Following the completion of tests at Salzgitter, the 200km/h ICNG set, which is based on Alstom’s Coradia Stream platform, will move to the Velim test circuit in the Czech Republic for dynamic testing. One of the trains will also be sent to the Rail Tec Arsenal facility in Vienna for
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Stadler to expand Berlin Pankow facility
Plans include the construction of a new production hall and a new logistics centre together with the additional office space and a modern canteen. “We are very pleased to be able to use the new building project to invest sustainably in securing future large-scale projects and securing Berlin as a location,”
No business case for Finland – Norway Arctic rail link, says study
Indian prime minister launches Train 18 inter-city EMU
The 160km/h Train 18 set is being used on Delhi – Varanasi Vande Bahrat Express services, which operate daily, except on Mondays and Thursdays with intermediate stops at Kanpur – Allahabad. The 16-car air-conditioned train will seat 1128 passengers and features passenger Wi-Fi, a GPS-based passenger information system, bio-vacuum toilets, and
Russian Railways awards long-term coach contract
RUSSIA: An agreement for the supply of up to 3 730 coaches worth 237bn roubles by 2025 was signed by Russian Railways’ long-distance subsidiary Federal Passenger Co and Transmashholding on February 14. This includes a firm order for 2 644 coaches, with the rest as options. The order covers a variety of types
TVZ signs contract with FPK for up to 3730 passenger cars
The contract was signed in Sochi by FPK general director, Mr Peter Ivanov, and TVZ general director, Mr Andrei Solovey, in front of Russian prime minister, Mr Dmitry Medvedev, on February 14. The contract, worth Roubles 237bn ($US 3.5bn) excluding VAT, includes an initial order 2644 coaches and an option for
Irish implementation plan focuses six-year rail spend
Substantial investment in heavy and light rail is envisaged under the National Transport Authority’s Draft Integrated Implementation Plan for 2019-24. Tony Miles investigates IRELAND: Construction of Dublin’s north-south underground MetroLink line, renewal of the DART suburban EMU fleet and further investment in light rail are key elements in the National Transport
Latvian EMU order goes to Skoda after tender re-evaluation
Škoda and CAF filed complaints with the Latvian Procurement Monitoring Bureau in December after PV selected Talgo as preferred bidder for the contract. The appeals were upheld by the IUB, which last month blocked PV from concluding the deal with Talgo and ordered the operator re-evaluate the bids from all
Five companies bid for Portugal fleet renewal
CP’s selection board will now examine the applications to ensure they qualify, with a decision due to be made 44 days after the tender closed on February 12. All candidates who meet the technical and financial capacity requirements will be invited to submit. CP published the tender notice after the government
Irish Rail seeks second-hand DMUs to boost fleet capacity
Grayling announces new funding for Dawlish
Thameslink fleet stake to be sold
UK: A consortium of Dalmore Capital and Equitix Investment Management has signed agreements to acquire 3i Infrastructure’s one-third stake in Cross London Trains Holdco 2 Ltd. This was established by 3i, Innisfree and Siemens in 2011 to finance, own and maintain the fleet of 115 Desiro City Class 700 EMUs
Alstom begins MP 14 tests on Paris Line 1
Alstom delivered the first trains to Paris Transport Authority’s (RATP) Fontenay-sous-Bois depot in December 2018 and has begun testing on Line 1, which is equipped for driverless operation. Following static tests, dynamic tests are being carried out until summer 2019 to check the train’s performance and functions such as braking, traction,
Balfour Beatty awarded £220m TfL renewals contract
The contract encompasses all aspects of track renewal on the 1047km network including rails, points, crossings, sleepers and trackside drainage, while Balfour Beatty will also introduce new measures and technologies such as remote surveying systems and viewing software to generate efficiencies and reduce disruption. The contract replaces a previous eight-year agreement
ALFA-X nose is 22 m long
JAPAN: East Japan Railway has unveiled the second driving car for its experimental ALFA-X Shinkansen trainset, which features a 22 m long aerodynamic nose designed to mitigate the sonic boom effect of entering and passing through tunnels at very high speed. Built at Hitachi's Kasado plant, Car 10 has a 26·5 m body
RZD signs infrastructure development agreements
RZD signed a Roubles 655m ($US 9.8m) contract with the authorities of the Kaluga region in western Russia to build a freight line from Moscow to the Kaluga special economic zone (SEZ) under a public private partnership (PPP). Under the contract, signed by the head of RZD’s Investment Department, Mr Yuri
Honolulu councilwoman seeks metro project audit
The audit is needed “to determine whether an employee or other person has exploited internal control weaknesses to misappropriate assets or commit other illegal actions,” Tsuneyoshi wrote in a Honolulu city council resolution she filed on February 12. Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transportation (Hart) is building a 32km driverless elevated metro line
CAF to replace New South Wales regional train fleet
AUSTRALIA: The New South Wales government signed a contract for 117 multiple-unit cars to replace its entire regional train fleet on February 14. The Momentum Trains consortium of CAF, Pacific Partnership and DIF Infrastructure V has been awarded an availability-based PPP contract to design, build, finance and maintain the new regional
Virgin Trains USA cancels IPO
CAF consortium wins New South Wales regional fleet renewal contract
The $A 2.8bn ($US 1.9bn) programme includes the construction of a new train maintenance facility at Dubbo, where final fit-out and commissioning will also take place. The capital cost of the new fleet of diesel-electric trains, the depot, enabling works and other project delivery costs is $A 1.26bn. Deliveries are due
București airport rail link tendering underway
ROMANIA: Infrastructure manager CFR has called tenders for the design and construction of a 2·95 km rail connection to Terminal 1 at Henri Coandă International Airport, which would allow the operation of a direct rail service from the airport to București Nord station. The alignment would include a 1·5 km viaduct. The
Snow-covered steam: Harz Winter Wonderland
There is nothing more spectacular than steam locos working hard through a snow-covered landscape. Such scenes are rare in Great Britain, but Chris Milner reflects on a trip to an historic and scenic part of Germany, where steam trains run all year round and there’s usually snow over the winter. THINK
Heritage Explorer: Four lines in four days
Last summer Robert Drysdale embarked on an 800-mile round trip to visit four heritage railways in four days using the national rail network and occasionally a local bus. His personal account provides some interesting observations and food for thought. On the morning of Friday, July 3, 2018, I arrived at Newark
Timo Riihimäki appointed as CEO of Rail Baltica project
Riihimäki will begin on March 11, based at RB’s headquarters in Riga, Latvia. Riihimäki previously held several management positions at NRC Group, and at VR Track, which was acquired by NRC Group in October 2018. At NRC Group, he was involved in leading the Finnish railway engineering, construction and maintenance division,
Saving a main line railway: a remarkable achievement!
50 years ago this year, the first seeds were sown in a bid to save a section of the Great Central Railway in Leicestershire. Graham Oliver, the railway’s former chief executive, recalls those early days of an embryo scheme which has subsequently blossomed into the country’s only double-track main line
LOCAL LOCO TRIALS: 1931 style
In this month’s Practice & Performance, John Heaton FCILT recalls loco trials undertaken by the LMS to assess locomotive coal consumption in a bid to discover whether trains of lower overall weight could cut costs on lesser used lines. Any casual lineside observers on September 9, 1931 at Chellaston (some four
ELP Eurodual tests underway in Valencia
ELP announced plans in mid-2018 to enter the market offering the six-axle locomotives, ordering two units specifically for use in Scandinavia and eight for use in Germany. The Scandinavian units are suitable for use in temperatures as low as -40°C and are fitted with Swedish and Norwegian signalling equipment. All 10
Saudi high-speed services stepped up
Commercial operations began on October 11 2018 with four return services each day linking the holy cities on Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays. All trains call at Jeddah and King Abdullah Economic City (KAEC). Following a successful launch phase, Saudi Railways Organisation (SRO) and the Saudi Public Transport Authority have authorised
Santiago – Valparaíso proposal submitted
CHILE: Proposals to build a high-performance railway between the capital Santiago and the port of Valparaíso have been formally submitted to the Ministry of Public Works by the Tren Valparaíso Santiago consortium of local firm of Sigdo Koppers and China Railway Engineering Corp. According to the promoters, the US$2·5bn project could
California’s governor scales back high-speed rail project
“Let’s level about high-speed rail,” Newson told the legislature. “I have nothing but respect for governor Brown’s and governor Schwarzenegger’s ambitious vision. I share it. And there’s no doubt that our state’s economy and quality of life depend on improving transportation. But let’s be real. The current project, as planned,
Warsaw to order up to 213 trams from Hyundai Rotem
The base order for 123 LRVs comprises 85 33m-long bidirectional vehicles, 18 33m-long unidrectional vehicles, and 24 24m-long unidirectional vehicles. The contract includes an option for 45 33m-long vehicles of each type. Hyundai Rotem submitted a bid of Zlotys 1.85bn ($US 480m) net. Warsaw Tramways says it rejected an offer from
EC adopts no-deal contingency measures as Brexit edges closer
The EC says the proposal will ensure the validity of safety authorisations for certain parts of rail infrastructure for “a strictly-limited period of three months” to allow long-term solutions in line with EU law to be put in place. The measures are aimed particularly at the Channel Tunnel, Britain’s only direct
‘Radical’ Network Rail changes unveiled
THE new chief executive of Network Rail has revealed his plans for the organisation’s future, after a three-month period of consideration. Andrew Haines had already warned that railway operation was too far down Network Rail’s agenda, and Network Rail said the new plans involved ‘reorganising to put passengers and freight users
High speed line approved
California high speed rail plan scaled back
Autonomous tram to be tested in Moscow
Over the next two months, the two companies will test the autonomous train in closed facilities with a driver in the cab, before conducting tests on one of Moscow’s tram lines. Cognitive Technologies says the autonomous driving system reliably detects vehicles and other trams, traffic lights, pedestrians, tram and bus stops,
Network Rail reorganisation aims to bring ‘radical change’
UK: Plans for a reorganisation designed to ‘put passengers and freight users first’ and address concerns about poor operating performance on the increasingly busy network were announced by infrastructure manager Network Rail on February 12. ‘The need for radical change is clear’, said Chief Executive Andrew Haines, reflecting on his first
British Steel secures Translink contract
The contract will see British Steel supply premium rails for a series of major projects over the next eight years including the multi-million-pound North-West Multimodal Transport Hub in Londonderry, which is designed to encourage people to move from cars to public transport. Construction started in September 2018 and is scheduled
Nigerian introduces test rides on new standard-gauge line
Nigeria’s transport minister Mr Rotimi Amaechi was on-board the first run together with local politicians and the managing director of Nigerian Railway Corporation, Mr Fidet Okhiria. The Lagos – Ibadan line is being constructed by China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation and follows the alignment of the existing 1067mm-gauge Lagos – Kano
Trade House RIF orders 700 UWC grain wagons
Aqaba railway feasibility study agreed
JORDAN: The Saudi Jordanian Investment Fund and the Aqaba Special Economic Zone Authority have signed a memorandum of understanding to undertake feasibility and technical studies for the development of a 195 km railway connecting a planned inland dry port at Ma’an with port facilities around Aqaba. The existing 1 050 mm gauge railway to
Florence opens airport light rail extension
The opening ceremony was attended by the Italian president, Mr Sergio Mattarella, the minister of infrastructure, Mr Danilo Toninelli, and the European Union’s commissioner for regional policy, Mrs Corina Cretu. The opening extends the Florence light rail network to 16.8km with 37 stops. Gest, a subsidiary of Groupe RATP, which operates
Irish Rail signs €40m track maintenance services contract
Under the €40m contract, 14 rail-mounted machines owned by IE will be used by Rhomberg Sersa to deliver track maintenance services to ensure safety, speed, journey time improvements and passenger comfort. IE says Rhomberg Sersa expects to employ 56 people to deliver the contract. This includes Rhomberg Sersa professionals working alongside
Stagecoach secures direct award contract for East Midlands franchise
In a written statement to parliament published on February 12, minister for rail, Mr Andrew Jones, said Stagecoach would continue to operate inter-city services from London St Pancras International to Leicester, Derby, Nottingham and Sheffield as well as local rail services in the East Midlands until August 18. The contract includes
Amber Rail Freight Corridor goes operational
Capacity requests should be addressed to the Corridor One-Stop Shop, which provides all necessary information about infrastructure capacity along the corridor. The main goal of the corridor is to facilitate competitive cross-border rail freight between important industrial centres and intermodal terminals in Poland, Slovakia, Hungary and Slovenia, including the Adriatic seaport
Interim East Midlands franchise awarded
UK: The Department for Transport has directly awarded incumbent Stagecoach Group subsidiary East Midlands Trains an interim contract to continue to operate the East Midlands passenger franchise. The new short-term contract announced on February 12 will start when the most recent extension of the current franchise expires on March 3 and
Government ‘fully supports’ HS2
Chaoma inter-city railway agreed
CHINA: An agreement for the construction of the Chaoma inter-city railway was signed by municipal authorities in Hefei and Ma'anshan and the Anhui Province Investment Group on January 27. The 76 km line will start at Chaohu Dong station in Hefei city, pass though Hanshan county and Zhengpugang Xinqu in Ma'anshan
Rhomberg Sersa wins Irish maintenance contract
IRELAND: Iarnród Éireann has selected Rhomberg Sersa Rail Group as preferred bidder for a €40m contract to provide track maintenance services, including the operation of 14 on-track machines owned by the national railway. Rhomberg Sersa expects to employ 56 people to undertake work under the contract announced on February 11, which
Yekaterinburg Metro orders Metrovagonmash vehicles
The contract was signed by the director of Metrovagonmash, Mr Boris Bogatyrev, and the director of Yekaterinburg Metro, Mr Andrei Panaiotidi, on February 11. The trains will consist of two powered driving vehicles and two intermediate trailer vehicles. The two trains can operate in combination with Yekaterinburg metro’s existing fleet. Flame retardant
Siemens awarded Singapore electrification contract
The order, worth around €70m, includes delivery of the dc and ac rail electrification system as well as overhead power lines for the NELe. The lines will be upgraded with the Siemens Catenary System Standard Rigid (Sicat SR) aluminium overhead busbar system. Siemens say that compared with conventional overhead power lines,
Scrapping HS2 to North ‘would be criminal’
A DOCUMENTARY will claim this evening that the scrapping of HS2 is now under ‘active consideration’ by ministers, as rising costs continue to threaten the project. It is also being suggested that only Phase 1 might survive, between London and Birmingham. Predictions of a much higher final bill than £56 billion
Chennai Blue Line extension opens
The opening adds seven new underground stations to the line, including the interchange, and extends it to 32.1km-long. The network is operated with a fleet of 42 four-car Metropolis trains supplied by Alstom under a €243m contract awarded in 2010. The line was inaugurated by the prime minister of India, Mr Narendra
ADB grant to help CAREC countries move from landlocked to land-linked
ASIA: The Asian Development Bank has awarded a US$2m regional technical assistance grant to support the development of railway strategies and institutional capabilities in the Central Asia Regional Economic Co-operation countries. CAREC comprises Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, China, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan and six multilateral institutions. ADB said the
Graz outlines long-term tram network expansion
ScotRail gets second performance warning
UK: Citing poor customer satisfaction figures, Transport Scotland issued a Remedial Plan notice to ScotRail on February 8. This is the operator’s second warning in quick succession, following a Remedial Notice issued on December 24 because of poor operational performance, during November and December. According to Transport Scotland, ScotRail had failed
Ziyun freight railway opens
CHINA: The Ziyun local freight railway at Zhijiang in Hubei's Yichang region opened on January 18. The 36·7 km line runs from Zhijiang station on the Jiaozuo – Liuzhou line to serve four River Yangtze ports at Yunchi, Baiyang, Tianjiahe and Yaojiagang, and adjacent industrial parks. The line will also connect
Long-life screwbolts developed for Crossrail
UK: The bespoke corrosion-resistant PLUS bolt was developed by screwbolt specialist Excalibur to meet the demanding requirements of the Crossrail project in London. Crossrail Ltd requires anchors used in the tunnel lining to demonstrate a 120-year design life instead of the standard 50-year span of a standard fixing. The twin-helix Excalibur
Trimble technology to support Norwegian fleet management
NORWAY: State-owned rolling stock leasing organisation Norske Tog is to deploy Trimble’s E2M engineering asset and maintenance management system on the fleet of vehicles it is to lease to operating contractors. This is intended to provide the vehicle owner and the operators with an overview of the key data needed to
NS and ProRail evaluate faster trains to Groningen
Werner: innovation can make rail more attractive
At the Shift2Rail (S2R) Open Call for Proposals info day in Brussels on January 6, Ms Elisabeth Werner, the director land transport at the European Commission’s (EC) DG Move programme, called for proposals that were concrete and implementable as well as visionary and futuristic. Werner said that while there were a
DB launches ‘world’s fastest laboratory’ test train
DB says the test train is available to the whole industry to test future technologies, which it says are the key to providing more rail capacity, more climate-friendly mobility services, better system reliability and greater customer comfort. The test train is a class 605 ICE-TD DMU. DB says the diesel-electric drive
KiwiRail orders 450 wagons from CRRC Qiqihar
While the value of the contract was not released, the contract was announced under the government’s state-owned enterprise continuous disclosure rules for transactions of more than $NZ 50m ($US 33.7m). Delivery of the wagons is expected prior to the 2019 peak freight season. The post KiwiRail orders 450 wagons from CRRC Qiqihar
First tram tracks laid for Westside Metro extension in Birmingham
British transport minister, Mr Jesse Norman, was the special guest to mark the laying of the first tracks for the 2km extension, which is being developed in two phases by the Midland Metro Alliance partnership on behalf of the West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA). The milestone was also celebrated by
Andrew Barclay 0-4-0ST Darent to have new boiler built
Russell steams to Beddgelert for first time since 1937
The Welsh Highland Heritage Railway’s (WHHR) Hunslet 2-6-2T Russell made an historic trip from its Gelert’s Farm base onto Welsh Highland Railway (WHR) metals to steam to Beddgelert on November 25. This was the first time Russell had steamed over the Porthmadog to Beddgelert section of WHR since 1937. Russell hauled replica
Hastings Miniature Railway celebrate 70th anniversary… again!
The 10¼in-gauge Hastings Miniature Railway (HMR) held its final 70th anniversary event on September 29-30. Two previous visitors (RM Sept, p78) returned for the occasion: Eastleigh Lakeside Railway Guest Engineering 4-4-2 No. 1908 Ernest Henry Upton and Randall & Day-built ‘Schools’ class 4-4-0 No. 905 Tonbridge, from the private Ingfield Light Railway (ILR),
North of England leaders back Northern Powerhouse Rail
Further detailed development work funded by a £37m allocation in the government’s autumn budget will take place on the Northern Powerhouse Rail project over the next 18 months as the government considers the document, ahead of the submission of a strategic outline business case. This document will outline how the
Indian Railways agree GE deal for new diesel locos worth $2.5billion
Indian Railways has ordered 1,000 of two types of new diesel locos from American loco builder GE Transportation in an order worth $2.5billion. The first of the 700 4,500hp diesel electric locos, designated ES43ACi by GE and Class WDG4G by Indian Railways, was handed over to Indian Railways in October 2017. The
Southern Diesel Tour visits South Island, New Zealand
An extensive tour covering many lines on the South Island of New Zealand was operated in October. A good proportion of the lines have no regular passenger services. The ‘Southern Diesel Tour’ was hauled by preserved English Electric-built locos owned by the Diesel Traction Group: Di 1102 (Co-Co built in 1966
Old electric locos making a comeback in Germany
Veteran electric locos have made a comeback on several routes in Germany, replacing modern EMUs, which are out of service because of accident damage or maintenance. Centralbahn’s 110383 on arrival at Nienburg (Weser), having worked the 16:01 from Minden (RE78) on behalf of Eurobahn Keolis Deutschland on Monday 19 November 2018. In
German approval for Fehmarn Belt project signed
EUROPE: Denmark to Germany rail and road tunnel promoter Femern A/S has formally received a letter providing the Land of Schleswig-Holstein’s approval of the construction plan for the German elements of the project. The legal document runs to more than 1 000 pages, and is based on a 14 000-page application prepared
Danny Di Perna replaces Laurent Troger to head Bombardier Transportation
It’s all change at the top as Laurent Troger resigns as president of Bombardier Transportation to “pursue opportunities outside the company”. Danny Di Perna, who joined Bombardier in 2018 and is head of Bombardier’s Aerostructures and Engineering Services (BAES) segment, has been appointed in his place. Alain Bellemare, president and chief
RMT digs in over SWR deadlock
Updated 10.30 THE RMT has accused South Western Railway of trying to mislead the public over its attitude to on-train staffing. Three new strike dates have been announced on SWR, although strikes on Northern over the same issue have been suspended after talks made progress this week. RMT general secretary Mick Cash said:
Consultation on expanding pay-as-you-go ticketing in southeast England
UK: The Department for Transport has begun public consultation on the possible roll out of ‘pay-as-you-go’ smart ticketing in the region surrounding Greater London. It is envisaged that this would be more convenient for passengers, and reduce differences in fares paid by people by people with different working and travel
Bombardier Transportation appoints new president
Di Perna joined Bombardier’s aviation division last year as president of aerostructures and engineering services, and previously served as vice president, global sourcing with GE Power. Troger was appointed Bombardier Transportation president in December 2015, succeeding Dr Lutz Bertling. The post Bombardier Transportation appoints new president appeared first on International Railway Journal. https://www.railjournal.com/financial/bombardier-transportation-appoints-new-president/
Italian joint venture to design Himalayan rail tunnel
British government launches light rail consultation
“This is a great time to explore the incredible potential for light rail schemes across the country,” says transport minister Mr Jesse Norman. “Today’s wide-ranging call for evidence seeks new ideas and new support for the next generation of light rail, so that we make existing systems work better, and
European passenger rail market growing, says EU report
The Sixth Rail Market Monitoring Report (RMMS), adopted by the EC on January 6, showed that by 2016, EU passenger traffic volumes had reached 450 billion passenger-km out of around six trillion passenger-km of land transport overall. Rail passenger traffic is mostly domestic, with only 6% crossing borders in 2016. In
Railpool prepares for growth with €800m refinancing
Railpool says the total volume of the refinancing measures exceeds €800m. Crédit Agricole Corporate and Investment Bank (CIB) acted as advisor for the refinancing, with KfW-Ipex bank acting as agent. The two banks are participating in the bank financing as Mandated Lead Arrangers, alongside ABN AMRO Bank, Bank of America Merrill
SBB Cargo extends contracts with Swiss Post and DB Cargo
Turkmenistan combines transport ministries
TURKMENISTAN: President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov has signed an order establishing a Ministry of Industry & Communication. This brings together the formerly separate ministries of industry, railways, motor transport and communications, as well as the state’s maritime, river and air transport services. The former ministries are now sector agencies within the new ministry. Tahyrberdi Charyberdiyevich
VHB to carry out Brooklyn-Queens Connector environmental review
VHB will be responsible for developing a “comprehensive compliant environmental review” as well as helping to prepare and file applications required under the city’s Uniform Land Use Review Procedure (ULURP) rules. By completing an environmental review that adheres to standards set by the federal National Environmental Policy Act, the city would be
DB launches digital research train
GERMANY: Deutsche Bahn has unveiled a four-car laboratory train which will be available to the rail sector across Germany for testing digital technologies. Branded the Advanced TrainLab, the train is a former ICE-TD diesel-electric set able to run at 200 km/h. One of the train’s first duties has been to test mobile
Dutch extend plans for high-frequency operations
The Public Transport Future Vision 2040 plan is effectively an extension of the high-frequency inter-city concept introduced on the Amsterdam – Utrecht – Eindhoven corridor in December 2017. By 2040, the high-frequency ‘ring’ will encompass the Randstad conurbation, which includes Amsterdam, The Hague, Rotterdam and Utrecht, as well as the cities
IMechE recommends electrification instead of hydrogen trains
HYDROGEN: Although investment in hydrogen-fuelled trains is a ‘vital’ part of the process to improve air quality, it must not be seen as an easy replacement for electrification, according to The Future for Hydrogen Trains in the UK published by the Institution of Mechanical Engineers on February 7. The report considers
CAF wins fleet maintenance contracts in Spain and Saudi Arabia
80% of DB Cargo wagons now equipped with “whispering brakes”
Amtrak plans to serve Long Island as Metro-North seeks Penn access
USA: Amtrak announced on February 5 that it had reached agreement with the New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority covering two enhancements to passenger services. The first is a long-standing proposal to allow MTA Metro-North to use Amtrak infrastructure to reach Penn Station in Manhattan, while the second envisages investment to
Amtrak plan to serve Long Island as Metro-North seeks Penn access
USA: Amtrak announced on February 5 that it had reached agreement with the New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority covering two enhancements to passenger services. The first is a long-standing proposal to allow MTA Metro-North to use Amtrak infrastructure to reach Penn Station in Manhattan, while the second envisages investment to
Liège light rail PPP contract signed
The consortium, which comprises Colas Belgium, Colas Projects, Colas Rail Belgium, CAF Investment Projects, and investment fund DIF Infrastructure V was selected as preferred bidder for the contract in September 2018. The 31-year contract includes a 45-month design and construction phase and a 27-year maintenance phase. The line will serve 21 stations,
Alstom-Siemens merger decision is ‘setback’
THE proposed merger between Alstom and Siemens has been called off, after it was blocked by the European Commission. Alstom has described it as ‘a clear set-back for industry in Europe’. The news was broken by the French finance minister Bruno Le Maire earlier today, and has now been confirmed by Alstom
Alstom-Siemens merger decision is ‘set back’
THE proposed merger between Alstom and Siemens has been called off, after it was blocked by the European Commission. Alstom has described it as ‘a clear set-back for industry in Europe’. The news was broken by the French finance minister Bruno Le Maire earlier today, and has now been confirmed by Alstom
European Commission blocks Siemens-Alstom merger
Siemens and Alstom confirmed immediately after the Commission’s announcement that the merger will not go ahead. The decision to reject the merger follows an in-depth investigation launched in July 2018, which considered more than 800,000 documents. During the investigation, the EC received complaints from customers, competitors, national competition authorities, industry associations
HS2 announces London station construction partners
UK: The preferred bidders for the Construction Partner contracts to build High Speed 2’s two London stations were announced by project promoter HS2 Ltd on February 6. A joint venture of Mace and Dragados has been selected to undertake the rebuilding of the London Euston terminus, while the Old Oak Common
More Waratah Series 2 EMUs for Sydney Trains
Harz steam loco gets stuck in snow!
A GERMAN steam train became stuck in snow 3,675ft up a mountain on January 8 – a very rare and unusual occurrence. Harzer Schmalspurbahnen’s 10.25 from Wernigerode to Brocken, hauled by 2-10-2T No. 99 234 (99 7234) with five carriages, became marooned at the summit station as the weather deteriorated rapidly when
Bahamas test run throws up ‘unexpected problems’
A LIGHT test run for ‘Jubilee’ 4-6-0 No. 45596 Bahamas threw up a couple of unexpected problems on January 17, but also showed why test runs are held. Bahamas was rebuilt at Tyseley using part of a £780,000 Heritage Lottery Fund award, and completed last September. The intervening months have involved resolving any
Electric trains reach Newbury
ELECTRIC stopping trains are now serving Newbury and local stations to Reading, with services provided by GWR. Completion of the electrification work fell behind schedule because of cost and technical issues, and plans to electrify on to Bath and Bristol were abandoned. This means Newbury is now the extent of the electrified
‘Polar Express’ success spurs Vintage Trains to bigger things for 2019
THE incredible success of running ‘Polar Express’ services on the main line between Birmingham Moor Street and Tyseley has led Vintage Trains (VT) to outline an ambitious programme of steam specials and other charter possibilities for 2019. What is also remarkable is just two months before the ‘Polar Express’ specials started,