All Railway Gazette International articles in November 2019 – Page 3
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NewsRATP and Getlink target French regional market
Photo: Christophe Masse FRANCE: RATP Dev has signed an agreement with Channel Tunnel operator Getlink to establish a joint venture to bid for tendered operating contracts in the forthcoming opening up of the French regional rail market. RATP would have a 55% stake in the joint venture, ...
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NewsNightjet plans mini-capsules for private travellers
AUSTRIA: ÖBB has unveiled the interior designs for the sleeping car and couchette vehicles in its Siemens-built Nightjet overnight trains which are scheduled to enter service from 2022.
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Rail Business UKTransPennine Express launches Nova fleet
UK: Marking the completion of a £500m investment programme, TransPennine Express formally launched its new fleet of 44 Nova trainsets with an event at Liverpool Lime Street station on November 22. Working with different leasing companies and manufacturers, the FirstGroup-operated franchise has procured three builds of new ...
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Metro Report InternationalDoha metro Gold Line opens
QATAR: The Doha metro Gold Line opened to passengers on November 21, a little over six months after the Red Line became the first operational metro line in the city. The 14 km Gold Line serves 11 stations between Ras Bu Abboud in the east and Al ...
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Metro Report InternationalNovosibirsk suburban operator orders EMUs
RUSSIA: Novosibirsk suburban operator Express Prigorod has ordered two eight-car EP2D electric multiple-units for delivery from Transmashholding’s Demikhovsky factory by the end of the year. They will include cycle racks, a passenger information system and fire fighting equipment. Accessibility features will include wheelchair lifts and signage in ...
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NewsWorld rail freight news round-up
Kiel-Meimersdorf yard has been remodelled to increase the maximum length of trains it can handle from 535 m to 740 m. The €7·9m project is one of 17 rail schemes being undertaken as part of the federal Sea Port Hinterland Transport II programme Kansas City Southern has ...
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Rail Business UKTrain toilet bioreactor on test
UK: What supplier Protec says is the first bioreactor train toilet in the UK is being tested in service on a Class 334 electric multiple-unit which ScotRail leases from Eversholt Rail. The bioreactor uses bacteria to break down waste while the train is running, with a heater ...
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NewsStrukton updates asset monitoring platform
NETHERLANDS: Strukton has released a ‘completely renewed’ version of its cloud-based POSS Online R7 condition monitoring platform, which uses big data, IoT and machine learning technology to provide rail asset owners with 24/7 performance insight. POSS Online R7 analyses and interprets the collected data and reports on ...
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NewsFavourable opinion on Firenze high speed tunnel
The tunnel will significantly reduce travel times by avoiding the need for trains to reverse at the existing Santa Maria Novella terminus. ITALY: A cost:benefit analysis has come out in favour of continuing with the project to build 7 km twin-bore high speed rail tunnel and Belfiore ...
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NewsSiemens rolls out new Turkish Velaro
TURKEY: Siemens has unveiled the first of 12 Velaro high speed trainsets ordered by Turkish national operator TCDD Taşımacılık at the supplier’s Düsseldorf plant on November 13. Due to arrive in Ankara by the end of November, the train is expected to enter passenger service in February ...
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Metro Report InternationalPutin inaugurates Moscow Central Diameters
RUSSIA: The first RER-style routes linking existing radial rail routes into Moscow were inaugurated on November 21. The opening ceremony for the first two so-called Moscow Central Diameters was attended by President Vladimir Putin, Minister of Transport Yevgeny Dietrich, Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin, Governor of Moscow Oblast ...
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NewsPraha ETCS programme launched
CZECH REPUBLIC: A programme to install ETCS Level 2 on routes around Praha was launched by infrastructure manager SŽDC and signalling contractor AŽD Praha on November 5. The project is costed at KC327·7m, with 42% to be funded from European Union sources. The project is divided into ...
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Rail Business UKGreater Anglia rolls out disabled-led accessibility training
UK: All 2 500 of Greater Anglia’s frontline staff are to receive accessibility awareness training delivered by a team of trainers who have disabilities themselves. The team was put together by consultant Sarah Rennie, who said the trainers would ‘bring a level of lived experience into the ...
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Metro Report InternationalSydney metro second phase E&M contract awarded
AUSTRALIA: Sydney Metro has exercised an option on the Northwest Rapid Transit consortium’s Operations, Trains & Systems concession to cover the line’s second phase. In 2014 the consortium of MTR Corp, John Holland, CPB Contractors, UGL Rail and Plenary Group was awarded a PPP concession covering the ...
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NewsNew ERFA President calls for a ‘truly European and competitive’ freight market
EUROPE: BLS Cargo CEO Dirk Stahl was elected as President of the European Rail Freight Association at its board meeting on November 20. Maciej Gladyga, director of Poland’s Land Transport Chamber of Commerce, was elected as Vice-President of the organisation which represents new entrants to the freight ...
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NewsRailway supply industry news round-up
Stadler’s directors have recommended former Swiss transport minister Doris Leuthard for election to the board at the AGM to be held on April 30 2020. ‘Thanks to her proven specialist expertise in matters relating to traffic and infrastructure, as well as her political experience as a former ...
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Rail Business UKBusiness Travel Association sets out investment priorities
UK: The Business Travel Association has published a pre-election wish-list of its long-term infrastructure investment priorities. For the rail sector, this includes delivering High Speed 2 ‘as currently planned with no reductions in rail links or service provision’, Northern Powerhouse Rail ‘to improve connectivity across the North ...
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NewsTexas Central selects railway systems supply partner
RENFE is acting as shadow operator of the planned Texas Central high speed line in the USA USA: Dallas – Houston high speed railway promoter Texas Central reached an Early Contractor Involvement agreement with Mass Electric Construction Co on November 23. Under the agreement, the Kiewit Corp ...
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NewsAfrica’s first high speed line covers its costs
MOROCCO: Speaking at a press conference on November 20, Moroccan National Railways Director General Mohamed Rabie Khlie told media representatives that the high speed Al Boraq service launched by King Mohamed VI and French President Emmanuel Macron on November 15 2018 had carried 2·5 million passengers in ...
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NewsFederal funds to boost Queensland projects
AUSTRALIA: The federal government has committed to increase funding for several railway projects in Queensland, as part of an A$3·8bn package of infrastructure spending announced by Prime Minister Scott Morrison on November 21. Described by Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk as a ‘huge win’, the announcement followed lengthy ...