The second and final phase of the metro is planned for 2021 and will then provide a total connectivity of 26 km from Curepipe to Immigration Square. About DAMM DAMM is a world-leading provider of scalable, flexible and user-friendly digital radio infrastructure systems to industrial, commercial and public safety customers. Built for
Tag: communications
The Infrastructure Progress Report
Spanish rail infrastructure manager Adif is investing more than 45 million euros in refurbishing the Recoletos Tunnel in Madrid. The original tunnel construction works began in 1933 but it wasn’t until 1967 that it entered service. These renovation works, which began in June this year, will affect the route, electrification and
Industry Insider Week 39 – 18 Must-Read Rail News Stories
Railway-News spoke to Ted Greener and Ian Jefferies from the Association of American Railroads (AAR) about the future of rail freight and the association’s activities at Railway Interchange 2019. The ARR represent major freight railroads in the US, Canada and Mexico as well as Amtrak and regional commuter railroads. AAR
ScotRail to Harness GSM-R for Passenger Information
Scotland: ScotRail has successfully trialled using GSM-R, the international wireless communications standard for railways, as a tool to give passengers more detailed information. Up until now ScotRail had used the digital communications system to allow train drivers and signallers to communicate with each other. Now, however, ScotRail is using GSM-R on
Changzhou Metro Line 1 Commences Passenger Service
Changzhou Metro Co. Ltd awarded the contract for the CITYFLO system to BNS in 2016. BNP acted as sub=contractor to NUG to provide the propulsion and control equipment. This aspect of the contract has also included the engineering, manufacturing, testing, commissioning and initial delivery of spare parts for traction converters. Future
Telegärtner: Robust Solutions for Rail Projects
Telegärtner Rail Distribution Box In rough conditions high-quality fibre-optical connections are needed despite the mechanical and climatic stress. For this purpose, Telegärtner has developed the train-approved distribution box, RDB. Because of its tested reliability against vibrations, shocks, heat, coldness and humidity, the RDB is perfectly suited for use in harsh environments. Besides its
GSM-R and the Road Towards FRMCS
Frequentis Wins Best Use of Critical Communications in Transport
Critical Communications World is TCCA’s flagship event, running for over 20 years. Award categories included; Best use of mission-critical communications during a major event, Best use of critical communications in transport, Best Use of Critical Communications in Utilities, Best Use of Critical Communications in Other Vertical Markets, Greatest Advance in
What’s in Store at Railway Interchange 2019
RSI Educational & Technical Training Conference The RSI Educational & Technical Training Conference aims to educate participants on new technologies and trends in the rail industry. There will be more than 50 educational sessions on subjects such as railcar maintenance, rail operations, air brake technologies, and leadership in the rail industry. A number
Tunnel Radio: Pioneers in Reliable Railway Communications
It was 1993 when Mark Rose, Founder of Tunnel Radio of America, got the call that dramatically changed the trajectory of his company’s growth. In the five years since its founding, Tunnel Radio had been working with mining operations, installing the wireless systems Rose and a partner had developed to ensure
DAMM Appoints New Regional Sales Director in North America
About DAMM DAMM is a world-leading provider of scalable, flexible and user-friendly digital radio infrastructure systems to industrial, commercial and public safety customers. Built for the future of critical communications, the DAMM MultiTech Platform enables voice and data communication across technologies, including TETRA, TEDS, DMR and Analog in one single system.
Entire DB Cargo Fleet to Go Digital by 2020
Meeting the digital future of rail strategically with IoT and analytics
SPONSORED CONTENT: To meet their promise as one of our most sustainable modes of transportation, railways in many developed countries are going to need a big upgrade, writes Karsten Oberle, Head of the Global Railway Practice at communications group Nokia. Often burdened with old and ageing infrastructure, they have fallen behind
Estonia plans rail electrification to meet 2030 climate goals
ESTONIA: The Ministry of Economic Affairs & Communications and the Ministry of the Environment are preparing a railway electrification strategy after receiving cabinet backing for the development of proposals. The government envisages that electrification works could be undertaken in 2022-28, supporting the aim of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 70% from
First New Train for Boston’s Orange Line Enters Service
CAF Wins 120 Million Euro European Signalling Contracts
CAF has won signalling contracts worth more than 120 million euros (134.48 million USD) for Spain, Slovenia and Bulgaria. High-speed train in Spain © Kabelleger / David Gubler under licence CAF Signalling Contract Details for Spain The contract covers the supply of the safety installations for the Nudo de La Encina-Xátiva-Valencia section
Siemens Mobility selects Softil software for LTE-R development
COMMUNICATIONS: Siemens Mobility is to use Softil’s BEEHD framework in the development of LTE-R communications technology to succeed GSM-R, and also mission-critical push-to-talk applications for transport use. The next-generation data communication system is required to support ETCS and automatic train operation as well as secure voice communication between drivers and signallers,
Televic Rail acquires information systems supplier GSP
EUROPE: Belgian communications and control technology company Televic Rail has acquired German train, metro and tram passenger information system supplier GSP Sprachtechnologie as part of its international growth strategy. The acquisition ‘gives us greater access to the highly attractive German market and the larger Germany, Austria and Switzerland region’, said Televic
Nine recommendations for rail in northern England
UK: Nine recommendations are set out in a review of the Rail North Partnership between the Department for Transport and Transport for the North which manages the Northern and TransPennine Express passenger franchises. Published on July 19, the review had been commissioned by Leeds City Council Leader Judith Blake and Rail
Robust cyber-security plans keep trains running on time
SPONSORED CONTENT: As primary movers of people and goods, railways play a central role in the economic and social life of most countries, writes Karsten Oberle, Head of the Global Railway Practice at communications group Nokia. Railways have also become an attractive target for potential cyber attacks, due in large
Phasor Achieves ISO 9001 Certification
Phasor, the leading developer of enterprise-grade electronically-steered antenna (ESA) systems for satellite-based mobile broadband applications has announced that it has achieved ISO 9001 Certification ahead of the commercial release of its products for the land mobile, maritime and aviation markets. ISO 9001 is the internationally recognised standard for a quality management
Industry Insider Week 30 – 10 Must-Read Rail News Stories
All the important rail news of the week, summed up for you in one place: our Railway-News Industry Insider Week 30 for 22–26 July 2019: Current Westbahn KISS interior © Westbahn Rolling Stock Siemens, Bombardier and DB reach an agreement about the ICE 4 trains © www.siemens.com/press Deutsche Bahn Will Resume Acceptance of ICE 4
Mallard to leave National Railway Museum to meet new Azuma trains
HGS100RW: All-Purpose Voltage Limiter for Railway Applications
The HGS100RW all-purpose voltage limiter is a piece of protective electro-technical equipment that has a conductive connection to a tower providing tractive support (OLE) and to the rail via a 10mm conductor. Since rails are insulated, devices are used that only allow through voltages higher than: 250 V – places accessible
National control centre approved
IRELAND: The construction of a €135m National Train Control Centre to manage the entire Iarnród Éireann network was approved by the Irish government on July 17. The new centre is to be delivered by IÉ, with government funding provided through the National Transport Authority as part of Project Ireland 2040. To be
Malmbanan resignalling to support ETCS
SWEDEN: Trafikverket has started work on a three-year project to resignal the Malmbanan heavy haul line between Boden and Riksgränsen with digital interlockings and ETCS at an estimated cost of SKr3bn. According to the infrastructure manager, most of the existing interlockings on the iron ore corridor are more than 50 years
ERTMS Level 2 Becomes Operational on High-Speed Line in Spain
ERTMS Level 2 in Spain: With Adif and the Spanish Railway Safety Agency completing their extensive testing of Alstom’s Atlas ERTMS Level 2 solution, the train control system has now become operational on the 163km stretch between Valladolid and León on the Madrid-León high-speed line. Talgo 350 high-speed trains for Renfe
‘Drone train’ completes first trial
FRANCE: National operator SNCF has successfully tested a remotely-controlled train over a distance of 4 km in the Paris suburbs. Representing a key stage in SNCF’s programme to develop automated operations, the ‘drone train’ ran from Villeneuve-Saint-Georges to Juvisy and was driven from a control centre established at Vigneux-sur-Seine. Describing the test
Finnish passenger tendering plan put on hold
FINLAND: Recently-appointed Minister of Transport & Communications Sanna Marin has suspended plans to call tenders for the operation of regional passenger services in southern Finland. On June 27 the ministry said that the preparatory process had shown that it would not be possible to proceed as planned. A fair and competitive
Industry Insider Week 26 – 12 Must-Read Rail Stories
All the important rail news of the week, summed up for you in one place: our Railway-News Industry Insider Week 26 for 24–28 June 2019: San Francisco APM guideway © Jef Poskanzer under licence Rolling Stock Coradia Lint for ODEG © Alstom Alstom to Supply 8 Coradia Lint Diesel Trains to ODEG Alstom will be
Motorola wins Israel Railways communications contract
ISRAEL: Motorola Solutions has won a contract to supply Israel Railways with up to 3 000 push-to-talk over cellular mobile devices equipped with its WAVE group communication service, and to operate and maintain the network for three years. Hot Mobile will act as the mobile network carrier. There is an option to
Critical Communications World 2019 Continues Tradition of Success
The worldwide mission critical communications community came together in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, last week, for Critical Communications World (CCW) 2019. Organised by The Critical Communications Association (TCCA), CCW is the global showcase event for the sector, attracting thousands of attendees on an annual basis. Following on from 2018’s hugely successful show
Davenne takes over at UIC
INTERNATIONAL: The appointment of François Davenne as Director General of the International Union of Railways was formally confirmed at the UIC General Assembly in Budapest on June 25. Taking over with effect from July 1, he succeeds Jean-Pierre Loubinoux, who has served as UIC Director General since the organisation was restructured
Equality. Diversity. Inclusion. This Is Not Altruism.
On 23 June it is International Women in Engineering Day. HS2 Ltd is one of the companies in rail proactively working towards changing the employment landscape in construction and engineering. Curzon Street Station visual © HS2 Ltd At Railtex this year Mark Lomas, Head of Equality, Diversity & Inclusion at HS2, gave a
From the archive: The big bird that flew too far
Words: Nick Pigott As the most powerful single-engine diesel locomotive in the world at the time, Kestrel promised a motive power revolution… but it turned out to be ‘too good for its own good’! Shunned by BR despite its 125mph speed potential, it vanished behind the Iron Curtain where it became the
From the archive: The big bird that flew too far – Part One: The British Years (1967-71)
DAMM Launches World’s First VHF TETRA Radio at CCW
The Network in Transit(ion)
Global Demand for Transportation is on the Rise Co-authored by: Kyle Connor, IoT and Transportation Industry Principal, at Cisco &Dani Schrakamp, Global Government Market Manager, at Cisco The past year turned out to be a success for the rail industry – outperforming the original projected growth rate, rail traffic grew at 2.9
Transforming the Rail Industry with AI and IoT Technologies
Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies are being adopted globally by all industries to drive efficiency, improve productivity and reduce costs. The rail industry is no exception. Fuelled by intelligence from AI-driven systems and applications, railway operations are becoming safer, smarter and more reliable, significantly enhancing the passenger travel experience and freight logistics
nVent ERICO – Railway Electrical Protection
Lightning strikes can cause catastrophic damage to critical rail infrastructure and equipment. Unexpected transient events or momentary bursts of extremely high voltages can occur even during normal operations. That’s why railway electrical protection is a vital part of safe, reliable operations. nVent ERICO offers a comprehensive portfolio of products that
Industry Insider Week 23 – 13 Must-Read Rail Stories
All the important rail news of the week, summed up for you in one place: our Railway-News Industry Insider Week 23 for 3–7 June 2019: Eurodual six-axle locomotive © Stadler Rolling Stock FLIRT train for Dallas, Texas © Stadler Stadler to Deliver 8 FLIRT Trains to Texas Swiss train manufacturer Stadler has entered into a
Critical Communications for Australian Railways
With the increased number of passengers using rail as their mode of transport Frontline Safety Critical Communications becomes ever more vital and also challenging. Getting safety communications accurate, brief, clear and professional will help ensure the safe travel of billions of customers. In this article, Anton Abrahams, Chairman, Australasian Critical
Sydney Metro North West Enters Commercial Service
Sydney Metro North West entered commercial service on Sunday, 26 May. The operator, Metro Trains Sydney, will run the new trains every four minutes during peak times. This volume could be increased in the future, if needed. However, during the first six weeks, the operator will run trains every five minutes
600 km/h maglev prototype unveiled
CHINA: Two prototype vehicles intended to support research into a 600 km/h maglev system were unveiled by CRRC Qingdao Sifang on May 23. The 53 m long locally-developed prototype comprises a driving car and an intermediate vehicle. It has been built as part of a five-year maglev development programme announced by the
Industry Insider Week 20 – 12 Must-Read Rail Stories
All the important rail news of the week, summed up for you in one place: our Railway-News Industry Insider Week 20 for 13–17 May 2019: Rendering of Siemens Mobility’s Velaro Novo high-speed train © www.siemens.com/press Rolling Stock Alstom Coradia Polyvalent in France © Markus Eigenheer under licence Five Additional Coradia Polyvalent Trains for Région
Network Rail Creates New Regional Managing Directors
UK railway infrastructure manager Network Rail has created new regional managing directors. The purpose behind the move is to have a more passenger-oriented approach. Railway tracks at Acton Grange © Network Rail The new managing directors are for the regions Scotland, Souther, Wales and Western, Eastern, and North West and Central. Andrew
TCCA’s 21st CCW Event Set to Bring the Critical Communications World Together in Kuala Lumpur
Critical Communications World (CCW), the leading conference and exhibition dedicated to connecting critical communications professionals, will take place from 18th – 20th June in Kuala Lumpur, hosted by Malaysia’s Sapura Group. Registration for the event is now open. Produced by TCCA, CCW is the leading event for all stakeholders in mission-critical
Metrolink fleet modernisation contract awarded
USA: Southern California Regional Rail Authority has awarded a joint venture of Talgo and Systra a contract worth up to $138·9m for the refurbishment of up to 121 Bombardier BiLevel coaches used on Metrolink commuter services. There is a firm order for the modernisation of an initial 50 coaches, with work
Artesyn Launches New 10 Watt Isolated DC-DC Converter
Artesyn Embedded Technologies has extended its range of low power output industrial DC-DC converters with the launch of the ATA series 10 watt isolated DC-DC converters, comprising 14 variants. Targeting a diverse range of applications, including instrumentation, data communication, telecommunication and computer peripheral equipment, industrial automation and mobile battery-powered systems,
Polarteknik: Door System Products and Expert Services
More Safety, Reliability, Availability and Fire Integrity for Your Fleets The Polarteknik Door System products range includes: complete fire barrier wallsautomatic single or double leaf sliding doorstelescopic doors, curved doorsmanual doors All our products are tailored to customers’ specific needs. The service portfolio includes design, installation and commissioning support, maintenance, modernisation, spare parts and
Phasor: Ready to Transform Mobile Connectivity
Momentum has been building at Phasor, moving into the second half of 2019. The Electronically Steered Antenna (ESA) developer has begun a new phase, and is looking forward to the commercial rollout of its ESA products enabling true mobile broadband connectivity for the passenger rail mobile broadband market. With over five
Financing agreed for high speed line PPP
Rail agreements reached at the Belt & Road Forum
INTERNATIONAL: Railway projects were included in the ‘283 concrete results’ announced by the hosts following the Second Belt & Road Forum for International Co-operation, which was held in Beijing on April 25-27. The forum was organised by the Chinese government to bring together heads of government and other senior figures to
Nagpur Metro Deploys DAMM TetraFlex Radio Solution
Kapsch CarrierCom to upgrade Infrabel communications network
BELGIUM: Infrastructure manager Infrabel has awarded Kapsch CarrierCom a 15-year framework agreement covering the migration of its GSM-R communications network from R99/TDM to R4/VoIP and the provision of 12 years of maintenance. This is intended to provide the functionality and resilience needed for the use of ETCS Level 2 over GPRS.
Network Rail announces signalling and telecoms framework deals worth £750m
UK: Infrastructure manager Network Rail announced the award of six geographical Signalling & Telecoms framework contracts with an estimated total value of £750m on April 29. The S&T frameworks cover projects of varying value, including stand-alone level crossing works, major telecommunications works and related civil works, during regulatory Control Period 6
Crossrail Ltd: Our Plan to Get Back on Track
Yapı Merkezı enters signalling market
TURKEY: Infrastructure manager TCDD has begun testing signalling equipment developed by Yapı Merkezı Idis, the industrial controls and communications subsidiary of construction group Yapı Merkezı. The company has installed an interlocking, fixed block signals and level crossing control units compatible with future deployment of ERTMS. The equipment was commissioned on April
Londoners will be ‘hugely disappointed’ by new Crossrail delay
Updated 11.00 SOURCES at Crossrail are said to be warning that the new Elizabeth Line might not be open between Paddington and Liverpool Street before 2021, after fresh revelations about dynamic testing. The central section of Crossrail uses automatic train operation, as well as ETCS between Paddington and Heathrow, and most trains
Crossrail opening could face further delay
SOURCES at Crossrail are said to be warning that the new Elizabeth Line might not be open between Paddington and Liverpool Street before 2021, after fresh revelations about dynamic testing. The central section of Crossrail uses automatic train operation, as well as ETCS between Paddington and Heathrow, and most trains will
Dedicated FAdC Training Facility Supports Local Railway Experts
Frauscher India and RailTel Corporation joined hands to establish a training facility for users of the axle counter Frauscher Advanced Counter FAdC. It is situated at RailTel’s office in Delhi. The facility was inaugurated in January 2019 by Mr N. Kashinath, Director General S&T (Signalling and Telecommunications). Mr Puneet Chawla,
Flex: The go-anywhere train
With so many new trains being delivered and electrification schemes shelved, Porterbrook and Brush Traction are using their engineering expertise to convert surplus Thameslink commuter trains into ‘go-anywhere’ bi-mode trains. Ben Jones visits Loughborough to see how the project is progressing. When you’ve invested millions of pounds in maintaining and updating
East Coast Rail Link back on
MALAYSIA: Construction of the East Coast Rail Link to open up the country’s eastern seaboard is set to resume next month, Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad announced on April 15. Contracts had been awarded in 2017 for China Communications Construction Corp to develop the 530 km ECRL linking Port Klang on the west
Norfolk Southern names transformation team
USA: Reporting ‘another year of record financial results’ on March 29, Norfolk Southern Chairman, President & CEO James Squires said the railway had seen strong growth in 2018, achieving an all-time best operating ratio of 65·4 after three consecutive years of improvement and a recording a 9% year-on-year increase in
Lithuania to reinstate rail link to Latvia
LITHUANIA: Following a competitive tender, national railway Lietuvos Gelezinkeliai has awarded Skinest Rail subsidiary Vitras-S a contract worth €9·38m plus VAT to reinstate the line connecting Mažeikiai with Rengė in Latvia, which had been closed in controversial circumstances. The project includes the rebuilding or repair of 19 km of track, five
Five recommendations in Lewisham detrainment report
UK: The Rail Accident Investigation Branch has published its report into an incident on March 2 2018 when nine Southeastern trains became stranded near Lewisham in London during bad weather and passengers evacuated themselves onto third-rail electrified tracks. The report published on March 25 is separate from an action plan which the
Overhead Line Electrification for Railways
Book Review Overhead Line Electrification for RailwaysBy Garry Keenor Developed over several years by an experienced electrification engineer, this book is intended to provide ‘an approachable and reasonably comprehensive’ study of overhead electrification systems, setting out ‘the why as well as the what’ for readers with some basic engineering knowledge. It is
5G roll out to begin on South Western Railway
UK: FirstGroup has announced that its Rail Division will be the exclusive supplier of Blu Wireless’s 5G communications for ontrain connectivity. This follows a 2½ year development programme undertaken with Network Rail, the Department for Transport and the Department for Culture Media & Sport. Roll-out is to begin at South Western
African rail summit sets out digital future
AFRICA: The first UIC African Rail Digital Summit which was held in Cape Town on February 25-27 set out an agenda for the digital transformation of railways across the continent. Taking as its theme ‘Africa: the continent of the digital future for rail’, the event was organised by the International Union
World rail infrastructure market – February 2019
Argentina: The Ministry of Transport has awarded a consortium of Alstom (58%) and POSE (42%) a €90m contract to modernise signalling on sections of the Roca commuter network in Buenos Aires. Australia: The NSW state government has awarded Lendlease a A$476m contract to build Victoria Cross station as part of
Arctic Ocean railway plan put on ice
EUROPE: The construction of a railway between Finnish Lapland and the Arctic Ocean is not currently commercially viable, a joint Finnish-Norwegian working group has concluded. Last year Finland’s Ministry of Transport & Communications published a report into route options which concluded that a 465 km line from Rovaniemi to Kirkenes via Sodankylä would
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