All articles by Railway Gazette International – Page 308
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NewsHaramain signalling maintenance contract awarded
SAUDI ARABIA: Xrail Group has been awarded a seven-year contract to undertake corrective and preventive maintenance of the ETCS Level 2 signalling and technical buildings on the Haramain High Speed Rail line, acting as subcontractor to Siemens Mobility. Xrail will provide 24/7 support from six maintenance centres ...
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NewsCzech branch line reopened
CZECH REPUBLIC: The reopening of the 2·7 km Hrušovany u Brna – Židlochovice branch more than 40 years after scheduled passenger services ended in June 1979 was marked by the operation of a steam-hauled inaugural train on December 8, ahead of the start of regular services from ...
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NewsARTC shortlists Port Botany contractors
AUSTRALIA: Five civil engineering groups have been shortlisted by Australian Rail Track Corp to undertake improvements to the freight lines serving the busy Port Botany south of Sydney. The government has committed A$400m to improving rail capacity in order to meet a projected 77% increase in the ...
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NewsPromoting railway career opportunities in Turkey
TURKEY: A memorandum of understanding to establish a framework for the promotion of railway training and career development has been signed by Alstom Turkey and Haydarpaşa Vocational & Technical Anatolian High School. To help raise students’ understanding of the rail industry and equip them with the skills ...
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NewsWorld rail freight news round-up
TMH‘s Bryansk plant has obtained certification for series production of an updated version of its TEM18DM shunting locomotive. Changes include a temperature-controlled automatic engine start-stop system to reduce fuel consumption, as well as a dehumidification unit for compressed air and the ability to operate with passenger coaches. ...
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NewsSarajevo resignalling contract
BOSNIA: Railways of the Federation of Bosnia & Herzegovina has awarded AŽD Praha a €1·2m contract to modernise signalling equipment in the Miljacka junction area west of Sarajevo and the Stup freight facility. The Czech company is to design, deliver and install a Type ESA 44-BH electronic ...
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NewsRail infrastructure manager adopts shorter name
CZECH REPUBLIC: Infrastructure manager Správa Železniční Dopravní Cesty was renamed Správa Železnic with effect from January 1. The change which had been approved by the government in December is intended to shorten the complicated name and enhance the organisation’s image with the general public. SŽDC was founded ...
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NewsNarrow gauge operator orders EMUs
SWITZERLAND: Chemin de Fer Nyon-Saint-Cergue-Morez has awarded Stadler a contract to supply six two-car electric multiple-units. Deliveries are scheduled between late 2021 and early 2022. The 1·5 kV DC EMUs will be similar to four Abe4/8 units which Stadler supplied to the 27 km long metre-gauge line ...
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NewsVilnius – Klaipedia electrification and upgrading contracts awarded
LITHUANIA: Contracts have been awarded to increase capacity and complete electrification on the Lithuanian section of Pan-European Corridor IX between the Belarusian border and the Baltic Sea port of Klaipeda. The east–west corridor carries three-quarters of the national operator’s freight and two-thirds of all passenger journeys. ...
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NewsRailway supply industry news round-up
Indian rolling stock and construction equipment manufacturer BEML and construction firm Ircon International have signed a memorandum of understanding to explore opportunities to co-operate in export markets. Ircon said it had a ’strong International presence and proven capabilities’ in tracklaying, electrification and infrastructure construction, including current projects ...
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NewsCuomo proposes southern extension to New York Penn Station
The congestion at New York Penn Station has become a major political issue in recent years. USA: New York Governor Andrew Cuomo used an address at the Association for a Better New York on January 6 to announce plans for a locally funded expansion of Penn Station ...
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NewsEU grant for Hrvatski Leskovac – Karlovac modernisation
CROATIA: An agreement for the EU to provide a 2·7bn kuna grant towards a 3·45bn kuna project to modernise and double-track the 44 km Hrvatski Leskovac – Karlovac section of the Zagreb – Rijeka corridor was signed on December 27. Minister of Maritime Affairs, Transport & Infrastructure ...
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NewsWabtec expands capabilities with purchase of RELCO Locomotives
USA: Wabtec Corp has announced the expansion of its remanufacturing and repair capabilities with the acquisition of RELCO Locomotives for $29m. RELCO Locomotives is an established company in the leasing, rebuilding, and repair sector, with operations in Albia and Cedar Rapids, Iowa. It has projected sales for ...
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NewsInfrabel CEO nominated to head SNCF Réseau
FRANCE: The current head of Belgian infrastructure manager Infrabel, Luc Lallemand, has been nominated as the next head of French infrastructure manager SNCF Réseau, subject to approval by regulatory authority ART (formerly Arafer). At its meeting on January 7, the SNCF Réseau board reportedly endorsed the ...
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NewsShift2Rail invites 2020 research proposals
EUROPE: Within the framework of its Annual Work Plan, the Shift2Rail Joint Undertaking issued its 2020 call for proposals on January 7, covering research and innovation projects with a total value of €146·6m. Applications are due by April 21. The call covers 19 topics, of which eight ...
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NewsHigh speed rail wins market share
ITALY: Evidence that high speed rail competes effectively against air was presented to Terrapinn’s World Rail Festival in Amsterdam by Serafino Lo Piano, Head of Sales, Long-Distance Rail, at Trenitalia. Since the launch of the Frecciarossa brand 10 years ago, he said, rail’s share of the market ...
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NewsAuditors warn of Rail Baltica cost and timescale risks
EUROPE: Procedures for managing the Rail Baltica project are mostly in place but inefficiencies and a lack of change and risk management systems mean the project could exceed its agreed budget and timeline, according to a report issued jointly by the national audit bodies of Estonia, ...
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NewsADIF orders three more infrastructure monitoring trains
SPAIN: National infrastructure manager ADIF has selected Stadler and MerMec for a €74·5m contract to supply and commission three infrastructure monitoring trains and to undertake their maintenance for a period of five years.
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NewsTriesteRailPort project allocated European funding
ITALY: The TriesteRailPort project to enhance rail facilities at the Port of Trieste is to be financed with a €39m loan signed by the European Investment Bank on December 20 as well as €6·5m from the EU’s Connecting Europe Facility. Trieste handles more than 10% of Italy’s ...
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NewsMÁV-Start places final order under Kiss EMU framework agreement
HUNGARY: National passenger operator MÁV-Start has formally signed a contract for Stadler to supply a further 21 six-car Kiss double-deck electric multiple-units for delivery by the end of 2022, the manufacturer confirmed on January 7. The €313m firm order which has been finalised following the confirmation ...