Railway Gazette International articles from January 2009

Railway Gazette International archives from January 2009

Doing more with less; 'Railways need to use this recession to streamline their activities and get costs under control'.
January 1, 2009... For all the politicians' brave words about boosting railway investment to help stave off the economic downturn, and rail's long-term role in a sustainable transport mix, there are signs that times will be tough in the next few months,...

MAV Cargo is sold.(MAIN LINE)
January 1, 2009... HUNGARY: Rail Cargo Austria completed its acquisition of MAV Cargo on December 2, a week after the European Commission approved the [euro]400m deal subject to a commitment that the OBB Holding subsidiary will cut its links with cross-border...

Arica--La Paz tendering.(MAIN LINE)
January 1, 2009... CHILE: December 15 was the final deadline to purchase tender documentation for a contract to restore to operating condition the 205 km of the Arica-La Paz Railway (RG 6.06 p242) between Arica and the Bolivian border at Visviri. Bids are due to...

West coast upgrade finished.(MAIN LINE)
January 1, 2009... UK: Network Rail formally completed the West Coast Route Modernisation on December 7, enabling an increase in services on the country's main north-south route from the December timetable change. 'It has been a long road to this day', said...

Hamburg-Lubeck-Travemunde.(NEWS IN BRIEF)
January 1, 2009... A festival on December 13 marked the completion of a [euro] 165m project to electrify the Hamburg-Lubeck-Travemunde line in northern Germany.

Burkina Faso.(NEWS IN BRIEF)
January 1, 2009... The European Union is to fund a [euro] 1.4 m year-long study by Italian firm Bonifica into upgrading Ghana's western railway and the port of Takoradi. The consultants will also look into proposals for a line a Burkina Faso.

Swiss Federal Railways.(NEWS IN BRIEF)
January 1, 2009... Last month's timetable change saw Swiss Federal Railways increase train-km by 5.5% as extra trains were squeezed into the regular-interval service pattern. Improvements include half-hourly non-stop trains between Basel and Zurich and additional...

Ferrosur Roca.(NEWS IN BRIEF)
January 1, 2009... The government of Argentina has approved a new contract for the Ferrosur Roca freight concession, which commits the concessionaire to investing 9.5% of annual turnover or a minimum of 7.5m pesos to upgrade infrastructure. The government will...

Burgos.(NEWS IN BRIEF)
January 1, 2009... A 20.7 km new alignment of the Madrid-lrun main line avoiding the centre of Burgos opened with the December 14 timetable change, removing several level crossings. It completes a [euro]242m project including construction of a new station for the...

Nigerian railway corp.(NEWS IN BRIEF)
January 1, 2009... Nigerian Railway corp has resumed thrice-weekly Enugu--port Harcourt passenger services following reconstruction of a collapsed bridge at Eziama.

Belgrano.(NEWS IN BRIEF)
January 1, 2009... A ceremony on December 9 marked the re-opening to freight traffic of the 219 km Pichanal--Joaquin V Gonzalez section of the metre-gauge Belgrano network (RG 12.08 p925) in Argentina. Restoring the route to operating condition has cost 120m...

Syzran-Sennaya.(NEWS IN BRIEF)
January 1, 2009... RZD President Vladimir Yakunin formally re-opened the Syzran-Sennaya line on October 31 after a 29bn rouble project to electrify the 179 km route.

Buenos Aires-Mendoza.(NEWS IN BRIEF)
January 1, 2009... Trains have begun using a 17 km new alignment between Aaron Castellanos and Diego de Alvear on the Buenos Aires--Mendoza route in Argentina, built to raise the track bed above the waters of the La Picasa lake (RG 6.06 p249). The 140m peso...

KTX-II unveiled.(MAIN LINE)
January 1, 2009... SOUTH KOREA: Celebrations at the Hyundai Rotem plant in Changwon on November 25 marked the launch of the first locally-developed 300 km/h trainset. The culmination of more than 10 years of research and investment totalling 255.8bn won, KTX-II...

TiLo link underway.(MAIN LINE)
January 1, 2009... SWITZERLAND: A groundbreaking ceremony in Stabio on December 1 marked the start of construction on the Swiss portion of the TiLo cross-border S-Bahn connection between Ticino and the Italian province of Lombardia. The 17-7 km line between...

Trenitalia reshapes AV service.(MAIN LINE)
January 1, 2009... ITALY: With the launch of services over the Milano--Bologna section of the Alta Velocita network on December 14, Trenitalia cut the headline Roma--Milano journey time to 3 h 30 min with non-stop trains designated AV Fast. Those making...

Iron ore automation.(MAIN LINE)
January 1, 2009... AUSTRALIA: Ansaldo STS announced on December 4 that it had been awarded a [euro]103m contract to provide technology for the driverless operation of Rio Tintos Hamersley and Robe River heavy haul railways. The third phase of an automation...

Rhin-Rhone tracklaying.(MAIN LINE)
January 1, 2009... FRANCE: On December 1 2008 RFF invited financiers and other parties involved in the inter-regional LGV Rhin-Rhone project to Villersexel to mark the formal start of tracklay-ing on the 140 km eastern section. A preserved 'Picasso' railcar...

Reform enters next phase.(MAIN LINE)
January 1, 2009... POLAND: The Ministry of Infrastructure signed off the transfer of ownership of PKP PR from the state to the 16 voivodships on December 9. The formal hand-over of the state railway's regional business is expected to follow on January 1, a...

Thameslink specification set out.(MAIN LINE)
January 1, 2009... UK; The Department for Transport has formally invited pre-qualified bidders Alstom, Bombardier, Hitachi and Siemens to tender to supply around 110 EMUs for Thameslink services (RG 5.08 p272). Current operator First Capital Connect supported DfT...

Hanoi--Vinh signalling upgrade.(MAIN LINE)
January 1, 2009... VIETNAM: Alstom has signed a [euro] 38.3m contract to modernise signalling at 34 stations on the 319 km line between Hanoi and Vinh. The company will supply a control centre, interlockings and equipment including point machines and axle...

First French PPP bids go in.(MAIN LINE)
January 1, 2009... FRANCE: Four prequalified consortia submitted final bids last month for the first PPP contract on the RFF network. The 15-year concession covers financing, implementing and operating GSM-R on 14 000 route-km of trunk lines, and is valued at...

ECR in another country.(MAIN LINE)
January 1, 2009... SPAIN: EWS subsidiary Euro Cargo Rail commenced operations on December 4 when a train of 12 wagons carrying containers for shipping line MSC left Can Tunis terminal in Barcelona for Zaragoza. It returned the following day. Traction was provided...

Danes pick level 2.(MAIN LINE)
January 1, 2009... DENMARK: On December 10 Banedanmark announced plans to replace all signalling on the country's national rail network by ERTMS over the next 12 years. Much of the existing equipment is obsolete or nearing life-expiry, and the infrastructure...

Traffic grows by 900%.(MAIN LINE)
January 1, 2009... SPAIN: RENFE reported that passenger traffic between Madrid and Valladolid grew by 900% in the first 10 months of 2008 compared to the year before, following the entry into service of high speed infrastructure between the two cities on December...

QR to lease diesels.(MAIN LINE)
January 1, 2009... AUSTRALIA: On December 12 Downer EDI announced that it had signed an agreement with Queensland Rail to lease nine GT46Ace diesel locomotives to QR National's expanding standard-gauge intermodal business. The first loco was expected to be...

Co-operation agreement.(MAIN LINE)
January 1, 2009... EUROPE: UIC and the European Railway Agency have signed an initial agreement which is intended to be the foundation of a long-term partnership under which UIC leaflets will be used to complete open points in the Technical Specifications for...

TEN-T funding signed.(MAIN LINE)
January 1, 2009... EUROPE: Major rail projects in Italy, Austria, France, Germany, Slovenia and Hungary are to receive a total of [euro]1.7bn under 11 Trans-European Transport Networks financing decisions signed by European Commissioner for Transport Antonio...

Helsinki metro to be fully-automated.(URBAN RAIL)
January 1, 2009... FINLAND: Helsinki transport operator HKL signed a [euro]100m contract with Siemens Mobility on December 11 covering the complete resignalling of the capital's 21 km Y-shaped metro. This will lead to fully-automatic operation by 2013. HKL has...

Piraeus extension retendered.(URBAN RAIL)
January 1, 2009... GREECE: Expressions of interest are due by January 30 for a [euro]515m contract to extend Athens metro Line 3 to Piraeus. Following a decision by the Minister of Town Planning, Environment & Public Works, Attiko Metro cancelled its earlier EU...

Ceremony starts Sofia Line 2.(URBAN RAIL)
January 1, 2009... BULGARIA: Mayor of Sofia Boyko Borisov, Minister of Transport Petar Mutafchiev and Meglena Plugchieva, Deputy Prime Minister responsible for EU funding, attended a ceremony on December 15 to mark the start of work on metro Line 2. The...

Measure R approved.(URBAN RAIL)
January 1, 2009... USA: Los Angeles County Metro confirmed on December 2 that voters had approved Measure R with a 67-9% majority, and as a result a 0-5% sales tax increase will come into force on July 1 2009 (MR 12.08 pl4). This is expected to raise more than...

Manchester votes no.(URBAN RAIL)
January 1, 2009... UK: Voters in the 10 boroughs of Greater Manchester have voted to reject the plans for transport investment outlined in the Association of Greater Manchester Authorities' application for funding from the governments Transport Innovation Fund....

Ultracapacitors on test.(URBAN RAIL)
January 1, 2009... SOUTH KOREA: National railway research agency KRRI is trialling the use of lineside ultracapacitor modules to store braking energy on the Seoul metro. KRRI has contracted Woojin Industrial Systems to manage the trial. During 2008, Woojin...

Ankara awards.(URBAN RAIL)
January 1, 2009... TURKEY: The city of Ankara has selected a consortium of Ansaldo Segnalamento Ferroviario and Alsim Alarko Sanayi Tesisleri Ve Ticaret as preferred bidder for a [euro] 175m contract to design, supply and commission signalling for metro lines Ml,...

MTR order.(URBAN RAIL)
January 1, 2009... CHINA: On December 10 Changchun Railway Vehicles signed a HK$1.1bn contract to supply Hong Kong's MTR with 10 eight-car train-sets which will enable an increase in service frequencies on the Island, Kwun Tong, Tsuen Wan and Tseung Kwan O lines....

Crossrail project agreements signed.(URBAN RAIL)
January 1, 2009... UK: A series of core funding and governance agreements paving the way for construction of the Crossrail tunnels under London were signed on December 4 by Transport Minister Andrew Adonis and Mayor of Lon-don Boris Johnson. A parallel deal was...

WMATA fleet renewal.(URBAN RAIL)
January 1, 2009... USA: Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority issued a request for proposals on December 4 for the supply of 64 metro cars, with an option for an additional 620. The contract would also include work to refurbish WMATA'S Series 4000 fleet,...

Sarkozy backs Paris expansion.(URBAN RAIL)
January 1, 2009... FRANCE: Paris metro operator RATP will invest an additional [euro]450m in 2009, as part of a spending package to stimulate the French economy announced by President Nicolas Sarkozy on December 4. Much of the money will go on refurbishment and...

Madrid plans another [euro]5bn suburban spend.(URBAN RAIL)
January 1, 2009... SPAIN: Development Minister Magdalena Alvarez has presented the cabinet with an [euro]5bn investment programme for the Madrid suburban network in 2008-15, which would see 115 km of new routes constructed and capacity increased by quadrupling a...

Mumbai monorail contract.(URBAN RAIL)
January 1, 2009... INDIA: Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority has awarded a contract worth Rs24.6bn to Scomi Engineering of Malaysia and consortium partner Larsen & Toubro to design and build an elevated monorail line in the city Expected to...

MTR signs Shenyang operating agreement.(URBAN RAIL)
January 1, 2009... CHINA: MTR Corp, Shenyang municipal government and Shenyang Metro Group have signed an agreement in principle for the Hong Kong metro company to operate and maintain Shenyang Metro lines 1 and 2 for 30 years. Under the November 26...

Dijon and Brest agree joint order.(URBAN RAIL)
January 1, 2009... FRANCE: On November 27 the cities of Dijon and Brest signed an agreement covering the joint purchase of 53 trams at an estimated cost of [euro]120m. Tenders were due to be issued to prospective suppliers by the end of 2008, with bid submission...

Red Line to proceed.(URBAN RAIL)
January 1, 2009... THAILAND: An 8.7bn baht contract for construction of the first phase of the Red Line in suburban Bangkok was signed on December 12. State Railway of Thailand has finalised the agreement for a 15.3 km line from Taling Chan to Bang Sue with...

Buenos Aires.(NEWS IN BRIEF)
January 1, 2009... Hampered by delays in extending the city's metro, the Buenos Aires government is now considering alternative transport modes. On December 8, Mayor Mauricio Macri signed a colaboration agreement with the Mayor of Milano Letizia Moratti to...

Boston.(NEWS IN BRIEF)
January 1, 2009... Two Boston Red Line metro cars with all but two seals removed entered revenue service on December 8 as part of an experiment to provide more capacity during peak hours. The seats that remain are designated for elderly and disabled riders. The...

Bordeaux.(NEWS IN BRIEF)
January 1, 2009... The decision to award keolis a seven-year contract to operate the Bordeaux bus and tram network from January 1 2009 has been postponed following intervention from DB. The Administrative Court of Bordeaux agreed with a complaint filed by the...

Denver.(NEWS IN BRIEF)
January 1, 2009... Union pacific and Denver's Regional Transportation District have reached a preliminary agreement on property acquisition worth $185m to facilitate six additional rail corridors by 2017. Meanwhile, three consortia have responded to RTD's draft...

San Francisco.(NEWS IN BRIEF)
January 1, 2009... Bombardier Transportation has signed as [Euro] 80m contract to operate and maintain the peoplemover at San Francisco International Airport for a further eight years.

Buenos Aires.(NEWS IN BRIEF)
January 1, 2009... A new timetable was introduced on the diesel-worked routes of the Roca commuter network in Buenos Aires on December 13, where track renewals have enabled the fastest plaza Constitucion-La plata journey time to be cut by 13 min. Service...

Belarus.(CONTRACTS)
January 1, 2009... BELARUS: Czech freight company OKD Doprava has bought a 90% stake in Belterminal, operator of the container and transhipment terminal at Brest on the Polish border.

Belgium.(CONTRACTS)
January 1, 2009... BELGIUM: B-Cargo has selected Ab Ovo's Rail Cargo System to replace its current applications supporting planning and settlement.

Malaysia.(CONTRACTS)
January 1, 2009... MALAYSIA: Bombardier and Hartasuma have won a [euro] 45m contract to extend the peoplemover at Kuala Lumpur International Airport and supply three CX-100 vehicles.

Mongolia.(CONTRACTS)
January 1, 2009... MONGOLIA: Under a co-operation agreement signed last month Russian Railways will assist with developing transit traffic and refurbishing rolling stock. MTZ may take an equity stake in a Russian or North Korean port.

Russia.(CONTRACTS)
January 1, 2009... RUSSIA: Citing the financial crisis, RZD has postponed its plan to sell a 25% plus one share stake in Refservice (RG 12.08 p934).

UK.(CONTRACTS)
January 1, 2009... UK: In November SNCF's Freight Europe Subsidiary began a regular service carrying steel coil between Immingham and Birmingham for DFDS Tor Line; train operation is subcontracted to Colas Rail.

USA.(CONTRACTS)
January 1, 2009... USA: Port Authority of New York & New Jersey has purchased New York New Jersey Rail Corp, operator of a fleet of wagon ferry barges providing a direct connection between the national network and Long Island.

Qishuyan completes first local CML.(MARKET)
January 1, 2009... CHINA: The first of 298 China Mainline Locomotives to be assembled at Qishuyan's Changzhou factory was rolled out on November 25. Under a US$450m order placed with GE Transportation and Qishuyan in 2005, two locos were built in Erie (RG...

Cross-border line energised.(MARKET)
January 1, 2009... CZECH REPUBLIC: 3 kv DC electrification and 90 km/h running was inaugurated on the 23 km route between Letohrad and the Polish border at Lichkov on November 20. The upgrade of the bottleneck on a route from Poland's Baltic ports to the...

Australia.(INFRASTRUCTURE)
January 1, 2009... AUSTRALIA: Under a A$1bn five year contract placed by RailCorp, the Novo consortium of Laing O' Rourke, O'Donnell Griffin and Connell Wagner will undertake work on Sydney's CityRail network, upgrading the Lidcombe-Granville corridor,...

Canada.(INFRASTRUCTURE)
January 1, 2009... CANADA: Toronto Transit Commission has awarded AECOM a C$20m contract to provide architectural and engineering services for Sheppard West and Highway 407 stations on the 8.6 km Spadina Subway Extension.

India.(INFRASTRUCTURE)
January 1, 2009... INDIA: Kalindee Rail Nirman Engineers has been awarded a Rs1bn contract for track works on the Delhi Airport express rail link (RG 2.08 p000).

Iran.(INFRASTRUCTURE)
January 1, 2009... IRAN: A Rawie is supplying 11 buffer stops for Raja Trains' depot in Tehran. They are fitted with five retarders and are capable of stopping a 20 km/h train within 20m.

South Korea.(INFRASTRUCTURE)
January 1, 2009... SOUTH KOREA: Voestalpine has won its first order in South Korea, a [euro] 26m contract to supply 37 turnouts by June 2009 for installation on the Daegu Busan high speed line.

Libya.(INFRASTRUCTURE)
January 1, 2009... LIBYA: On November 26 China Railway Construction Corp formally started work on building a 453 km line between Tripoli and Surt.

Poland.(INFRASTRUCTURE)
January 1, 2009... POLAND: On December 4 PKP PLK awarded a consortium of Feroco and Torpol a 154m zloty contract to rebuild Brzeg station between Wroclaw and Opole within 24 months. Torpol and Feroco have won a [euro]250m contract for modernisation works on...

Portugal.(INFRASTRUCTURE)
January 1, 2009... PORTUGAL: On November 2 Westinghouse and Dimetronic commissioned a trial Westlock interlocking to replace two SSIs at Coruche, 60 km from Lisboa; the interlocking approvals process is based on that undertaken at Leamington Spa in the UK.

Serbia.(INFRASTRUCTURE)
January 1, 2009... SERBIA: ZS has placed contracts worth [euro]23.4m for modernisation of the Batajnica--Golubinci section of the Beograd--Sid main line. PORR Technobau will undertake civil works and Siemens, Jugotrade and Dalekovod will supply materials for the...

Slovakia.(INFRASTRUCTURE)
January 1, 2009... SLOVAKIA: On November 25 ZSR launched trials of ETCS Level 2 equipment supplied by Siemens under a SKr313m contract. The tests on the 92 km Bratislava--Nove' Mesto nad Vahom line are using a V63 locomotive hired from MAV. ZSSK plans to install...

Spain.(INFRASTRUCTURE)
January 1, 2009... SPAIN: Acciona and Construcciones Murias have won a [euro] 14.7m contract to double-track the 1.8 km Trana--Lebario section of Euskotren's Bilbao--San Sebastian route. Guillermo Ibargoyen and Balzola are to double the 680 m San...

Tunisia.(INFRASTRUCTURE)
January 1, 2009... TUNISIA: SNCFT has selected Nokia Siemens Networks to supply a GSM-R communication network by 2010.

UK.(INFRASTRUCTURE)
January 1, 2009... UK: Network Rail has awarded Ansaldo STS a [euro] 48m contract to implement the second phase of ERTMS On the Cambrian lines in central Wales. Balfour Beatty has placed an order with Matisa for four B41UE and two B66UC continuous action...

USA.(INFRASTRUCTURE)
January 1, 2009... USA: Dallas Area Rapid Transit has awarded Kiewit, Stacy & Witbeck, Reyes and Parsons a $430m designbuild contract for the first two sections of the Orange Line running 14.5 km from Bachman to Belt Line Road.

Belgium.(ROLLING STOCK)
January 1, 2009... BELGIUM: SNCB has exercised an option worth [euro]222m for a further of 60 Siemens Class 18 Eurosprinter ES60U3 electric locos (RG 9.08 p631), to be delivered by April 2012. A [euro]128m contract has been placed with Bombardier and Alstom...

France.(ROLLING STOCK)
January 1, 2009... FRANCE: On December 14 Alstom and Eurailtest completed four weekends of high speed testing of the Pegase AGV demonstrator on LGV Est, where it is possible to reach 360 km/h. During 2009 Pegase will be sent to Italy to assist in the approvals...

Germany.(ROLLING STOCK)
January 1, 2009... GERMANY: DB and Siemens signed a contract worth [euro]500m on December 17 for a further 15 international use. The eight-car sets are due to enter service from December 2011.

Hungary.(ROLLING STOCK)
January 1, 2009... HUNGARY: On November 25 Bombardier signed a [euro]77m contract to supply MAV with 25 Traxx multi-voltage electric locomotives within two years, with an option for 25 more.

India.(ROLLING STOCK)
January 1, 2009... INDIA: IR has appointed Systra and RITES to assess the feasibility of running air-conditioned trains along the 60 km Churchgate--Virar route in Mumbai. An elevated extension from CST to Nariman Point and Mantralaya is also proposed.

Ireland.(ROLLING STOCK)
January 1, 2009... IRELAND: The Railway Procurement agency has exercised a [euro]21m option with Alstom for a further eight Citadis trams for use on Dublin's Luas network from early 2010.

Kosovo.(ROLLING STOCK)
January 1, 2009... KOSOVO: TZV Gredelj has been awarded a [euro]2.5m contract to heavily rebuild and re-engine and EMD Class 661 diesel-electric locomotive as a pilot for a rebuilding programme.

Morocco.(ROLLING STOCK)
January 1, 2009... MOROCCO: Last month Interpipe announced a contract to supply ONCF with 2300 wheels over six months.

Russia.(ROLLING STOCK)
January 1, 2009... RUSSIA: Ukraine's Lugansk Works is to supply RZD with 120 diesel locomotives in 2009, up from 100 in 2008. RZD has selected the Transmash Holding-Alstom joint venture as its strategic partner for the supply of 1210 double-deck 'hotel train'...

Serbia.(ROLLING STOCK)
January 1, 2009... SERBIA: CZ Loko has supplied two Type 621 diesel shunters to mining firm PD Rudarski Basen Kolubara.

Slovakia.(ROLLING STOCK)
January 1, 2009... SLOVAKIA: ZOS Zvolen has rolled out a pre-series Class 756 Bo-Bo diesel-electric locomotive rebuilt from a Class 750 for ZSSK Cargo. Work undertaken in collaboration with CZ Loko included fitting a 1 455 kW Caterpillar 3512B SCAC engine and...