All articles by Railway Gazette International – Page 637
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NewsSeoul starts work on Sillim Line
SOUTH KOREA: Construction of the Sillim Line in southwest Seoul started on October 18. The underground metro line is due to be built in 60 months, with revenue service expected to start in 2021. The 7·8 km line would run south from Yeouido to Seoul National University. It will ...
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NewsEIB lends €135m for Bangladesh Railways
BANGLADESH: The European Investment Bank is providing the government with a €135m loan to finance upgrading, double-tracking and signalling renewals on the 72 km Laksam – Akhaura route. The project forms part of a broader programme to upgrade the 321 km Dhaka – Chittagong corridor by 2022. The total project ...
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NewsWorld rolling stock market October 2015
Australia: Stadler has been awarded an A$2m contract to modernise control systems on the Perisher Skitube rack railway trains. China: China Railway Corp has ordered a further 15 eight-car CRH380D high speed trainsets from Bombardier Sifang (Qingdao) Transportation for 2·4bn yuan. Bombardier CPC Propulsion System Co has won ...
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NewsManchester Metrolink operations shortlist announced
UK: Transport for Greater Manchester announced on October 16 that it had shortlisted four bidders for the contract to operate and maintain the Metrolink tram network from 2017. The shortlisted bidders are incumbent RATP Dev, KeolisAmey, National Express Group and Transdev. TfGM expects to issue an invitation to ...
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NewsFirst section of Rail Baltica inaugurated
EUROPE: Lithuanian Prime Minister Algirdas Butkevičius and European Commissioner for Transport Violeta Bulc inaugurated the first completed section of the Rail Baltica standard gauge line with a ceremony at Kaunas station on October 16. Rail Baltica envisages the construction of a 1 435 mm gauge corridor linking Poland with ...
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NewsBlockade to speed Chicago – St Louis upgrade
USA: Amtrak services between Chicago and St Louis have been suspended for 15 days from October 16 to permit major track and signalling renewals on the 455 km corridor, which is being upgraded for 177 km/h operation. This follows four previous eight-day blockades in 2012-15, with further closures expected in ...
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NewsAMP Capital increases Angel Trains stake
UK: Australian pension investor AMP Capital Investors has increased its stake in UK rolling stock leasing company Angel Trains by acquiring minority interests previously held by Prime Super and STC Funds Nominee. AMP Capital Investors has been an investor in Angel Trains since 2008. It had increased its stake ...
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NewsBAM awarded Aberdeen – Inverness upgrade contract
UK: BAM was appointed principal contractor for the £170m first phase of the Aberdeen – Inverness Improvement Project on October 16, working with Aecom, CH2M, Stobart Rail and Siemens. AIIP is intended to enable ScotRail to operate a half-hourly commuter service between Aberdeen and Inverurie, with additional peak services between ...
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NewsFirst Izmir tram nearing completion
TURKEY: Mayor Aziz Kocaoğlu visited Eurotem’s factory in Adapazari to inspect the first tram for Izmir on October 14. The tram is nearing completion and is scheduled to be delivered along with two others in December. In August 2014 the Eurotem joint venture of South Korea’s Hyundai Rotem and ...
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NewsRanchi plans monorail
INDIA: The Jharkhand government has backed plans for two monorail lines in the state capital Ranchi following a feasibility study undertaken by Infrastructure Development Finance Company which found that a monorail would be preferable to an elevated or underground metro. IDFC is to submit a detailed project report by December. ...
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NewsRail industry news in brief October 2015
Russian Railways and Yingkou Port Group have signed a memorandum of co-operation to create logistics centres in Moscow and Yingkou and a joint venture to manage cross-border cargo clearance and port transhipment. An internal restructuring of Danish national passenger operator DSB came into effect from September 1, creating ...
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NewsPredictive maintenance at the heart of Thameslink EMU depot
UK: ‘We want to prevent malfunctions before they even occur,’ said Siemens Mobility Division CEO Jochen Eickholt when Secretary of State for Transport Patrick McLoughlin officially opened the new rolling stock depot at Three Bridges on October 15. The depot will maintain the 115 Class 700 Desiro City electric ...
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NewsUlm breaks ground on second tram route
GERMANY: The official groundbreaking for the second tram route in Ulm took place on October 15, at the site of the future turning loop on Egginger Weg in Kuhberg, the southern terminus of the line. The 10·5 km line will link the science district in the north of the ...
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NewsIsfahan metro opens
IRAN: The first metro line in Isfahan opened on October 15. The first phase of Line 1 runs for 11 km from Qods in the northwest to Shohada via Kaveh long-distance bus terminal. There are 10 stations. Construction started in 2001 but was subject to delays. The ...
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NewsWashington metro seat refurbishment contract awarded
USA: Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority has awarded First State Manufacturing a five-year contract to refurbish the seats on its fleet of more than 1 100 metro cars. Delaware-based company First State supplies public transport and military aircraft seating and carpets, as well as covers for lorries and missiles. ...
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NewsMelbourne switches on underground 3G coverage
AUSTRALIA: Victoria Minister for Public Transport Jacinta Allan announced on October 15 that 3G mobile coverage had gone live in the City Loop tunnels under the centre of Melbourne. Victoria rail asset owner VicTrack has undertaken the work in co-operation with telecoms operators Optus, Telstra and Vodafone Hutchison Australia. ...
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NewsTrinity Industries and Element Financial extend wagon alliance
USA: On October 14 the TrinityRail Asset Management Co subsidiary of Trinity Industries announced an extension of its alliance agreement with Element Financial Corp, which expects to acquire additional wagons leased to third parties worth up to $1bn in 2016-19. As with purchases made under the existing alliance agreed in ...
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NewsNew York MTA agrees capital funding
USA: New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio and MTA Chairman Tom Prendergast announced on October 10 that they had reached agreement on the remaining funding for the MTA Capital Program. The $26·1bn five-year capital expenditure plan forms the largest ever investment in MTA ...
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NewsÖBB calls tenders for 200-locomotive framework contract
AUSTRIA: Austrian Federal Railways has invited expressions of interest in a framework contract for the supply of up to 200 electric and electro-diesel locomotives equipped to operate in various combinations of European countries. The tender is divided into three lots. Lot 1 covers a ‘Standard Locomotive’, which would be a ...
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NewsStation beacons on test in Boston
USA: Digital media company Intersection is using Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority stations in Boston to test secure closed networks of Gimbal Bluetooth Smart beacons which can trigger location-specific content on apps installed on passengers’ mobile devices. The aim is to test how passengers use wayfinding and other information, whether ...