Posted on 30 August 2010 by Railways Africa Editor
Companies bidding for the contract to operate California’s proposed high-speed rail line will have to declare their role in transporting victims of the Nazis during World War II. A Democratic politician is pushing to make it a requirement that any involvement in taking people to work, concentration, prisoner-of-war, or extermination camps between January 1942 and [...] [...more]
Posted on 30 August 2010 by Railways Africa Editor
The UK East Midlands Trains company has introduced an energy-saving mode on 27 of its Meridian locomotives to help save fuel and cut down pollution. If a train stands in a station for more than seven minutes, most of the engines will shut down automatically, resulting in reduced noise and emissions. Under present circumstances, trains [...] [...more]
Posted on 30 August 2010 by Railways Africa Editor
On 20 August, up to 30,000 people took to the streets in Stuttgart to show their opposition to the planned overhaul of the main station – one of the biggest infrastructure projects in Europe. The objective is to reduce travel times, create around 4,000 new jobs and encourage investment. The aim is to make Stuttgart [...] [...more]
Posted on 20 August 2010 by Railways Africa Editor
According to a Bloomberg report, Deutsche Bahn (DB) has won European Union antitrust approval for its £1.6 billion ($US2.5 billion) purchase of Arriva plc after offering to sell the UK company’s assets in Germany. “Deutsche Bahn agreed to divest Arriva Deutschland, which includes the company’s entire rail and bus business in Germany. DB is buying [...] [...more]
Posted on 10 August 2010 by Railways Africa Editor
Scotland’s main passenger train operator, Scotrail, has been urged to improve quality standards after being fined £785,630 for poor punctuality in the year to June. The fines were 16% lower than the £938,959 the previous year, but were still more than twice the £363,216 total in 2007-08. Ironically, Scotrail was named UK “rail operator of [...] [...more]
Posted on 02 August 2010 by Railways Africa Editor
British rail companies are being asked to simplify ticket-issuing machines following a study finding that passengers are being “defeated” by the “bewildering jargon” they encounter. According to customer watchdog Passenger Focus, quoted by the BBC, many travellers prefer queuing to speak to ticket office staff, despite the absence of queues at ticket machines. As a [...] [...more]
Posted on 02 August 2010 by Railways Africa Editor
A consortium led by Vinci has been awarded the concession to build and operate the Tours-Bordeaux high-speed line by Reseau Ferre de France (RFF – the state railway network owner). The consortium was selected preferred bidder in March. The project, worth over $US8.97 billion, involves the construction of 340km of route that will reduce train [...] [...more]
Posted on 25 July 2010 by Railways Africa Editor
Hertfordshire County Council has invited expressions of interest to operate electric trams over the 10.4km Watford Junction to St Albans Abbey branchline north-west of London on which some 450,000 passengers are carried annually. Earlier in 2010, former national transport secretary Andrew Adonis said that installing much needed passing loops on the single track was unaffordable [...] [...more]
Posted on 25 July 2010 by Railways Africa Editor
Deutsche Bahn (DB) has launched a new container connection between Duisburg and Moscow. The “Moscovite” travels between Germany and Russia once a week during the initial phase, and covers about 2,200km in seven days. The train is operated by Trans Eurasia Logistics, a joint venture founded in 2008 by partners Deutsche Bahn, Russian Railways (RZD), [...] [...more]
Posted on 19 July 2010 by Railways Africa Editor
The last Dalkey tram from Dublin city centre in July 1949 was mobbed by crowds, delayed by a bonfire on the tracks in Ballsbridge, and stripped of almost every removable part by souvenir hunters. It took it two hours to get to Blackrock and arrived looking like a bombed-out wreck. Myles na Gopaleen wrote the [...] [...more]
Posted on 12 July 2010 by Railways Africa Editor
The current vehicle location & control system operated by the public transport authorities “Basler Verkehrsbetriebe” (BVB) and “Baselland Transport AG” (BLT) in Basle, Switzerland, have ceased to meet state-of-the-art standards and are no longer capable of satisfying the future requirements of a modern control system for buses and trams. BVB and BLT intend to phase [...] [...more]
Posted on 12 July 2010 by Railways Africa Editor
SBB Cargo has awarded Stadler Winterthur a SFr88m contract to supply 30 electro-diesel locomotives in 2012-13 for shunting and light freight duties. They are intended to replace Type Bm4/4 locomotives and various outdated three-axle designs. The contract includes options for further locomotives to be ordered as required. The new twin-axle Eem923 design will be derived [...] [...more]
