All Railway Gazette International articles in October 2018 – Page 7
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Metro Report InternationalSagrada Família to fund Barcelona transport improvements
SPAIN: Barcelona city council and the Sagrada Família have signed an agreement which will see a package of transport improvements funded by the organisation building the famous church designed by Antoni Gaudí. Part of a UNESCO World Heritage site, the church attracts 20 million visitors a year, with 4·5 million ...
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NewsGrand Paris Line 16 construction contract awarded
FRANCE: A €718·8m contract to build the eastern section Grand Paris Express automated metro Line 16 has been awarded to Salini Impregilo, Societé du Grand Paris announced on October 19. The Lot 2 contract covers the excavation of 11·1 km of tunnel, running from the junction for the Aulnay depot ...
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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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Rail Business UK‘Transformational’ plan to remove Croydon railway bottleneck
UK: On November 5 Network Rail is to begin a six-week public consultation on the proposed Croydon area remodelling scheme. This aims to improve punctuality, reduce journey times and increase capacity through a major bottleneck on the London – Brighton line. If approved, the scheme would see lines in the ...
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NewsSulphuric acid wagons ordered
RUSSIA: Ural Mining Metallurgical Co has awarded United Wagon Co’s TikhvinChemMash plant contracts to supply a total of 73 sulphuric acid tank wagons by the end of January. UMMC’s Sredneuralsk Copper Smelter is to receive 17 of the wagons, the Mednogorsk Copper & Sulphur Plant 30 and the Chelyabinsk Zinc ...
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Metro Report InternationalAutomating payments for concessionary journeys
UK: Fujitsu subsidiary Applied Card Technologies has launched an automated service designed to streamline the process of reimbursing transport operators for journeys made using transport authorities’ concessionary travel schemes. ACT said more than 12 million people in the UK receive free travel under government-funded concessionary travel schemes, with the transport ...
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NewsWorld rail freight news round-up
On October 17 Samskip launched a thrice-weekly intermodal service linking Melzo east of Milano with TMA Logistics’ Holland Cargo Terminal in Amsterdam in 24 h. The same locomotive is used throughout, operated by BLS, and arrivals coincide with shortsea sailings to Hull in the UK. The service is in addition ...
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NewsSecond phase of driverless metro line opens in Istanbul
TURKEY: The second phase of the driverless metro Line M5 on the Asian side of Istanbul was inaugurated on October 21 with a ceremony attended by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Mayor Mevlüt Uysal. The 9·5 km eastern extension adds seven stations between Yamanevler and Çekmeköy-Sancaktepe. The initial 10·5 ...
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NewsCOTS technology cuts level crossing control system cost
GREECE: Aktor has used commercial-off-the-shelf controllers from HIMA to automate the operation of level crossings on the mixed traffic Athens – Piraeus route . The control system provides comprehensive information on the status of the barriers using Aktor’s Artemmis monitoring system. Data from the trackside equipment is displayed on a ...
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Metro Report InternationalAstra Vagoane to supply trams to two Romanian cities
ROMANIA: A financing agreement for the purchase of 10 trams for Oradea was signed on October 19. Sole bidder Astra Vagoane Călători Arad is to supply 10 trams under an 88·8m lei contract that includes options for 10 more. Four trams are to be delivered by October ...
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NewsAlstom ships Senegal trainsets
SENEGAL: Following the completion of testing, Alstom has begun shipping 15 Coradia Polyvalent electro-diesel trainsets for the 55 km Train Express Régional line which is being built to connect central Dakar with Blaise Diagne International Airport. Similar to units previously supplied to France and Algeria, the 160 km/h four-car trainsets ...
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NewsComposite train seat support saves weight
COMPOSITE: Composites Evolution, Bercella and Element Materials Technology have completed the development and testing of a composite wall-mounted cantilever support for train seats. Using wall rather than floor-mounted supports improves access for cleaning and luggage storage, while the lightweight composite structure reduces traction energy needs and axleloads. ...
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NewsSBB Cargo to test autocouplers in intermodal traffic
SWITZERLAND: In January 2019 SBB Cargo plans to begin a full-scale test of wagons fitted with automatic couplers on intermodal services. Under a SFr1·5m programme, a fleet of 100 wagons has been equipped with hybrid couplings that feature an autocoupler which folds up to reveal a conventional screw coupler. SBB’s ...
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News‘Make in India’ Train 18 inter-city prototype on test
INDIA: Testing has started with a prototype 160 km/h inter-city trainset intended to accelerate and upgrade medium-distance services on Indian Railways. Developed at the Integral Coach Factory in Chennai, the ‘semi-high speed’ trainset has been designated Train 18 after its year of manufacture. Following testing by RDSO at up to ...
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Metro Report InternationalTianjin metro Line 5 opens
CHINA: Tianjin metro Line 5 began trial operations on October 22. Services operate between 6.00 and 23.40 every 6 min in the peaks and 7 to 8 min off-peak. The 35 km underground route runs from Danhebeidao in the north to Zhongyiyifuyuan in the south, serving 26 stations including ...
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Metro Report InternationalNewcastle tram testing begins
AUSTRALIA: Powered testing started on the tram route in Newcastle on the night of October 22-23. Daytime testing is expected to commence in the coming weeks, with opening of the 2·6 km route between Wickham and Pacific Park scheduled for early 2019. The first tram arrived last month. ...
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Rail Business UKEurostar to expand Amsterdam service next year
EUROPE: Cross-Channel high speed operator Eurostar expects to launch a third daily train between London and Amsterdam in June 2019, reflecting the initial success of the route which was launched with two trains per day in April this year. Eurostar reports that it has already carried more than 130 000 ...
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NewsMandalay to China railway feasibility study agreed
MYANMAR: An agreement to undertake a feasibility study for a 431 km railway linking Mandalay with Muse on the Chinese border was signed by Myanma Railways and China Railway Eryuan Engineering Group on October 22. The study is to be completed within two years, including environmental and social impact assessments. ...
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Metro Report InternationalAir taxi trials to take place in Singapore
SINGAPORE: Aerial vehicle developer Volocopter is to test its ‘multicopter’ taxis in Singapore next year. A series of tests in the second half of 2019 would validate and verify the ability of the company’s eVTOL vehicles to operate in the city’s urban environment. The tests would include passenger-carrying flights. ...
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NewsPhnom Penh airport railcars ready for delivery
CAMBODIA: Next month Royal Railway expects to taken delivery of three diesel railcars which it has ordered from Mexico for use on the rail link to Phnom Penh International Airport. The 1·6 km on-street branch from the Phnom Penh – Sihanoukville main line to the airport opened in April, with ...