All Railway Gazette International articles in October 2023
All articles published this month.
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In depthComment: Rail safety credentials matter
Politicians contines to raise doubts with rail safety, despite railways being one of the safest forms of land transport. Benjámin Zelki considers that while continuous improvement is welcome, sweeping claims about rail safety may not always align with the evidence.
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Rail Business UKRailway engineering degree apprenticeship announced
UK: The University of South Wales and Coleg y Cymoedd have announced a railway engineering degree apprenticeship programme. The four-year course will give apprentices the opportunity to gain a university-accredited engineering degree. The first course will start in January 2024, and it will then run annually ...
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Metro Report InternationalSuspended monorail with glass floor opens in China
CHINA: The Optics Valley Skyrail suspended monorail has opened in Wuhan, with glass-floored vehicles giving passengers a view downwards as well as sideways. The 10·5 km first phase of the line, which is primarily aimed at tourists, runs from Jiufengshan in Jiufeng National Forest Park to Longquanshan. ...
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Metro Report InternationalJ-Train consortium wins Jerusalem Blue Line tramway contract
ISRAEL: The city of Jerusalem and the national transport and finance ministries have selected the J-Train consortium for a PPP contract to finance, build, operate and maintain the light rail Blue Line. J-Train comprises bus operator Dan Bus, construction company Denya Cebus and Spain’s Comsa. The ...
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NewsBank backs digital railway R&D
ITALY: The European Investment Bank is providing MerMec with a €30m loan to finance research and development of digital railway technology, including signalling for driverless trains, and diagnostic and management technology for rolling stock and infrastructure assets. An agreement covering the first €20m was signed by ...
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NewsGerman infrastructure manager InfraGO to be launched in January
GERMANY: Deutsche Bahn’s supervisory board has endorsed the decision to merge DB Netz AG and DB Station & Service AG into a single infrastructure management business to be known as DB InfraGO AG with effect from January 1 2024. The decision was taken at the board’s regular ...
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In depthCanada: PPP model underpins High Frequency Rail aspirations
Canada’s High Frequency Rail programme is now at the procurement stage as the government seeks a PPP partner to deliver mostly dedicated tracks for inter-city passenger trains in the 1 000 km corridor between Toronto and Québec City by the mid-2030s. Nick Kingsley reports.
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NewsNightjet unveiled as the ‘flagship of European night train traffic‘
AUSTRIA: Austrian Federal Railways has unveiled the first of its next generation of Nightjet fixed-formation loco-hauled trainsets for overnight trains, calling it ‘the new flagship of the European night train traffic’. The unveiling took place in the former Wien Nordwest station on September 30 as part ...
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NewsWhoosh opens as the fastest railway in southeast Asia
INDONESIA: The 142·3 km Jakarta – Bandung high speed line, now branded as Whoosh, was officially inaugurated by President Joko Widodo on October 2. This follows the launch of a limited free trial service during September, which the President said would continue until the start of revenue ...
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NewsRetro-styled open-sided coaches developed for tourist trains
RUSSIA: Vagonremmash has developed a range of retro-styled open-sided coaches for use on tourist and cruise trains. They have a capacity of 80 passengers, with heated benches, power sockets and bicycle spaces. Over summer the coaches were used on the steam-hauled Ruskeala ...
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Metro Report InternationalLightweight single-section tram enters service in Poznań
POLAND: The first single-section Moderus Gamma LF 05 AC tram built by local supplier Modertrans entered service on Route 99 in Poznań on September 18. The tram is less than 15 m long. Operator MPK Poznań and Modertrans believe it is the first single-section, fully low-floor ...
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NewsMSC takes 50% stake in open access high speed train operator Italo-NTV
ITALY: Global Infrastructure Partners has entered into a binding agreement to sell an approximately 50% stake in open access high speed train operator Italo-Nuovo Trasporto Viaggiatori to Mediterranean Shipping Co. The other approximately 50% stake will continue to be owned by New York based investor GIP, ...
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Metro Report InternationalWearable devices provide tram driver fatigue warnings
UK: Light rail industry association UKTram says prototype FOCUS+ wearable devices developed to detect tram driver fatigue have shown ‘remarkable results’ in independent testing, with an accuracy rate greater than 98%. The devices have been developed by Integrated Human Factors Ltd, following a Driver Innovation Safety ...
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NewsMacron proposes German-style national rail pass
FRANCE: The French government is examining proposals for a national rail pass modelled on the Deutschland-Ticket introduced in Germany in May this year. The German pass gives one month’s unlimited travel on local and regional trains for a flat fare of €49, and the French government ...
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Rail Business UKPost-Covid rail sector must understand what it does best, says Haines
UK: ‘We in the rail sector must be objective and honest about what we are good at’, Network Rail Chief Executive Andrew Haines told a conference in Birmingham on October 3, as he reflected on how the industry can plot its way through the uncertainty of the post-Covid period.
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NewsVale invests in 4G on Carajás Railroad
BRAZIL: Mining group Vale SA is equipping the Estrada de Ferro Carajás with 4G internet in partnership with telecommunications specialist Vivo. Due to be completed by 2025, the installation is expected to improve safety and efficiency at a cost of R$240m. Forming the core of a ...
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