All Railway Gazette International articles in October 2009
All articles published this month.
-
NewsCalgary LRT extension contract awarded
CANADA: The city of Calgary has awarded the joint venture of SNC Lavalin Graham Infrastructure the C$700m design-build contract for the 8·2 km West LRT project. The six-station extension of Calgary’s 202 light rail line, which currently runs across the city between 10 St SW and McKnight-Westwinds, will begin at ...
-
NewsCommuter rail vehicles shipped to the USA
USA: The first three Silverliner V electric multiple-unit car bodyshells for Philadelphia's SEPTA arrived from South Korea on October 21. They were taken by road to an assembly plant leased by Hyundai Rotem USA, which has a US$274·1m contract to supply 120 vehicles. Delivery of three prototypes had originally ...
-
NewsSt Albans Abbey tram-train announced
UK: Consultation on the introduction of tram-style vehicles to replace heavy rail services on the Watford Junction - St Albans Abbey line was announced by Secretary of State for Transport Lord Andrew Adonis on October 30. The 10 km branch operated by the London Midland franchise currently carries 450 ...
-
NewsPortland buys more RDCs
USA: Portland operator TriMet has purchased two additional DMU cars to provide backup for its existing four cars, whose reliability has been unpredictable on the 23·7 km Wilsonville-Beaverton Westside Express Service. Instead of new vehicles to match those manufactured by now-defunct Colorado Railcar, the transit agency has acquired a ...
-
NewsToronto capital projects deferred
CANADA: A series of Toronto Transit Commission capital investment projects valued at C$548m and scheduled to start in 2012 or later are to be deferred to protect the city’s credit. The Commission agreed to the action at its October 29 meeting, although Chairman Adam Giambrone, who is also a city ...
-
NewsThrough services vital for high-speed success
EUROPE: Eurostar's share of the rail+air market from London to Paris, Brussels and Lille is now nearly 85%, Commercial Director Nick Mercer told a Railway Forum seminar in London on October 15, and even on routes with 4 h journey times other Railteam members 'take more than 50% market share'. ...
-
NewsLithuanian Railways hosts fire rescue exercise
LITHUANIA: Following the signing of a co-operation agreement earlier this year, Lithuanian Railways and the Vilnius Fire & Rescue Service hosted their first emergency training exercise on October 22. Guests included representatives of the Transport & Communications Ministry and the State Railway Inspectorate. The objective was to improve the ...
-
NewsAlstom out of Thameslink bidding
UK: Alstom Transport was informed late on October 22 that its bid to supply the new Thameslink EMU fleet had been eliminated from the final stage of the contest. This leaves Bombardier Transportation and Siemens Mobility in the running for the major order to be placed by the Department for ...
-
NewsEU allocates TEN-T infrastructure funds
EUROPE: The European Commission announced the first projects which are to receive a total of €500m of infrastructure grants under the Trans-European Transport Network programme on October 21. The TEN-T programme aims to build missing transport links in Europe and remove bottlenecks. The funding was originally to be spread ...
-
NewsFinal section of Kashmir Valley railway inaugurated
INDIA: Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh flagged off a train from Anantnag to Quazigund to inaugurate the final 18 km of the railway through the Kashmir Valley on October 28. The currently isolated line will eventually be joined to the Indian rail network at Udhampur, providing an all -weather ...
-
NewsUIC endorses Open Telematics standards
EUROPE: The IT Study Group at the International Union of Railways' Freight Forum has decided to adopt the standards being developed for rail freight applications by the Open Telematics Alliance, which will form the basis of a new UIC leaflet on recommended practice. Meeting in Paris on October 13, ...
-
NewsRegions confirm €7bn framework TER contract
FRANCE: A framework contract for the supply of up to 1 000 low-floor trainsets to operate regional services was signed in Paris on October 27 by SNCF President Guillaume Pepy and the President of Alstom Transport Philippe Mellier. Within the overall package, orders were confirmed for an initial build of ...
-
NewsBangkok Airport Rail Link handover imminent
With trials of Bangkok's Airport Rail Link continuing on a daily basis, Railway Gazette International's Urban Editor Jane Pearce took a ride on an Airport Express train to Suvarnabhumi Airport on October 22.
-
NewsFirst London Underground S stock arrives
UK: The first of 58 eight-car trains of S stock being built by Bombardier Transportation for the Metropolitan Line was handed over to London Underground on October 21. Following further testing, the pre-series train is due to enter passenger service in 2010. The majority of testing has been undertaken at ...
-
NewsKatowice airport link design underway
POLAND: A consortium of Pöyry and DB International has begun detailed design for a rail link between central Katowice and the city's international airport at Pyrzowice. The design phase runs to May 2011, with Pöyry's share of the contract awarded by rail infrastructure manager PKP PLK at the end ...
-
NewsPATH resignalling contracts awarded
USA: The Port Authority Trans-Hudson rail network will be completely resignalled under a US$340m contract authorised on October 22 by the Port Authority of New York & New Jersey. The contract was awarded to Siemens Team, a consortium led by Siemens Transportation Systems and including Safetran Systems Corp and ...
-
NewsFirst contract awarded for Honolulu light rail
USA: A US$482·9m design-build contract for construction of the first 10·5 km of Honolulu’s proposed 32 km elevated light rail line was awarded to Kiewit Pacific Co on October 21. The company’s bid was US$90m under estimates and provides a financially optimistic start to the US$5·3bn project. ...
-
NewsKadikoy - Kartal control contract awarded
TURKEY: The Avrasya Metro Grubu joint venture has awarded Thales a €36m contract to supply SelTrac CBTC signalling, communications and control systems for Istanbul's Kadikoy - Kartal metro project. The AMG consortium of Astaldi, Makyol and Gülermak has a turnkey contract to build the 21·7 km 16-station metro on ...
-
NewsVAL refurbishment completed
FRANCE: The last of 38 two-car trainsets used on Lille mini-metro Line 1 was returned to the city on October 22 following refurbishment at Alstom’s Petit-Foret plant near Valenciennes, marking the completion of a three-year programme valued at €11m. Under a contract awarded by operator Transpole and the Communauté Urbaine ...
-
NewsLow prices force change at Strukton Rail
NETHERLANDS: 'Prices in the market for renewals are under great pressure', said Strukton Rail on October 19, announcing a reorganisation under which the company's four regions will be reduced to two. Around 350 jobs are to go across the country, and Strukton has started negotiations with its staff and ...