Railway Gazette International articles from April 2008

Railway Gazette International archives from April 2008

Slow starter is close to high speed launch.(COMMENT)
April 1, 2008... More than 1300 delegates from 44 countries gathered in Amsterdam on March 16--19 for UIC's sixth international congress on high speed railways. Amongst the 220 papers and presentations were many success stories, ambitious plans for new...

Intercity fleet renewal poised to start.(MAIN LINE)
April 1, 2008... GERMANY: Deutsche Bahn will call tenders later this year for 100 to 130 trainsets to replace its fleet of locohauled EuroCity and InterCity trains. Likely to be fixed-formation eight-car sets, they will be built to match the standards of DB's...

Freight support boost.(MAIN LINE)
April 1, 2008... AUSTRALIA: Following the announcement that Pacific National was looking to discontinue many rural freight services (RG 2.08 p76), the state of Victoria has taken steps to safeguard rail freight for the next two years. On February 26 Premier...

Mthatha line re-opens.(MAIN LINE)
April 1, 2008... SOUTH AFRICA: Speaking at the departure on March 1 of the first passenger train in 20 years to use the line, Transport Minister Jeff Radebe said about R133m had been spent on reinstating the 281 km branch to Mthatha from Amabele on the East...

HighJet to compete with Pendolinos.(MAIN LINE)
April 1, 2008... CZECH REPUBLIC: Travel agent and bus operator Student Agency has announced plans to launch a Praha--Ostrava inter-city service by 2011. Chairman Radim Jancura said SA intends to purchase six electric trainsets from Siemens or Stadler for...

San Diego Sprinter opens at last.(MAIN LINE)
April 1, 2008... USA: Packed trains marked the first day of revenue service on the $486m 35 km Sprinter line which connects Oceanside with Escondido in California's San Diego County. Two earlier start dates had been missed because of problems with signals...

Roca wiring out to tender.(MAIN LINE)
April 1, 2008... ARGENTINA: On March 11 the federal government launched tendering for a programme to complete electrification of the Roca suburban network in Buenos Aries at a cost of US$1.39bn. At present, 55 km of the 198 km Roca system is electrified at 25...

Into cross-border service.(MAIN LINE)
April 1, 2008... EUROPE: Warszawa based CTL Logistics put two Siemens Euro-sprinter multi-system locomotives into service on February 29. Leased from Dispolok, the ES64F4 locos are approved for use in Ge many and the Netherlands, where they will haul...

FS enters the logistics market.(MAIN LINE)
April 1, 2008... ITALY: Italian Railways has set up a joint venture with the Italian post office aimed at securing a share of the market for transporting high-value goods and packages. Italia Logistica was launched on February 28 when FS and Gruppo Poste...

First Flirt to Algeria.(MAIN LINE)
April 1, 2008... Stadler has begun rolling out 64 four-car Flirt EMUs ordered by SNTF for Alger suburban services at a cost of SFr600m. Top speed of the 25 kV 50 Hz standard gauge units is 120 km/h, and deliveries will run until the end of 2010.

Saudi Arabia.(NEWS IN BRIEF)
April 1, 2008... King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia has approved plans to build the 300 km/h Makkah--Jeddah--Madinah rail link using local financing, Transport Minister Dr Jabara Al-Suraisry announced in February. The minister said this would speed up the...

Argentina.(NEWS IN BRIEF)
April 1, 2008... On February 28 the lower house of the federal congress in Argentina passed a government bill to create two state-owned companies under the control of the Ministry of Federal planning. One will manage railway infrastructure and the second will...

Channel Tunnel.(NEWS IN BRIEF)
April 1, 2008... DB Schenker launched a Duisberg--Manchester freight service on March 4, running daily from Tuesday to Saturday. Further intermodal services linking Britain to key European hubs through the Channel Tunnel will be launched later in the year.

maglev.(NEWS IN BRIEF)
April 1, 2008... At the end of February Central Japan Railway began preliminary tunnelling in Yamanashi prefecture as part of geological surveys for the proposed 290 km Tokyo--Nagoya maglev, which could be completed by 2025 (RG 2.08 p76).

Germany.(NEWS IN BRIEF)
April 1, 2008... DB tested the operation of 835 m long freight trains between Maschen near Hamburg and Ringsted in Denmark during March. Trains in Germany are currently limited to 700 m, but DB is investigating the potential for 1 000 m trains for transit and...

Russian Railways.(NEWS IN BRIEF)
April 1, 2008... At a cost of 12bn roubles, Russian Railways is to roll out its Asokupe fare collection and ticket gating equipment at a further 240 suburban stations. The aim is to have 85% of passenger boardings covered by the system.

Transfesa.(NEWS IN BRIEF)
April 1, 2008... Last month the European Commission approved Deutsche Bahn's acquisition of a majority stake in Transfesa (RG 7.07 p418). Further shares in the Spanish logistics firm are held by RENFE and SNCF.

Norfolk Southern.(NEWS IN BRIEF)
April 1, 2008... On March 3 Norfolk Southern opened the $68.5m Rickenbacker Intermodal Terminal on a 71 ha site near Columbus, Ohio. Six trains a day serve the site, which will be on the Heartland Corridor double-stack route between the east coast and Midwest.

Vietnam National Railways.(NEWS IN BRIEF)
April 1, 2008... Construction of the 35 km Lim--Pha Lai section of Vietnam National Railways' planned line from Yen Vien near Hanoi to the port of Cai Lan was formally launched on February 24.

Border bridges rebuilt.(MAIN LINE)
April 1, 2008... EUROPE: Polish Transport Minister Czezary Grabarczyk and his German counterpart Wolf-gang Tiefensee signed a treaty on February 26 that provides for repair or replacement of 13 bridges over the Oder and Neisse rivers forming the border between...

Geneve to get S-Bahn.(MAIN LINE)
April 1, 2008... SWITZERLAND: Transferis has been established as a joint venture of SBB and SNCF to manage the launch of intensive cross-border suburban services for the Geneve region from 2013. SNCF CEO Guillaume Pepy joined Paul Blumenthal, Head of...

Improved Class 66 arrives.(MAIN LINE)
April 1, 2008... FRANCE: During March the first EMD JT42CWRM loco for Euro Cargo Rail arrived in France for testing, after being shipped from Canada in December for final fitting out at NedTrains Tilburg plant in the Netherlands. Better cab isolation...

Spanish.(NEWS IN BRIEF)
April 1, 2008... Spanish infrastructure authority ADIF is planning to invest a total of [euro]3.77bn in 2008, down slightly on the [euro]3.79bn spent last year. The Ministry of Development is to directly invest [euro]1.71bn in rail infrastructure during 2008,...

Ebbw Vale.(NEWS IN BRIEF)
April 1, 2008... The 29 km branch to Ebbw Vale in South Wales was reopened for passenger services on February 6, having been closed to passengers in 1962 and freight in 2002. An hourly Arriva Trains Wales service runs to Cardiff Central.

Jordan.(NEWS IN BRIEF)
April 1, 2008... On March 24 Transport Minister Alaa Batayneh announced the government of Jordan had terminated the PPP agreement signed last October with a consortium of Chinese and Pakistani companies for the construction of a 28 km electric interurban line...

Tram-train trial.(MAIN LINE)
April 1, 2008... UK: Five tram-trains are to be procured for trials in northern England, the Department for Transport confirmed on March 18. The two-year test starting in 2010 will 'establish whether tram-trains similar to those operating successfully in Europe...

Airport link SPV.(MAIN LINE)
April 1, 2008... INDIA: Karnataka state government has created Bangalore Airport Rail Link Ltd as special purpose vehicle to develop a fast connection to the new international airport which is due to open on May 11. The partially-elevated line would start...

Tibet cruise train financed.(MAIN LINE)
April 1, 2008... CHINA: HSH Nordbank has completed a deal with RailPartners to finance the Tangula luxury trains which will run from Beijing to Yunnan and Lhasa from September (RG 8.07 p492). The bank is providing US$30m of the US$95m project financing, with...

Siemens scoops Brussels RER order.(MAIN LINE)
April 1, 2008... BELGIUM: SNCB confirmed on March 12 that its board had selected Siemens as preferred bidder to supply up to 300 trainsets for the Brussels RER network. A firm contract will be placed for the first batch of 95 four-car sets, with options that...

Logistics venture formed.(MAIN LINE)
April 1, 2008... RUSSIA: Regular intermodal services are to be introduced to link Moscow with various German cities, following the formal launch of the Trans-Eurasia Logistics joint venture on March 6. A memorandum of understanding had been signed in July 2007,...

Irish reopenings cleared.(MAIN LINE)
April 1, 2008... IRELAND: The government has approved the Railway Order permitting the reinstatement of the 7.5 km Clonsilla--Dunboyne route. Closed in 1963, the line is scheduled to reopen in 2010 as the first phase of the Navan line reopening project under...

Shanghai--Nanjing link approved.(MAIN LINE)
April 1, 2008... CHINA: The National Development & Reform Commission has formally approved the construction of a 300 km high speed line between Shanghai and Nanjing at a cost of 39.5bn yuan. The project is to be funded by the two cities, the province of Jiangsu...

Metro to serve northwest suburbs.(URBAN RAIL)
April 1, 2008... AUSTRALIA: On March 18 New South Wales Premier Morris Iemma unveiled plans for a 38 km metro line with 17 stations to link Rouse Hill in the northwestern suburbs of Sydney with the city centre. Expected to be completed by 2017, the line is...

Variobahn arrives.(URBAN RAIL)
April 1, 2008... Bochum-Gelsenkirchen tram operator Bogestra has taken delivery of the first of 30 Stadler Varibahn low-floor trams. These were ordered in 2004 under a [euro]80m contract which included six Tango high-floor cars (RG 10.07 p602). The metre-gauge...

Twin Cities project gets local backing.(URBAN RAIL)
April 1, 2008... USA: A coalition of local elected officials has agreed to support the Central Corridor light rail project connecting the centres of Minneapolis and St Paul, although the $909m plan will still require federal funding. The 17.7 km line would...

Private line proposed.(URBAN RAIL)
April 1, 2008... ARGENTINA: The federal Transport Secretariat is considering a proposal from a consortium of Iecsa, Ghello and Alstom to build a 15.8 km metro network in the city of Cordoba with private finance. Comprising two routes with tunnels 9 m in...

Metrorail revitalisation.(URBAN RAIL)
April 1, 2008... SOUTH AFRICA: SARCC Chief Executive Lucky Montana has unveiled a three-stage investment strategy costing R18bn. This is aimed at providing additional services for the 2010 football World Cup, and creating a sustainable commuter network to serve...

Shenzhen.(CITY NEWS IN BRIEF)
April 1, 2008... China Northern was awarded a contract on March 4 to supply 24 six-car Type B trainsets with stainless steel bodies for Shenzhen metro Line 3. Deliveries will run for a year from the end of August 2009. A previous contract signed on January 12...

Argentina.(CITY NEWS IN BRIEF)
April 1, 2008... On March 14 the government of Argentina launched tendering for extensions of the Tranvia del Este light rail route in Buenos Aires to Retiro and La Boca, as well as the supply of 15 LRVs. Associated street works including the construction of...

Beijing.(CITY NEWS IN BRIEF)
April 1, 2008... Trials begin this month of wireless networks which have been installed on the Beijing metro and Capital Airport Express by Andrew Wireless Solutions. The radiating cables will support railway data, security equipment and enable passengers to...

Dublin.(CITY NEWS IN BRIEF)
April 1, 2008... Ireland's Railway Procurement Agency has awarded M-Pact a contract covering Infrastructure works on the planned extension of Dublin's Red Line tram route from Connolly station to the Docklands.

Khabarovsk.(CITY NEWS IN BRIEF)
April 1, 2008... On February 18 the city of Khabarovsk selected Vagonmash's St Petersburg Tram Mechanical Factory to supply 10 LM-99 AVMN trams with low-floor access. A prototype supplied last year coped successfully with the extreme cold of Russia's far east.

London.(CITY NEWS IN BRIEF)
April 1, 2008... Transport for London has reached an agreement for a new entrance to London Underground's Bank station to be included within the redevelopment of Legal & General's offices, eliminating the need to dig up the road to provide additional access.

Madrid.(CITY NEWS IN BRIEF)
April 1, 2008... The first sleeper on the 14.6 km suburban line from Mostoles to Navalcarnero in Madrid (RG 11.07 p680) was laid on February 19. Two tunnels totalling 3.8 km in length will be bored with a TBM as part of the project which also includes building...

Shanghai Metro.(CITY NEWS IN BRIEF)
April 1, 2008... A consortium of Thales, Alcatel and Shanghai Automation Instrumentation Co has signed an [euro]42m agreement to supply SelTrac CBTC for the automatic operation of the 34 km Shanghai Metro Line 7 and its 10 km northern extension.

Buenos Aires.(CITY NEWS IN BRIEF)
April 1, 2008... Under an agreement signed with Metrovias and CAF, Madrid Metro has supplied a two-car Series 5000 train for trials on Line B in Buenos Aires. A further 18 trains may be acquired for [euro]5m should the trials prove successful.

Ho Chi Minh city breaks ground.(URBAN RAIL)
April 1, 2008... VIETNAM: A ceremony at Long Binh in Ho Chin Minh City's District 9 on February 21 marked the start of ground clearance on the site chosen for a US$28m depot for the city's first metro line. Bids are due to be called imminently for four...

Kaohsiung Red Line launched.(URBAN RAIL)
April 1, 2008... TAIWAN: Public services began running on the island's second metro network on March 9, following the formal opening of Kaohsiung's 28 km Red Line the preceding day. Heading the list of VIPs riding the inaugural train were Premier Chang...

Independence day inauguration.(URBAN RAIL)
April 1, 2008... DOMINICAN REPUBLIC: President Leonel Fernandez joined representatives of the government and local businesses to ride a ceremonial 'first train' on the Santo Domingo Metro on February 27. After his independence day address to the national...

Lansimetro contribution.(URBAN RAIL)
April 1, 2008... FINLAND: The cabinet voted on March 11 to provide [euro]200m towards the total [euro]713m cost of extending the metro westwards into the neighbouring city of Espoo. In the wake of the decision, planning tenders are expected to be received...

Tram-Trains to serve Alacant airport.(URBAN RAIL)
April 1, 2008... SPAIN: The Valencia regional government hopes to begin tendering next year for an 11.5 km extension of the Alacant light rail network to the city's airport, with the aim of opening the route in 2011. As well as conventional LRVs, operator...

Istanbul to build second light metro.(URBAN RAIL)
April 1, 2008... TURKEY: Last month the Municipality of Istanbul awarded a joint venture led by Italian firm Astaldi a [euro]751m contract for civil, electromechanical and signalling works on the Kadikoy--Kartal light metro line. The contract covers the...

Seattle.(CITY NEWS IN BRIEF)
April 1, 2008... The second of two 1.3 km tunnels through Beacon Hill for the Central Link light rail line in Seattle was holed through by TBM Emerald Mole on March 5. Opening is planned for late 2009.

Dresden.(CITY NEWS IN BRIEF)
April 1, 2008... Dresden transport operator DVB has ordered a further 11 five-section Bombardier Flexity trams for delivery between July 2009 and May 2010. The [euro]34m contract brings to 83 the total number of cars ordered by DVB under a framework agreement...

Docklands car unveiled.(URBAN RAIL)
April 1, 2008... UK: Decathlete Dean Macey, Chairman of Britain's Olympic Delivery Authority John Armitt, Mayor of London Ken Livingestone and Transport for london's Managing Director, London Rail, Ian Brown unveiled the first of a new design of train for the...

Freight ring to relieve metro.(URBAN RAIL)
April 1, 2008... RUSSIA: Meeting on March 14, the board of Russian Railways formally adopted a master plan for converting the circular freight railway that runs round the city for use by local passenger trains. The 54 km line is to be electrified throughout,...

Sao Paulo airport concession.(URBAN RAIL)
April 1, 2008... BRAZIL: Bids are to be invited in May for a 35-year concession to build and operate the long-planned Airport Express rail link in Sao Paulo, with the aim of having the line in service by the end of 2011. The state government hopes to...

Croydon buy out.(URBAN RAIL)
April 1, 2008... UK: Transport for London announced on March 17 than it had reached an agreement to buy Tramtrack Croydon Ltd, holder of a private finance initiative concession to run the 28 km Tramlink light rail system in south London. TfL will pay [pounds...

China.(MARKET)
April 1, 2008... China: Nextiva IP video networking from Verint Systems is to be deployed on the Beijing--Tianjin high speed line. Similar technology has also been ordered by DB for use on the Hamburg S-Bahn.

Germany.(MARKET)
April 1, 2008... GERMANY: Next month Railion Deutschland will transport the first of 60 000 pipes destined for the Baltic Sea gas pipeline. Moving the pipes from Mulheim to the port of Sassnitz on behalf of Europipe will require 15 trains a week for two years.

India.(MARKET)
April 1, 2008... INDIA: The Ministry of Railways is seeking consultants to assist with the establishment of an electric locomotive factory at Madhepura. Around 1 000 locos will be ordered over eight years.

Italy.(MARKET)
April 1, 2008... ITALY: Ansaldo Segnalamento Ferroviario has won a [euro]6m contract to supply GSM-R equipment to Ferrovie del Gargano.

Spain.(MARKET)
April 1, 2008... SPAIN: ADIF has awarded a [euro]8.2m contract for the construction of a dual-system gauge-changing installation at Alcolea outside Cordoba, connecting the Madrid--Sevilla high speed line with the conventional route between Alcazar de San Juan...

Sri Lanka.(MARKET)
April 1, 2008... SRI LANKA: Bank Austria Creditanstalt has granted a further [euro]2.1m towards the construction of a bridge over the River Nilwala at Matara.

UK.(MARKET)
April 1, 2008... UK: Consultancy Steer Davies Gleave. has been appointed to prioritise the stations which have been proposed for construction in West Yorkshire under a 13-year strategy. On February 21 O2 announced that Network Rail has selected the mobile...

USA.(MARKET)
April 1, 2008... USA: Amtrak has purchased Sabre 4000 hand-held explosives trace detection units from Smiths Detection. Random screening of a passenger can be completed in 1 min.

Vossloh shunters in service.(MARKET)
April 1, 2008... FRANCE: Fret SNCF is putting into service 160 Class 460 000 locomotives ordered to replace Class 63000 locos on shunting and local freight duties. The diesel-electrics were designed by Alstom, but are being built by Vossloh at its Valencia...

Africa.(INFRASTRUCTURE)
April 1, 2008... AFRICA: Consta has subcontracted Mesfin Industrial Engineering to undertake a 40m birr modernisation of bridges on the Ethio-Djibouti Railway. Corrosion on will be treated on 65 steel bridges, while a further 25 will be replaced with concrete...

Australia.(INFRASTRUCTURE)
April 1, 2008... AUSTRALIA: Rio Tinto has awarded Macmahon Holdings a A$65m contract to extend the Deepdale line by 47 km to serve the Mesa A iron ore mine in the Pilbara. Work will start in July for completion by May 2009.

Botswana.(INFRASTRUCTURE)
April 1, 2008... BOTSWANA: In May Ansaldo STS will complete a 165.5m pula contract to renew signalling and telecoms at 21 stations.

Bulgaria.(INFRASTRUCTURE)
April 1, 2008... BULGARIA: The Ministry of Transport has awarded Poyry a [euro]1.3m contract covering preliminary surveys and technical design work for an upgrade of the 156 km Sofia--Plovdiv route under the TEN programme.

Germany.(INFRASTRUCTURE)
April 1, 2008... GERMANY: Hamburg Port Authority has awarded Thales a contract to provide its Aramis supervision and dispatching system for its 300 km rail network, which is used by around 200 trains a day. DB and Nokia Siemens Networks have signed a...

Greece.(INFRASTRUCTURE)
April 1, 2008... GREECE: ISAP has awarded Hellenic Technodomiki subsidiary Aktor a [euro]79m contract to upgrade infrastructure and tunnels on Athens metro Line 1.

India.(INFRASTRUCTURE)
April 1, 2008... INDIA: Delhi Airport Metro Express PPP concessionaire Reliance Rail has awarded Hong Kong's MTR Corp a Rs660m contract to supervise electrical work on the 22 km line (RG 2.08 p69).

Netherlands.(INFRASTRUCTURE)
April 1, 2008... NETHERLANDS: The Asset Rail joint-venture of Dura Vermeer, Imtech and Arcadis has won a six-year track maintenance contract worth [euro]1.7m a yearcovering the Arnhem and Nijmegen areas. It is the first contract to be based on performance...

Singapore.(INFRASTRUCTURE)
April 1, 2008... SINGAPORE: LTA has awarded Hock Lian Seng Infrastructure a S$348.4m contract covering civil works for Marina Bay station on the Circle Line.

Spain.(INFRASTRUCTURE)
April 1, 2008... SPAIN: SEITT has awarded a consortium of Tapusa and Cyes a [euro]40.3m contract for civil works on the 13.9 km Pozal de Gallinas--Villaverde de Medina section of the high speed line between Madrid and Ourense in Galicia. Work is expected to...

USA.(INFRASTRUCTURE)
April 1, 2008... USA: On February 25 Charlotte city council approved a contract with HDR Engineering for preliminary engineering on the Purple Line, a planned $261m diesel commuter rail route running 50 km to Davidson.

Uruguay.(INFRASTRUCTURE)
April 1, 2008... Uruguay: AFE has awarded Autotrol a contract to upgrade 75 level crossings in the Montevideo area, of which 56 are on the route from the capital to Rivera and 19 on the line to Rocha. Work was due to start on April 1 for completion within 15...

Zambia.(INFRASTRUCTURE)
April 1, 2008... Zambia: RSZ has installed a US$160000 satellite signalling system which enables SMS messages to be sent to and from locomotives, reporting their position and speed every 10 min to assist dispatchers in planning train movements and issuing track...

Zimbabwe.(INFRASTRUCTURE)
April 1, 2008... Zimbabwe: NRZ has acquired radio signalling equipment from South Africa at a cost of R200 000. General Manager Mike Karakadzai said the radios will alleviate delays resulting from the obsolete signal system. 'Before we had radios, we used to...

Australia.(ROLLING STOCK)
April 1, 2008... Australia: On February 28 United Group confirmed it is to supply Pilbara Iron with 30 GE Transportation Evolution Series locos worth A$150m.

Canada.(ROLLING STOCK)
April 1, 2008... CANADA: Faiveley Transport USA describes as its largest ever order a contract to supply doors for the 160 double-deck commuter coaches which have been ordered from Bombardier by Montreal's AMT (RG 2.08 p71).

China.(ROLLING STOCK)
April 1, 2008... CHINA: On February 18 the Ministry of Railways awarded CNR Dalian Locomotive & Rolling Stock Co a 6bn yuan contract to supply 400 HXD3 electric locos by the end of August 2009. It is the third contract for the 7.2 MW Co-Co freight locos,...