Railway Gazette International articles from January 2008

Railway Gazette International archives from January 2008

Cross-acceptance moves closer.(COMMENT)
January 1, 2008... DRAFT legislation to recast the Technical Specifications for Interoperability in a revised directive has been agreed by the European Parliament. In a first reading on December 11, MEPs voted by a large majority to accept the proposals, the key...

Railway Gazette team strengthened.(COMMENT)
January 1, 2008... TWO FURTHER members of staff joined the Railway Gazette journal team in November as part of an expansion strategy for the DW Rail Media portfolio. To strengthen the editorial team under Editor Chris Jackson, Robert Preston has been...

Freight standards need updating.(COMMENT)
January 1, 2008... ANY COMPARISON of the prevailing technologies on both sides of the North Atlantic will demonstrate how inadequate are today's rail freight operations in Europe. Let us overlook for now the continuing problem of pathing priorities, which...

Brenner base tunnel wins TEN-T funding.(NEWS)
January 1, 2008... RAIL projects have secured nearly 75% of the [euro]5.1bn of funds which the European Commission has allocated to support Trans-European Transport Network (TEN-T) projects in 2007-13. Among the largest allocations announced by Transport...

EIB funds ERTMS.(NEWS)
January 1, 2008... THE EUROPEAN Investment Bank has agreed to provide [euro]530m to Spanish national operator RENFE, releasing an initial tranche of [euro]340m under a 25-year loan agreement last month. The remainder is to be made available during 2008. The...

The Mexican government expects to open bidding in the first quarter of 2008 for US$7bn project to build a new port at Punta Colonet in Baja California, including a 350 km rail link to the US network.(NEWS)
January 1, 2008... The Mexican government expects to open bidding in the first quarter of 2008 for US$7bn project to build a new port at Punta Colonet in Baja California, including a 350 km rail link to the US network. To be funded by the private sector, the new...

VIA rebuild contract.(NEWS)
January 1, 2008... ON DECEMBER 12 VIA Rail Canada announced it had awarded a C$101.5m contract for the rebuilding of its fleet of GM-built F40 diesel locos over five years. The project is being funded under a C$691.9m investment package announced by the...

Arcelor Mittal goes open access.(NEWS)
January 1, 2008... A SUBSIDIARY of steel producer Arcelor Mittal has become the eighth company to be granted a licence by the Spanish Ministry of Development to operate freight trains on the national network. Arcelor Mittal Siderail is the first private...

East Coast handover.(NEWS)
January 1, 2008... NATIONAL Express Group began operating the UK's prestigious InterCity East Coast franchise on December 9, replacing Great North Eastern Railway which had held the previous franchise until the operator and its parent company hit financial...

First Italian region calls bids to run local transport.(NEWS)
January 1, 2008... TENDERS will be called early in 2008 for a concession to run transport services in the Friuli Venezia Giulia region of northern Italy from January 2011 to December 2019. The region is the first in Italy to call open tenders for public...

Freight crosses the Korean divide.(NEWS)
January 1, 2008... DECEMBER 11 saw the first commercial freight service cross the Demilitarised Zone between North and South Korea when a train loaded with construction materials from Munsan in the south reached an industrial complex at Kaesong in the north. It...

Fortescue spends to make up lost time.(NEWS)
January 1, 2008... AUSTRALIA'S Fortescue Metals Group is due to receive shortly the last of 820 wagons ordered from China to carry iron ore on the 310 km heavy haul railway that it is building between its mine at Cloud Break and Port Hedland in the Pilbara...

Border gap to be filled.(NEWS)
January 1, 2008... WORK is to start this year on a new rail link between Switzerland and Italy. Agreement between the two governments to establish a 17.7 km route by 2013 was reached in November, with the Swiss parliament and the Canton of Ticino splitting the...

Link work starts.(NEWS)
January 1, 2008... CEREMONIES were held at Bereket in Turkmenistan's Balkan region on December 1 to mark the formal start of construction on the 697.5 km international rail corridor linking Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan and Iran (RG 11.07 p674). Held where the...

MAV Cargo tender won by RCA-GySEV.(NEWS)
January 1, 2008... HUNGARY'S Ministry of Economy & Transport announced on November 27 that a consortium of Rail Cargo Austria and GySEV had submitted the best bid for the privatisation of MAV Cargo. The ministry said negotiations with the winning consortium would...

HS1 for sale.(NEWS)
January 1, 2008... LONDON & Continental Railways, owner of the [pounds sterling]5.2bn Channel Tunnel Rail Link and the UK share of Eurostar, is to be separated into three businesses, UK Rail Minister Tom Harris announced on November 20. The recently-completed 109...

DB Schenker, previously Railion (see below), confirmed on December 13 that it had begun operating regular freight services over the Betuwe Route in the Netherlands.(NEWS)
January 1, 2008... DB Schenker, previously Railion (see below), confirmed on December 13 that it had begun operating regular freight services over the Betuwe Route in the Netherlands. The first train ran from Rotterdam to Oberhausen on December 9. DB Schenker...

RENFE's Christmas presents.(NEWS)
January 1, 2008... ON NOVEMBER 19 ticket sales began for services using the Madrid-Valladolid and Antequera-Malaga high speed lines, due to open to traffic on the day after official ceremonies taking place on December 22 and 23 respectively. Preparations for...

EWS promises Channel Tunnel 'revolution'.(NEWS)
January 1, 2008... EWS ANNOUNCED on November 22 that its Euro Cargo Rail subsidiary will be launching 12 intermodal services through the Channel Tunnel during 2008, connecting 'the key UK economic regions' with terminals in France, Italy, Spain, Belgium, Germany...

Railion dropped.(NEWS)
January 1, 2008... GERMANY'S national rail operator launched a fresh identity for its freight, passenger and infrastructure businesses last month. The Railion brand has been discarded in favour of DB Schenker, which more accurately reflects the organisation...

Le Mans light rail takes off.(CITY NEWS)
January 1, 2008... LE MANS Metropole inaugurated light rail services on November 17 as the French city became the latest in a growing club to have opened a modern tram system in recent years. Le Mans' network consists of a principal route of 12.6 km from the...

RATP orders more MF2000 cars.(CITY NEWS)
January 1, 2008... PARIS TRANSPORT operator RATP announced on November 20 that it had placed an order for 49 more MF2000 metro trainsets with a consortium of Alstom Transport, Bombardier Transportation and Areva TA. Valued at [euro]189m, the order is the...

Milanese to run Kobenhavn Metro.(CITY NEWS)
January 1, 2008... WITH EFFECT from January 1, the Kobenhavn Metro will be managed by Inmetro Srl, a newly-formed joint venture of Ansaldo Trasporti Sistemi Ferroviari (49%) and Milano urban transport operator Azienda Trasporti Milanesi (51%). The Danish...

North Avenue bids fail.(CITY NEWS)
January 1, 2008... ONLY ONE consortium has prequalified for work on the North Avenue Extension light rail project in Manila. LRTA Administrator Melquiades Robles announced on November 24 that the grouping of DMCI, EEI and First Balfour had prequalified to...

C-Train expands.(CITY NEWS)
January 1, 2008... AN EXTENSION of Calgary's Northeast light rail line from Whitehorn to McKnight-Westwinds opened for revenue service on December 17. Built at a cost of C$75m, the 2.7 km extension will serve one of the city's fastest-growing suburbs, and a...

Lynx launched.(CITY NEWS)
January 1, 2008... REVENUE SERVICES on the 15.4 km Lynx Blue Line in Charlotte, North Carolina, began on November 26, following a formal dedication ceremony with local officials a week earlier. Charlotte Area Transit System offered free rides over the weekend...

A sod-turning on December 8 marked the formal start of work on The Tide.(CITY NEWS)
January 1, 2008... A sod-turning on December 8 marked the formal start of work on The Tide, a 12 km light rail starter line in Norfolk, Virginia. Siemens will supply nine S70 LRVs (RG 10.07 p679).

Rotterdam metro operator RET has signed a [euro]140m contract with Bombardier for a further 43 Flexity Swift cars for services on the Erasmus and Caland lines to be delivered between June 2009 and February 2011.(CITY NEWS)
January 1, 2008... Rotterdam metro operator RET has signed a [euro]140m contract with Bombardier for a further 43 Flexity Swift cars for services on the Erasmus and Caland lines to be delivered between June 2009 and February 2011. The order follows an initial...

Flushing line to grow.(CITY NEWS)
January 1, 2008... THE START of construction on the 2.4 km extension of New York City Transit's No 7-Flushing line from Times Square to 34th Street & 11th Avenue on the west side of Manhattan was announced on December 3 by Governor Eliot Spitzer and Mayor Michael...

Work starts on Wehrhahn line.(CITY NEWS)
January 1, 2008... FOUR shovels were driven simultaneously into the earth at a construction site in the centre of Dusseldorf on November 28 when Mayor Joachim Erwin and Nordrhein-Westfalen Land State Secretary Gunter Kozlowski, accompanied by two senior city...

Chennai extends.(CITY NEWS)
January 1, 2008... MRTS suburban services in Chennai have been extended from Tiruvanmiyur to Velachery, following inauguration of the line by Tamil Nadu's Chief Minister Dr Kalaignar M Karunanidhi on November 19. Completed as Phase II of the MRTS project, the...

[euro]75m for Charleroi.(CITY NEWS)
January 1, 2008... THE EUROPEAN INVESTMENT Bank is lending [euro]75m to Belgian public transport operator SRWT to fund completion of the light metro system in Charleroi. The loan agreement was signed by EIB President Philippe Maystadt, SRWT Deputy Managing...

S-Bahn launched.(CITY NEWS)
January 1, 2008... AMBITIOUS plans to increase local rail travel by 10000 trips a day came to fruition on December 7 when the first stage of a S-Bahn network was launched in the Austrian city of Graz. Hourly, half-hourly or quarter-hourly trains run on routes...

In the presence of presidents Nicolas Sarkozy and Abdelaziz Bouteflika, RATP President Pierre Mongin signed a [euro]130m contract with Alger metro company EMA on December 4.(City News in Brief)
January 1, 2008... In the presence of presidents Nicolas Sarkozy and Abdelaziz Bouteflika, RATP President Pierre Mongin signed a [euro]130m contract with Alger metro company EMA on December 4, under which the Paris operator will run Line 1 for eight years after...

After some delay, signing of a federal Full Funding Grant Agreement for the Northstar commuter rail project took place on December 11.(City News in Brief)
January 1, 2008... After some delay, signing of a federal Full Funding Grant Agreement for the Northstar commuter rail project took place on December 11. The US Federal Transit Administration will contribute $158.8m toward the $320m capital cost, finalising the...

A referendum in the Canton of Zurich has approved the Tram West project, which is expected to cost SFr136m.(City News in Brief)
January 1, 2008... A referendum in the Canton of Zurich has approved the Tram West project, which is expected to cost SFr136m. This involves extending Route 18 by 3.1 km from Escher-Wyss-Platz to Altstetten station to serve a new entertainment and leisure complex...

Seattle's South Lake Union Streetcar opened on December 12 following dedication ceremonies led by Mayor Greg Nickels and local civic leaders.(City News in Brief)
January 1, 2008... Seattle's South Lake Union Streetcar opened on December 12 following dedication ceremonies led by Mayor Greg Nickels and local civic leaders. The 2.1 km, $52.1m light rail line carried hundreds of passengers on three Inekon-supplied cars on the...

The first test train over Perth's Mandurah line ran on November 10 from Narrows Bridge to Rockingham carrying engineering staff.(City News in Brief)
January 1, 2008... The first test train over Perth's Mandurah line ran on November 10 from Narrows Bridge to Rockingham carrying engineering staff. Suburban services from Clarkson began using the low-level station at Perth Esplanade on October 15, and passenger...

Argentina.(INTELLIGENCE)
January 1, 2008... Argentina: The latest batch of ex-Portuguese Railways rolling stock to arrive in Buenos Aires included 10 diesel locomotives, three diesel railcars and four three-car EMUs. The first EMU to be refurbished from a previous shipment (RG 2.07 p62)...

Bangladesh.(INTELLIGENCE)
January 1, 2008... Bangladesh: Permanent Representative to the United Nations Ismat Jahan signed the Trans-Asian Railway Network agreement on November 9, bringing the number of signatories to 20 (RG 11.05 p728).

China.(INTELLIGENCE)
January 1, 2008... China: Construction of a 502.4 km coastal railway between Xiamen and Shenzhen was launched on November 23. Designed for 200 km/h operation, the direct line is expected to cut the journey time between the two cities from 11 h to less than 3 h...

Czech Republic.(INTELLIGENCE)
January 1, 2008... Czech Republic: On November 21 SZDC formally energised the 9.8 km double-track link between Ostrava's main and Kuncice stations. The KC875m project undertaken by a consortium of Tchas Ostrava and Firesta-Fiser since December 2005 included 19.5...

France.(INTELLIGENCE)
January 1, 2008... France: Public consultation took place between November 19 and December 21 in the 15 communes affected by the CDG Express project, which would enable trains to run non-stop between Paris Est and the city's main airport in 20 min (RG 9.06 p485)....

India.(INTELLIGENCE)
January 1, 2008... India: On December 11 1R signed a memorandum of understanding with the Chhattisgarh state government, National Mineral Development Corp and Steel Authority of India for construction of a 95 km rail link from Dalli-Rajhara to iron ore deposits...

International.(INTELLIGENCE)
January 1, 2008... International: UIC now has 191 members with the recent admission of Macedonian operator MZ Transport, Macedonian Railway Infrastructure and Hungary's MAV-Start as active members. CFL Cargo, Bratislava Regional Co, Eurocom and Regio Trans SRL...

Ireland.(INTELLIGENCE)
January 1, 2008... Ireland: In November Iarnrod Eireann began tracklaying for the [euro]106.5m re-opening of the 58 km Ennis-Athenry line which last saw passenger services in 1976. A Galway-Limerick commuter service will be introduced in 2009 as the first phase...

Japan.(INTELLIGENCE)
January 1, 2008... Japan: All Nippon Airways is to incorporate JR East's Suica transport ticketing functionality on the smart cards its passengers use for paperless air travel.

Myanmar.(INTELLIGENCE)
January 1, 2008... Myanmar: Double-tracking of the route from Pyinmana to Thazi has been completed, with the first trains running on October 20. Thazi-Kyauksa-Myohaung followed on November 24, and a ceremony to mark the completion of double-tracking between...

Netherlands.(INTELLIGENCE)
January 1, 2008... Netherlands: The province of Gelderland and NS have erected a sign on the main A12 Utrecht-Arnhem road giving real-time information on the time taken to travel into central Utrecht by rail from Veenendaal-de Klomp station, which has extensive...

Philippines.(INTELLIGENCE)
January 1, 2008... Philippines: The Department of Transportation & Communications is to establish a Railway Training Centre and rolling stock refurbishment facility in Caloocan. A Railway Academy has already been established at Polytechnic University of the...

Russia.(INTELLIGENCE)
January 1, 2008... Russia: On December 14 Alstom Transport and Transmash Holding (p44) signed an agreement allowing for the establishment of joint companies for the production of rolling stock and components.

Spain.(INTELLIGENCE)
January 1, 2008... Spain: On December 5 a new alignment 10.2 km long was brought into service on the Zaragoza-Canfranc route, avoiding the centre of Huesca and eliminating six level crossings. The [euro]30.4m project included construction of a 1.7 km branch to...

UAE.(INTELLIGENCE)
January 1, 2008... UAE: Consultants are to be appointed in 2008 to develop a national rail strategy for the United Arab Emirates. Proposed lines would link Abu Dhabi with Dubai and the Saqr Port at Ras al-Khaimah, initially for freight but with a passenger...

UK.(INTELLIGENCE)
January 1, 2008... UK: First Capital Connect trains began using a [pounds sterling]70m station beneath London St Pancras International on December 9. The 400 m by 23 m sub-surface facility replaced the cramped King's Cross Thameslink.

USA.(INTELLIGENCE)
January 1, 2008... USA: The $16.9m Milwaukee Intermodal Station was officially opened on November 26. The structure dating from 1965 has been rebuilt as a city landmark and gateway, linking Amtrak rail and coach services.

Vietnam.(INTELLIGENCE)
January 1, 2008... Vietnam: The government of Vietnam announced on November 25 that it had allocated US$160m to modernise the 285 km metre-gauge line between Yen Vien in northern Hanoi and Lao Cai on the Chinese border. Work will start this year for completion in...

Zimbabwe.(INTELLIGENCE)
January 1, 2008... Zimbabwe: NRZ has introduced commuter services from Harare to Marondera and Norton under a programme aimed at revitalising passenger services.

Australia.(Market)
January 1, 2008... Australia: Downer EDJ Rail has awarded Knorr-Bremse a [euro]140m contract to supply and maintain doors and braking systems for 626 EMU cars being built with Hitachi for the Reliance Rail PPP contract to supply trains for Sydney suburban...

Austria.(Market)
January 1, 2008... Austria: Rail Cargo Austria's wagon subsidiary Industriewaggon has awarded Astra Vagone a [euro]24m contract to supply 300 flat wagons. Tatravagonka was awarded a [euro]59.8m contract for 300 twin-section timber and container flat wagons.

Belgium.(Market)
January 1, 2008... Belgium: In the third follow-on to an initial contract awarded in 1999, SNCB has placed a [euro]90m order with Bombardier and Alstom for 50 M6 double-deck coaches, which will be delivered in the second half of 2009.

China.(Market)
January 1, 2008... China: Following successful trials in Guangdong province, TagMaster has been awarded a SKrl5m contract to supply RFID equipment enabling electric trains to switch automatically between different feeder stations on the Beijing-Hong Kong route.

Croatia.(Market)
January 1, 2008... Croatia: HZ Cargo has awarded Duro Dakovic Specijalna Vozila a 42.5m kuna contract to supply 60 wagons by July 2008.

Czech Republic.(Market)
January 1, 2008... Czech Republic: A consortium of Skanska, SSZ and Viamont DSP has won a KC3.76bn contract to upgrade a 39.8 km section of Corridor 3 between Plana u Marianskych Lazni and Cheb. Including the rehabilitation of seven stations, the work will start...

Europe.(Market)
January 1, 2008... Europe: On November 23 Angel Trains announced it is to lease 40 Traxx electric locos to SNCB's freight business B-Cargo from 2008-09. Five multi-system locos were already on order and 35 more have been ordered from Bombardier, which will...

Germany.(Market)
January 1, 2008... Germany: Brandenburg-based Havellandische Eisenbahn has ordered two Maxima 40 CC diesel-hydraulic locomotives from Voith Turbo (RG 11.07 724). Delivery will be in 2008-09, and HVLE has an option to buy a further six locos.

Italy.(Market)
January 1, 2008... Italy: FS Holding's high speed line construction authority TAV has awarded Ansaldo Segnalamento Ferroviario a [euro]42.5m contract to supply ERTMS for eight locations on the Milano-Bologna line.

Malaysia.(Market)
January 1, 2008... Malaysia: A joint venture of Gamuda and MMC Corp has been awarded a 12.5bn ringgit fixed-price contract to double-track the 329 km route from Ipoh to the Thai border at Padang Besar over five years.

Poland.(Market)
January 1, 2008... Poland: Broad-gauge operator PKP LHS has awarded PESA Bydgoszcz a 50m zloty contract to modernise 25 of its M62-derived ST44 locos, with new engines to be supplied from Kolomna in Russia. LHS is also buying two 311D locos which have been...

Saudi Arabia.(Market)
January 1, 2008... Saudi Arabia: Following successful tests of prototype 32.5 tonne axleload sleepers in Germany, Rail.One plans to begin production of concrete sleepers at a plant in Ha'il, 700 km north of Riyadh, in April. Rail.One is to supply 850000 standard...

South Africa.(Market)
January 1, 2008... South Africa: Bombardier Transportation has signed an alliance agreement with black economic enterprise investment and industrial companies Kagiso Trust Investments and J & J Group. Sheltam Grindrod has taken delivery of six Brazilian-built...

Spain.(Market)
January 1, 2008... Spain: IER has installed the first 60 of 210 touch-screen ticket vending machines which it is to supply to RENFE over the two years.

UK.(Market)
January 1, 2008... UK: Porterbrook Leasing has placed its 25th order for Bombardier Turbostar DMUs, ordering 12 two-car and 15 three-car sets of the lighter Class 172 variant for use on Govia's London Midland franchise. This month EWS Network will take...

USA.(Market)
January 1, 2008... USA: On December 12 the New Jersey Transit board voted to purchase 27 electric locomotives from Bombardier, which will be an upgraded version of NJT's existing ALP-46 design. Interfleet Technology has been awarded a $2m contract to plan a $438m...

Austria.(Metros)
January 1, 2008... Austria: Wiener Linien has placed a [euro]135m order for 15 six-car metro trainsets with a consortium of Siemens, Bombardier and Elin EBG Traction. It is a second option on an agreement signed in 1998, with delivery scheduled for 2009-11.

Chile.(Metros)
January 1, 2008... Chile: On December 10 weekday express services were introduced between Plaza de Puente Alto and Tobalaba on Santiago Line 4. Similar services in the opposite direction were introduced previously to increase morning peak capacity (RG 11.07...

China.(Metros)
January 1, 2008... China: Bombardier has completed the installation of a [euro]70m two-station 2 km automatic peoplemover serving Terminal 3 at Beijing Capital International Airport. It has 11 CX-100 cars, and is expected to begin carrying passengers in March.

Czech Republic.(Metros)
January 1, 2008... Czech Republic: Praha transport authority began trials of multi-modal SMS ticketing by mobile phone during November.

France.(Metros)
January 1, 2008... France: A 2.5 km three-stop extension of Strasbourg tram Line E from Wacken to the European Parliament and Robertsau Boecklin opened on November 23.

Germany.(Metros)
January 1, 2008... Germany: A 900 m extension of Nurnberg metro Line 1 from Klinikum Furth to Hardhohe opened on December 9.

India.(Metros)
January 1, 2008... India: Delhi Metro Rail Corp has awarded Larsen & Toubro and Shanghai Urban Construction Corp an Rs2.75bn design and build contract covering 1.6 km of bored and 0.8 km of cut-and-cover tunnel to extend Line 3 from Dwarka Sector 21 to Indira...

Malaysia.(Metros)
January 1, 2008... Malaysia: On November 28 Kuala Lumpur transport holding company Syarikat Prasarana Negara signed an agreement to purchase KL Monorail and take over the 40-year concession to operate the elevated line.

Poland.(Metros)
January 1, 2008... Poland: On December 6 the Ministry of Infrastructure signed contracts to finance its share of the 858m zloty four-station extension of Warszawa metro Line 1 by 3.9 km from Marymont to Mlociny. The EU is providing 320m zloty.

Russia.(Metros)
January 1, 2008... Russia: On November 4 Skoda signed a contract to supply Metrovagonmash with electrical equipment for a prototype six-car metro train to be built for St Petersburg during 2008. Series production of 300 vehicles is planned for 2009.

Switzerland.(Metros)
January 1, 2008... Switzerland: On December 4 Bombardier announced a [euro]45m follow-on order from Zurich tram operator VBZ for a further 14 Cobra trams to be delivered between June 2009 and March 2010, bringing the total order to 88 cars. Bogies and brake...