All Railway Gazette International articles in September 2013 – Page 3
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NewsRFF presents €15bn modernisation plan
FRANCE: Investment totalling €15bn over six years would be concentrated on the conventional network to improve reliability, capacity and safety under a plan which infrastructure manager RFF has submitted to Transport Minister Frédéric Cuvillier. The minister requested the plan following a third audit undertaken by the École Polytechnique Fédérale de ...
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NewsChuo maglev route announced
JAPAN: Central Japan Railway Co has revealed details of the alignment of the planned maglev line from Tokyo to Nagoya. Announcing the route on September 18, the company said that it aimed to start construction work on the ¥5·4tr project next year, subject to government approval. Releasing information about station ...
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NewsEIB loan backs Polish line speed improvements
POLAND: The European Investment Bank has approved a €235m loan to infrastructure manager PKP PLK to support a €541m upgrade of 92·5 km of the 107 km Warszawa - Radom route. This will increase line speeds from 80 km/h at present to 160 km/h for passenger trains and 120 km/h ...
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NewsOil taxes to fund Danish rail investment
DENMARK: The government and two opposition parties have reached an agreement to raise taxes on North Sea hydrocarbon extraction and invest the additional revenue in upgrading the rail network. The deal finalised on September 17 is expected to raise DKr28·5bn for the state, which would allocate the money to the ...
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NewsMore lorries to move by rail
FRANCE: On September 18 Transport Minister Frédéric Cuvillier announced the creation of two new ‘rail motorway’ services to carry lorry trailers. In his presence, SNCF Geodis Managing Director Alain Picard and Lohr SA President Robert Lohr signed a contract worth €39m for the supply of 102 Modalohr swing-tray wagons that ...
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NewsThe Andersons completes Mile Rail acquisition
USA: The Andersons Inc has purchased wagon cleaning and repair company Mile Rail. Based in Kansas City, Missouri, Mile Rail also has facilities in Nebraska and Indiana as well as mobile units in the central Midwest. 'The addition of Mile Rail complements our existing railcar repair network and ...
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NewsSaudi Landbridge project management consultancy contract awarded
SAUDI ARABIA: The Public Investment Fund has appointed Parsons Brinckerhoff and Fluor Corp to provide project management consultancy services for the design and construction of the 950 km Landbridge railway planned to link Jeddah with Riyadh. At Riyadh the line would connect with the existing 450 km line to Dammam ...
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NewsEurostar wi-fi contract awarded
EUROPE: Siemens has awarded Nomad Digital a contract to supply wi-fi equipment for the fleet of 10 Velaro e320 trainsets under construction for cross-Channel high speed train operator Eurostar. Announcing the contract on September 18, Nomad Digital said it won the order after demonstrating its ability to provide passengers with ...
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NewsIDB funds Roca electrification
ARGENTINA: Under a US$1⋅2bn conditional credit line being provided over 10 years to the improve commuter services in Buenos Aires, the Inter-American Development bank has approved an initial loan of $300m to the federal government towards a $500m project to upgrade and electrify the 52⋅6 km route on the Roca ...
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Network Rail submits Manchester chord plans
UK: Infrastructure manager Network Rail submitted its application for legal powers to build a short chord in Manchester to provide additional capacity for cross-city services on September 17. Straddling the border between Manchester itself and the neighbouring city of Salford, the 1·5 km south-to-east Ordsall Chord is intended to allow ...
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NewsFollobanen technical consultancy framework agreement
NORWAY: Infrastructure manager Jernbaneverket has awarded a framework contract for technical consultancy for the Follobanen project to a Swiss/Norwegian consortium of Amberg Engineering, Multiconsult and Dr Ing A Aas-Jacobsen AS. The three-year agreement with an option for a one-year extension will enable Jernbaneverket to access specialist technical skills and expand ...
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NewsStadler takes on spare parts management for BLS
SWITZERLAND: Stadler Rail has been awarded a contract to manage spare parts for the fleet of KISS double-deck electric multiple-units which it is supplying to BLS. Stadler said this was the first time it had been asked to stock and deliver all spare parts for a customer, and the ...
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NewsNew York MTA places framework order for commuter EMUs
USA: New York MTA has placed a framework order worth $1·8bn with Kawasaki Rail Car for the supply of up to 676 multi-system commuter rail EMU cars. Designated M-9, the trains would be designed for use by MTA’s two suburban operations, Metro-North which runs north into Connecticut from New York’s ...
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NewsThree expressions of interest in Greek rail privatisation
GREECE: Three expressions of interest in the purchase of a 100% stake in national train operator Trainose were submitted by the September 16 deadline, the Hellenic Republic Asset Development Fund privatisation agency has announced. The companies involved were not disclosed by HRADF, but local media has named them as French ...
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NewsGovernment extends rail investment programme
MALAYSIA: Prime Minister Najib Razak has announced plans to spend a further 160bn ringgit on main line and urban railways by 2020, a three-fold increase on capital expenditure levels seen over the past 20 years. Noting that ‘we are seeing a massive expansion of the rail network in Asia’, Razak ...
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NewsRoy Hill railway construction contract
AUSTRALIA: Lead contractor Samsung C&T has awarded John Holland a A$257m subcontract covering rail infrastructure and track construction for a 342 km heavy haul railway being developed as part of the Roy Hill Iron Ore Project in Western Australia. The line will be built through remote terrain to link a ...
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NewsFred Maroudas
Fred Maroudas has joined UK rolling stock leasing company Eversholt Rail as Chief Financial Officer, responsible for finance, risk and IT. A former Director of Treasury at Network Rail and latterly Finance Director at Heathrow Airport, he succeeds Simon Purves.
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NewsSerco to run Dubai's Al Sufouh tram route
UAE: Dubai’s Roads & Transport Authority signed a contract with Serco on September 16 for the commissioning and operation of the emirate’s first light rail line. Valued at 105m dinar, the 75-month contract provides 15 months for preparation, including staff recruitment and training, plus five years of operations. ...
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NewsNews in Brief
Route clearance is underway for the 137 km Shanghai - Nantong railway in China’s Yangtze River Delta region. To assist visually-impaired passengers, Indian Railways is to provide Braille signage including seat numbers on its coaches. High speed operator Thalys has reported year-on-year increases of 1·7% in turnover ...
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NewsKonkan Railway installs bio-toilets
INDIA: Konkan Railway has begun equipping its stations with 'bio-toilets' which used anaerobic biodigester technology developed by the Defence Research & Development Organisation for use in remote areas. The railway said the maintenance-free toilets can be installed in two days rather than the two months needed for standard toilets ...