Railway Gazette International articles from February 2008

Railway Gazette International archives from February 2008

Strong leadership must focus on project management and costs.(COMMENT)
February 1, 2008... WHAT ARE we to make of the veritable shambles which engulfed the UK rail network over the Christmas and New Year period? Three of Network Rail's major engineering projects over-ran, causing disruption and confusion for hundreds of thousands of...

Making the polluter pay.(COMMENT)
February 1, 2008... EUROPEAN Commission Vice-President Jacques Barrot emphasised the need for modal shift if the transport sector is to play its part in tackling climate change, when he addressed a UNIFE seminar on sustainable transport in Brussels on January 22....

A growing family.(COMMENT)
February 1, 2008... JANUARY 16 saw another addition to the Railway Gazette family of publications, with the dispatch of our first issue of Rail Transit OnLine. Providing a fortnightly news digest for the North American urban rail sector, the electronic...

Work begins on Beijing-Shanghai line.(NEWS)
February 1, 2008... CEREMONIES on January 18 marked the start of work on the 1318 km Beijing-Shanghai high speed line. Construction is expected to take five years, with work proceeding from 40 sites. The Ministry of Railways had announced the results of...

The first of three Siemens CRH3 trainsets has arrived in China from Germany.(NEWS)
February 1, 2008... The first of three Siemens CRH3 trainsets has arrived in China from Germany. Part of the Velaro product line, they will enter service on the Beijing-Tianjin line this year

Veloxia confirmed for Buenos Aires-Cordoba.(NEWS)
February 1, 2008... IN THE PRESENCE of French Transport Secretary Dominique Bussereau, on January 16 President Cristina Fernandez of Argentina signed a decree awarding construction of the Buenos Aires-Cordoba high speed line to the consortium of Alstom, Iecsa,...

Loan guarantee takes TEN risk.(NEWS)
February 1, 2008... THE EUROPEAN Investment Bank and European Commission signed an agreement on January 11 establishing a loan guarantee instrument for investment in Trans-European Transport Network development. The partners are each providing [euro]500m, aiming...

Algerian signalling.(NEWS)
February 1, 2008... NATIONAL railway development authority ANESRIF has awarded a [euro]268.5m contract to supply signalling and telecoms for three sections of Algeria's east-west route to a consortium led by Thales. The deal was announced in January after...

US manufacturer MotivePower rolled out its first low-emission genset locomotive at its plant in Boise, Idaho, on January 22.(NEWS)
February 1, 2008... US manufacturer MotivePower rolled out its first low-emission genset locomotive at its plant in Boise, Idaho, on January 22. Designated MP21B, the 2100 hp Bo-Bo demonstrator is powered by three Cummins QSK-19 engines and equipped with Wabtec's...

Barcelona tunnel contract let.(INTELLIGENCE)
February 1, 2008... SPANISH INFRASTRUCTURE authority ADIF has awarded the last outstanding civil works contract for the high speed line between Madrid and the French border, covering the 5.64 km underground section between Sants and Sagrera stations in Barcelona...

New entrant orders Italian AGV fleet.(NEWS)
February 1, 2008... ALSTOM confirmed on January 17 that it had agreed a [euro]650m contract to supply 25 Automotrice a Grande Vitesse trainsets to Italian open-access company Nuovo Trasporto Viaggiatori. The announcement follows the award by the Italian...

Armenia confirms RZD as concession winner.(NEWS)
February 1, 2008... PRESIDENT of Russian Railways Vladimir Yakunin was in Yerevan on January 16 for the official award of Armenia's 30-year national rail operating concession to sole bidder RZD. The contract is expected to be signed during February, with...

Hydraulic orders roll in.(NEWS)
February 1, 2008... VOITH TURBO Lokomotivtechnik of Kiel in north Germany has won several orders for its Maxima and Gravita diesel-hydraulic locomotives. The prototype Maxima has been tested at Velim (RG 11.07 p724) and was due to undergo winter trials in...

DB enters UK passenger market.(NEWS)
February 1, 2008... DEUTSCHE Bahn AG announced on January 21 that it had signed a contract to acquire 100% of Laing Rail Ltd in the UK. As well as owning M40 Trains, holder of the Chiltern Railways franchise, Laing Rail holds 50% of London Overground Rail...

Train tests Eurasian Landbridge.(NEWS)
February 1, 2008... A CONTAINER train arrived in Hamburg on the morning of January 24 after a 15-day, 9954 km journey from Beijing through Mongolia, Russia, Belarus and Poland. The train was a demonstration for the 'Eurasian Landbridge' proposed by the six...

Delhi awards airport PPP.(NEWS)
February 1, 2008... DELHI METRO Rail Corp has awarded a 30-year build-operate-transfer PPP contract for the Airport Metro Express Line to a consortium formed of utility company Reliance Energy and Spanish rolling stock manufacturer CAF. The 22.7 km line will...

El Salvador's national railway Fenadesal has begun operating two return commuter services each morning and evening on the 12.5 km route between San Salvador and Apopa.(NEWS)
February 1, 2008... El Salvador's national railway Fenadesal has begun operating two return commuter services each morning and evening on the 12.5 km route between San Salvador and Apopa. The return fare is US$0.10. Next month the service will be extended to...

Stafford bypass could slash London-Glasgow times.(NEWS)
February 1, 2008... TWO sections of new line are among options Network Rail is considering to raise capacity at Stafford on the UK's busy West Coast Main Line. The route through Stafford is handicapped by sharp curves and conflicting movements, and NR expects...

A high-level committee with representatives from SNCF and RFF has been set up to consider proposals for a high speed line to be built to the south of Paris to link LGV Atlantique with LGV Interconnexion.(News in Brief)
February 1, 2008... A high-level committee with representatives from SNCF and RFF has been set up to consider proposals for a high speed line to be built to the south of Paris to link LGV Atlantique with LGV Interconnexion, which bypasses the city to the east. The...

Rail Cargo Austria and GySEV signed the HF102.5bn contract to purchase MAV Cargo on January 2 in Budapest (RG 1.08 p9).(News in Brief)
February 1, 2008... Rail Cargo Austria and GySEV signed the HF102.5bn contract to purchase MAV Cargo on January 2 in Budapest (RG 1.08 p9). The consortium has undertaken to invest HF43.5bn in developing the Hungarian freight business, according to Miklos Kamaras...

Shortline operator Patriot Rail Corp announced the purchase of its third railway, Utah Central Railway, on January 3.(News in Brief)
February 1, 2008... Shortline operator Patriot Rail Corp announced the purchase of its third railway, Utah Central Railway, on January 3. Established in 1995 to use former Union Pacific track, UCRY has 55 km of owned and leased rail line which connects with UP and...

Severe damage caused by heavy rains.(News in Brief)
February 1, 2008... Following severe damage caused by heavy rains, repairs costing 9m naira are being made to the standard-gauge line linking Nigeria's Ajaokuta steelworks to the port of Warri.

eBART funding approved.(CITY NEWS)
February 1, 2008... APPROVAL was granted in December for the majority of the funding needed to proceed with the eBART diesel commuter rail line in California. On December 19 Contra Costa Transportation Authority and the Metropolitan Transit Commission...

Shanghai opens five extensions.(CITY NEWS)
February 1, 2008... THE SHANGHAI metro expansion programme took a great leap forward on December 29 with the simultaneous opening of five new sections. The entirely new Line 9 opened to link Gui Lin Road with Song Jiang Xin Cheng, a distance of 29.1 km. Line 9...

Santo Domingo trains arrive.(CITY NEWS)
February 1, 2008... THE FIRST three-car Metropolis trainset built at Alstom's Barcelona plant for the 14 km metro line currently under construction in Santo Domingo arrived in the Dominican Republic last month. Transport authority OPRET had announced the...

Red Line tunnels complete.(CITY NEWS)
February 1, 2008... THE RAIL Agency of the Dubai Roads & Transport Authority has announced that tunnelling work on the first section of the city's metro was completed on schedule on January 6. Excavation was undertaken in three stages. The first, which began...

Sao Paulo automates.(CITY NEWS)
February 1, 2008... SIEMENS is leading a consortium that has been selected by MetroQuatro to provide control systems and communications equipment for Sao Paulo Line 4, which will become the first automated metro in South America. The 12.4 km line from Luz to...

Opportrans renews concession.(CITY NEWS)
February 1, 2008... RIO de Janeiro has renewed the concession for Opportrans to operate the city's metro network for a further 20 years. Financial terms have not been disclosed, but Opportrans has pledged to invest R$950m over the course of the concession to...

Oradea export ULF.(CITY NEWS)
February 1, 2008... THE FIRST order for Ultra Low Floor trams from outside their home city of Wien was announced on January 17, when Siemens Mobility won a [euro]27m order to supply 10 cars to the western Romanian city of Oradea. Based on the shorter variant...

On January 22 Bombardier announced a firm order for a further 77 Type 3000 and 10 Type 4000 bi-directional Flexity Outlook trams to be delivered to Brussels in 2009-12, with an option for 15 more cars.(CITY NEWS)
February 1, 2008... On January 22 Bombardier announced a firm order for a further 77 Type 3000 and 10 Type 4000 bi-directional Flexity Outlook trams to be delivered to Brussels in 2009-12, with an option for 15 more cars. The [euro]195m contract comes under a...

Chinese trains for Buenos Aires.(CITY NEWS)
February 1, 2008... A DECREE SIGNED BY President Fernandez of Argentina on January 15 confirmed an order worth US$121.6m that will see Chinese suppliers build 24 diesel-electric locomotives and 160 passenger cars for the San Martin commuter network in Buenos...

Following the opening of the low-level station at Perth Esplanade in October (RG 1.08 p12), the Perth-Mandurah suburban line opened as scheduled on December 23 with a day of free rides for local residents to sample the 72 km journey.(CITY NEWS)
February 1, 2008... Following the opening of the low-level station at Perth Esplanade in October (RG 1.08 p12), the Perth-Mandurah suburban line opened as scheduled on December 23 with a day of free rides for local residents to sample the 72 km journey. The 1067...

AMT orders commuter cars.(CITY NEWS)
February 1, 2008... MONTREAL transport authority AMT has placed a C$386m order with sole bidder Bombardier for 160 double-deck commuter coaches. The base order was for 30 cars with options for 130, but the provincial government exercised all the options...

Airport backs personal transit.(CITY NEWS)
February 1, 2008... A PERSONAL rapid transit line is under construction at London Heathrow airport to link the business class car parks with the new Terminal 5. Airport owner BAA is investing [pounds sterling]25m in the 3.8 km line, and has taken 'a...

Construction of a second tram line in the French city of Orleans is to go ahead following signature of a Declaration of Public Utility on January 10.(City News in Brief)
February 1, 2008... Construction of a second tram line in the French city of Orleans is to go ahead following signature of a Declaration of Public Utility on January 10. Running east-west, the 11.8 km route with 25 stops will link St Jean de Braye with St Jean de...

Sumitomo Corp and Hyundai Rotem have been awarded a [yen]16.5bn contract to supply 76 metre-gauge EMU cars to Tunisia in 2009-10.(City News in Brief)
February 1, 2008... Sumitomo Corp and Hyundai Rotem have been awarded a [yen]16.5bn contract to supply 76 metre-gauge EMU cars to Tunisia in 2009-10. They will replace DMUs on the 23 km Tunis-Borj Cedria suburban line which is currently being electrified at 25 kV...

The first preparatory work on Ho Chi Minh City's proposed metro was due to begin in January.(City News in Brief)
February 1, 2008... The first preparatory work on Ho Chi Minh City's proposed metro was due to begin in January, the Urban Railway Planning Unit announced on January 3. The 19.7 km Line 1 would run from Ben Thanh Market to Long Binh, and revenue services are...

DLF, an Indian property development firm, is planning a 'low-capacity feeder metro' for its cyber city development in Gurgaon.(City News in Brief)
February 1, 2008... DLF, an Indian property development firm, is planning a 'low-capacity feeder metro' for its cyber city development in Gurgaon. The proposed 3.7 km line would run from a terminus at Mall of India to an interchange with the Delhi Metro at...

Austria.(INTELLIGENCE)
February 1, 2008... Austria: OBB has unveiled the first of 12 coaches that have been rebuilt as multi-purpose cars with a compartment for disabled passengers; seats in the compartment convert into berths for use on overnight trains.

Canada.(INTELLIGENCE)
February 1, 2008... Canada: CN has agreed to purchase the Athabasca Northern Railway serving the oil sands of northern Alberta. Having paid C$25m, CN will invest C$135m over three years to upgrade the 325 km line in a deal which includes long-term guarantees of...

Europe.(INTELLIGENCE)
February 1, 2008... Europe: Thalys has reported turnover of [euro]364m for 2007, up 6.6% on the year before and the fourth consecutive year of growth in excess of 5%. A total of 6.2 million passengers were carried in 2007.

France.(INTELLIGENCE)
February 1, 2008... France: Road haulage and logistics company Norbert Dentressangle has increased its shareholding in Novatrans to 10.91%, having acquired a 10.48% stake in the intermodal operator from Groupe SNCF.

Hungary.(INTELLIGENCE)
February 1, 2008... Hungary: Bids are due in this month for the privatisation of the ticket printing activities of state railway MAV.

India.(INTELLIGENCE)
February 1, 2008... India: The government has approved the Rsl4bn conversion of the 473 km Ratlam-Khandwa-Akola route from metre to broad gauge over the next five years.

Indonesia.(INTELLIGENCE)
February 1, 2008... Indonesia: On January 22 President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono inaugurated the 64 km Kutoarjo-Yogyakarta route which has been upgraded to double track using Rp900bn of JBIC funding. He then used teleconferencing to 'sign' a plaque opening an EMU...

Ireland.(INTELLIGENCE)
February 1, 2008... Ireland: The Institution of Railway Operators launched an Irish area committee in Dublin on January 17.

New Zealand.(INTELLIGENCE)
February 1, 2008... New Zealand: Pike River Coal has reached an 18-year agreement to move coal from a new mine near Greymouth to Lyttelton Port by rail rather than sea. Pike River will reserve capacity of up to 1.3 million tonnes/year on Toll Rail trains carrying...

Portugual.(INTELLIGENCE)
February 1, 2008... Portugual: Prime Minister Jose Socrates announced on January 19 that tendering for the first section of the high speed line between Poceirao outside Lisboa and the Spanish border will begin at the start of June, with the route due to open in...

Russia.(INTELLIGENCE)
February 1, 2008... Russia: Last month Transmash Holding company Tver Express launched a thrice-weekly business class service between Moscow and Samara. It is the third of the firm's privately-run trains, following Moscow-St Petersburg in October 2006 and...

Spain.(INTELLIGENCE)
February 1, 2008... Spain: Open-access operator Comsa Rail Transport began regular operations on January 15, hauling clinker from El Musel to Valladolid. Logitren Ferroviaria and Ferrocarriles del Suroeste have now applied for freight operating licences. ...

Tanzania.(INTELLIGENCE)
February 1, 2008... Tanzania: Last month Tanzania Railways Ltd expected to take delivery of the first five of 15 refurbished Indian metre-gauge diesel-electric locos being supplied by 51% shareholder RITES under a five-year lease worth US$30m. TRL Managing...

UK.(INTELLIGENCE)
February 1, 2008... UK: Following a public inquiry the government has granted ProLogis planning approval for a rail-served warehousing and distribution facility at Howbury Park in southeast London.

USA.(INTELLIGENCE)
February 1, 2008... USA: On January 1 Genesee & Wyoming completed its purchase of an 87.4% stake in Maryland Midland Railway for $29.1m. Myles Group purchased 56 km freight shortline the Wellsboro & Corning Railroad on January 1. The Tioga Central Railroad...

Africa.(Market)
February 1, 2008... Africa: RITES has supplied four 2300 hp metre-gauge locos built at DLW Varanasi to Senegal and Mali. DLW expects to produce 200 locos in 2008, with 54 for export.

Argentina.(Market)
February 1, 2008... Argentina: The federal government has launched tendering for a contract worth up to 7m pesos to restore the 284.8 km Puerto Deseado-Colonia Las Heras route (RG 10.07 p600) to operating condition for freight and passenger trains. Work is...

Australia.(Market)
February 1, 2008... Australia: In December Alstom was formally awarded a contract to supply a further 18 six-car X'trapolis EMUs, which will enter service on Melbourne suburban routes from late 2009. Thiess has won a contract to upgrade Cranbourne station and...

Botswana.(Market)
February 1, 2008... Botswana: Zimbabwean engineering firm Gulliver Consolidated has been won a contract to refurbish 30 passenger coaches.

Canada.(Market)
February 1, 2008... Canada: CN is to fit Wi-Tronix's Wi-Tracker remote fuel, engine and fault monitoring equipment to its EMD SD70M-2 and GE ES44DC locomotives.

Denmark.(Market)
February 1, 2008... Denmark: Strukton Rail has won a contract covering 45 km of track and 1.5 kV DC catenary renewal on Kobenhavn S-tog route A between Farum and Svanmollen from May to November 2008.

Finland.(Market)
February 1, 2008... Finland: Infrastructure manger RHK has awarded Thales a [euro]12m contract for the supply and commissioning of eight LockTrac interlockings, axle-counters and LED signals for the 98 km Lahti-Luumaki route.

Germany.(Market)
February 1, 2008... Germany: On December 20 Bombardier announced that DB had placed a [euro]90m order for a further 64 double-deck coaches under a 2003 framework agreement covering up to 598 vehicles. They will be delivered from October 2008 to October 2009 for...

India.(Market)
February 1, 2008... India: The ASH joint venture responsible for the 3.9 km Contract C1 section of the Delhi Airport Metro Express (p69) has appointed Mott MacDonald to undertake structural and civil design. Hindustan Construction and Alpine Mayreder of Austria...

Ireland.(Market)
February 1, 2008... Ireland: The Railway Safety Commission has awarded TUV Rheinland a follow-on contract to provide technical consultancy services for the development of approval processes for new rolling stock.

Malaysia.(Market)
February 1, 2008... Malaysia: In January Ircon was awarded a 3.5bn ringgit contract to undertake the double-tracking of the 100 km line between Seremban and Gemas.

Poland.(Market)
February 1, 2008... Poland: PKP Cargo has awarded Newag a 250m zloty contract to upgrade 700 diesel locos in 2008-10, including around 590 Fablok SM42 shunting locos

Slovenia.(Market)
February 1, 2008... Slovenia: SZ has ordered a further 12 Eurosprinter electric locos from Siemens at a cost of [euro]48m, exercising an option on a 2004 contract for an initial 20. The SZ Class 541 three-voltage locos will be delivered from April 2009 and be...

Spain.(Market)
February 1, 2008... Spain: FCC Construccion and Contratas y Ventas have been awarded a [euro]108.2m to undertake civil works for a 17.5 km bypass to the east of Valladolid for freight traffic. RENFE has awarded Tafesa a [euro]26m contract to supply 188 wagons,...

Sweden.(Market)
February 1, 2008... Sweden: On December 18 Green Cargo signed a firm order for six Bombardier Traxx F140AC2 electric locos with an option for a further 10. They will be delivered from April 2009 for use by Railion Scandinavia on the Sweden-Germany corridor. ...

Switzerland.(Market)
February 1, 2008... Switzerland: SBB has ordered 21 electric shunting locos from Stadler at a cost of SFr44.2m. Due for delivery from July 2009, the Ee922 locos will allow withdrawal of 46 shunters first manufactured in the 1930s.

UK.(Market)
February 1, 2008... UK: On January 21 Bombardier announced a [euro]44m order from Angel Trains for 12 two-car Class 172 second-generation Turbostar DMUs. They will be delivered in 2009-10 for use by London Overground and Chiltern Railways (p69).

Uzbekistan.(Market)
February 1, 2008... Uzbekistan: UTY has awarded Russian firm Transpromresurs a US$54m two-year diesel locomotive upgrading contract.

Austria.(Metros)
February 1, 2008... Austria: Innsbruck transport operator IVB has exercised an option under a 2005 contract with Bombardier and ELIN for a further 10 Flexity Outlook trams worth [euro]23m. The first of 32 trams now on order will enter service next month, with the...

Bulgaria.(Metros)
February 1, 2008... Bulgaria: In December Sofia Metro placed an order with Metrovagonmash for three additional three-car trainsets to be delivered from May to July 2009. They will have Hitachi asynchronous drives. Following construction delays, a 2.3 km extension...

China.(Metros)
February 1, 2008... China: Alstom and Casco Signal have signed a [euro]43m contract to supply Urbalis CBTC for the 36 km Shanghai metro Line 10. The fully-automatic line serving 31 stations is due to open in December 2010. On January 14 MTR began a six-month...

Germany.(Metros)
February 1, 2008... Germany: On January 16 Hamburger Hochbahn commissioned an operations control centre integrating the management of U-Bahn and bus services. Six remaining control centres for different U-Bahn routes will be incorporated into the centre by 2014.

India.(Metros)
February 1, 2008... India: Delhi Metro Rail Corp has awarded a joint venture of Kalindee Rail Nirman and Samsung a Rs870m contract to provide automatic fare collection equipment at 19 stations on Phase 2 of the capital's metro.

Japan.(Metros)
February 1, 2008... Japan: A 2.4 km extension of the Kyoto metro's Tozai Line from Nijo to Uzumasa-Tenjingawa opened on January 16.

Kazakhstan.(Metros)
February 1, 2008... Kazakhstan: Hyundai Rotem is to supply 28 EMU cars for the Almaty Metro, which is now scheduled to open in 2009.

Malaysia.(Metros)
February 1, 2008... Malaysia: Having received six bids, transport holding company Prasaran has awarded a letter of intent to a consortium of Malaysian Resources Corp, Penang Port Commission and Scomi Engineering to begin negotiations for the construction of a...

Mexico.(Metros)
February 1, 2008... Mexico: In December CAF announced a [euro]100m contract to supply nine trainsets for Mexico City's steel-wheel metro Line A.

Norway.(Metros)
February 1, 2008... Norway: The city of Bergen has awarded NCC Construction two contracts worth a total of SKr525m as part of the Bybanan light rail project. Work began last month on the 3.2 km Fantoft-Nestum section.

Singapore.(Metros)
February 1, 2008... Singapore: Land Transport Authority has awarded Sembawang Engineers a S$463m contract to build Bayfront station on the 4.3 km Downtown MRT line.

Spain.(Metros)
February 1, 2008... Spain: With September 30 set as the official opening date, trials on Line 1 of the Sevilla metro are expected to begin this summer.

Switzerland.(Metros)
February 1, 2008... Switzerland: On January 23 Bombardier announced a SFr85m contract to supply a further 18 Flexity Outlook trams to Geneve in 2009-10. The option on a 2002 contract brings TPG's total order to 39 cars.