Traction & rolling stock news – Page 166
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NewsBombardier to supply more VLocity DMUs
AUSTRALIA: Bombardier Transportation has been awarded a A$146m contract to supply a further nine three-car VLocity diesel multiple-units to Transport for Victoria. Deliveries are scheduled for 2019, and will take the state’s VLocity fleet to 88 units. The 160 km/h DMUs will continue to be manufactured in Dandenong, and will ...
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NewsEMU overhaul includes heritage livery
UK: Knorr-Bremse RailServices in Wolverton is undertaking the C6 overhaul of 19 Class 313 EMUs which Beacon Rail leases to Govia Thameslink Railway for use on Southern’s Coastway services, The C6 programme includes work on the door mechanisms, air systems and bodywork, as well as accessibility improvements and fitting LED ...
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NewsNetwork Rail awards ETCS freight fitment contract
UK: Network Rail announced on December 19 that it had awarded Siemens Rail Automation a contract to design, test and obtain approval for installing Trainguard 200 onboard ETCS equipment on freight traction. This would be the initial phase of what Network Rail describes as ‘one of the world’s biggest ETCS ...
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NewsAlgerian Coradia multiple-unit on test
ALGERIA: The first of 17 six-car Coradia Polyvalent electro-diesel multiple-units which national railway SNTF ordered from Alstom in July 2015 is now undergoing dynamic trials at the Velim test centre in the Czech Republic. Once the trials at Velim are complete, the 160 km/h trainset will go to the French ...
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NewsTransPennine Express trainsets under construction in Japan
UK: Hitachi has begun production of the 19 five-car AT300 electro-diesel multiple-units ordered by leasing company Angel Trains in March 2016 for use by FirstGroup’s TransPennine Express franchise. The fleet is scheduled to begin entering service in December 2019, operating on routes connecting cities in northern England and Scotland. Hitachi ...
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NewsStrategic partner sought for RENFE freight
SPAIN: Unveiling on December 14 the government’s 2017-23 rail freight development plan, Development Minister Íñigo de la Serna announced that a ‘strategic partner’ is to be sought for RENFE’s freight business. This partner would hold up to 50% of a new company to be established in 2019, focused on continuing ...
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NewsNJ Transit to buy more electro-diesel locomotives
USA: New Jersey Transit has decided to exercise an option for a further 17 dual-powered ALP-45 locomotives from Bombardier Transit Corp, in order to replace more of its oldest diesel locos. The NJ Transit board voted on December 13 to approve a recommendation to acquire the 17 locomotives at an ...
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NewsBombardier to supply Aventra EMUs to c2c
UK: Leasing company Porterbook has awarded Bombardier Transportation a £105m contract to supply six 10-car Aventra 160 km/h electric multiple-units for the c2c rail franchise, and provide eight years of maintenance and support services from their introduction in 2021 until November 2029. The deal ‘demonstrates our focus on long-term investments ...
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NewsCrack found in Shinkansen trainset bogie
JAPAN: The Japan Transport Safety Board has begun an investigation following the discovery of a crack in a West Japan Railway N700 trainset bogie, in what is the first incident affecting a high speed train to be designated as ‘serious’ under a classification system established by the government in 2001. ...
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NewsRussia adopts piggyback wagon standards
RUSSIA: The Ministry of Transport has approved technical standards for the piggyback transport of lorries, trailers and cars by rail, including the adoption of a standard floor height of 1 100 mm above the rail head. The regulations follow trials which Federal Freight Co undertook on the Moscow – Novosibirsk ...
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NewsVivarail to open production facility in County Durham
UK: Next month Vivarail is to open a plant on the Spectrum Business Park at Seaham in County Durham where it will assemble powerpacks and wiring looms for the D Train multiple-units which it plans to produce using bodyshells and bogies from withdrawn London Underground D78 trainsets. Vivarail is investing ...
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NewsICE4 enters regular service
GERMANY: After nearly 12 months of trials in commercial service on the Hamburg – München route, Deutsche Bahn has put the first of its fleet of ICE4 trainsets into regular operation. From the timetable change on December 10 five Class 412 trainsets were introduced on services from Hamburg to München ...
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NewsHupac orders Chinese wagons
SWITZERLAND: Hupac and CRRC International have signed a two-year contract for CRRC Shandong to manufacture flat wagons for the intermodal freight operator and obtain Swiss wagon registration and EU certification for the designs. After the signing ceremony last month, the companies held talks on co-operation in the intermodal sector as ...
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NewsUS-built Estonian GE locomotive rebuilt
ESTONIA: Freight operator EVR Cargo has begun testing the first of its GE-built C30-7Ai Co-Co diesel-electric locomotives to be extensively rebuilt at its Tapa workshops. The modernisation of the 19 locomotives is being undertaken in collaboration with Czech supplier CZ Loko. Designated as Type C30-M, the modernised locomotive is ...
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NewsTraxx Africa handed over in Durban
SOUTH AFRICA: Bombardier Transportation and Transnet Freight Rail celebrated the handover of the first of 240 Traxx Africa electric locomotives with a ceremony at Transnet Engineering’s assembly plant in Durban on December 7. Ordered by Transnet Freight Rail in March 2014 at a cost of R15bn, the 240 multi-system locomotives ...
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NewsNGR EMUs ready to enter service in Brisbane
AUSTRALIA: The first of 75 New Generation Rollingstock trainsets being built by Bombardier for the Brisbane suburban network are expected to begin carrying passengers on December 11, Queensland Rail Chief Executive Officer Nick Easy confirmed on December 6. With 70% of Queensland’s population growth expected in the South-East region, the ...
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NewsMetrans orders more Traxx locomotives
GERMANY: Metrans has ordered 10 more Bombardier Transportation Traxx F140MS locomotives for delivery in the first quarter of 2018 The intermodal subsidiary of Hamburger Hafen & Logistik AG currently has a fleet of 50 mainline and 17 shunting locomotives. ‘With more of our own locomotives at our disposal, we ...
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NewsAngel Trains raises £1·1bn to support ‘appetite to compete’
UK: Rolling stock leasing company Angel Trains Group announced on December 6 that it had secured £835m of new funding to refinance the procurement of 665 Bombardier Transportation Aventra electric multiple-unit cars that will be leased to Abellio for use on the East Anglia franchise from 2019. It said the ...
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NewsSNCF orders prototype EMU and tram-train traction transformers
FRANCE: National railway SNCF has awarded Mitsubishi Electric Corp a contract to supply prototype traction transformers for Z2N double-deck electric multiple-units used on Paris commuter services and Siemens Avanto tram-trains operating on route T4. The order follows on from Mitsubishi Electric becoming the first Japanese company to be certified by ...
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NewsNew South Wales fleet replacement advances
AUSTRALIA: Three consortia have been shortlisted for the contract to replace the NSW TrainLink regional rail fleet of XPT, Endeavour and Xplorer trains, the New South Wales state government has announced. The bidders are: Regional Futures, led by Downer; Bombardier Consortium; Momentum Trains, led by CAF. Transport for NSW ...