World Railway News.... 24th May 2012

International Railway Journal

Leo Express emus arrive in Czech Republic THE first Stadler Flirt emu for Czech open-access long-distance operator Leo Express has arrived at the Velim test circuit near Prague for trials.The train will undergo brake checks as well as vibro-acoustic and electromagnetic compatibility testing over the next few weeks. Following the completion of these tests, trial running will switch to the mainline network.

Wabtec to supply components for New York subway fleet WABTEC has signed contracts worth around $US 34m with Kawasaki to supply components for New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority's fleet of R-188 subway cars. Portland purchases more Siemens LRVs TRIMET, the mass transit operator in Portland, Oregon, has awarded Siemens a $US 73m contract for the supply of 18 S70 LRVs which will boost its existing fleet of Siemens vehicles to 119. QR National plans Hunter Valley maintenance facility QR NATIONAL is planning to build a $A 100m ($US 95.7m) train maintenance facility at Hexham near the Port of Newcastle to support its growing New South Wales coal operations and alleviate capacity pressures in the Hunter Valley. One million mobile phone tickets sold in Frankfurt THE Rhine-Main Transport Association (RMV), which is responsible for public transport in the Frankfurt area, has sold more than 1 million mobile phone tickets using a smartphone app and mobile ticketing system supplied by Cubic. The system was introduced in October 2010 for iPhone, android and BlackBerry mobile phones and now has more than 40,000 users. Wheel lubrication cuts wheel and track wear in Manchester A TWO-STAGE 18-month trial has been completed on Manchester Metrolink aimed at reducing LRV wheel flange and track wear, as well as the associated noise, using an Intelligent Wheel Flange Lubrication (iWFL) system developed by Rowe Hankins, Britain. The iWFL system extended the distance the AnsaldoBreda T68 LRV could cover before re-profiling of the wheel flanges from 55,000 to 87,000km.

www.progressiverailroading.com Us Railroad News

Progressive Railroading to present webcast on European Union rail marketplace on June 8

CP to lay off more than 3,000 workers due to Teamsters strike

BNSF to maintain track, boost rail capacity in two states

GO Transit marks 45th anniversary

SEPTA completes Ryers Station renovation

Georgia ports reached high cargo, auto volume marks in April

Ohio public utilities commission approves upgrades to five crossings

New York MTA signs off on agreements for taxi service at Long Island Rail Road stations

Rail supplier updates from GE Transportation, Siemens, Wabtec, GATX, RailComm and Parsons Brinckerhoff (May 24)

www.railway-technology.com Latest News...

CSR to develop carbon-neutral high-speed locomotiveThe Coalition for Sustainable Rail (CSR), a collaboration between the University of Minnesota's Institute on the Environment (IonE) and Sustainable Rail International (SRI), is planning to develop the world's first carbon-neutral high-speed locomotive.       
                   
TriMet gets federal grant for Portland-Milwaukie light rail projectThe Federal Transit Administrator (FTA) has been announced to fund the construction of the Portland-Milwaukie Light Rail project in Oregon, US, with a $745.2m grant to with Tri-County Metropolitan Transportation District of Oregon (TriMet).       
                   
AECOM wins contract for Johor-Singapore rapid transit link study AECOM Technology has been awarded a $42m contract for the design and engineering study of the Malaysia-Singapore Rapid Transit System (RTS) Link by Malaysia's Land Public Transport Commission and Singapore's Land Transport Authority (LTA).       
                   
ICBC to fund Eastern Rail lines project in Ghana
The Ghanaian government is expecting to secure $990m funding from the Investment and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) for repair works on the Eastern Rail lines, which include sections between Nsawam to Accra and Achimota to Tema.