro DMUs operating regional and inter-city services across northern England and Scotland.
-
NewsTHSRC extends market pricing
TAIWAN: Chief Executive of Taiwan High Speed Rail Corp Dr Ou Chin-Der announced on October 2 that the operator would be introducing two new off-peak ticket types with effect from November 1, expanding the range of fares available on the 345 km high speed line between Taipei and Kaohsiung. The ...
-
NewsSBB seeks freight partner
SWITZERLAND: Swiss Federal Railways plans to team up with a partner to ensure its survival in the competitive European freight market.
-
NewsState aid study
EUROPE: The European Commission is to determine whether public service contracts concluded between the Ministry of Transport and national railway DSB for the periods 2000-04 and 2005-14 amount to state aid. Many DSB services are operated on the basis of public service contracts agreed without tendering. DSB is required ...
-
NewsFire down below
EUROPE: Investigations have started into the cause of a fire on a freight shuttle in the Channel Tunnel, which is likely to result in considerable disruption for Eurotunnel and its customers over several months. The fire was detected in the French end section of the north running tunnel shortly before ...
-
NewsPointers October 2008
Rift Valley Railways has announced plans to invest US$206m in renovating the Kenya – Uganda railway over the next five years. Executive Chairman Brown Ondego said the money would be sourced 'through a mix of current shareholder reserves, equity, shareholders’ funds and debt’ following the recent restructuring of the company. ...
-
NewsIndustry News in Brief
Twin City Signal has been acquired by Caterpillar subsidiary Progress Rail Services Corp. Services provided by Twin City Signal include the design of centralised traffic control systems, interlockings and level crossing equipment. It also performs preliminary engineering for commuter rail operators and upgrades freight yards. Lloyds Register ...
-
NewsFlat pack arrives
UCW: Assembly began last month of the first Gautrain vehicle to be produced at Union Carriage & Wagon’s plant at Nigel in South Africa. 'Flat pack' kits of parts for 81 of the 96 coaches on order for Gautrain are being shipped from Bombardier’s Derby plant in the UK, taking ...
-
News
Sale is off
CIT GROUP: Commercial finance company CIT Group announced on September 8 that it had dropped plans to sell CIT Rail. The third largest wagon lessor in North America, Chicago-based CIT Rail has a lease fleet of around 115 000 wagons and 550 locomotives. The company said the decision to ...
-
News
JR Central takes majority stake in train builder
NIPPON SHARYO: Central Japan Railway Co revealed in August that it planned to take a 50·1% stake in rolling stock builder Nippon Sharyo Ltd. JR Central already holds a 1·8% stake in the supplier, and it is now offering up to ¥370 per share to obtain a majority holding. The ...
-
News
Strength of two
LIFTING: The DR170 jib from Geatech allows a single operator to lift machinery which is too heavy for two people to carry. Small enough to fit in the boot of a car, the DR170 can be used to place equipment weighing up to 170 kg onto a trolley, and ...
-
News
Metrolink tightens safety rules
USA: Southern California Regional Rail Authority has taken steps to improve its safety procedures following the September 12 collision between a Metrolink train and a UP freight train in the Los Angeles suburbs which killed 25 people and injured 135. Politicians and railroad officials are seeking to reassure the public ...
-
NewsSidetrack - Tax bill
CANADA: Candian Pacific Railway is seeking the repayment of taxes which it believes it has wrongly paid in the province of Saskatchewan for the past 128 years. CPR has found an agreement signed in 1880, the year before the company was incorporated. This specifies that the railway should remain ‘forever ...
-
News
Melbourne port project launched
AUSTRALIA: A A$50m project to improve the efficiency of rail services around the Port of Melbourne was formally launched last month. The state of Victoria is contributing A$23·5m to the project, the national government A$10m and ARTC the remainder. Work is expected to begin in early 2009 for completion in ...