All Railway Gazette International articles in October 2018 – Page 5
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Rail Business UKUK railway news round-up
An 18-month £140m modernisation of Liverpool Lime Street station has been completed. Platforms across the station have been completely remodelled, two new platforms have been built, and extensive signalling enhancements completed. On October 12 the Department for Transport published guidance on rail safety rules, technical standards, authorisations, certificates and train ...
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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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NewsRack trains ordered for Tatra Electric Railway
SLOVAKIA: National operator ZSSK has awarded Stadler a contract to supply five 1·5 kV DC electric multiple-units and an electro-diesel locomotive for the 35 km metre-gauge Tatra Electric Railway network, which has a section of rack operation. Delivery is scheduled for 2022. Announcing the order on October 17, Stadler ...
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NewsShift2Rail announces 2018 grants
EUROPE: Shift2Rail is to provide up to €77·3m of co-funding for 19 research and innovation projects with a total value of €152·6m, the joint undertaking announced on October 17. The funding to be awarded under the 2018 Call for Proposals brings the cumulative spending on railway research to €490m, which ...
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NewsGo-Ahead wins Norway’s first rail tender
NORWAY: Go-Ahead Norge has been selected as the winner of the Lot 1 Sør passenger train operating contract, the first to be tendered by national railway authority Jernbanedirektoratet. The contract announced on October 17 will run for eight years from December 15 2019, with an optional two-year extension. It covers ...
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NewsAerospace innovation for rolling stock electrical systems
FRANCE: Alstom, IGE+XAO and Safran have agreed to establish a centre of excellence for onboard electrical systems in Toulouse. Located at aerospace equipment manufacturer Safran Electrical & Power’s site, the facility will be able to accommodate up to 100 engineers. IGE+XAO is providing design, simulation and manufacturing software under a ...
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NewsTranstech renamed Škoda Transtech
FINLAND: Škoda Transportation Group's Finnish rolling stock manufacturing business Transtech has been renamed Škoda Transtech. Established in 1985 as a subsidiary of the Rautaruukki steel group and latesr acquiring the Valmet plant in Tampere, Transtech was owned by Patentes Talgo from June 1999 until March 2007 when it was sold ...
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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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NewsVirtual view of Birmingham tram extension
UK: Transport for West Midlands has published two computer-generated fly-through videos showing the West Midlands Metro tramway extension to Centenary Square in central Birmingham. The 840 m extension is currently under construction for opening towards the end of 2019. The video clips are taken from a computer simulation used ...
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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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Rail Business UKCross Country direct award option left open
UK: The Department for Transport has published a prior information notice which would enable it to directly award a contract for the operation of Cross Country services for a maximum of 60 months from the end of Arriva’s current contract in October 2019. Arriva originally won the Cross Country franchise ...
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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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Metro Report InternationalAdelaide tramway extensions open
AUSTRALIA: Two short extensions of the Glenelg tramway in Adelaide opened on October 13. One extension runs 1 km east along North Terrace from Adelaide Railway Station to Art Gallery, University and Botanic Gardens, and operates every day. The other runs 350 m north from Rundle Mall along King William ...
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Metro Report InternationalDepot management system expanded for electric bus fleet
GERMANY: To support Hamburg transport operator Hamburger Hochbahn’s plans to replace 1 000 diesel buses with vehicles offering no emissions at the point of use, software company PSI Transcom is to expand the PSItraffic depot management system which is used to plan operations at six bus depots. The technology which ...
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NewsThree strategic decisions at OTIF General Assembly
INTERNATIONAL: Three strategic decisions were taken at the 13th General Assembly of the Intergovernmental Organisation for International Carriage by Rail which was held at the end of September. These covered: the creation of a new appendix on the safe operation of trains, intended to open the way to the ...
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Rail Business UKStudy to look at adapting Bordeaux station to handle London trains
EUROPE: The four infrastructure managers responsible for the high speed lines between London and Bordeaux have agreed to study the feasibility of adapting Bordeaux Saint-Jean station to handle international passengers traveling to and from the UK. SNCF Réseau, Eurotunnel, Lisea and HS1 said the October 10 agreement was a key ...
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Rail Business UKWales & Borders to offer the ‘best passenger rail service in the UK’
UK: The KeolisAmey joint venture took over from Arriva Trains Wales as the operator of Wales & Borders services with the start of the new franchise on October 14. The 15-year Operations & Development Partner contract was awarded by the devolved Welsh Government’s Transport for Wales agency, and is ...
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NewsCourt instructs PRASA to apply safety rules
SOUTH AFRICA: Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa must comply with the safety requirements set by the Railway Safety Regulator under a ruling made by the North Gauteng High Court on October 11. An initial court ruling on October 5 had lifted the suspension of PRASA’s operating licence imposed on ...
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Rail Business UKBatteryFLEX Desiro EMU conversion proposed
UK: An engineering assessment has found that there is a ‘positive case’ for fitting Siemens Desiro Class 350/2 electric multiple-units with batteries to enable off-wire operation, Porterbrook Leasing said on October 15. The company is holding discussions with battery chemistry specialists with a view to producing a demonstrator unit. The ...