All articles by Railway Gazette International – Page 764
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NewsVossloh España unveils Direct Rail Services Class 68
UK: Class 68 diesel locomotive 68002 was formally presented to Direct Rail Services Chief Executive Neil McNicholas on December 10. Harry Hondius reports from the Vossloh España plant in Albuixech.
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NewsFeature articles in the December 2013 issue of Metro Report International
Articles in the December 2013 issue of Metro Report International. Comment Lucky Montana of PRASA stresses the importance of South Africa's fleet renewal programme News Review Round-up of world metro, light rail and tram news Riyadh A six-line driverless network takes shape in the Saudi capital China Metro and tram ...
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NewsFirst long Flexity Berlin tram delivered
GERMANY: Bombardier Transportation delivered the first 40 m long bidirectional Flexity Berlin tram to the German capital from its Hennigsdorf plant on December 13. According to Bombardier, the trams have been styled specifically for Berlin and feature a ‘Bauhaus design’. The air-conditioned vehicles are equipped with regenerative braking. ...
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NewsTaskforce to study electrification in northern England
UK: The Department for Transport is to establish a joint taskforce with infrastructure manager Network Rail to study options for further electrification in northern England. Announcing the plan on December 13, DfT said the taskforce would work with train operators, local authorities including the Rail North consortium, the supply industry ...
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NewsNewag IPO
POLAND: Shares in Polish rolling stock manufacturer Newag began trading on the Warszawa stock exchange on December 5, after the initial public offering raised 398m złoty. Zbigniew Jakubas had held a 78·46% stake in the company, with the remaining shares held by the management team. Jakubas now has 43·47% and ...
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NewsValenciennes inaugurates second tram line
FRANCE: The second tram line in Valenciennes opened on December 13. The 15·5 km line with 22 stops links Valenciennes with Vieux Condé and will commence passenger service on February 24. Nine Alstom Citadis trams, ordered in 2010, will augment the existing fleet of 21 trams. Each 33 m ...
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NewsEIB provides £500m loan for Crossrail trains
UK: The European Investment Bank signed a corporate loan facility on December 13 which will provide Transport for London with up to £500m to finance the rolling stock fleet and depot for Crossrail. This follows a £1bn EIB loan for the construction of the Crossrail tunnels which was agreed in ...
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NewsMülheim orders Flexity Classic trams
GERMANY: Mülheim transport authority MVG has ordered 10 Bombardier Flexity Classic trams at a cost of €27m. The three-module bidirectional vehicles are identical to the 27 trams ordered by Essen transport authority EVAG in December 2011. They will be 30 m long and 2 300 mm wide, with a ...
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NewsApp to speed paper ticket to smart card conversion
UK: Ecebs has developed an app for off-the-shelf Android tablet computers which enables ticket office staff to transfer existing paper season tickets to smart cards quickly. The app was developed for Tyne & Wear transport authority Nexus to support the roll-out of its Pop smart card. A passenger's season ticket ...
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NewsFerrovia Circumetnea places Newag's first DMU export order
ITALY: Polish rolling stock manufacturer Newag has finalised its first diesel multiple-unit export order, a €14·8m contract to supply at least four 950 mm gauge DMUs for Ferrovia Circumetnea's 110 km line around the Mount Etna volcano in Sicily. Delivery is scheduled within 18 months, and Ferrovia Circumetnea has options ...
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NewsDoncaster concrete sleeper factory opened
UK: On December 9 Secretary of State for Transport Patrick McLoughlin officially opened the new concrete sleeper factory that Trackwork Moll has built in Doncaster to supply infrastructure manager Network Rail over the next 10 years. Employing around 45 staff, the plant will produce around 400 000 concrete sleepers each ...
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NewsStrukton acquires Balfour Beatty's Scandinavian rail business
EUROPE: Strukton Rail announced the signing of an agreement to acquire Balfour Beatty Rail Scandinavia on December 10. The deal includes all current rail infrastructure maintenance, renewals and construction activities in Sweden and Denmark, which will now operate under the Strukton Rail brand. Financial close is expected at the beginning ...
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NewsAfghan government commissions east - west rail study
AFGHANISTAN: The Ministry of Public Works has commissioned a feasibility study for a proposed 300 km east - west railway across northern Afghanistan. The C$3·7m contract announced on December 11 has been awarded to Systra's Canadian freight railway consultancy Canarail and its partner Appleton Consulting Inc, which specialises in programme ...
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NewsChicago Blue Line to be upgraded
USA: Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel and Governor of Illinois Pat Quinn announced an upgrade programme for the O’Hare Branch of the metro Blue Line on December 5. The $492m four-year plan, called Your New Blue, is due to begin in 2014. Funding is expected from local, state and federal ...
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NewsGoiânia light rail concessionaire selected
BRAZIL: Goiás state selected the Anhanguera Mobility consortium of Odebrecht TransPort (90%) and city bus operators (10%) to develop the Goiânia – Anhanguera light rail line on December 9. The 35-year build-operate-maintain PPP concession includes 24 months for construction. The total budget is R$1·3bn, including R$805m from the state ...
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NewsDellner and Hitachi sign IEP gangway order
UK: Hitachi Rail Europe has awarded Dellner a contract to provide gangways for the Class 800 and Class 801 trainsets it is to supply under the Department for Transport's Intercity Express Programme. The contract signed on December 9 is worth around £10m and covers 1 500 gangways, 1 732 couplers ...
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NewsBrussels interregional tram lines approved
BELGIUM: The Flemish government has approved plans to build three tram lines linking Brussels with towns beyond the city boundaries. The project has a budget of €500m, although permission to start work has not yet been granted. The lines could open as soon as 2020, with De Lijn the most ...
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NewsRail Industry Training & Recruitment in Brief
Transport for London and Crossrail Ltd have welcomed 140 recruits onto their graduate trainee scheme in a range of engineering and commercial disciplines. TfL expects to hire a similar number next year, and applications opened in late October for the 2014 entry. Running until October 2014, the EU-funded Actuate ...
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NewsFehmarn Belt tunnel E&M systems tender
EUROPE: Project promoter Femern A/S has published an OJEU prior information notice for the contract to provide electrical and mechanical systems for the future 18 km Fehmarn Belt rail and motorway tunnel between Denmark and Germany. An industry day is to be held in København on January 21. The scope ...
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NewsBrussels metro to install optic fibre network
BELGIUM: Brussels transport operator STIB announced on December 10 that it will install an Alcatel-Lucent optic fibre broadband communication network for the conversion of the metro to driverless operation. A wavelength division multiplexing network based on Alcatel-Lucent’s 1830 photonic service switch will be used as the basis for communications-based ...