Traction & rolling stock news – Page 150
-
NewsShift2Rail announces 2018 grants
EUROPE: Shift2Rail is to provide up to €77·3m of co-funding for 19 research and innovation projects with a total value of €152·6m, the joint undertaking announced on October 17. The funding to be awarded under the 2018 Call for Proposals brings the cumulative spending on railway research to €490m, which ...
-
NewsVIA Rail dining cars to be refurbished
CANADA: National passenger operator VIA Rail has awarded Rail GD a C$16·4m contract to refurbish four dining cars for use on the trans-continental The Canadian service. The stainless steel vehicles were originally built in the 1950s, and VIA Rail said the refurbishment would extend their useful life ‘by a few ...
-
Rail Business UKBatteryFLEX Desiro EMU conversion proposed
UK: An engineering assessment has found that there is a ‘positive case’ for fitting Siemens Desiro Class 350/2 electric multiple-units with batteries to enable off-wire operation, Porterbrook Leasing said on October 15. The company is holding discussions with battery chemistry specialists with a view to producing a demonstrator unit. The ...
-
NewsPRASA on the brink as court defers safety shutdown
SOUTH AFRICA: The future of the 2 300 route-km network operated by Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa is in grave doubt amid a spiralling safety crisis that has seen the national rail regulator request suspension of the operator’s licence. The Rail Safety Regulator suspended PRASA’s right to operate on ...
-
NewsHyundai Rotem wins further Bangladesh loco contract
BANGLADESH: Hyundai Rotem announced on October 11 that it had won a US$239m order to supply 70 diesel-electric locomotives for Bangladesh Railway. Production at Rotem’s Changwon plant in South Korea is due to begin in 2020, with deliveries due by 2023. The 19 m long, 2 200 hp locos ...
-
NewsCPPK orders more Ivolga EMUs from TMH
RUSSIA: On October 4, Central Suburban Passenger Co signed a contract with Transmashholding subsidiary Tver Carriage Works for the supply of a further 15 seven-car Ivolga EMUs. The value of the contract is 11bn roubles and marks a follow-on order for the design after CPPK ordered 24 six-car trainsets in ...
-
Rail Business UKScotRail HSTs ready to enter service
UK: ScotRail will put its first refurbished diesel HST sets into revenue service between Aberdeen and Edinburgh on October 15, the operator announced during a VIP preview run on October 10. Full deployment is expected to follow from the December 9 timetable change. Branded Inter7City, the 26 upgraded HST sets ...
-
Rail Business UKTalgo shortlists UK factory sites
UK: Talgo has shortlisted the port of Mostyn in north Wales as one of six potential sites for its proposed UK rolling stock manufacturing plant, the company announced in Cardiff on October 9. The other sites include St Helens, Leeds and Chesterfield in northern England, and Hunterston or Longannet in ...
-
NewsSNCB updates Hasselt workshops
BELGIUM: An extension to the SNCB rolling stock workshops at Hasselt was formally opened on October 8, with a ceremony attended by CEO Sophie Dutordoir, the new Managing Director of SNCB Technics Gerd de Vos, Governor of Limburg Herman Reynders and the Mayor of Hasselt Nadja Vananroye. Under development since ...
-
NewsVTG completes Nacco acquisition
EUROPE: Hamburg-based wagon leasing group VTG increased its total fleet to more than 94 000 vehicles on October 5, with its acquisition of CIT Rail Holdings (Europe) SAS and the associated Nacco Group. The takeover announced on July 1 2017 had been approved by the relevant competition regulators in ...
-
Rail Business UKNorthern unveils CAF multiple-units to bring a 'step-change in quality'
UK: The first CAF Class 195 diesel multiple-unit and Class 331 electric multiple-unit for the Northern franchise were officially unveiled by operator Arriva Rail North’s Managing Director David Brown and Northern Powerhouse Minister Jake Berry at Alstom’s Edge Hill depot in Liverpool on October 4. The 25 two-car and 30 ...
-
NewsFirst section of Moscow – Kazan high speed line to open in 2024
RUSSIA: A construction agreement covering the first section of the Moscow – Kazan high speed line was announced by RZD First Deputy Director Alexander Misharin at the ProMotion 1520 conference in Sochi on October 2. The agreement calls for work to start next year on a 301 km alignment between ...
-
News400 km/h ALFA-X experimental train to roll in 2019
JAPAN: East Japan Railway's ALFA-X experimental Shinkansen trainset is on course to start test running in May 2019, the railway announced on October 3. Designated Series 956, the ALFA-X is intended to pave the way for a new fleet of high speed trains as part of the railway’s Transform 2027 ...
-
NewsIowa Interstate Railroad orders locomotives
USA: Railroad Development Corp’s Iowa Interstate Railroad has ordered three GE Transportation Evolution Series diesel locomotives, which are to be supplied in early 2020 and will be used to haul grain, ethanol, metals and other freight between Chicago and Omaha. The locomotives will be equipped with GE Transportation’s GoLINC networking ...
-
NewsPacific Surfliner Charger locomotive unveiled
USA: The first Siemens Charger locomotive for Pacific Surfliner services between San Luis Obispo, Los Angeles and San Diego was officially unveiled by Amtrak and Caltrans at Los Angeles Union station on October 1. Caltrans has ordered a total of 22 Charger locomotives, using about $100m of state, federal and ...
-
NewsWascosa and Aves One acquire 4 400 wagons
EUROPE: A consortium of wagon leasing company Wascosa and Hamburg-based logistics assets investor Aves One completed the acquisition of 4 400 wagons from the Nacco subsidiary of CIT Group on October 1. Wascosa has also taken over Nacco’s operations in Hamburg. VTG announced plans for the acquisition of Nacco in ...
-
NewsLocoTech to plan ÖBB locomotive modernisation
AUSTRIA: Transmashholding’s maintenance services business LocoTech and Austrian Federal Railways’ ÖBB Technische Services have signed an agreement to co-operate to modernise, maintain and lease locomotives used in Austria, Hungary and southeast Europe. As the the first stage of the planned co-operation, LocoTech is to develop a concept for the modernisation ...
-
NewsHigh speed trainsets to be delivered within three months
CHINA: China Railway Corp has awarded Bombardier Sifang (Qingdao) Transportation a 2·2bn yuan contract to supply 10 CR400AF high speed trainsets within three months. The contract for five eight-car and five 16-car 350 km/h trainsets was awarded to the 50:50 joint venture of Bombardier Transportation and CRRC Sifang at ...
-
NewsMore ICE4s ordered as DB spends €1bn on inter-city fleet
GERMANY: Deutsche Bahn ratified a decision to order more ICE4 inter-city trainsets for €700m at its supervisory board meeting in Berlin on September 26. DB Fernverkehr expects to order a further 18 seven-car trainsets from a Siemens-led consortium as an option on the 119 trains already planned for delivery by ...
-
NewsRZD to expand high speed fleet
RUSSIA: An agreement to expand Russian Railways’ high speed train fleet was signed by the operator, Sinara Group and Siemens Mobility at InnoTrans 2018 on September 18. By March 31 RZD and the Ural Locomotives joint venture of Siemens and Sinara are to prepare an agreement for the supply ...