Freight news
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NewsDAC programme agrees electrical coupler standard
EUROPE: A Voith electrical connection has been selected as the standard design for freight trains equipped with Digital Automatic Couplers, and approved by the European DAC Delivery Programme Supervisory Board. The E-Coupler component of the DAC carries an inter-vehicle energy supply as well as the data ...
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NewsLithuanian operator pulls out of broad gauge wagon sharing agreement
LITHUANIA: LTG Cargo is to withdraw from the CIS Railway Council agreement for the shared use of wagons across the 1 520 mm gauge region, and will instead use a private fleet from January 1 2025. The national operator’s freight business aims to provide 90% of ...
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NewsExpedited rail freight service cuts China – Uzbekistan transit time
ASIA: An expedited freight service making use of upgraded border facilities has transported containers 4 486 km from Xi’an in China to Toshkent in Uzbekistan in what Kazakh national railway KTZ says is a record five days. The service was organised within a framework for the ...
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NewsCRRC Qishuyan delivers hydrogen locomotive to FCAB
CHILE: CRRC Qishuyan has delivered a metre-gauge hydrogen fuelled locomotive to the Ferrocarril de Antofagasta transport subsidiary of mining company Antofagasta that links the Chilean seaport with the same name to Bolivia. The sole locomotive, ordered in November 2022, is designed to be resilient to local ...
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Rail Business UKFreight operator says HVO is the only alternative to electrification
UK: ‘Until a firm commitment is made to electrification of the UK network, hydro-treated vegetable oil is the only credible solution to rail freight decarbonisation’, according to DB Cargo UK’s Chief Sales Officer Roger Neary. ’More services could be operated with HVO if the right policies ...
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NewsPeruvian rail project plans make progress
PERU: Following the completion of initial viability studies, in July Minister of Transport & Communications Raúl Pérez Reyes Espejo approved the start of design work for the San Juan de Marcona – Andahuaylas and Lima – Ica railway projects. The two proposed mixed traffic lines are ...
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NewsRolling motorway train service launched in Spain
SPAIN: The country’s first rolling motorway service for moving lorry semitrailers by rail was formally launched on July 22 following several weeks of tests.
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NewsLocomotives ordered to support Simandou iron ore venture
GUINEA: The SimFer mining joint venture has awarded Wabtec a US$277m contract to supply Evolution Series ES43ACmi diesel locomotives for the Simandou iron ore project. The number of locos is not being disclosed but is understood to be several dozen. Wabtec said the dual-cab locomotives with ...
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NewsRegional Rail acquires Cincinnati Eastern Railroad
USA: The 3i-backed short line group Regional Rail has acquired the Cincinnati Eastern Railroad, which operates on 110 km of track owned by Norfolk Southern between Clare and Plumb Run in Ohio. Traffic includes aggregates, agricultural products and paper. ‘We look forward to building on the ...
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NewsAutomated wagon inspection to make rail freight more competitive
GERMANY: The Digital Inspection by Machine Intelligence project has been launched to automate and accelerate the manual wagon inspection process which need to be undertaken before an intermodal train can leave a terminal. The aim is to use sensors, cameras and AI to make wagon and ...
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NewsFive opportunities to improve railway safety identified in short line assessments
USA: The Short Line Safety Institute has identified five areas of strength and five areas of opportunity through an analysis of the 20 railway Safety Culture Assessments it conducted last year. A frequency analysis identified strengths in the provision of PPE; employees feeling comfortable communicating safety ...
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NewsStrikes, weather and ageing infrastructure hold back DB’s first half performance
GERMANY: Hopes that the flow of investment in the Deutsche Bahn network would lead to a rapid improvement in operational and financial performance were dashed on July 25 when DB published its half-year results. One highlight was a 4∙9% rise in the total number of passengers ...
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NewsVale completes design of Anchieta – Kennedy railway
BRAZIL: Mining company Vale submitted engineering design documents for the 92∙8 km Ferrovia Kennedy to the Espírito Santo state government in early July. The line from Anchieta to Presidente Kennedy near the border of Rio de Janeiro state will serve Piúma, Iconha, Rio Novo do Sul ...
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In depthRail Logistics: Freight trains are getting smarter
While the complex migration to operation using digital automatic couplers lies ahead, Europe’s freight trains are already being digitalised. Reinhard Christeller presents a snapshot of the benefits in safety, productivity and cost effectiveness.
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NewsTransnet obtains US$1bn loan to stabilise South African rail network
SOUTH AFRICA: The African Development Bank has approved a US$1bn corporate loan to support national rail, port and logistics company Transnet’s business recovery plan, and is considering two targeted grants. The 25-year government-guaranteed loan approved on July 12 will facilitate the first phase of Transnet’s US$8·1bn ...
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Metro Report InternationalMail by metro train trial
SINGAPORE: Singapore Post and operator SMRT are testing the use of metro trains for moving post. SingPost ‘mail ambassadors’ will travel from collection points at Tampines and Raffles Place stations to the sorting facility near Paya Lebar station, travelling on off-peak East-West Line services between 11.00 ...