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Category: Light Rail News (Page 6 of 12)

Changes Adopted Following KiwiRail Track Damage Report

KiwiRail and Auckland Transport are already making changes to address issues raised by a report into track damage through Rolling Contact Fatigue that led to widespread speed restrictions across the Auckland rail network.

The Auckland RCF Working Group Root Cause Assessment Report, prepared for KiwiRail and Auckland Transport, identified multiple causes, with historic underinvestment in Auckland’s rail track infrastructure identified as one of the key factors. The report also pointed to insufficient rail grinding, poor underlying track condition, the design of the EMU trains and the wheel rail interface.  Auckland’s climate is also another likely contributor.

KiwiRail Chief Operating Officer Todd Moyle acknowledged the report’s findings, and said work was already well advanced to implement recommendations made in the report.

Todd Moyle says that 130km of rail was replaced in just seven months and KiwiRail is now working through the second phase to repair the more complex sections of track.

The track remediation work is part of a $1.5 billion programme of work to modernise and improve the Auckland metro rail network. Other projects include the ‘third main’ project to ease congestion and allow for extra services on the busiest part of the network between Westfield and Wiri, the extension of electrification to Pukekohe, and three new stations at Drury and Paerata.  When complete, Auckland commuters and freight customers will enjoy a more resilient and reliable network.

Alstom Signs Framework Agreement to Supply Coradia Regional Trains to Trenitalia

  • €910 million framework agreement: 150 regional trains + maintenance 
  • Coradia Stream: State-of-the-art electric multiple unit 
  • ERTMS onboard: the highest European safety standard

Alstom has been awarded a framework contract to supply Trenitalia with 150 Coradia Stream regional trains for a total value of around €910 million. 

The trains will have a maximum speed of 160 km/h and will be equipped with state-of-the-art onboard equipment that ensures the highest levels of safety and first-rate passenger experience.

Alstom to Supply 19 Additional Metros for Line 11 of the Ile-de-France

Alstom (OTC: ALSMY) will supply 19 five-car MP14 metros with driver’s cab for line 11 of the Île-de-France Mobilités network operated by RATP, for a total value of 132 million euro. This order, which is 100% funded by Île-de-France Mobilités, falls within the framework of the MP14 contract signed in March 2015 between RATP (mandated by Île-de-France Mobilités) and Alstom for the delivery of a maximum of 217 MP14 trains over 15 years, for a total amount of more than 2 billion euro. This contract is part of the Île-de-France Mobilités strategy for the modernisation of all rolling stock on the Île-de-France Mobilités network.

An initial tranche of the MP14 contract included 35 automated metros for line 14, consisting of eight cars each. A first conditional tranche for 20 additional automated metros, consisting of six cars each, was exercised in January 2017 for line 4. A second option of 20 additional five-car trains (with driver’s cabs) was exercised in February 2018 for line 11.

A state-of-the-art metro, MP14 offers an unprecedented level of comfort and safety thanks to its interior layout and seats with a design based on the theme of the alcove, creating both hospitality and privacy. Vast reception areas offer accessibility to all passengers, with dedicated areas and boomerang-shaped seats to improve the passenger flow and the capacity of the trains. MP14 also has LED lighting efficiently distributed throughout the entire metro to provide a sense of security while eliminating darkly shadowed areas. The supports and steadying points are compliant with safety standards and further increase comfort inside the train. Warm and cool ventilation helps to provide temperature balance, whatever the season. MP14 also provides comprehensive video protection and dynamic passenger information on board.

A special feature of the MP14 metros for line 11 is that the design of the driver’s cab incorporates feedback from previous generations of cabs. Their design features the latest developments in ergonomics and has been validated by RATP drivers and occupational physicians.

MP14 is designed to improve passenger comfort and experience as well as reconcile performance, energy savings and ease of maintenance to keep costs under control throughout its life cycle.

MP14’s 100% electrical braking system recuperates energy and re-injects it into the network as electricity, while limiting the emission of fine particles caused by the mechanical brakes. The system reduces the energy consumption of the metros, as well as air pollution, by up to 20%. MP14 is also 40% quieter than the metros currently in service on line 11, with a 95% recyclability rate.

About 20 automated metros for line 14, consisting of eight cars each, will be delivered by the end of 2021. The first six-car automated metros for line 4 are currently being tested. Production of the first five-car metros for line 11 began in the last quarter of 2020 and the first metro will begin validation tests on RATP tracks this summer.

Eight of Alstom’s sixteen sites in France are involved in this project:

  • Valenciennes, for the studies, integration, validation, and testing;
  • Le Creusot, for the bogies;
  • Ornans, for the engines;
  • Villeurbanne, for the on-board computerised systems;
  • Tarbes, for the traction;
  • Aix-en-Provence, for the safety IT;
  • Reichshoffen, for the collision studies, and
  • Saint-Ouen, for the design.

Alstom Leads Way for Automated Train Operation in Stuttgart Network

Alstom (OTC: ALSMY) has signed a contract with Germany’s Baden-Wuerttemberg State Institute for Rail Vehicles (SFBW) to retrofit 118 regional trains with the European Train Control System (ETCS) Automatic Train Operation (ATO) digital signalling technology. Part of the Stuttgart Digital Node lighthouse project, the contract is valued at approximately 130 million euro1 and includes an innovation cooperation agreement software maintenance contract and a contract for further maintenance.

In addition to the recently announced S-Bahn project, the new retrofit project covers 118 trains that SFBW operates on the high-traffic Stuttgart network. The trains come from several different suppliers and will be upgraded with the European Train Control System (ETCS) Level 2 and 3 as well as Automatic Train Operation (ATO) level 2 (GoA2) technology. The initial upgrade project will be completed by 2024 and the subsequent upgrade, according to the European Technical Specifications for Interoperability 2022, will be completed by 2027. 

While ATO technology has already been implemented in metros and urban rail lines in cities like Paris, the highly automated operation (GoA 2) is now being used for the first time in Germany on the basis of ETCS Level 2 in the Stuttgart Digital Node.  When completed in 2024, the new signalling technology will increase capacity and frequency on the Stuttgart network while also making the trains performance more sustainable.

As part of the agreed innovation cooperation, Alstom and SFBW will also define the requirements for Train Integrity Monitoring (TIM), Future Railway Mobile Communication System upgrade capability, Train Capability and for Open CCS On-board Reference Architecture (OCORA). The implementation of the developed requirements by Alstom is part of the contract, as is the software maintenance of the regional trains.

The project is being carried out by the Alstom signalling site in Berlin, Germany, in close cooperation with the ETCS competence center in Charleroi, Belgium. Other locations involved in the various project phases are Braunschweig, Salzgitter, Mannheim and Hennigsdorf in Germany as well as Bangalore, India, Bucharest, Romania and Lyon-Villeurbanne, France. The series installation will take place close to Stuttgart or in Hennigsdorf.

Adapted Alstom Euroduplex Trains for Spanish Network Brought into Service

Four Avelia Euroduplex trains from the SNCF fleet will enter commercial service on Monday 10 May 2021 on the Madrid-Barcelona route. They will be operated by OUIGO España, a local subsidiary of SNCF. The trains have been converted by Alstom and SNCF to run on the Spanish high-speed rail network.

Following on from these first four trains, 10 other trains are currently being converted by Alstom to serve several high-speed routes in Spain: initially, the Madrid-Valencia and Madrid-Alicante routes and subsequently, Andalusia (Madrid-Seville and Madrid-Malaga). OUIGO España will thus have a fleet of 14 trains for 5 destinations departing from Madrid: Barcelona, Valencia, Alicante, Seville, and Malaga.

During the conversion process of the trains, Alstom developed and deployed on-board signalling equipment architecture, necessary for rail traffic safety and performance, based on its digital ERTMS[1] solution Atlas. This solution ensures that Avelia Euroduplex trains are compliant and can be approved for Spanish infrastructures.

Stadler and Siemens Mobility Win Contract to Modernize and Upgrade Lisbon Metro

The consortium of Stadler and Siemens Mobility have won a €114.5 million contract to provide the Lisbon Metro with a state of the art signaling system and a new fleet of modern trains. Stadler will supply 14 three-car metro trains, while Siemens Mobility will install its Communications-Based Train Control (CBTC) system Trainguard MT on the Blue, Yellow and Green lines, and will upgrade the existing equipment. This will include installing its on-board CBTC technology across 70 trains of the existing fleet, as well as on the 14 new Stadler trains.

The contract includes technical training for operation and maintenance, as well as preventive and corrective maintenance of all equipment for the first three years, and the supply of spares and consumables for preventive maintenance for a further two years. The supply period agreed is 77 months, with provisional acceptance planned for 2027.

Stadler will design the vehicles using a modular methodology to better facilitate maintenance. Its stainless- steel car body ensures the vehicles are lightweight and strong. Three double doors per side and carriage will enable passengers to get on and off quickly and easily.

The 14 three-car trains will initially be fitted with CBTC GoA2 but will have the ability to be upgraded to GoA4, so the service can be fully automated in future. Trains will be powered by third rail at 750 V. The 49.6m long and 2.78m wide vehicles will have 90 seats arranged longitudinally, two places for wheelchair users, and

standing capacity for 450 people (6p/m2). The new rolling stock will increase comfort and accessibility for passengers, as well as provide enhanced communications, safety, and video surveillance systems.

Siemens Mobility CBTC signaling technology provides real-time data on vehicle position and speed conditions operating in moving block principle, allowing system operators to safely increase the number of vehicles on a rail line. This results in greater frequency of train arrivals and allows more passengers to be accommodated on the system. This is the most extensively deployed automatic train control system in the world and is currently being used in Singapore, Turkey, Brazil, Spain, and China.

Stadler Assessment of the First 100 Days of New Berlin and Brandenburg S-Bahn Trains

Berlin’s new S-Bahn trains are a hundred days old, yet already proving highly reliable. The new 483/484 series has passed its baptism of fire and also proved itself during the spell of cold winter weather in February: The trains successfully defied snow, ice, and wind.

The first train punctually entered service at 0.01 a.m. on New Year’s. Since then, the ten pre- series trains have been running on Line S47 (Spindlersfeld – Hermannstraße) and have replaced the old 485 series trains.

With the new trains, S-Bahn Berlin not only offers its passengers greater comfort, but also provides more capacity for our customers. When all the 21 two-car units and 85 four-car units ordered from Siemens Mobility and Stadler have been delivered by the end of 2023, a total of 106 new quarter trains will be in operation.

Beginning this summer, the first series trains will be delivered and join the 483/484 fleet once they have been accepted.

Stadler Wins Tender to Deliver 59 Trains to Spanish State-Owned Rail Operator RENFE

The Spanish state-owned rail operator RENFE has awarded Stadler a contract to deliver 59 commuter trains, which also includes the spare parts and maintenance for 15 years. This award is one of the batches in the bidding for the high-capacity trains tendered by the Spanish operator. Stadler proposes to maximize the capacity by using double-deck coaches with a scalable length from 100 to 120 meters and from 160 to 240 meters. The Iberian-gauge trains will operate on 3 kV DC overhead lines reaching a maximum speed of 140 km/h. They will provide the commuter service in the largest Spanish cities.

This is the first time that RENFE will order trains from Stadler. The new trains shall be developed and produced in Stadler’s plant in Valencia. The contract envisages an option for 44 additional units as well as their maintenance.

Iñigo Parra, CEO Stadler Valencia, said: “We’re excited about the decision from RENFE and their trust in Stadler. We were chosen to provide trains in our factory in Spain for the Spanish commuter service – this makes us proud.”

Stadler Cal Train rendering of the double decker coaches
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