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TOP NEWS FROM THE SCI RAILDATA
On 13th March 2019, German state railway DB and Spanish rolling stock manufacturer Talgo presented their new long-distance train with the provisional name ECx. There will be 23 trains, each one comprising a multi-system locomotive and 17 passenger coaches. The trains offer 85 seats for passengers in first class and 485 in second class. The trains will run on the international Berlin - Amsterdam line and will reduce the journey time by around 30 minutes to 5 hours 50 minutes. They will also be used for tourist services to Westerland (Sylt) and Oberstdorf. The trains are to be delivered by 2023. The order is worth EUR 550 million and is part of a framework agreement between DB and Talgo for up to 100 multi-system locomotives and passenger coaches (see SCI RAILDATA Issue 06/2019).
Source: DB press release 13.03.2019
On 12th March 2018, the railway line from Halkali via Istanbul to Gebze was officially inaugurated. With this opening, the second phase of the Marmaray project has been completed, which aims to establish a railway connection between the European and Asian continent in the Istanbul area. The 63 km line has extended the existing 13.6 km cross-Bosphorous underground Marmaray line in Istanbul, which had opened in October 2013 (see SCI RAILDATA Issue 41/2013). As a result, services crossing continents in the Istanbul area will be able to operate without any interruptions for the first time. The project included the reconstruction of the 19.2 km Kazlicesme - Halkali section on the European side as well as the 43.8 km Ayrilik - Pendik - Cesmesi section on the Asian side. The Marmaray suburban rail line offers interchanges at 13 stations with 16 lines of the metro and the light rail transit (LRT) network.
Source: TCDD press release 12.03.2019
Siemens Mobility and Paribus Holding, a Hamburg-based investment and asset management company for rail rolling stock and real estate, have signed a framework agreement for the delivery of 25 Smartron locomotives. The deal was arranged and structured by Paribus for Paris-based company RIVE Private Investment. The asset management of the locomotives will be handled by Northrail, the rail asset management subsidiary of Paribus. Four locomotives, valued at EUR 2.5 million each, have already been ordered. Three of these will be leased by Northrail to TX Logistik (see SCI RAILDATA Issue 10/2019). The locomotives are intended for rail freight transport in Germany. Deliveries are scheduled to begin in October 2019. Siemens will also be responsible for the maintenance of the locomotives for a period of eight years.
Source: Siemens press release 14.03.2019
Swiss state railway SBB has awarded a contract to Pöyry to provide technical consulting services including RAM management for the Smartrail 4.0 project. The Smartrail 4.0 project will increase capacities on the Swiss railway network without building additional infrastructure by adopting a transport management system based on the European Train Control System (ETCS) and digitalisation. Smartrail 4.0 will result in the elimination of 70% of lineside signals and associated equipment and is to prepare the ground towards automatic train operations.
Source: Pöyry press release 07.03.2019