Traction & rolling stock news – Page 208
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NewsFreightCar America expands plant
USA: To meet growing demand, FreightCar America is investing $10m to add an extra production line at its leased manufacturing plant at Cherokee in the Shoals region of Alabama. When fully operational in Q2 2015 the plant will have the capacity to build up to 8 000 wagons/year, with the ...
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NewsCSR announces Belgrano order
ARGENTINA: Chinese rolling stock supplier CSR announced on December 15 that it had been awarded an order worth 1∙7bn yuan to supply 80 diesel locomotives and over 2 000 wagons. As well as new traction and rolling stock for the 1 000 mm gauge Belgrano network, CSR says it ...
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NewsPolish Pendolino launches 200 km/h operation
POLAND: PKP Intercity launched its Express Intercity Premium services on four routes radiating from Warszawa with the timetable change on December 14. The trains are operated with a fleet of 20 non-tilting Pendolino trainsets certified to operate at up to 250 km/h. The seven-car Class ED250 trainsets have been supplied ...
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NewsTransmash tests twin-engined shunter
RUSSIA: Transmashholding’s Bryansk Engineering Plant has completed 300 h of test running with its prototype TEM33 twin-engined shunting locomotive. This is based on the manufacturer’s TEM18DM design, but has two 571 kW Caterpillar C18 engines with MSV Elektronika control systems. The engines can operate individually or together, to reduce fuel ...
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NewsFlywheel delivered for DMU energy storage tests
UK: Ricardo has delivered an evaluation prototype of its latest generation of TorqStor carbon fibre flywheel to Artemis Intelligent Power, which is leading a project to develop energy recovery technology which could enable diesel-hydraulic multiple-units to reduce their energy consumption in a way analogous to the use of regenerative braking ...
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NewsTractive Power Corp sells first locomotive
CANADA: North Vancouver-based Tractive Power Corp has sold its initial TP56 three-axle industrial shunting locomotive to Parish & Heimbecker Ltd. The locomotive is to be used at P&H’s site in Cloverdale, British Columbia, where it has been in demonstration service since May. The TP56 is intended as a 'railcar ...
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NewsVilnius - Minsk electric train order
LITHUANIA: Czech rolling stock manufacturer Škoda Vagonka has won a KC750m contract to supply three three-car Class 575 double-deck electric multiple-units to Lithuanian national operator LG for use on cross-border services between Vilnius and Minsk in Belarus. LG and its Belarus counterpart BC plan to reduce the journey time ...
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NewsNS plans Stadler Flirt order
NETHERLANDS: National passenger operator NS has revealed plans to order ‘around 60’ Stadler Flirt electric multiple-units to meet its short term capacity requirements. NS announced the planned order on December 5, when it confirmed that following the regulatory standstill period it had signed a firm contract worth more than €500m ...
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NewsAlstom increases stake in Kazakh joint venture
KAZAKHSTAN: Alstom has acquired a further 25% stake in the EKZ locomotive production joint venture from national railway KTZ. The restructuring now leaves Alstom as the lead shareholder in EKZ, which is based in Astana where it also has a loco production factory. KTZ and Russian supplier Transmash Holding ...
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NewsKorail EMU order announced
SOUTH KOREA: National railway operator Korail has ordered a batch of 22 regional EMUs from Hyundai Rotem at a cost of 154·4bn won, the company announced on December 1. Due for delivery from April 2016 onwards, the trains are intended to operate on two lines which are currently under construction. ...
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NewsTransnet seals MoU with CSR Zhuzhou
SOUTH AFRICA: Parastatal transport holding group Transnet announced on December 4 that it had signed a Memorandum of Understanding with CSR Zhuzhou Electric Locomotive, paving the way for the Chinese manufacturer to set up facilities to build and maintain electric locomotives in South Africa, and develop other railway equipment for ...
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NewsFRA waives Buy America rules on high speed train prototypes
USA: The Federal Railroad Administration has approved a waiver on Buy America procurement rules covering the supply of up to four high speed trainsets for the US market. The letter dated November 24 is a response to requests from both Amtrak and the California High Speed Rail Authority, who are ...
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NewsVossloh to sell rolling stock division
VOSSLOH: Following ‘a detailed assessment’ of the company’s product range, the Supervisory Board of German track components and rolling stock supplier Vossloh AG announced on December 2 that its Transportation division ‘is no longer defined as core business’. The intention is therefore to sell Transportation ‘in whole or in parts ...
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NewsRecord results at Greenbrier
GREENBRIER: US wagon manufacturer The Greenbrier Companies has reported record net earnings of $99·3m and Ebitda of $253·8m for the year to August 31 2014, with revenue of $2·2bn and cash generated from operating activities totalling $136m. The company delivered 16 200 wagons, and received orders for 34 300 valued ...
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NewsAccess the Park
CANADA: VIA Rail Canada has introduced accessible sleeping compartments for two people on its flagship Toronto – Vancouver Canadian service as part of a programme to refurbish its 1950s-built stainless-steel coaches. Four of the Park series observation cars are being modified, following experience with accessibility improvements to the Renaissance coaches ...
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NewsÖBB tests regional seats
AUSTRIA: Austrian passengers have been invited to test possible new seats for regional and local trainsets, as part of a €50m programme to refurbish 250 Talent and Desiro multiple-units used by around half a million passengers each day. In 2011 ÖBB undertook an initial survey to identify passengers’ main criteria ...
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NewsNational Express Talent 2 EMU rolled out
GERMANY: The first Talent 2 electric multiple-unit for National Express was ceremonially rolled out at Bombardier Transportation's Hennigsdorf plant on November 28, watched by guests including the UK Ambassador to Germany Sir Simon McDonald. The 160 km/h units are to be deployed on two routes which a consortium of the ...
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NewsGolden Jubilee Express
ZAMBIA: Transnet Engineering has delivered a 16-coach rake of reconditioned, air-conditioned coaches for ZR's Livingstone - Kitwe Golden Jubilee Express. The train includes one business class, six economy class, two standard and two sleeper coaches, with kitchen, television screens, showers, and a restaurant. A second set is being ...
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NewsFirst PRASA commuter EMU bodyshell assembled
SOUTH AFRICA: Alstom's Lapa factory in Brazil has produced the first bodyshell for the 600 X'Trapolis Mega commuter electric multiple-units ordered by Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa. The stainless steel bodyshell is based on a design supplied to São Paulo, and has been completed seven months after financial ...
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NewsExpress Rail Link orders CNR trains for 50% capacity increase
MALAYSIA: Kuala Lumpur airport rail link operator Express Rail Link signed an agreement for CNR Changchun Railway Vehicles to supply six electric multiple-units on November 25. They will provide a 50% increase in capacity on the 57 km line, which recorded 20% growth in ridership during 2013 and has experienced ...