Railway Gazette International articles from March 2005

Railway Gazette International archives from March 2005

Vision of a freight revolution.(COMMENT)(European Union. European Commission's planning of European rail freight)
March 1, 2005... JANUARY 1 marked the formal start of the New Opera study into the feasibility of developing a dedicated rail freight network in Europe (RG 7.04 p399). Speaking to around 250 freight specialists at an RFF freight infrastructure colloquium in...

Bush budget bashes Amtrak.(COMMENT)(road and transit spending)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... ON FEBRUARY 7 the Bush government published the federal budget for 2006. Described as an austerity spending plan, it suggests that road and transit spending be cut by more than 3% to $59.5bn. Much of the reduction would come at the expense...

Centenary Congress.(COMMENT)(railway publishing)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... AS WE PREPARE to celebrate our 100th birthday and mark 170 years of railway publishing, plans for our Centenary Congress on July 1 are well in hand. We have a first-class line-up of expert speakers who have been briefed to examine future...

Norwegian competition starts.(NEWS)(Norges Statsbaner)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... THREE BIDDERS have submitted tenders for a 10-year contract to operate inter-city services on the Oslo--Gjovik route from June 2006. Final bids were presented to the Ministry of Transport & Communications on February 7. The 123 km...

Faster to Geneve.(NEWS)(reconstruction of the Haut Bugey line)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... PLANS to cut 30 min off the Paris--Geneve journey moved ahead on January 31 when the French Ministry of Transport issued a Declaration of Public Utility for the reconstruction of the Haut Bugey line between Bourg-en-Bresse and Bellegarde. ...

TRC bids go in.(NEWS)(Tanzania Railways Corp.)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... MARCH 9 is the deadline for shortlisted bidders to submit proposals for a 25-year concession to operate the Tanzania Railways Corp network. Financial bids are to be opened on April 27, and the government hopes to name a preferred bidder in June...

Burlington Northern Santa Fe Corp.(NEWS)(Burlington Northern and Santa Fe Railway Co. rename BNSF Railway)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... Burlington Northern Santa Fe Corp Chairman, President & CEO Matt Rose announced on January 24 that the corporation's operating arm Burlington Northern & Santa Fe Railway was being renamed BNSF Railway, launching a new logo to mark the 10th...

Central Japan Railway.(NEWS)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... The driving car for Central Japan Railway's first Series N700 tilting high speed trainset (RG 10.04 p682) was unveiled to the public at Hitachi's Kasado works on January 29. JR Central expects to display the complete 16-car test train later...

Puerto Montt upgrade underway.(NEWS)(state railway EFE)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... CHILEAN state railway EFE has called tenders for a contract to upgrade and maintain over eight years the 567.4 route-km of its Southern Zone between San Rosendo and Puerto Montt. Bids are due by June 8, and EFE hopes to sign a contract on...

Thanlwin bridged.(NEWS)(rail bridge in Myanmar)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... THE INAUGURATION of Myanmar's longest bridge on February 5 has completed MR's long coastal route serving Mon state in the southeast of the country. Linking Moktama and Mawlamyine over the Thanlwin river, the 27-span road and rail bridge is...

IE orders inter-city DMUs.(NEWS)(Iarnrod Eireann, diesel multiple unit vehicles )(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... ON JANUARY 31 Ireland's Minister for Transport Martin Cullen announced that Iarnrod Eireann had placed its biggest-ever order for new rolling stock, valued at [euro]262m. A fleet of 120 diesel multiple-unit vehicles (RG 8.04 p448) will complete...

JR Shikoku.(NEWS)(Limited Express)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... JR Shikoku has put into service a new fleet of 1 067 mm gauge EMUs on its through Limited Express services from Okayama to Takamatsu and Matsuyama. The Series 8000 Renewal trainsets are designed to run at 140 km/h but have been tested at 160...

Iran invests in network expansion.(NEWS)(Iran's rail network)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... PLANS TO invest US$2.5bn in expansion and modernisation of Iran's rail network were announced in January by RAI President Mohammad Saeedi Nejad. The 2005-10 development plan envisages the acquisition of 180 new locomotives, 8 800 freight...

Latvian.(NEWS)(restructuring the national railway)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... Latvian Transport Minister Ainars Slesers announced at the end of January that he had instructed LG to draw up plans for restructuring the national railway, which will be considered by the government in April. The intention is to form three...

Bosporus bids in.(NEWS)(TCDD)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... EIGHT consortia have submitted prequalification bids for a contract to upgrade TCDD's existing railways in Istanbul as part of the Marmaray cross-Bosporus project (RG 5.04 p251). Five bidders are due to be shortlisted this month to tender...

Boring contract.(NEWS)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... CONTRACTS worth [euro]80m have been awarded for a trial bore on the alignment of the proposed base tunnel for the Lyon--Torino high speed line. Lyon-Torino Ferroviaire, the bilateral joint venture company steering the project, announced on...

Dual-gauge trains to Lisboa.(NEWS)(high speed line between Lisboa and Porto)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... PORTUGUESE Transport Minister Antonio Mexia has announced plans for a high speed line between Lisboa and Porto. Five options were examined by RAVE, the company responsible for planning and building high speed lines in Portugal, and REFER,...

Renfe Operadora.(NEWS)(Red Nacional Ferrocarriles Espanoles)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... RENFE Operadora announced on February 7 that the AVE S102 300 km/h high speed trainsets developed by Talgo and Bombardier would start revenue service on the Madrid--Lleida route on February 26, although initially limited to 200 km/h because of...

Heavy haul PPPs.(NEWS)(public-private partnership, Kumba Resources Ltd., Transnet Ltd.)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... SOUTH AFRICAN iron ore producer Kumba Resources announced on January 26 that it had reached an agreement in principle with Transnet over capacity expansion on the Sishen--Saldanha heavy haul railway. Kumba had criticised Spoornet's failure...

Forum Train Europe.(NEWS)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... Founded in 1997 by the merger of the European freight and passenger timetable conferences, Forum Train Europe was restructured with effect from January 1 to represent all train operating companies running international services in Europe....

Xining express.(NEWS)(railway track construction planned)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... CHINESE Railways announced at the end of January that work is to start this year on a second double-track railway from Lanzhou to Xining at a cost of 4bn yuan. The electrified line is being designed for 200 km/h passenger trains, bringing...

Coastal corridor.(NEWS)(contracts for railroad construction in Costa del Sol)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... TENDERS are due this month for a 15-month contract to design three extensions to the Malaga--Fuengirola railway serving Spain's Costa del Sol. The area's population has risen from 300 000 to 700 000 and is forecast to reach 1.7 million by 2015....

South Line start.(City News)(Federal Transit Administration and North Carolina. Department of Transportation's finance for railroad construction)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... A GROUNDBREAKING ceremony was due to be held in Charlotte, North Carolina, on February 26 to mark the start of construction for the city's 15.4 km South Line light rail route. Serving 15 stops, it is due to open on December 31 2007. ...

Berlin S-Bahn.(City News)(railroads management)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... The last gap in the Berlin S-Bahn network caused by the partition of Germany was to be closed on February 24, with the reopening of the 2.8 km single-track line from Lichterfelde Sud to Teltow Stadt. Pending completion of refurbishment work on...

Dubai metro to start in May.(City News)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... CONSTRUCTION work on the two-line metro network in Dubai is expected to start on May 5, with a target completion date of September 9 2009. The timescale was announced last month by the Municipality's Director-General Qassim Sultan, who chairs...

Docklands Light Railway.(City News)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... The last of over 800 viaduct sections for the 4.5 km Docklands Light Railway branch to London City Airport was lifted into position by AMEC at the end of January, paving the way for completion of the [pounds sterling]300m PFI project by the end...

Line H car bids in.(City News)(SBASE)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... ON FEBRUARY 3 Buenos Aires metro construction authority SBASE formally opened the bids to supply rolling stock for Line H. It is now considering the technical content of the bids, with the financial offers to be considered at a later date. ...

Work starts on Metroeste.(City News)(Madrid metro Line)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... WORK HAS begun on the 8.3 km extension of Madrid metro Line 7 from Las Musas to San Fernando de Henares, due to open in March 2007 and expected to cost a total of [euro]444m. Known as Metroeste, the extension will serve an area with a...

Light rail study.(City News)(Guatemala City)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... PROPOSALS are being developed for a light rail line in Guatemala City, the country's Ministry of Communications & Transport announced at the end of January. The project would form part of a US$100m expansion of the capital's bus network now...

Angers confirms light rail plan.(City News)(steel-wheeled technology)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... MAYOR OF Angers Jean-Claude Antonini announced on February 10 that the city had decided to adopt steel-wheeled technology for its north-south light rail line, after a study found that rubber-tyred alternatives were insufficiently proven. ...

Paris.(City News)(Asnieres-Gennevilliers Le Luth)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... Construction work began on February 7 for the 1.9 km extension of Paris metro Line 13 to Asnieres-Gennevilliers Le Luth (RG 2.05 p89) in the northwest of the French capital. The [euro]158m extension is being funded 41% by Ile-de-France, 25% by...

Fleet renewals.(City News)(Chicago Transit Authority)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... ON JANUARY 28 Chicago Transit Authority issued a request for proposals for 206 metro cars, with options that could bring the total to 706. Bids are due in mid-2005, with deliveries to begin in 2008. The new cars are intended to replace the...

Nagoya Railroad.(INTELLIGENCE)(express service)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... On January 29 Nagoya Railroad inaugurated its [mu]SKY express service linking the city to Chubu International Airport which opened on February 17. Three-car Series 2000 EMUs operating at up to 120 km/h offer a 28 min journey time Photo:...

Australia.(INTELLIGENCE)(train protection and arning system )(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... Australia: A decision to use TPWS and TPWS+ to halt trains that approach curves or junctions too fast is being blamed for an increase in the cost of Victoria's Regional Fast Rail project A$750m (RG 12.04 p840).

Canada.(INTELLIGENCE)(GO Transit)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... Canada: On February 4 the GO Transit board approved a budget of C$173m for infrastructure and rolling stock renewals and a similar amount for investment in growth. Works to permit the extension of the Brampton service to Barrie will start this...

Czech Republic.(INTELLIGENCE)(SZCD to cut track access charges)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... Czech Republic: The government has told SZCD to cut by 40% its track access charges for intermodal trains, and is planning to introduce road tolls following a huge increase in cross-border lorry movements since the country joined the EU last...

Denmark.(INTELLIGENCE)(Danske Jernbaner)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... Denmark: Danske Jernbaner, a subsidiary of Germany's Niebull Eisenbahn, began operating open-access freight trains on February 3, taking over the operation of Norsk Hydro aluminium trains between Grena and Tonder formerly run by Arriva-owned...

Europe.(INTELLIGENCE)(Intercontainer Austria)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... Europe: On February 2 Intercontainer Austria launched a twice-daily rolling motorway service between Salzburg and Trieste, aimed at capturing 1 million tonnes of traffic a year from road. On February 1 rail4chem signed a joint venture...

Talgo Oy.(INTELLIGENCE)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... Talgo Oy is due to complete delivery in June of 15 double-deck car carrier wagons ordered by VR in 2003 at a cost of [euro]6.4m to operate on overnight services from Helsinki to the north of Finland. Able to run at 160 km/h, the 31.6 m long...

France.(INTELLIGENCE)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... France: The public enquiry into TGV Sud-Europe Atlantique between Poitiers and Limoges is to be held in September 2006; RFF hopes to have the 130 km line in service by 2014 at a cost of up to [euro]1.5bn. Visiting Toulouse on February 10,...

Germany.(INTELLIGENCE)(Angermunde--Schwedt)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... Germany: The Land of Brandenburg has allocated [euro]7.4m for electrification of the 23.4 km Angermunde--Schwedt line, which will be closed for upgrading for three months from September. NordWestBahn GmbH has won a further 12-year contract...

India.(INTELLIGENCE)(South Central Railway')(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... India: Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh Dr Y S Rajasekhara laid a foundation stone on January 27 for a 750 m bridge to carry South Central Railway's 123 km Yerraguntla--Nandyal line over the Pennar River. The Rs1.6bn line is to be completed by...

Israel.(INTELLIGENCE)(Israel Railways)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... Israel: IR Chairman Moshe Leon announced at the end of January that the refurbished line to Jerusalem Malkha will reopen in April. Journey time from Tel Aviv will be 72 min, 33 min faster than before, with intermediate stops at Lod, Ramla, Beit...

Netherlands.(INTELLIGENCE)(ProRail reopen cross-border route )(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... Netherlands: ProRail is to reopen the cross-border route from Maastricht to Lanaken in Belgium for freight traffic next year; the EU and local authorities in both countries will contribute to the [euro]14m cost.

New Zealand.(INTELLIGENCE)(Land Transport Safety Authority and Transfund merged to form Land Transport NZ)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... New Zealand: The Land Transport Safety Authority and infrastructure financing agency Transfund have been merged to form Land Transport NZ.

Russia.(INTELLIGENCE)(Russian Railways)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... Russia: RZD has allocated 900m roubles for upgrading of rail links to the port of Kaliningrad, including a 140m rouble reconstruction of Sortirovochnaya station by 2006 and installation of automatic signalling on the Shipilovka--Baltic Forest...

Slovenia.(INTELLIGENCE)(Luka Koper signed an agreement with Graz--Koflacher Bahn )(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... Slovenia: Port operating company Luka Koper signed an agreement with Austria's Graz--Koflacher Bahn on January 18 to form an open-access train operator known as Adria Transport, as a 50:50 joint venture.

South Africa.(INTELLIGENCE)(Protekon)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... South Africa: Protekon has completed a 3.5 km diversion of Spoornet's Kimberley--Sishen line built at a cost of R30m to avoid a new iron ore mine at Beeshoek.

Spain.(INTELLIGENCE)(Red Nacional Ferrocarriles Espanoles opens a new station)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... Spain: On January 25 RENFE Operadora opened a new station at La Pena between Abando and Ollargan on Bilbao suburban route C-3, built at a cost of [euro]6.5m. ADIF has completed a [euro]29.8m programme to install 124 base stations to...

Sri Lanka.(INTELLIGENCE)(China National Machinery Import-Export Corp.'s donated track maintenance equipment )(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... Sri Lanka: China National Machinery Import & Export Corp has donated track maintenance equipment worth Rs20m to SLR to help with reconstruction work following the Indian Ocean tsunami.

Uganda.(INTELLIGENCE)(Uganda Railways Corporation)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... Uganda: URC has reopened a further section of its northern line as far as Lira, 277 km from the junction at Tororo, and hopes to have trains running to Gulu (378 km) within the next few months.

United Kingdom.(INTELLIGENCE)(Network Rail Infrastructure Ltd.)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... United Kingdom: On February 15 Network Rail announced the go-ahead for a [pounds sterling]400m reconstruction of London's King's Cross station, with a 3 00 [m.sup.2] concourse over London Underground's northern ticket hall and a piazza in front...

USA.(INTELLIGENCE)(rail traffic congestion around Chicago to be alleviated)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... USA: BNSF and Canadian National have agreed to consolidate and streamline interchange traffic at Vancouver, Superior, Noyes, Memphis and New Orleans to avoid congestion on the network around Chicago.

Uzbekistan.(INTELLIGENCE)(Uzbekistan Railway)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... Uzbekistan: In mid-January UTY began electric operations on the 30 km Toshkent--Kuchluk section of its 114 km Toshkent--Angren line, now being wired at 3 kV DC.

Bulgaria.(Finance)(BDZ-EAD)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... Bulgaria: BDZ-EAD has proposed floating a limited issue of shares on the Bulgarian Stock Exchange in order to raise capital to fund its future development strategy now awaiting board approval (p 162).

China.(Finance)(Kowloon-Canton Railway Corp.)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... China: Kowloon--Canton Railway has launched a property development scheme at Wu Kai Sha on the recently-opened Ma On Shan line, which will help to recoup the HK$10bn cost of the route.

Europe.(Finance)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... Europe: Reporting its 2004 results on January 26, Eurofima said the SFr3.4bn of equipment financing deals concluded in the year was the highest for five years, bringing its total assets to SFr29.2bn. Low interest rates led to a 5.9% fall in...

France.(Finance)(RFF bonds)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... France: On January 19 CSFB and Goldman Sachs issued RFF bonds worth [euro]750m, bringing the total issued since September 2003 to [euro]2bn. The 5% bonds are due to be redeemed in October 2033.

Lorraine.(Finance)(purchase of rolling stock)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... Lorraine region has allocated [euro]100m in its 2005 budget to boost the purchase of new rolling stock for regional services. Introduction of TER-2N NG EMUs will help bring the average age of the local fleet down from 27 to 17 years by 2007.

Israel.(Finance)(railroads)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... Israel: IR Chairman Moshe Leon announced in January that the railway planned to raise US$460m this year through its first bond issue. Bonds worth a total of US$1.5bn are envisaged to help fund the current five-year investment plan.

Netherlands.(finance for reconstruction of railway station at Rotterdam, Rotterdam City Council)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... Netherlands: On January 26 Rotterdam City Council, the Greater Rotterdam region and the national government agreed to allocate [euro]486m for reconstruction of the city's main station by 2009 and double its capacity to 75 million...

Romania.(Finance)(Ministry of Transport)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... Romania: ABN Amro is to raise a [euro]45m loan for the Ministry of Transport to fund the installation by Siemens of seven Simis W electronic interlockings at stations to the northwest of Bucuresti.

USA.(Finance)(Valley Metro Rail)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... USA: Federal Transit Administror Jennifer L Dorn signed a Full Funding Grant Agreement with Valley Metro Rail on January 24, under which FTA will contribute $587m towards the $1.4bn cost of the initial 32.6 km light rail line in Phoenix.

The second of two Class 461.2 electric locos refurbished for Serbian Railways by Konkar of Zagreb was handed over on January 17; six more are to be rebuilt by MIN in Nis under Konkar supervision.(INTELLIGENCE)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... The second of two Class 461.2 electric locos refurbished for Serbian Railways by Konkar of Zagreb was handed over on January 17; six more are to be rebuilt by MIN in Nis under Konkar supervision. ZS has 76 of the Co-Co design in its fleet, but...

The first of three rail4chem Class 185 electric locos in European Bulls livery was delivered from Bombardier's Kassel plant on February 4.(INTELLIGENCE)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... The first of three rail4chem Class 185 electric locos in European Bulls livery was delivered from Bombardier's Kassel plant on February 4. They will be used on cross-border services between. Germany, Austria and Switzerland. Two Siemens Class...

China.(Market)(Sifang Locomotive & Rolling Stock Co Ltd., Tianjin Binhai Mass Transit Development Co )(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... China: Bombardier Transportation is to supply 200 bogies and kits for another 400 for use under cars for Guangzhou metro Lines 4 and 5 which are being assembled by a joint venture of Itochu Corp and Sifang Locomotive & Rolling Stock Co Ltd. ...

Cuba.(Market)(Cuban Railways)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... Cuba: Cuban Railways has ordered 12 DF7G-C locomotives from Beijing February 7th Rolling Stock Works of China. Deliveries of the 2 500 hp diesel-electric locos are due to start in the second half of this year.

Czech Republic.(Market)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... Czech Republic: SZCD has awarded contracts totalling KC1.7bn for 3 kV DC electrification of the 27.2 km line from Ostrava-Svinov to Opava-Vychod by October 2006. The package includes resignalling and upgrading for 100 km/h operation. CD is...

Denmark.(Market)(Lokalbanen AS and Alstom LHB 's contract)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... Denmark: Lokalbanen AS has ordered a fleet of 27 Lint 41 low-floor diesel railcars from Alstom LHB to operate services on its regional network north of Kobenhavn; deliveries are scheduled for 2006-07.

France.(Market)(Northern Telecom Ltd. and Reseau Ferre de France's contract)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... France: On February 16 RFF announced that it had appointed Nortel to provide operations and management services for its national GSM-R network which is currently being rolled out under a contract awarded to Nortel in September 2003.

Germany.(Market)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... Germany: On January 20 Verkehrsindustrie-systeme GmbH of Halberstadt rolled out the first of 19 Lint 41 and Lint 27 diesel railcars being supplied to Connex Sachsen-Anhalt GmbH in association with Alstom LHB. They will enter service when Connex...

Mexico.(Market)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... Mexico: Ferromex is planning to invest US$ 101m this year, including the purchase of 40 diesel locos and 1 000 freight wagons plus expansion of intermodal terminals in Monterrey, Hermosillo and Silao.

South Africa.(Market)(Protekon won contract from railways)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... South Africa: Protekon has won a R74.5m contract to rehabilitate the 3 kV DC overhead line equipment on a 42 km section of Spoornet's Durban--Johannesburg main line, as the first phase of a five-year programme to upgrade the 91 km from Estcourt...

Spain.(Market)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... Spain: Preliminary works have begun for a [euro]16.6m programme to install CTC and automatic block signalling on the Vic--Puigcerda route. Work due for completion by Bombardier within 28 months includes installation of eight electronic...

Switzerland.(Market)(Zurcher Verkehrsverbund )(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... Switzerland: Zurcher Verkehrsverbund has called tenders for supply of touch-screen ticket-vending machines able to accept cash or credit cards; the contract is to be awarded by September, with the machines to be operational at the start of...

United Kingdom.(Market)(Northern Ireland Railways )(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... United Kingdom: Northern Ireland Railways has selected a joint venture of AMEC and FP McCann for a [pounds sterling]17m contract to renew 17.5 km of track on the Belfast--Larne line between Bleach Green and Whitehead. On January 26 Network...

USA.(Market)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... USA: Kansas City Southern has ordered 30 SD70ACe diesel locos of 4 300 hp from EMD for delivery by the end of this year. Union Pacific has awarded a contract for supply of concrete sleepers until 2012 to CXT Inc, which plans to modernise...

Ferrovie Nord Baresi.(INTELLIGENCE)
March 1, 2005... Among several builds of new multiple-units for Italian local railways are six three-car EMUs being built for Ferrovie Nord Baresi at Alstom's Collefero works, of which four had been delivered by the beginning of February Photo: David...

Stadler GTW 2/6 diesel trainset.(INTELLIGENCE)
March 1, 2005... Another Stadler GTW 2/6 diesel trainset for the Merano--Malles Railway arrived in Bolzano on January 21 Photo: Trainsphoto/Diego Romanelli

China.(Metros)(railroads and airports traffic data)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... China: Passengers using Hong Kong's Mass Transit Railway network rose 8% to 834 million in 2004; Airport Express traffic went up 17% to 8.01 million as air travel recovered from the SARS health scare.

Czech Republic.(Metros)(Railway Authority and Skoda Automobilovy Koncern Ltd.'s contract)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... Czech Republic: The Railway Authority has certified for revenue operation Skoda Transportation's prototype 05T Vektra low-floor tram, now undergoing test running in Plzen. Skoda has orders to supply 20 Vektras for Praha and six for the 950 mm...

France.(Metros)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... France: Mayor of Paris Bernard Delanoe participated in ceremonies on January 27 to mark the start of tracklaying for tram line T3 at the site of Pont du Garigliano stop.

Germany.(Metros)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... Germany: On February 3 the municipality of Frankfurt (Oder) formally approved plans for construction of a 3.4 km cross-border light rail extension to Slublice in Poland at an estimated cost of [euro]7.6m.

India.(Metros)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... India: Minister of Urban Development Ghulam Nabi Azad said on February 16 that a ceremony to mark the start of work on the 33 km Bangalore Metro Rail project is to be held in May. The government will contribute Rs1.5bn towards the Rs 6.2bn...