All articles by Railway Gazette International – Page 961
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NewsNews in Brief
The Czech Export Bank has agreed to provide a €120m loan to Serbia for the modernisation of the section of Pan-European Corridor X between Nis and the Bulgarian border (RG 2.10 p46). Complete modernisation to be undertaken by a consortium of Czech and Serbian firms includes ...
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NewsRail modernisation plans signed at Kazakh investment summit
KAZAKHSTAN: Major supply contracts and rail-sector co-operation memoranda were among the agreements signed at a national investment summit held in Almaty on June 3-4. A €70m contract to design and supply signalling and telecoms for the 293 km Zhetigen - Korgas 'China Gateway' railway was signed by state railway KTZ ...
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NewsMRT-7 contract awarded
PHILIPPINES: A consortium comprising Marubeni Corp, DMCI Holdings and a local partner has been awarded a US$1·12bn contract by Universal LRT Corp to build and commission the 22 km MRT-7 metro line in Manila. The Department of Transportation & Communications has recommended approval of changes to the project design that ...
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NewsZürich double-decker unveiled
SWITZERLAND: The first of 29 Stadler Rail double-deck electric multiple-units for Zürich S-Bahn services was unveiled at Zürich Hauptbahnhof on June 3. Participating in the handover ceremony were SBB Chief Executive Andreas Meyer, Economics Director of Zürich Canton Ernst Stocker and Stadler Rail CEO Peter Spuhler. The 160 ...
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NewsRail privatisation included in Greek asset sale
GREECE: The government announced the part-privatisation of Hellenic Railways Organisation on June 2. Stakes in a range of state-owned road, port, airport, utility and land assets are to be sold under agreements with the European Commission and international financial institutions which aim to reduce debt and tackle the country's economic ...
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NewsRenovated metro cars return to Bucuresti
ROMANIA: On May 26 two renovated Bucuresti metro cars left the Alstom Transport site at Reichshoffen to start a five-day journey, across Germany, Austria and Hungary, to the workshop of Bucuresti metro operator Metrorex. Alstom is in the process of renovating 15 trainsets manufactured by Astra Vagoane Arad around 20 ...
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NewsDrone tampers set to work
USA: Harsco Rail has received orders totalling US$6m for its Drone Tamper, which uses two-way wireless ethernet technology to follow a conventional lead tamper as an unmanned, fully-automated chase vehicle that can tamp track roadbed without an operator onboard. A radar-controlled warning system mounted on the Drone alerts trackworkers when ...
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NewsAlstom-TMH signs €1bn EP20 locomotive contract
RUSSIA: RZD placed an order for 200 EP20 dual-system electric locomotives for inter-city passenger services at the 1520 Strategic Partnership event in Sochi on May 27. The 3 kV DC/25 kV AC single unit locomotives will be the first products to emerge as a result of the alliance between Transmash ...
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NewsContactless payment trial in New York
USA: Three transport agencies have launched a six month trial of a Tap & Go fare payment system on selected train and bus routes in New York and New Jersey. The Metropolitan Transportation Agency, Port Authority of New York & New Jersey and NJ Transit have collaborated with MasterCard to ...
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NewsGreater certainty in rail welds
WELDING: Corus Rail has develped a novel technique for repairing discrete defects on the rail surface. The semi-automated open arc welding method offers considerable benefits over conventional Manual Metal Arc repairs, the company says. Open arc welding uses flux-cored arc wire with a lower preheat temperature to manage the metallurgical ...
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NewsSigns of fatigue
NETHERLANDS: Infrastructure manager ProRail is trialling sensors using third-generation Gotcha technology to monitor freight train wheelsets. The QuoVadisII project measures wheel profiles and axle-loads as trains pass over the sensors. An abnormal weight distribution over the wheelset could indicate a defect in the wheel, axle or bearings. The operator of ...
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NewsEMD sold to Caterpillar
USA: Progress Rail Services announced on June 1 that it had signed a definitive agreement to purchase locomotive builder and diesel engine manufacturer Electro-Motive Diesel Inc for $820m in cash. Although retaining its own identity as a standalone company, EMD is to become a wholly-owned subsidiary of ...
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NewsNanjing metro expands
CHINA: Nanjing Metro almost quadrupled the size of its network when it inaugurated a second line and a 25 km southern extension of Line 1 on May 28, increasing route length from 22 km to 85 km and the number of stations from 16 to 57.Line 2 is 38 km ...
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NewsRiyadh monorail contract awarded
SAUDI ARABIA: Bombardier Transportation announced on May 31 that it had won a US$241m contract to supply, install and operate a 3·6 km driverless monorail in the King Abdullah Financial District in Riyadh. Intended to serve the city’s new financial and business centre which is currently being ...
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NewsEurotunnel buys GB Railfreight from FirstGroup
EUROPE: Groupe Eurotunnel’s freight operating subsidiary Europorte has bought UK operator GB Railfreight from FirstGroup for £26∙3m in cash. Announcing the acquisition at a press conference in London on June 1, Eurotunnel Chairman & CEO Jacques Gounon said that the deal was ‘a strategic move to boost ...
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News€4bn suburban spend in Valencia
SPAIN: The Ministry of Development and the Valencia regional government have unveiled a 2010-20 suburban infrastructure investment plan to which they are to contribute €34bn and €555m respectively. Major projects include a €750m cross-city link in Valencia running 6 km from the existing Nord terminus to join the route ...
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NewsUrban rail news in brief - June 2010
Metrô DF opened Guará metro station in Brasília on May 10 after two years of construction. Guará is located between Arniqueiras and Feira do Guará on the shared section of the Orange and Green lines. Seven stations on Dubai’s 52·1 km Red Line opened on April ...
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NewsLiberian ore line to spur Guinea revival
AFRICA: A revival of passenger and general freight services on the 662 km Chemins de fer de Guinée line is among commitments the BSG Resources (Guinea) Ltd mining joint venture has made in return for permission from the governments of Guinea and Liberia to build a new iron ore export ...
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NewsIndustry News in Brief
India's Chittaranjan Locomotive Works produced 220 electric locomotives in the 2009-10 financial year, 10 down on the target of 230. Diesel Locomotive Works produced 258 locomotives, eight above target. Rail Coach Factory produced 1568 cars, up on the target of 1562, while Integral Coach Factory was on target with 1433. ...
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NewsBoring begins beneath Madrid
SPAIN: Development Minister José Blanco joined ADIF President Antonio González on April 24 to mark the start of tunnelling on the 7·3 km route for high speed services between Atocha and Chamartín stations in Madrid. The €206m link will comprise 6835 m of 10·4 m diameter tunnel, being excavated ...