All articles by Railway Gazette International – Page 559
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NewsAurizon launches Sydney Port Shuttle
AUSTRALIA: On August 30 Aurizon announced it had begun operating a freight shuttle from the Port of Botany to the Enfield Intermodal facility in western Sydney, which it leases from NSW Ports under a 10-year deal. Aurizon expects the initial service, which operates six times a week, to increase ‘over ...
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NewsTaipei Circular Line driverless train unveiled
TAIWAN: Hitachi Rail Italy unveiled a prototype train for the Circular Line of the Taipei metro at its Reggio Calabria plant on August 30. All 17 four-car sets are due to be completed by late 2018. The driverless trainsets with aluminium alloy bodyshells are 68 m long and 2 ...
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NewsWest Midlands franchise ITT issued
UK: The Department for Transport issued invitations to tender for the new West Midlands passenger franchise to two shortlisted bidders on August 30: London & West Midlands Railway Ltd, a bid vehicle formed by the Govia joint venture of Keolis (35%) and Go-Ahead Group (65%) which has operated the ...
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NewsDallas Streetcar extension opens
USA: An extension of the Dallas Streetcar opened on August 29. The 1·3 km section links Beckley to Bishop Arts District in the Oak Cliff district in the southwest of the city, with an intermediate stop at Zang Boulevard/6th Street. The construction contract was approved in April 2015, and ...
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NewsFirst San Francisco Muni S200 vehicles nearing completion
USA: San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee and San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency officials visited Siemens’ plant in Sacramento on August 29 to look at the first of 215 light rail vehicles that Siemens is building for the city’s Muni network. The first vehicle is due to arrive in San Francisco ...
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NewsInauguration connects Tajik rail networks
TAJIKISTAN: The 40·7 km Vahdat – Yovon railway was inaugurated by President Emomali Rahmon on August 24, completing a 119 km link between the capital Dushanbe and the southern city of Qurghonteppa. The new route links Tajikistan’s central and southern rail lines, which were previously only connected via a circuitous ...
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NewsSamsun tram line extends for the first time
TURKEY: Samsun Mayor Yusuf Ziya Yılmaz and CEO of tram operator Samulaş Kadir Gürkan inaugurated an extension of the city’s tram line at 06.15 on August 27. The 5 km southeastern extension from Gar to Balıkçı with five stops forms the first phase of the 12 km extension that ...
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NewsWorld rail market August 2016
Australia: Public Transport Victoria has selected current operator NTT Data to manage the Myki smart card ticketing system for seven years from January 1 2017 under a new contract worth A$700m. Egypt: MidaRec is supplying Thales with control room communications voice recording equipment as part of the upgrade of ...
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NewsFrontRunner vision commissioned
USA: Utah Transit Authority has commissioned LTK Engineering to develop a strategic vision for the FrontRunner commuter service in Salt Lake City, supported by Fehr & Peers and Jacobs Engineering. UTA aims to reduce travel times on the 140 km route, and improve reliability and increase ridership. LTK will use ...
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NewsSt Petersburg light rail feeder line approved
RUSSIA: St Petersburg Investment Committee Head Irina Babyuk announced on August 22 the official preliminary approval of a light rail project to link the city with the town of Kolpino to the southeast. Preliminary studies and design have been carried out by LSR Group, and an invitation for tenders ...
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NewsRail freight news in brief
What is described as the first train from China to Afghanistan left Nantong in eastern China’s Jiangsu province on August 25, carrying 84 containers. It is scheduled to take 15 days to complete the journey to Hairatan via the Alataw Pass, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan. Two trains are scheduled to run ...
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NewsTest a quick-assembly rail heating system
ELTHERM: Visitors will be able to test their skills installing different rail and point heating systems on length of track which will form part of Eltherm’s stand at InnoTrans 2016. This is intended to demonstrate the flexibility and ease of handling of EL-Rail and EL-Point, and thus how much time ...
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NewsWorld rolling stock market August 2016
Australia: Pacific National has awarded UGL contracts worth A$594m for the supply of three 1 067 mm gauge PH37 PowerHaul diesel locos and three more Class 93 C44ACi locos, the continued maintenance of Siemens Class 71, UGL/GE Class 92/93 and Goninan Class NR locos until June 30 2026, and the ...
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NewsWorld rail infrastructure market August 2016
Africa: Vale has awarded Mota-Engil two five-year contracts totalling US$1282m to maintain the 920 km Nacala Corridor in Malawi and Mozambique, assisted by EMEF. Australia: Western Australia PTA has appointed Jacobs Engineering as technical adviser for the Forrestfield Airport Rail Link, supported by B,G&E and Golder & Associates. ...
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NewsAnother Klang Valley SSP Line contract awarded
MALAYSIA: Mass Rapid Transit Corp has awarded the contract for trackwork and maintenance vehicles on the Klang Valley MRT Line 2 project, also known as the SSP Line. The 1bn ringgit contract has been awarded to a joint venture of China Communication Construction Co (51%) and George Kent (49%). ...
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NewsAmtrak awards Northeast Corridor high speed train contract
USA: A fleet of 28 new high speed trains will enter service on Amtrak’s Northeast Corridor in 2021-22, the national passenger operator announced on August 25. To be built by Alstom at its plants in Hornell and Rochester, New York, the new trains will offer around 30% more capacity than ...
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NewsDSB to order electric locomotives
DENMARK: Meeting on August 23, DSB’s Board of Directors approved proposals to purchase 26 electric locomotives for regional passenger services on Sjaelland. The locomotives are intended to replace the Class ME diesels that currently power the double-deck push-pull trainsets on services from København to Ringsted and Helsingør, as well as ...
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NewsNext phase of London Night Tube to begin in October
UK: Mayor of London Sadiq Khan announced on August 26 that weekend all-night service on London Underground’s Jubilee Line would begin on October 7. The announcement comes a week after the launch of Night Tube services on the Central and Victoria lines. Transport for London recorded 50 000 passenger-journeys ...
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NewsCRRC launches Indian joint venture
INDIA: Chinese rolling stock and components conglomerate CRRC Corp has opened its first joint venture manufacturing plant in India, the group announced on August 20. Representing a total investment of US$63·4m, the CRRC Pioneer (India) Electric Co plant located in Haryana’s Bavo Industrial District will manufacture electrical equipment such as ...
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NewsBeijing welcomes first Line 16 train
CHINA: A ceremony in Beijing on August 22 unveiled the first Line 16 metro train. According to the State Council, the eight-car trainset has the largest capacity of any rolling stock on the metro. Test running on the northern section of Line 16, between Beianhe and Xiyuan, is to ...