All articles by Railway Gazette International – Page 346
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NewsSNCF to advise on Czech high speed line standards
CZECH REPUBLIC: Infrastructure manager SŽDC and SNCF Mobilités have signed a KC11m agreement to jointly draw up technical standards and documentation for future high speed lines in the country. SŽDC is currently planning a route from Praha to Dresden including a 26 km tunnel under the Erzgebirge mountains, which would ...
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NewsWorld rail freight news round-up
SBB Cargo has begun using automatic couplers as part of a project which it see as a important step towards partial automation of ‘last mile‘ rail operations. It has equipped 100 intermodal wagons and 25 locomotives with Voith Cargoflex couplers at a cost of SFr15m, including SFr9m provided by the ...
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NewsCRRC locomotive on test in North Macedonia
NORTH MACEDONIA: National operator MŽ Transport is testing the first of four CRRC Zhuzhou electric locomotives it has ordered to haul freight on the north–south corridor between the Serbian and Greek borders. The €8m order signed in January 2017 was financed using part of a €50m loan from the European ...
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NewsBoosting bogie performance
BOGIES: Anti-vibration specialist Trelleborg and Bombardier Transportation have developed a hydraulic axle guide element for Bombardier’s Flexx family of bogies which provides frequency-dependent longitudinal stiffness. This reduces wheel and track wear, energy consumption and curve squeal noise. Flexx Curve can be installed in all past and planned Flexx Compact bogies. ...
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NewsFederal funding for California high speed rail pulled
USA: The Federal Railroad Administration announced on May 16 that it had terminated a $928·6m 2010 funding agreement with the California High-Speed Rail Authority. This follows a notice of intention to cancel the funding which had been issued by the FRA in March, after newly-elected Governor of California Gavin ...
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NewsCzech realignment contract awarded
CZECH REPUBLIC: Infrastructure manager SŽDC has awarded a consortium of Strabag Rail, Eurovia CS and Metrostav a KC3·87bn contract to build a new alignment between Soběslav and Doubí u Tábora. This will replace one of the last unmodernised sections of the Corridor 4 route between Praha and České Budějovice ...
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NewsRicardo acquires Australian consultancy under diversification strategy
AUSTRALIA: Ricardo plc has signed a share purchase agreement to acquire rolling stock life cycle management and technical services consultancy Transport Engineering Pty Ltd. The deal announced on May 14 is expected to be completed by the end of June, with the company then operating under the Ricardo brand as ...
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NewsRailway supply industry news round-up
Wien climatic wind tunnel operator Rail Tec Arsenal has split its Project Execution division into separate Rail & Road Vehicles and Aviation & Technical Systems divisions, to cater for the different needs of the sectors. Harting Technology Group has commissioned a robot which simulates real-world operating conditions to test inter-vehicle ...
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NewsPPF sells minority stake in Škoda Transportation
ŠKODA TRANSPORTATION: Petr Kellner’s investment business PPF Group announced on May 7 that it had sold a 10% stake in Škoda Transportation to an entity controlled by Michal Korecký. The price was not disclosed. Korecký had been one of the nine co-owners of Škoda Transportation until PPF completed the €326m ...
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NewsCompleted ALFA-X test train unveiled
JAPAN: East Japan Railway has formally unveiled its Series 956 ALFA-X high speed test train, which is due to start trial running at up to 400 km/h later this month. The completed 10-car trainset was displayed at its Sendai Shinkansen rolling stock workshops on May 9. Launched in July 2017, ...
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NewsBanks back Turkish railport
TURKEY: Two US$30m loans to finance the US$86m development of a privately-run inland rail terminal in Kocaeli province, to the east of Istanbul, have been agreed by the European Bank for Reconstruction & Development and majority Chinese-owned Turkish bank ICBC Turkey. The terminal is being developed by a 67:33 joint ...
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![Southern California Regional Rail Authority has awarded Talgo and Systra a contract to refurbish coaches (Photo: Lvi56 [CC BY 3.0]).](https://d1c4d7gnm6as1q.cloudfront.net/Pictures/100x67/7/9/6/23796_tn_us-metrolink-bilevel-lvi56_ccby3.jpg)
NewsMetrolink fleet modernisation contract awarded
USA: Southern California Regional Rail Authority has awarded a joint venture of Talgo and Systra a contract worth up to $138·9m for the refurbishment of up to 121 Bombardier BiLevel coaches used on Metrolink commuter services. There is a firm order for the modernisation of an initial 50 coaches, ...
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NewsStandard gauge plans on hold in Kenya
KENYA: Little more than a year after the opening of the Chinese-built 1 435 mm gauge railway between Mombasa and Nairobi, there are signs that East Africa’s love affair with China’s Belt & Road Initiative may be waning. On May 8, Kenya’s Transport & Infrastructure Minister James Macharia and ...
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NewsEurostar provides guide for travellers with autism
EUROPE: Eurostar has launched a virtual guide designed to help passengers with autism have a stress-free journey. The cross-Channel high speed train operator reviewed its travel experience with the Ambitious About Autism charity, which advised that travellers with autism are more comfortable if they have seen information about sights and ...
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KUBE to support internet of things on GSM-R
ASSET MONITORING: Kapsch CarrierCom is planning the first trial deployment of KUBE, an industrial internet of things device which can be used to collate and preprocess data from a range of asset monitoring sensors before using existing GSM-R networks to send the information to an infrastructure manager’s data hubs. Staff ...
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Stadler inaugurates Salt Lake City factory
USA: Vehicles being built for Caltrain and TEXRail were used to re-enact the completion of the transcontinental railway at Promontory Summit 150 years before as part of celebrations marking the official inauguration of Stadler US Inc’s factory in Salt Lake City on May 9. ‘It seems fitting that as we ...
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NewsElevated section of Buenos Aires commuter line inaugurated
ARGENTINA: President Mauricio Macri inaugurated a new viaduct on the Retiro – Tigre branch of the Mitre suburban railway serving Buenos Aires on May 10. The 3·9 km structure between Avenida Dorrego and Avenida Monroe eliminates eight level crossings. Two stations on the section have been rebuilt. Belgrano station ...
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NewsRussian Railways to increase electric operation
RUSSIA: Plans to increase the use of electric traction were announced by Russian Railways on May 14, with the national operator saying this would offer environmental benefits compared to the use of diesel or road and air transport. RZD said the electrification of its most heavily used lines and the ...
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NewsMore Frecciarossa trains to come as FS unveils €58bn investment plan
ITALY: State railway holding FS Group’s 2019-23 business plan envisages total investment worth €58bn across various modes, with a core focus on enhancing the conventional rail network and improving suburban passenger services. According to FS, the ‘unprecedented’ spending programme, unveiled in Roma on May 10 by Chief Executive Gianfranco Battisti, ...
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NewsNewag signs contract to supply more EMUs to FSE
ITALY: Ferrovie Del Sud Est and Newag signed a contract on May 10 for the supply of a further six Impuls 2 electric multiple-units. Deliveries are due to be completed in 19 months. The €24·2m order had been announced in December and is an option on a framework contract ...