All articles by Railway Gazette International – Page 649
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NewsOslo metro depot commissioned
NORWAY: Metro infrastructure owner Sporveien Oslo has commissioned all four sheds at the Avløs depot on Line 2, marking the end of the 10-year Kolsåsbane project. This also included infrastructure upgrades on the line linking the city centre with Kolsås in the western suburbs. The previously disused ...
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NewsBelozerov joins RZD as Yakunin stands down
Oleg Belozerov was formally appointed as President & CEO of Russian Railways by Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev on August 20. Formerly First Deputy Minister of Transport, he succeeeds Vladimir Yakunin, who had announced two days earlier that he planned to enter politics.
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NewsDB Netz buys SBB’s Rail Control System
GERMANY: Infrastructure manager DB Netz has licensed the Rail Control System train control and dispatching package developed by Swiss Federal Railways, and plans to deploy it across the German network from 2019. Introduced by SBB in 2009, RCS is also used by BLS and SOB. Belgium’s Infrabel was the first ...
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NewsARTC awards National Train Communications System contract
AUSTRALIA: Inter-state network manager Australian Rail Track Corp has awarded Telstra a ‘multi-million dollar’, 10-year contract to provide telecoms services through the National Train Communications System. NTCS was developed as a cost-effective and interoperable voice and data communications network for the 8 500 km inter-state and Hunter Valley networks, using ...
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NewsSacramento inaugurates light rail extension
USA: Sacramento Regional Transit District held a ‘pre-opening celebration’ on August 23 ahead of the official opening ceremony for the Blue Line light rail extension from Meadowview Road to Cosumnes River College on August 24. Opening was originally planned for September, but the date was brought forward to coincide ...
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NewsNottingham Express Transit Phase 2 opens
UK: The first passenger service on Nottingham Express Transit Phase 2 departed from Clifton South at 06.02 on August 25, marking the opening of two new branches on the city’s tram network. The routes to Clifton South and Toton Lane diverge at Nottingham station tram stop, the previous southern ...
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NewsElectrification to Qarshi completed
UZBEKISTAN: A Talgo 250 Afrosiyob trainset ran from Toshkent to Qarshi on August 22 as part of celebrations marking the completion of work to electrify and upgrade the 140·8 km Marakand – Qarshi section of the 511 km Toshkent – Samarkand – Qarshi route. The project has raised the maximum ...
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NewsBudapest – Esztergom line reopens after modernisation
HUNGARY: National passenger operator MÁV-Start restarted services on the modernised Budapest – Esztergom line on August 20. Renovation of the 53 km route lasted more than three years and cost HF44·5bn, of which 85% was funded from EU sources. Electrification is around 18 months behind schedule and is expected ...
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NewsKharkiv metro inaugurates trainset
UKRAINE: The first new trainset to enter service on the Kharkiv metro since 2004 was inaugurated at Heroiv Pratsi station on Line 2 on August 21, marking 40 years since the opening of the city’s first metro line on August 23 1975. The five-car trainset was built by Kriukov Car ...
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NewsPhoenix opens Central Mesa light rail extension
USA: The Central Mesa extension of the Valley Metro light rail line in Phoenix was inaugurated on August 22, with events along the route to mark the opening. The 5 km extension is the first since the initial 32 km route was put into service at the end of ...
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NewsHigh speed rail priority in 2016 budget
SPAIN: Appearing before a parliamentary committee on August 19, Secretary of State for Infrastructure, Transport & Housing Julio Gómez-Pomar provided details of the rail spending budgeted by the Ministry of Development for 2016. Next year, the ministry is planning to spend a total of €5∙46bn on rail, a 5% ...
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NewsBenin – Niger railway agreement signed
AFRICA: Bolloré Group has signed a concession agreement with the two governments for the construction and operation of a railway from Cotonou in Benin to Niamey in Niger. The project involves rehabilitation of the metre-gauge Cotonou – Parakou line, and the construction of a 574 km extension. ‘This is ...
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NewsFunding to upgrade Ottawa – Montréal passenger service
CANADA: The national government has announced an additional C$102m of funding for VIA Rail in 2015-17 to support upgrading works on the Ottawa – Montréal route. This includes work to enable VIA Rail’s Renaissance coaches to be used on the route instead of older rolling stock, thereby enhancing accessibility; track ...
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NewsChemnitz receives electro-diesel tram-train
GERMANY: The first Vossloh CityLink electro-diesel tram-train for Chemnitz was presented to transport authority Verkehrsverbund Mittelsachsen on August 21. The second vehicle is currently at the Wildenrath test track. In 2012 Vossloh won a €42·3m contract to supply eight tram-trains for the network being developed around Chemnitz. This was ...
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NewsToluca works underway
MEXICO: On August 14 Secretary of Communications & Transport Gerardo Ruiz Esparza inspected progress with works between Zinacantepec and Portal Poniente on the first section of the 57 km electrified passenger railway being built between Toluca and Mexico City. Civil works were 11% complete, with 550 workers deployed at 14 ...
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NewsRio light rail receives BNDES funding
BRAZIL: Federal development bank BNDES announced on August 19 that it had agreed to provide 42% of the R$1∙77bn cost of the light rail network under construction in Rio de Janeiro, making R$746∙5m available to concessionaire VLT Carioca. The first section of the network is due to enter service ...
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NewsRussian Traxx unveiled at Engels locomotive plant inauguration
RUSSIA: The prototype 1 520 mm gauge Bombardier Traxx F120MS locomotive was unveiled at a ceremony marking the inauguration of First Locomotive Co’s factory at Engels in Saratov oblast on August 19. The First Locomotive Co joint venture of Russian investors and Bombardier Transportation was established in 2012 ...
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NewsBangladesh line rehabilitation consultancy contract signed
BANGLADESH: Bangladesh Railway has awarded Indian company Balaji Railroad Systems Ltd a Rs200m contract to provide detailed design and construction supervision services for the rehabilitation of the out-of-use line from Kulaura to Shahbazpur, close to the Indian border. The 51·3 km metre-gauge route is expected to reopen for passenger and ...
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NewsAsciano board recommends acceptance of Brookfield offer
AUSTRALIA: The board of Asciano has unanimously recommended that shareholders accept Brookfield Infrastructure’s offer to acquire its entire issued capital, in a deal which gives the rail and port group an implied enterprise value of A$12bn. ‘After careful consideration of all the options available to the company, the Asciano ...
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NewsWestern DFC contracts awarded
INDIA: Dedicated Freight Corridor Corp of India has awarded two civil works and track contracts for the Western DFC to a consortium of Mitsui & Co, Ircon International and Tata Projects. The contracts announced on August 19 have a total value of ¥76bn, and cover the 186 km Vaitarana – ...