Rail Business UK – Page 192
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NewsCrossrail rolling stock contract delayed pending procurement review
UK: The timescale for procurement of around 60 electric multiple-units for London's Crossrail project has been extended, promoter Crossrail Ltd announced on August 30. This should align deliveries with the tunnel construction timetable and allow the conclusions of a government review of public procurement to be taken into account ...
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NewsVossloh to supply Rotherham tram-trains
UK: Vossloh has been selected as ‘lead bidder’ for the supply of rolling stock for the Sheffield - Rotherham tram-train pilot project, Transport Minister Norman Baker told an event organised by the All Party Parliamentary Light Rail Group on July 12. The business case is still being ...
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NewsCrossrail Tunnelling & Underground Construction Academy topped out
UK: A topping out ceremony was held in Aldersbrook, east London, on May 16 to mark completion of the superstructure for the Crossrail Tunnelling & Underground Construction Academy. Intended to open in September, the £13·5m, 3600 m2 facility designed by architects Capita Symonds is primarily designed to train staff to ...
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NewsHigh Speed in the UK: Making the Case
UK: With the government embarked on an extensive programme of public consultation for the proposed High Speed 2 between London, Birmingham, Manchester and Leeds, Railway Gazette International will be holding a live debate on Wednesday June 8 to discuss the prospects for high speed rail development in ...
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NewsCrossrail restructures as final tunnelling contracts are awarded
UK: Preferred bidders for the two final tunnelling contracts on London’s Crossrail project were announced by project promoter Crossrail Ltd on April 7. Covering construction of the Thames Tunnel between North Woolwich and Plumstead and refurbishment of the Connaught Tunnel under the former Royal Docks, the two contracts are valued ...
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NewsCrossrail issues rolling stock shortlist
UK: Crossrail Ltd announced on March 30 that it had shortlisted Alstom, Bombardier, CAF, Hitachi and Siemens for the contract to supply rolling stock and depot facilities for the new east-west route across London. ‘Work continues to finalise our detailed requirements for the new trains and we expect that shortlisted ...
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NewsWabtec buys Brush Traction
UK: Wabtec Corp of the USA announced on February 28 that it had acquired Brush Traction for US$31m. Operating from plants in Loughborough and Kilmarnock, Brush Traction has built electric locomotives for customers including Eurotunnel and more recently has been active in the locomotive overhaul and refurbishment ...
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NewsOpen access operator Wrexham & Shropshire to close
UK: On January 26 open access passenger operator Wrexham & Shropshire Railway announced that it was to cease trading, with its last train leaving London at 18.30 on January 28.Wrexham & Shropshire launched open access trains between Wrexham and London Marylebone via Shrewsbury in April 2008, restoring ...
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NewsCrossrail awards tunnelling contracts
UK: On December 10 Crossrail Ltd awarded tunnelling contracts worth £1·25bn covering 18 km of the 21 km of twin bores required for the cross-London rail link. Contracts covering four sections of tunnel have been provisionally awarded, subject to the mandatory 10-day review period required under European contract law. The ...
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NewsCrossrail seeks privately-financed rolling stock
UK: Procurement of rolling stock for the Crossrail east-west link through London was officially launched with the publication of an OJEU notice on December 1 seeking expressions of interest in a privately-funded train provision contract. With a capital cost estimated at around £1bn, the package would include the supply and ...
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NewsDB ready to link London with Amsterdam and Frankfurt
EUROPE: Deutsche Bahn expects to launch regular services from London to Frankfurt and Amsterdam in 2013, DB Chairman Rüdiger Grube confirmed on October 19, presenting an ICE3 trainset at St Pancras station for the first time. Grube was joined for the announcement by UK Minister of State ...
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NewsEurostar restructuring completed
EUROPE: The long-planned restructuring of Eurostar, the cross-Channel high speed rail operator, was formally completed on September 1, the company has confirmed. The restructuring has seen the unincorporated tri-national partnership under which Eurostar was created replaced by Eurostar International, a conventional three-way joint venture with its own ...
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NewsEurotunnel buys GB Railfreight from FirstGroup
EUROPE: Groupe Eurotunnel’s freight operating subsidiary Europorte has bought UK operator GB Railfreight from FirstGroup for £26∙3m in cash. Announcing the acquisition at a press conference in London on June 1, Eurotunnel Chairman & CEO Jacques Gounon said that the deal was ‘a strategic move to boost ...
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NewsDB confirms Arriva takeover bid
EUROPE: Deutsche Bahn continues its rapid expansion across the European rail and bus sectors, with the announcement on April 22 that it had agreed terms to acquire Arriva plc. The cash bid had been for the UK-based rail and bus operator was discussed by the DB AG ...
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NewsCrossrail announces tunnelling shortlist
UK: On December 4 Crossrail Ltd named the five bidders shortlisted to tender for two of the three contracts to bore tunnels for the cross-London Rail link. The bidders are: Balfour Beatty Civil Engineering Ltd, Morgan Est plc, Vinci Construction Grand Projects and Beton -und Monierbau Gesellschaft; BAM ...
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NewsEIB to provide £1bn Crossrail loan
UK: Transport for London announced a £1bn loan agreement with the European Investment Bank on September 8. TfL and the Greater London Authority are responsible for contributing £7·7bn of the £15·9bn cost for the Crossrail east-west line across central London. Of this £7·7bn, £2·4bn is to be funded from ...
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NewsCrossrail tunnelling contracts advertised
UK: Crossrail Ltd confirmed on August 25 that notices have been published in the Official Journal of the European Union inviting expressions of interest for the project’s two principal tunnelling contracts - Package C300 for Tunnels West and Package C305 for Tunnels East - involving the construction of 18 km ...
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NewsSoutheastern rehearses Olympic shuttle
UK: Former Olympic athlete Daley Thompson took the controls of a Class 395 EMU on July 27 for a special ‘time trial’ to rehearse the intensive ‘Javelin’ service that will operate between London St Pancras and Stratford International during the 2012 London Olympics. The shuttle is intended ...
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NewsSoutheastern ready to launch High Speed service
UK: Domestic passenger services will begin using High Speed 1 on June 29, when Southeastern launches a limited ‘preview’ service between Ashford and London ahead of the introduction of the full service with the December timetable change. The train operator will then have three service groups: High ...
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NewsCrossrail construction launched
UK: After years of planning and uncertainty, construction of Crossrail became a reality on May 15 when the first of nearly 400 steel piles, each 18.5 m high, was launched by Prime Minister Gordon Brown and Mayor of London Boris Johnson. The piles will form the basis of the new ...