Australasia – Page 6
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Metro Report InternationalAuckland Light Rail board appointed
NEW ZEALAND: Dame Fran Wilde has been appointed as Chair of the board being established to oversee the Auckland Light Rail project. Due to begin work on June 1, the board will succeed the Establishment Unit Board which guided development of the Indicative Business Case. ‘Dame ...
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NewsAurizon bulk freight locos enter service
AUSTRALIA: Aurizon has taken delivery of the first four of 10 diesel locomotives which UGL’s Newcastle factory is supplying for hauling copper, lead, zinc and grain trains in New South Wales and Western Australia. The first four locos are being used to haul minerals at Cobar ...
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NewsAustralian government’s plans are positive for the rail industry, says ARA
AUSTRALIA: The Australasian Railway Association says the newly-elected federal government ‘is likely to be positive for the Australian rail industry’, given commitments which were announced in the lead-up to the election. The incoming Labor government’s National Rail Manufacturing Plan and National Reconstruction Fund would support ...
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Metro Report InternationalAuckland light rail design contract tendering gets underway
NEW ZEALAND: Tenders have been called for detailed planning and design of the light rail line which is proposed as spine of a rapid transit network covering Auckland. The NZ$14·6bn project envisages a 24 km, 18-stop light rail line running in tunnel from Wynyard Quarter to ...
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NewsARA to lead delegation from down under at InnoTrans
INNOTRANS: The Australasian Railway Association is to lead an Australian rail industry delegation to InnoTrans 2022. As at previous InnoTrans events, the ARA will have a stand at the exhibition and will host social events, with participation and use of the general section of the stand ...
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Metro Report InternationalEnergy storage, accessibility and local content in Melbourne’s Next Generation Trams contract
AUSTRALIA: Victoria’s Department of Transport has awarded Alstom a €700m framework contract to supply 100 G Class customised Flexity 2 trams to Melbourne from 2025. The agreement announced on April 21 includes 15 years of maintenance, which Alstom said would make it ’the biggest tram contract ...
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NewsRegionerate Rail selected to build Gowrie – Kagaru section of Inland Rail corridor
AUSTRALIA: Australian Rail Track Corp has selected the Regionerate Rail consortium as preferred bidder for a PPP contract to build and maintain the 128 km Gowrie – Kagaru section of the 1 700 km Inland Rail corridor. Regionerate Rail comprises Clough, GS Engineering & Construction, Webuild, ...
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NewsAustralasian Railway Association warns of skills shortages
AUSTRALIA: The local rail sector faces a shortfall of up to 70 000 skilled workers by 2023, according to a report published by the Australasian Railway Association in conjunction with the AusRail Plus conference in Sydney. ARA CEO Caroline Wilkie said attracting and retaining talent was ...
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NewsAustralian report recommends measures to promote rail freight
AUSTRALIA: The Australasian Railway Association has released a report which states how government and industry can support greater use of rail freight.
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NewsGreen refinancing for Sydney rolling stock contract
AUSTRALIA: Sydney suburban rolling stock PPP concessionaire Reliance Rail has refinanced its bank debt facilities with a A$1·8bn 21-year Green Sustainability-Linked Loan. Reliance Rail’s 2006 contract with the New South Wales government covers the supply and maintenance of 78 Waratah EMUs, which account for about a ...
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Metro Report InternationalSydney airport metro surface works contract awarded
AUSTRALIA: Sydney Metro has awarded the second main construction contract for the 23 km Western Sydney Airport automated metro line.
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Metro Report InternationalSydney Metro awards Western tunnelling contract
AUSTRALIA: Sydney Metro has selected a joint venture of Gamuda Australia and Laing O’Rourke for the second of the three main construction contracts for the 24 km Sydney Metro West line linking the city centre with Paramatta and Westmead. The A$2·16bn Western Tunnelling Package was tendered ...
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NewsFortescue looks to Infinity and beyond with gravity-powered battery train
AUSTRALIA: Mining company Fortescue and its recently acquired Williams Advanced Engineering business have announced plans for the Infinity Train, which is intended to capture regenerated energy from loaded downhill runs and store it to power the returning empty trip. ‘The Infinity Train has the capacity to ...
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Metro Report InternationalThree shortlisted for Sydney Metro West eastern tunnels
AUSTRALIA: Sydney Metro has shortlisted three consortia for the third of three main construction contracts for the 24 km Sydney Metro West line linking the city centre with Paramatta and Westmead. The Eastern Tunnelling package covers 3·5 km of twin-bore tunnels from the intermediate station site ...
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NewsWork starts on Perth’s Ellenbrook interchange
AUSTRALIA: Work has started on the terminus of Perth’s northeastern suburban line, with a groundbreaking ceremony for the rail-bus interchange at Ellenbrook attended by Western Australia’s Premier Mark McGowan and Transport Minister Rita Saffioti. Being built as part of the state’s Metronet ...
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NewsInland Rail sleeper contract awarded
AUSTRALIA: Australian Rail Track Corp has awarded Vossloh’s Austrak subsidiary a A$143m contract to supply a further 1·3 million concrete sleepers for the 1 700 km Inland Rail freight corridor linking Melbourne with Brisbane. The sleepers are to be produced at Austrak’s sites in Rockhampton and ...
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In depthComment: Rail freight’s big battery booster
A string of recent orders for battery-electric locomotives from railways in North America and Australia offers hope of decarbonising the heavy haul freight sector, as well as the promise of innovations which railways elsewhere could adopt in the future.
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Metro Report InternationalAuckland selects underground light rail to support city’s growth
NEW ZEALAND: The government has selected a partially underground light rail line as its preferred option for a public transport corridor between Auckland’s central business district, Māngere and the airport. Announcing the decision on January 28, Minister of Transport Michael Wood said the proposed line would ...
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NewsSecond-generation ‘Pandaroo’ locomotives delivered
AUSTRALIA: China’s CRRC Ziyang has shipped a batch of second-generation SDA1 diesel locomotives ordered by SCT Logistics. SCT ordered an initial six first-generation SDA1 ‘Pandaroo’ locomotives in September 2010 for delivery in 2011, and a further four in March 2011. It ordered 12 of the second-generation ...
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NewsCattle train contract awarded
AUSTRALIA: Following a competitive tender, the government of Queensland has awarded Watco East West the North West contract to operate trains transporting herds of cattle from regional hubs to processing facilities on the east coast. This follows from the Central West contract awarded to Watco last ...