7 Must-Read Rail News Stories – Industry Insider for Week 4
All the important rail news of the week, summed up for you in one place: our Railway-News Industry Insider for 21–25 January 2019.
Rolling Stock
Belarusian Railway Buys 10 Stadler Broad-Gauge FLIRT Trains
Stadler has won a contract with Belarusian Railway to supply ten Russian-gauge FLIRT trains. They will run on inter-regional passenger routes with a top speed of 160km/h. The first of these five-car electric multiple units will enter service in 2020. The two parties signed the contract on 17 January 2019.
Read: Belarusian Railway Buys 10 Stadler Broad-Gauge FLIRT Trains
CRRC to Manufacture 22 Trains for Egypt
Chinese rolling stock manufacturer CRRC has won a contract to manufacture 22 trains for Egypt. In total, these trains will consist of 132 cars (22×6). They will connect Cairo with the satellite city of ’10th of Ramadan’ on a route that is 68km long with 11 stations. The trains will run at 120km/h.
Read: CRRC to Manufacture 22 Trains for Egypt
United Wagon Company Delivers 60 Heavy Duty Flat Cars to TransContainer
Russian company UWC has announced its completion of an order for 60 heavy duty flat cars. Following an open tender process, UWC won the contract and delivered the final units to TransContainer in December 2018. The order was for two different models: the 40-foot model 13-6851-05 with a load capacity of 80 tons; and the 80-foot model 13-6903 with a load capacity of 74.5 tons.
Read: United Wagon Company Delivers 60 Heavy Duty Flat Cars to TransContainer
Policy
European Commission Hosts First Transport Cybersecurity Conference
The European Commission, together with other agencies in the transport sector, hosted the 1st Transport Cybersecurity Conference in Lisbon, Portugal, on 23 January 2019. During the conference the attendees, which included both national authorities and stakeholders, discussed the EU’s legal framework on cybersecurity, cross-sector collaboration and more.
Read: European Commission Hosts First Transport Cybersecurity Conference
Allianz pro Schiene Criticises German Government for Not Reflecting Carbon Cost in Transport Taxation
Allianz pro Schiene, which advocates for safe and environmentally friendly rail transport in Germany, has criticised the German government’s transport VAT rates. Cross-border rail tickets are liable to VAT, while equivalent flights are not. And long-distance domestic rail tickets incur the same level of VAT as equivalent flights despite their impact on the environment being much lower. Allianz pro Schiene believes this environmental impact should be reflected in the VAT rate applied to transport tickets.
Science & Technology
Deutsche Bahn Launches HOLOPLOT ‘Laser Beam’ Passenger Announcements
German start-up HOLOPLOT, which went through Deutsche Bahn’s mindbox accelerator, has developed technology allowing for much more tailored passenger announcements at stations. This means passengers will no longer hear announcements not intended for them. Deutsche Bahn has installed the system at its main station in Frankfurt and will likely roll it out further in the future.
Read: Deutsche Bahn Launches HOLOPLOT ‘Laser Beam’ Passenger Announcements
Infrastructure
Positive News: US Freight Railroads Reach PTC Milestone
The Association of American Railroads has announced that the US Class 1 railroads have reached a milestone with regards to positive train control. By the end of 2018 the seven Class 1 railroads had installed PTC on 83.2 percent on the legally required network. This puts them well on track for meeting the final deadline on 31 December 2020. In order to get the system up and running the Class 1 railroads invested 10.5 billion US dollars by the end of 2018.
Read: Positive News: US Freight Railroads Reach PTC Milestone
