North America – Page 64
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NewsPrivate funding needed under C$6bn VIA Rail investment plan
CANADA: National passenger operator VIA Rail says that private-sector backing will be needed to support an investment programme worth more than C$6bn over the next decade. Chief Executive Yves Desjardins-Siciliano told the Terrapinn World Rail Festival conference in Amsterdam on November 13 that VIA Rail’s most pressing priority is to ...
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Metro Report InternationalAdditional Azur trains ordered for Montréal
CANADA: Montréal metro operator STM has ordered a further 17 nine-car trainsets from a consortium of Bombardier Transportation and Alstom, the suppliers announced on November 12. Bombardier’s share of the €300m contract is €188m and Alstom’s share is €112m. The order is a follow-on from a contract for 52 ...
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Metro Report InternationalEl Paso Streetcar inaugurated
USA: The El Paso Streetcar opened to passengers on November 9 with a weekend of free travel. The 7·7 km route is arranged in a single-track figure of eight serving 27 stops. The Uptown Loop service runs around both loops in one direction, whereas the Downtown Loop service only ...
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NewsInvestors back short line company
USA: Sam Zell’s Equity Group Investments has led a group of co-investors including International Rail Partners in a commitment of more than $200m to short line investor RailUSA. Terms have not been disclosed. IRP is led by Gary Marino, who was formerly the founder, President & CEO of short line ...
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NewsGreenbrier announces 'solid results'
GREENBRIER: Wagon manufacturer The Greenbrier Companies has announced net earnings of $151·8m on revenue of $2·5bn for the year to August 31 2018, with adjusted net earnings of $133·9m and adjusted EBITDA of $318·2m, or 12·6% of revenue. A total of 20 900 wagon units were delivered, and orders received ...
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Metro Report InternationalBattery buses ordered for San Diego
USA: San Diego Metropolitan Transit System has awarded New Flyer of America a contract to supply six battery buses. The 12 m long Xcelsior Charge vehicles expected to arrive in 2019 will be equipped with CCTV and air-conditioning. The 480 kW batteries will be charged overnight at the ...
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Metro Report InternationalMilwaukee welcomes The Hop
USA: The first phase of The Hop tram network in Milwaukee was inaugurated on November 2. Travel on the 3·4 route-km route linking Burns Commons and Clybourne Street is free for a year as part of a sponsorship deal with Potawatomi Hotel & Casino. Kiewit Infrastructure acted as ...
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Metro Report InternationalBombardier tests Eglinton Crosstown LRV
CANADA: Bombardier Transportation has presented the first Flexity light rail vehicle for the Eglinton Crosstown line in Toronto. Testing is taking place at Bombardier’s Kingston facility. Greater Toronto & Hamilton Area transport authority Metrolinx ordered 182 LRVs from Bombardier in 2010 for routes including Eglinton Crosstown. Metrolinx later ...
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NewsITE to acquire American Railcar Industries
USA: Industrial and transport investor ITE Management has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire wagon manufacturing, leasing and repair company American Railcar Industries from Icahn Enterprises in a deal worth $1·75bn, including ARI’s net indebtedness. The transaction is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2018. Icahn Enterprises ...
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Metro Report InternationalExpanded PATH station opens at Harrison
USA: An expanded metro station opened at Harrison, New Jersey, on October 30, serving the Newark branch of the PATH metro network which links Lower Manhattan with destinations across the Hudson River. Harrison station serves a growing development zone just across the Passaic River from Newark city centre; this includes ...
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NewsBNSF and GE to test battery freight loco
USA: A battery-electric main line freight locomotive is to be tested in California from 2020, under a research programme supported by local pollution control grants. BNSF and the San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District have been awarded $22·6m from the California Air Resource Board under the Zero & Near-Zero ...
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NewsTEX Rail trains tested for radar effects
USA: The first of the Flirt trainsets which Stadler is supplying for the 43 km TEX Rail commuter route linking central Fort Worth with Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport has undergone dynamic testing at the airport. Testing between Dallas Fort Worth Junction and DFW Airport Terminal B station was undertaken with ...
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NewsTEX Rail train on test at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport
USA: The first of the Flirt trainsets which Stadler is supplying for the 43 km TEX Rail commuter route linking central Fort Worth with Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport has undergone dynamic testing at the airport. Testing between Dallas Fort Worth Junction and DFW Airport Terminal B station was undertaken with ...
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NewsIronhorse Resources acquires Arizona short line
USA: Ironhorse Resources has acquired the San Pedro & Southwestern Railroad from ARG Transportation Services, and renamed it as the San Pedro Valley Railroad. The transaction announced on October 17 was handled by specialist company RR Mergers & Acquisitions. The Class III short line serves regional businesses in Cochise County, ...
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Metro Report InternationalAutonomous electric shuttle takes to the road
CANADA: This month Keolis and the City of Candiac launched what they say is the first long-term demonstration of an autonomous electric shuttle on public roads in Canada. ‘We invite all public transit users and anyone who is curious or interested to come and try it now’, said Mayor ...
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Metro Report InternationalMobile phone app to be used for passenger study
USA: A mobile phone app is to be used to provide data for a survey of transport usage in the Minneapolis–St Paul Twin Cities region which being undertaken by the Metropolitan Council in partnership with the Minnesota and Wisconsin departments of transportation Between October 2018 and October 2019, a total ...
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Metro Report InternationalContactless payment guidance published
USA: Cross-industry body the US Payments Forum has published guidance developed by its Transit Contactless Open Payments Working Committee which is designed to assist transport agencies with the implementation of EMV contactless open payments. Transit Contactless Open Payments: Technical Solution for Pay As You Go is the second use case ...
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NewsVIA Rail dining cars to be refurbished
CANADA: National passenger operator VIA Rail has awarded Rail GD a C$16·4m contract to refurbish four dining cars for use on the trans-continental The Canadian service. The stainless steel vehicles were originally built in the 1950s, and VIA Rail said the refurbishment would extend their useful life ‘by a few ...
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Metro Report InternationalBoston metro signalling contract awarded
USA: Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority has awarded Barletta Heavy Division a $217·7m design-build contract to modernise signalling systems to improve reliability and reduce headways on the Red and Orange metro lines in Boston. Completion is planned for mid-2022, as part of MBTA’s $2bn Red Line/Orange Line infrastructure improvement programme. Digital ...
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NewsRENFE and ADIF to support Texas Central high speed service
USA: On October 10 high speed project promoter Texas Central announced that it had selected Spanish national operator RENFE and infrastructure manager ADIF as ‘strategic partners’ for the 386 km high speed line between Houston and Dallas. The Spanish partners were one of five bidders, Texas Central said. ‘RENFE is ...