All articles by Railway Gazette International – Page 287
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NewsSan Sebastián’s ‘Mole’ breaks through
SPAIN: On May 20, a 2·1 km tunnel was holed through in San Sebastián which will form part of a 4·2 km cross-city corridor for the metre gauge railway through the city operated by Euskotren, known colloquially as El Topo (the mole).
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NewsMilitary help to complete FIOL railway
BRAZIL: Visiting the grain producing centre of São Desidério in Bahia state on May 18, Transport Minister Tarcísio Gomes de Freitas announced that the Brazilian army would be brought in to build part of the Ferrovia de Integração Oeste-Leste project. Inspecting a construction site and visiting a ...
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NewsCaltrain’s first Stadler EMUs on test
Stadler Kiss EMUs for Caltrain (Photos: Caltrain) USA: On-track testing of the Kiss electric multiple-units ordered by Californian commuter operator Caltrain has started at Stadler’s plant in Utah. Stadler is supplying an initial batch of 16 six-car EMUs under a $551m ...
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NewsBoost for rail travel and clean mobility in EU recovery plan
EUROPE: ‘A boost for rail travel and clean mobility in our cities and regions’ is included in the proposals for a major post-coronavirus recovery plan for the European Union set out by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on May 27. This includes changes to the ...
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NewsBombardier to supply 28 BiLevel coaches to two operators
USA: Bombardier Transportation has signed contracts totalling US$108m to supply 28 BiLevel double-deck coaches to two West Coast transport operators. The order anounced on May 27 covers three push-pull driving cars and eight intermediate coaches for Seattle’s Sound Transit, which led the procurement, as well as five ...
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NewsRailway supply industry news round-up
Hübner Group has consolidated its rail businesses, including those producing gangways, doors, cab displays and other rolling stock components, into a single unit. The new rail segment is headed by Huschke Diekmann, who was previously a senior manager at Wabtec’s former GE Transportation arm. ‘We want to ...
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NewsSMART to acquire freight operations
USA: The board of California’s North Bay area commuter rail operator Sonoma-Marin Area Rail Transit has approved plans to acquire 33 km of railway between Healdsburg and the Mendocino-Sonoma County line from the North Coast Rail Authority, which the state is to dissolve, and the purchase of ...
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NewsFerrogrão railway concession to be tendered in 2021
BRAZIL: A concessionaire to build and operate the Ferrogrão railway will be sought during the first quarter of 2021, Brazil’s Ministry of Infrastructure has confirmed. Tarcísio Gomes de Freitas, who holds the ministry’s transport portfolio, suggested in April that bids for a concession to build the line ...
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NewsRail and road service to avoid border delays in Southeast Asia
ASIA: CEVA Logistics has launched a ‘truck-rail-truck’ service to keep freight moving between China and Southeast Asia, where the Covid-19 crisis has led to fewer flights, capacity limits, operational restrictions and waits of up to four days for road traffic crossing the border between China and Vietnam. ...
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NewsFreight innovation funding applications invited
GERMANY: The Federal Ministry for Transport & Digital Infrastructure has invited applications for funding of projects designed to improve the economics and efficiency of rail freight. Proposals should relate to digitalisation, automation and vehicle technology, and applications should be made via the Federal Railway Office in Bonn. ...
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NewsBamboo sleepers aimed at Middle Eastern railways
ASIA: A start-up branded TieBam is targeting Asian rail enhancement projects with a novel sleeper design produced from bamboo. Following more than five years of research and development activity, US-registered TieBam plans to open a manufacturing facility in Taiwan through a wholly-owned subsidiary later this year. According ...
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NewsAutomatic operation of regional passenger trains to be tested
GERMANY: The automatic operation of regional trains in passenger service is to be tested in a ‘regulatory sandbox’ in Niedersachsen, the project partners announced on May 27. Due to launch in 2021, the project brings together Alstom, aerospace research centre DLR, the Technical University of Berlin, train ...
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NewsCoronavirus app as part of Turkey’s transport restart
TURKEY: To support the restart of inter-city public transport, a mobile phone app is being used to track passengers in case anyone should subsequently test positive for the coronavirus. Intending passengers must install the app and input their date of birth, national identity number, ticket number, telephone ...
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NewsShort Line safety culture resources published
USA: The Short Line Safety Institute has released Strong Safety Culture Best Practices, a resource which draws on more than five years of safety culture assessments and the 10 core elements of a strong safety culture as defined by the Department of Transportation’s Safety Council. Best practices ...
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NewsSydney capacity enhancement contracts awarded
AUSTRALIA: The New South Wales government has awarded two infrastructure enhancement contracts totalling around A$600m for works on the southern section of the Sydney Trains suburban network as part of its A$4·3bn ‘More Trains, More Services’ investment programme.
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NewsAI tools help Infrabel to maintain social distancing
BELGIUM: Infrastructure manager Infrabel is to deploy a raft of artificial intelligence tools to support its efforts in maintaining social distancing across its business as the country’s coronavirus lockdown is gradually eased. The company says that its ongoing research into the use of AI means it ...
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NewsSmartron locomotives ordered for passenger services
BULGARIA: National operator BDZ has signed a contract for Siemens Mobility to supply 10 Smartron electric locomotives between February and May 2021 for use on passenger services. Siemens’ local subsidiary Siemens Tron was sole bidder for the contract, although Bombardier Transportation, Stadler Rail and the Excelor-EL consortium ...
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NewsUzbekistan Railways orders electric locomotives
UZBEKISTAN: National railway UTY has awarded Transmashholding’s Novocherkassk Electric Locomotive Plant a contract to supply five of the latest version of its 3ES5K Yermak 25 kV 50 Hz electric freight locomotives. Deliveries are scheduled to be completed this year. The NEVZ factory has produced more than 1 ...
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NewsRobel establishes subsidiary to serve the Chinese rail maintenance market
CHINA: Robel Group has established Robel Railway Engineering Technology (Shanghai) Co Ltd to serve the Chinese market. ‘For many years, China has seen a huge expansion of its railway infrastructure’, said Robel Managing Director Wolfgang R Fally. ‘This infrastructure will have to be maintained. We regard it ...
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NewsSouth Coast Rail commuter project infrastructure contract awarded
USA: Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority’s Fiscal & Management Control Board has approved the first major construction contract for Phase 1 of the South Coast Rail project to provide commuter services into Boston from the southeast. The long-planned $1·047bn project would extend Boston’s Middleborough ...