Technology news – Page 74
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NewsCompetitive Freight Wagon deployment to be planned
EUROPE: Wagon leasing company Ermewa is to draw up a deployment concept for innovative wagons to support the business case for investment in vehicles which are being developed under the Competitive Freight Wagon research initiative. Backed by the EU Shift2Rail research programme, the Competitive Freight Wagon consortium includes technology company ...
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Metro Report InternationalBART launches end-to-end journey planner for the San Francisco area
USA: Bay Area Rapid Transit has worked with HaCon to develop BART Trip Planner web, iOS and Android apps for multimodal door-to-door journey planning in the San Francisco Bay Area. Siemens-owned technology company HaCon said it was a ‘major upgrade’ from the previous system, which was solely based on the ...
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NewsNS to test contactless card payment
NETHERLANDS: National passenger operator NS is to test the use of contactless bank card payment as an alternative to the OV-chipkaart national multimodal transport smart card. NS said using a bank or credit card for travel was a ‘logical and easy’ choice for many people, as they would not need ...
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Rail Business UKBreeze UK hydrogen multiple-unit proposal unveiled
UK: Alstom and leasing company Eversholt Rail have unveiled their ‘Breeze’ proposal to convert surplus Class 321 electric multiple-units to hydrogen power. The 25 kV 50 Hz Class 321 EMUs which were built by BREL in 1998-90 are scheduled to be withdrawn by the end of this year. Greater ...
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NewsRio Tinto completes AutoHaul autonomous train project
AUSTRALIA: Rio Tinto has announced the successful deployment of its AutoHaul technology for the autonomous operation of iron ore trains in the Pilbara region of Western Australia, creating what the mining company said was ‘the world’s largest robot and first automated heavy-haul, long-distance rail network’. Deployment of the ATO over ...
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NewsEast Japan Railway tests driverless operation
JAPAN: East Japan Railway is testing automatic train operation on the Yamanote Line in Tokyo, with a view to assessing the feasibility of converting routes to driverless operation. The 34·5 km circular route was selected for testing because it does not share tracks with other lines. JR East envisages that ...
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Metro Report InternationalEast Japan Railway tests driverless operation
JAPAN: East Japan Railway is testing automatic train operation on the Yamanote Line in Tokyo, with a view to assessing the feasibility of converting routes to driverless operation. The 34·5 km circular route was selected for testing because it does not share tracks with other lines. JR East envisages that ...
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NewsConcrete Canvas eliminates weeds at Rotterdam inspection point
NETHERLANDS: Concrete Canvas geosynthetic cementitious composite matting has been installed on sections of track at the Rotterdam World Gateway site to prevent the growth of weeds which could obstruct the optical character recognition systems used to identify containers on passing freight trains Concrete Canvas comprises a three-dimensional fibre matrix containing ...
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Rail Business UKImproved passenger information
UK: West Midlands Trains is to equip 50 Siemens Class 350 Desiro EMUs with real-time passenger information systems developed by KeTech and Axion, which will include 22 inch screens. Deployment is planned between May 2019 and May 2020. ‘This new system will be a great improvement on what our customers ...
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NewsAGV demonstrator car arrives in Doncaster
UK: An intermediate car from Alstom’s Pégase AGV demonstrator arrived at the National College for High Speed Rail campus in Doncaster in early December, having been transported more than 1 000 km from the supplier's La Rochelle factory in France. Built in 2007, the car previously formed part of Alstom’s ...
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Rail Business UKEviFile speeds Great Western electrification data capture
DATA CAPTURE: Contractor Balfour Beatty has been using a secure data collection platform from Leeds-based EviFile as part of its work to install 25 kV 50 Hz electrification between Bristol and Cardiff. The contractor deployed a customised version of eviFile’s digital progressive assurance methodology to replace a paper-based approach. This ...
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NewsBattery shunter delivered
ITALY: Colmar Technik has supplied a SL160E battery shunter for use at Villa Poma. The 31 tonne Colmar SL160E shunter replaces an old Atlas HDL73. It can haul up to 3 200 tonnes, has zero emissions at the point of use, is quiet in operation and has lower operating and ...
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Rail Business UKNon-PVC wrap for Welsh DMUs
LIVERY: Two Class 175 and two Class 143 diesel multiple-units operated by KeolisAmey on the Wales & Borders franchise have become the first trainsets to be wrapped with non-PVC Envision Print Wrap LX480mC wrap supplied by 3M and Aura Graphics. 3M Scotchgard 8993 glossy overlaminate and anti-graffiti wrap 8588G provide ...
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Metro Report InternationalParis regional smart ticketing contract awarded
FRANCE: Paris regional transport authority Île-de-France Mobilités has selected a consortium of payment technology company Worldline and digital platform supplier Conduent to implement its Smart Navigo ticketing programme. The authority aims to begin rolling out new ticketing products from 2019, gradually replacing paper tickets with contactless technology. It will become ...
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Metro Report InternationalTravelMaster selects Rambus to supply South Yorkshire ticketing system
UK: South Yorkshire transport ticketing organisation TravelMaster is to deploy the Rambus Ticketing suite to enable train, tram and bus passengers to purchase smart ticketing products online. The five-year agreement will see Rambus provide its HOPS back office, web retail and smart ticket collector app technology for the secure delivery ...
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NewsDresden to house national rail research centre
GERMANY: Federal funding of €5m has been allocated in the 2019 budget to establish a national railway research centre in Dresden. The centre’s work will focus on researching and developing new types of traction drive technology and other areas of railway engineering. Economics Minister for the Land of Sachsen Martin ...
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NewsFaster fastening installation in Estonia
ESTONIA: Infrastructure contractor Leonhard Weiss has awarded Pandrol a contract to supply more than 430 000 Fastclip FE rail fastenings for the 65 km line between Tapa and Narva. This follows a previous contract covering the 57 km Tapa – Tartu route. As part of the project, the contractor acquired ...
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NewsAlstom wins Israel Railways ETCS contract
ISRAEL: National railway ISR has awarded Alstom a €45m contract to design, supply, install and commission ETCS Level 2 onboard equipment across its fleet. The contract announced on December 10 covers 192 vehicles, with an option for a further 34. Design work is scheduled to start in January 2019, with ...
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NewsRail grapple launched
TOOL: Rototilt has launched a 5 000 kg capacity grapple designed for heavier tasks such as working with rails and sleepers. ‘With the demand we’ve seen for a more powerful grapple module optimised for railway work, it feels good to be able to present the new grapple to our customers’, ...
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NewsRoof antenna offers train connectivity
ANTENNA: Huber+Suhner has launched the Sencity Rail MIMO 5 Port roof-top antenna designed to support onboard passenger connectivity and allow operators to boost their data transmission while using fewer antennas. Designed for 2G/3G/4G cellular applications, the antenna meets the EN 50155 railway standards, is fire retardant and works on non-metallic ...