Technology news – Page 68
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Metro Report InternationalEasyMile driverless shuttle upgraded for unattended operation
EASYMILE: Toulouse-based EasyMile unveiled an upgraded version of its EZ10 driverless electric shuttle at the UITP Global Public Transport Summit 2019. As well as a redesigned sensor providing a wider field of vision, the vehicle has a new safety architecture that enables operation without an on-board attendant, according to ...
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Metro Report InternationalTram collision and overspeed safety system to be tested in Wien and Blackpool
SAFETY: Bombardier Transportation launched its Collision & Overspeed Monitoring & Prevention Assistance System for trams and light rail vehicles at the UITP Global Public Transport Summit 2019. Testing of the technology will soon begin on trams in Wien and Blackpool. Developed in co-operation with the Austrian Institute of Technology ...
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NewsJR East to trial fuel cell multiple-unit
JAPAN: East Japan Railway has started work on a new generation of hydrogen fuel cell trainsets, a decade after early experiments with its prototype New Energy Train. The railway set an objective to ‘diversify energy’ as part of its ‘Move Up 2027’ 10-year vision adopted last year, and it hopes ...
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NewsSBB Cargo makes progress in wagonload automation
SWITZERLAND: SBB Cargo plans to trial automated brake tests for freight trains by the end of the year as it makes headway in its efforts to digitalise its wagonload business. The operator has been trialling autocouplers on 130 wagons used on dedicated intermodal shuttles for more than a year, Project ...
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NewsToshiba unveils tri-mode locomotive demonstrator
GERMANY: Toshiba Railway Europe unveiled a electric-diesel-battery hybrid traction technology demonstrator locomotive at the Transport Logistic trade show in München on June 4. The company has a contract to supply 50 diesel-battery centre cab locomotives to DB Cargo from 2021, TRE Managing Director Hinrich Krey told Railway Gazette. The demonstrator ...
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Rail Business UKVirgin Trains announces plans for cheapest fare app
UK: Virgin Trains is developing a booking app which it says will guarantee that passengers obtain the cheapest walk-up fares by retrospectively looking at the trains used and recalculating the fare if a different ticket would have been cheaper than the one purchased. The system would automatically ...
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Metro Report InternationalAccount-based contactless ticketing arrives in New York
USA: An event at Bowling Green station on May 31 marked the start of the public pilot of closed-loop account-based contactless ticketing in New York. OMNY readers accept contactless bank cards, as well as Apple Pay, Google Pay, Samsung Pay and Fitbit. Cubic Transportation Systems has supplied the technology, ...
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Metro Report InternationalShenzhen tests 5G for smart metro applications
CHINA: As part of a ‘smart metro’ development programme, Shenzhen Metro and Huawei are testing the use of 5G for the rapid transfer of large volumes of data between trains on Line 11 and the control room. The tests aim to transfer the 25 GB of data generated by a ...
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NewsRatchet-P clamp offers versatility and durability
CLAMP: HellermannTyton has launched the Ratchet-P one-piece adjustable clamp for applications including securing pipes, hoses and cable bundles from 6 to 51 mm wide to rolling stock bogies. ‘Old fashioned P-clamps can be difficult to position, can twist and pinch wires during installation and, put frankly, can make complicated and ...
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Metro Report InternationalData tools for the north of England
UK: Transport for the North has awarded two contracts for data tools as part of its Integrated and Smart Travel programme, the regional transport co-ordinating body announced on May 23. Trapeze Group UK is to develop an Open Data Hub that would allow local authorities and transport operators to ...
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Metro Report InternationalRATP and Airbus to explore urban air mobility around Paris
FRANCE: Paris public transport operator RATP Group has signed a partnership with Airbus to explore the feasibility of developing ‘urban air mobility services’ in the Île-de-France region. ‘Beyond mass transport, which remains our core business, it is important for RATP Group to develop its human and technical know-how in ...
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NewsBombardier Transportation to 3D print rolling stock parts
ADDITIVE MANUFACTURING: Bombardier Transportation is to install a Stratasys F900 3D printer at its Hennigsdorf plant. Purchased through Stratasys’ regional distributor Alphacam, the printer will use ULTEM 9085 resin to produce components previously made from glass fibre or tin. Bombardier intends to use the printer to produce ...
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Metro Report InternationalImpact-absorbing tram front meets EU fire safety standards
GERMANY: Hübner has launched what it says is the first impact-absorbing material for tram front ends to meet the latest EU fire safety standard EN45545. The 3P Front End System is made from a flexible polyurethane foam with a cell structure which makes it robust but flexible. It deforms on ...
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Metro Report InternationalMobility planning software for smarter cities
UK: ‘Mobility is changing fast but transport decision-making is slow and expensive, based on poor data’, believes Robin North, co-founder and CEO of planning software company Immense Simulations. The company has just raised US$4·6m to support the development of its ‘simulation as a service’ transport modelling platform in a Series ...
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Metro Report InternationalGoSutton on-demand bus service ready to launch in south London
UK: An on-demand bus service is set to launch in the south London borough of Sutton on May 28. GoSutton is a joint project by Transport for London, the ViaVan joint venture of Mercedes-Benz Vans and on-demand transport technology company Via, and contracted bus operator Go-Ahead. TfL selected Sutton for ...
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News600 km/h maglev prototype unveiled
CHINA: Two prototype vehicles intended to support research into a 600 km/h maglev system were unveiled by CRRC Qingdao Sifang on May 23. The 53 m long locally-developed prototype comprises a driving car and an intermediate vehicle. It has been built as part of a five-year maglev development programme announced ...
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Metro Report InternationalTransport for London to use wi-fi data to understand passenger flows
UK: Transport for London is to begin collecting depersonalised wi-fi data from passengers’ mobile devices to obtain a better understanding of how people travel around the London Underground network. A four-week pilot scheme in 2016 collected more than 509 million depersonalised items of data from 5·6 million mobile devices making ...
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NewsČD Cargo equipping locos with ETCS
CZECH REPUBLIC: Following re-tendering, ČD Cargo has awarded AŽD Praha and ČD-Telematik a €29·9m contract to fit two classes of electric locomotives with Alstom and ČMŽO-Elektronika onboard ETCS equipment by late 2020. The project covers 47 Class 363 and 31 Class 163 locomotives, 18 of which are to be modified ...
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Rail Business UKGrand Central DMU to be used for dual-fuel trial
UK: An Alstom Class 180 Adelante diesel-hydraulic multiple-unit is to be converted to run on a combination of diesel and liquefied natural gas in a dual-fuel technology demonstration project. One car of the DMU which Arriva-owned open access inter-city operator Grand Central leases from Angel Trains is to be equipped ...
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Rail Business UKDepot equipment demonstrations at Railtex
MECHAN: Sheffield-based lifting and handling system manufacturer Mechan offered visitors to its Railtex stand a chance to see some of its products in action. A full size demonstration jack was displayed, along with a working model of a wheel press from Mechan’s French sister company Sogema Engineering. ...