All articles by Railway Gazette International – Page 547
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NewsRailway supply industry news round-up
Flexovit USA has reopened its plant in New York state which produces abrasive products for rail grinding and cutting tools. The facility had been severely damaged by heavy snow in 2014. Kazakhstan's State Commission on Economic Modernisation has approved plans for national railway KTZ to sell 100% stakes in rolling ...
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NewsDB Regio wins Cuxhaven – Hamburg operating contract
GERMANY: Following a competitive tender which attracted four bids, Niedersachsen transport authority LNVG has selected DB Regio as preferred bidder for the next contract to operate RE5 Cuxhaven – Stade – Hamburg regional express services currently operated by Metronom. On October 4 LNVG said DB Regio had submitted the ...
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NewsSamarkand tram proposal
UZBEKISTAN: Interim President Shavkat Mirziyoyev announced on October 5 that a tram line could be built in Samarkand. The route would link Siab Bazaar in the city centre with Sat-Tepo district in the southwest. It is proposed that passenger services are to begin before the Navruz festival on March ...
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NewsTram service restarts in Avdiivka
UKRAINE: Services were restored on part of the tram line in Avdiivka on October 1, having been suspended for nearly two years owing to the conflict in eastern Ukraine. ATTU currently operates one KTM-5M3 tram on the northern section of the city’s 12 km tram line, between Trampark and ...
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NewsBoston Green Line extension EOI invited
USA: Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority has invited expressions of interest in a $1bn design-build contract to extend Boston’s Green Line. The deadline for submissions is November 3. MBTA expects to issue a request for qualifications by the end of December, with contract award expected in the first quarter of ...
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NewsNext phase of Grand Paris Express approved
FRANCE: At its meeting on October 5, the board of Ile-de-France transport authority STIF approved the next phase of the Grand Paris Express programme, comprising 29 km of automated metro due to enter service at the end of 2023, expected to cost over €4bn to build. As well as a ...
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NewsGeorgian locomotive and factory agreement
GEORGIA: CRRC signed a preliminary agreement on October 4 for the supply of 28 electric freight locomotives to Georgian Railway and the formation of a joint venture which could produce locomotives for use in Central Asia and Eastern Europe. The planned US$20m factory near Tbilisi would be established by CRRC ...
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NewsHopper wagon under development
EUROPE: Wagon manufacturer Waggonbau Niesky, leasing company Wascosa and commodities company K+S are developing a hopper wagon for moisture sensitive loads such potash, salt and fertiliser products. They plan to launch the wagon across Europe in 2018. The 75 m³ Tanpps wagon would have central and lateral discharging ports to ...
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NewsEuropean Commission to consider free Interrail passes for 18-year olds
EUROPE: Responding to a suggestion from German MEP Manfred Weber that the European Union should fund free Interrail tickets for Europeans reaching the age of 18, on October 4 Transport Commissioner Violeta Bulc said the Commission ‘admires the boldness and the level of ambition’ of the proposal, and would ‘carefully ...
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NewsEthiopia – Djibouti railway inaugurated
AFRICA: Ethiopia’s Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn and President of Djibouti Ismail Omar Guelleh officially inaugurated the 756 km Chinese-built railway linking their countries with a ceremony in Addis Ababa on October 5. ‘It is the first standard gauge electrified railroad on the continent built with Chinese standards and ...
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NewsPension funds back Abellio East Anglia order for Stadler trainsets
UK: Contracts worth more than £600m for Stadler to supply 378 multiple-unit cars for the next East Anglia franchise were signed by Abellio UK and leasing company Rock Rail on October 4. In conjunction with a £900m order for 665 Bombardier EMU cars which was signed with Angel Trains on ...
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NewsBerlin S-Bahn mock-up presented
GERMANY: Stadler Pankow and Siemens have presented a full-sized mock-up of the vehicle design they will supply for the Berlin S-Bahn. Built in the Babelsberg Film Studio in Berlin, the wooden-bodied model will undergo four weeks of customer experience testing with around 400 ‘representative passengers’ and members of official associations. ...
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NewsKanat Alpysbayev
Kanat Alpysbayev has become President of Kazakh national railway KTZ following the appointment of his predecessor, Askar Mamin, as First Deputy Prime Minister. Alpysbayev was formerly Vice-President of Operations.
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NewsDB Regio awarded Breisgau-Ost-West operating contract
GERMANY: The Land of Baden-Württemberg has formally awarded lowest bidder DB Regio the Netz 9a contract to operate Breisgau-Ost-West regional passenger services totalling 2·9 million train-km/year on routes from Freiburg: Freiburg – Gottenheim – Endingen/ Breisach;Freiburg – Titisee – Neustadt – Donaueschingen – Villingen;Freiburg – Titisee – Seebrugg. The ...
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NewsSiemens and MAPNA sign Iranian locomotive contract
IRAN: Siemens has signed a contract to support the modernisation of the rail network and supply local industrial group MAPNA with components for the assembly of 50 Safir diesel-electric locomotives at its factory in Karaj. The contract was signed on October 3 during an official visit to Iran by Germany’s ...
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NewsCross-border tram delivered to Strasbourg
FRANCE: Compagnie des Transports Strasbourgeois has taken delivery of the first of 12 Alstom Citadis trams ordered in 2014. The €41m order forms part of a framework contract for up to 50 trams. The first of these are due to enter commercial service in April, with all 12 due ...
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NewsEuropean Commission approves Wabtec acquisition of Faiveley
EUROPE: The European Commission announced regulatory approval for Wabtec’s proposed acquisition of Faiveley Transport on October 4, subject to a commitment to divest the Faiveley Transport Gennevilliers sintered brake business which has annual sales of €12m. The proposed US$1·8bn acquisition was announced on July 27 2015. The European Commission was ...
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NewsFrench government and Alstom agree Belfort rescue package
FRANCE: A short-term order for TGV trainsets and shunting locomotives and a longer-term diversification programme are at the heart of a rescue plan to preserve rail vehicle manufacturing and related industrial activity in Belfort, which was unveiled by the French Secretary of State for Industry Christophe Sirugue and Alstom President ...
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NewsNew Orleans tram network expands
USA: New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu was among those who attended the opening ceremony for the latest extension of the city’s tram network on October 3. Passenger services on the 2·6 km line linking North Rampart Street with Elysian Fields Avenue began the previous day. There are six stops ...
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NewsLondon Underground seeks better track design to support Night Tube
UK: To support the roll-out of further Night Tube all-night services on the London Underground, Transport for London is seeking to engage with suppliers who could help to develop low-maintenance track. In particular, TfL is looking for an improved fastening for bullhead rail which would offer a maintenance interval of ...