Railway Gazette International articles from May 2008

Railway Gazette International archives from May 2008

The path towards a sustainable railway.(COMMENT)
May 1, 2008... Environmental considerations are assuming increasing importance in shaping global transport policies. Such is the potential impact that delegates to the UIC Highspeed congress in Amsterdam (p326) agreed by a substantial margin that...

Trinidad Rapid Rail consortium confirmed.(MAIN LINE)
May 1, 2008... TRINIDAD & TOBAGO: The Trinitrain consortium of Bouygues Construction, Alstom Transport and RATP Developpement confirmed on April 11 that it had been selected by the government and the National Infrastructure Development Co to undertake the...

Inland railway study.(MAIN LINE)
May 1, 2008... AUSTRALIA: The federal government has commissioned an economic feasibility study to develop an optimum alignment for an inland railway between Melbourne and Brisbane. Transport & Infrastructure Minister Anthony Albanese announced on March 28...

Cross-city high speed.(MAIN LINE)
May 1, 2008... SPAIN: The Ministry of Development has approved the environmental impact statement for a third rail tunnel between Atocha and Chamartin stations in Madrid, for use by 1 435 mm gauge high speed trains operating at speeds of up to 120 km/h....

Fortescue carries first ore load.(MAIN LINE)
May 1, 2008... AUSTRALIA: On April 6 Fortescue Metals transported its first load of iron ore mined at Cloudbreak in the Pilbara to Herb Elliott Port. The initial shipment was taken by lorry from the opencast mine to the Hunter Siding open access facility...

Four tracks to Flevoland.(MAIN LINE)
May 1, 2008... NETHERLANDS: The cabinet gave its approval on March 20 for the Ministry of Transport to spend [euro]531m on infrastructure works to handle the predicted growth in passenger traffic in Flevoland. There has been a substantial increase in...

Upgrade package.(MAIN LINE)
May 1, 2008... AZERBAIJAN: The World Bank has approved a US$450m financing package to support the modernisation of the national rail network, with particular focus on the 550 km east-west corridor linking Baku with the Georgian capital Tbilisi (RG 1.08 p50)....

San Martin line to be electrified.(MAIN LINE)
May 1, 2008... ARGENTINA: Tendering for a US$650m programme to upgrade and electrify the 55 km San Martin commuter route from Retiro to Pilar in Buenos Aires was formally launched by the federal government on April 10. Work was expected to begin within two...

Oman consults.(MAIN LINE)
May 1, 2008... OMAN: Consultants have been appinted to undertake a study into the feasibility of building a 200 km freight railway between the port of Suhar and a planned container terminal at Birka to the north of the capital Masqat. Minister of...

Express Rail Link approved.(MAIN LINE)
May 1, 2008... HONG KONG: On April 22 the government announced the go-ahead for construction of the HK$39.5bn Express Rail Link between Kowloon and the border with the mainland. The link is expected to open in 2015. It will form part of a new high speed line...

Cross-acceptance accord.(MAIN LINE)
May 1, 2008... EUROPE: Meeting in Paris on April 16, the President of Germany's Federal Railway Office Armin Keppel signed an agreement with his counterpart Jean-Paul Troadec from France's Railway Safety Authority endorsing cross-acceptance of railway...

Thameslink procurement begins.(MAIN LINE)
May 1, 2008... UK: The Department for Transport announced on April 9 that it has begun the procurement of between 900 and 1 300 dual-voltage EMU cars as part of the [pounds-sterling] 5.5bn Thameslink Programme to upgrade north-south commuter routes through...

GWI buys Rotterdam port hauler.(MAIN LINE)
May 1, 2008... NETHERLANDS: On April 15 US-based shortline operator Genesee & Wyoming Inc announced it had acquired Rotterdam Rail Feeding, an independent provider of 'last mile' haulage and shunting services within the Port of Rotterdam. With 35...

First profit for Eurotunnel.(MAIN LINE)
May 1, 2008... EUROPE: Presenting Eurotunnel's 2007 results on April 8, Chairman & Chief Executive Jacques Gounon said they showed 'the new Groupe Eurotunnel is nothing like the old'. The company recorded a pro-forma profit of [euro]lm after excluding an...

East Midlands Control Centre opens.(MAIN LINE)
May 1, 2008... UK: Transport Secretary Ruth Kelly officially opened Network Rail's [pounds sterling]15m East Midlands Control Centre in Derby on April 3. The first NR personnel had moved in on March 1, and they will be joined by staff from East Midlands...

Groningen.(NEWS IN BRIEF)
May 1, 2008... The Dutch province of Groningen and Arriva signed a memorandum on March 14 to introduce a half-hourly train service to Veendam from April 2010 (RG 10.07 p600). Since the original Veendam station is used by the preserved STAR line, a new station...

Rheinland-Pfalz Nord.(NEWS IN BRIEF)
May 1, 2008... Rheinland-Pfalz Nord transport authority has awarded Rhenus Veniro a 20-year contract to operate the 14 km line between Boppard in the Rhine valley and Emmelshausen from December 2009. A [euro]7m order has been placed with Stadler for three RS1...

German.(NEWS IN BRIEF)
May 1, 2008... The German government, DB, industry association VDB and scientific partners have launched a three-year 'Quiet train on real track' (LZarG) project to develop simple and economically feasible ways of cutting noise. The project will investigate...

Double track makes progress.(MAIN LINE)
May 1, 2008... PAKISTAN: This month trains are expected to begin using a second track laid on the Kachakhuh--Chichawatni section of Pakistan Railway's Karachi--Lahore main line. The 1676 mm gauge route is being doubled throughout and upgraded for 140 km/h...

Eight-year ERTMS framework.(MAIN LINE)
May 1, 2008... SCANDINAVIA: Swedish infrastructure authority Banverket and its Norwegian counterpart Jernbaneverket have awarded Bombardier an eight-year framework contract to supply onboard equipment as part of their ERTMS roll-our programme. Announcing...

Landbridge preferred bidder named.(MAIN LINE)
May 1, 2008... SAUDI ARABIA: The Tarabot consortium was named as preferred bidder for the US$5bn Saudi Landbridge project on April 21. Financial close is expected within 12 months, and construction will begin soon after. Tarabot comprises seven Saudi...

Dhaka revival.(MAIN LINE)
May 1, 2008... BANGLADESH: International passenger services between Kolkata and Dhaka resumed with the launch of the Maitreyi Express on April 14 after a break of 43 years. Cross-border operations were suspended in 1965 as a result of the Indo-Pakistan war,...

Broad gauge to Austria.(MAIN LINE)
May 1, 2008... EUROPE:A protocol setting out plans to study the feasibility of extending a 1520 mm gauge line to Bratislava and Wien has been signed by the national railways of Slovakia, Austria, Ukraine and Russia. The hope is that a through broad gauge...

Ontario investment plan.(URBAN RAIL)
May 1, 2008... CANADA: The province of Ontario pledged financial support for a number of urban transit and suburban rail projects in the 2008 budget presented on March 25. Of the C$1bn in funding for municipal infrastructure allocated in the budget,...

Melbourne transport vision.(URBAN RAIL)
May 1, 2008... AUSTRALIA: The Victorian government has released a report by Sir Rod Eddington setting out an A$18bn plan to tackle Melbourne's rapidly increasing transport gridlock. Roads are increasingly congested, while the demand for public transport...

Sydney extensions edge forward.(URBAN RAIL)
May 1, 2008... AUSTRALIA: Metro Transport Sydney has submitted proposals for two extensions at either end of Sydney's sole light rail line for consideration by the New South Wales government. The most ambitious of the two would see a 4.1 km route created...

Tehran places [euro]360m order.(URBAN RAIL)
May 1, 2008... IRAN: Tehran Urban & Suburban Railway Co signed a [euro]360m contract with China Northern for 455 metro cars and 160 double-deck coaches on March 26. CNR has delivered 1 408 coaches and 432 metro cars to customers outside China since 2001, and...

Upgrade funds.(URBAN RAIL)
May 1, 2008... BRAZIL: BNDES has approved loans totalling R$177m for metro upgrades and construction in Rio de Janeiro and Fortaleza, state capital of Ceara. A loan of R$142m is destined to assist the ongoing project in Fortaleza, where a cross-city...

Alacant.(CITY NEWS IN BRIEF)
May 1, 2008... FGV tram-train services in Alacant are due to be extended from Creueta to Benidorm this month, following completion of track renewals and electrification. Similar work is now underway on the 8.9 km between Benidorm and Altea where a budget of...

Sevilla.(CITY NEWS IN BRIEF)
May 1, 2008... Faiveley Transport has been awarded a [euro]18.8m contract to install platform screen doors at 22 stations on Line 1 of the Sevilla metro.

Sao Paulo.(CITY NEWS IN BRIEF)
May 1, 2008... Alstom is to resignal three lines of the Sao Paulo metro totalling 57.2 route-km with Communications-Based Train Control. Preliminary work has already started on the World Bank-funded project, although the formal contract has yet to be signed....

Wide-body suburban set unveiled.(URBAN RAIL)
May 1, 2008... FRANCE: SNCF President Guillaume Pepy inspected the first four bodyshells for the future fleet of articulated wide-bodied Paris suburban trains at Crespin in northern France on March 28. Unveiled by President of Bombardier France Jean Berge,...

Granada light metro progress.(URBAN RAIL)
May 1, 2008... SPAIN: The Andalucia regional government has awarded a joint venture of Ferrovial and Ucop a [euro]62.8m contract to build the 33.5 km Rio Genil--Campus de la Salud section of the Granada light metro. Due to take 30 months to complete, this...

Metronet signalling will be re-tendered.(URBAN RAIL)
May 1, 2008... UK: Resignalling of London Underground's Sub-Surface Lines is to be reretendered following the exit from administration of Public-Private Partnership contractor Metronet (RG 12.07 p750). The contractual changes are subject to a court order...

Skoda plans next Praha tram.(URBAN RAIL)
May 1, 2008... CZECH REPUBLIC: Skoda Transportation has unveiled proposals to develop a fully low-floor, three-section tram for use in Praha. Designated 15T and branded ForCity, the unidirectional cars are destined to form a key element in the renewal of...

Delhi.(CITY NEWS IN BRIEF)
May 1, 2008... Bombardier announced on March 28 that it had received a [euro]87m order from Delhi Metro Rail Corp for an additional 84 Movia metro cars. The order is an option on a [euro]427m contract for 340 cars signed in July 2007. DMRC has requested a...

Bogota.(CITY NEWS IN BRIEF)
May 1, 2008... By the end of July the municipality of Bogota hopes to select a consultant to develop the outline design of the first metro route in the Colombian capital. The Inter-American Development Bank has indicated that it is willing to provide US$2-5bn...

Utrecht.(CITY NEWS IN BRIEF)
May 1, 2008... On April 4 a surplus Wien tram was delivered to Dutch operator Connexxion, which will test it on the Utrecht--Nieuwegein sneltram route with a view to leasing further cars to solve a current capacity shortage.

Moscow.(CITY NEWS IN BRIEF)
May 1, 2008... The Moscow city government is reported to have agreed a plan for Mirax Group to build an elevated monorail connecting Mirax Plaza at Moscow International Business Centre with the Fili metro station in Kutuzovskaya Avenue. Work on the first 2.2...

Barcelona.(CITY NEWS IN BRIEF)
May 1, 2008... Trials of Trainguard MT CBTC automatic train control have been successfully completed in Barcelona, prior to installation of the Siemens system on metro Line 9. A 2.4 km section of Line 2 between Clot and La Pau was equipped for testing the...

Baku.(CITY NEWS IN BRIEF)
May 1, 2008... In March Metrovagonmash announced a contract to supply Baku metro with 36 metro cars. The first 10 were scheduled to be delivered by the end of April, with the remainder by the end of this year.

Vancouver.(CITY NEWS IN BRIEF)
May 1, 2008... Vehicle testing has begun on the completed section of the Canada Line between Richmond depot and Vancouver International Airport. The 19 km line between Richmond and central Vancouver is due to open in late 2009.

Augsburg.(CITY NEWS IN BRIEF)
May 1, 2008... Augsburg transport authority VGA has exercised a [euro]39m option with Bombardier for a further 14 Flexity Outlook trams, bringing the German city's total order to 24 vehicles.

London.(CITY NEWS IN BRIEF)
May 1, 2008... Extensions of London Underground's Piccadilly Line and Line Heathrow Express rail service opened with Heathrow Airport's Terminal 5 on March 27. Construction was funded by airport owner BAA.

Almaty.(CITY NEWS IN BRIEF)
May 1, 2008... Energoprojekt has signed a [euro]32m contract to build Abai metro station in the Kazak city of Almaty. The Serbian firm completed the Almaly station at the end of 2007.

Pyongyang.(CITY NEWS IN BRIEF)
May 1, 2008... Pyongyang Transport Authority is to buy 20 second-hand Type T3 CKD-built single-ended trams from Praha transport authority DPHMP in a contract worth KC 13m. Pyongyang already operates 129 Type T6B5K single-ended trams delivered in 1991 and 45...

Valencia and Alacant.(CITY NEWS IN BRIEF)
May 1, 2008... FGV has ordered a further 14 bi-directional 100% low-floor Flexity Outlook trams which Bombardier will deliver to Valencia and Alacant in 2009-10.

Dubai.(CITY NEWS IN BRIEF)
May 1, 2008... On April 10 preferred bidder Serco announced that it had signed a contract with the Roads & Transport Authority covering the operation and maintenance of the Dubai Metro (RG 4.08 p255). The five-year operations contract runs from the opening of...

Helsinki.(CITY NEWS IN BRIEF)
May 1, 2008... Helsinki operator HKL will this month take delivery of six three-section trams bought second-hand from Mannheim.

Recife.(CITY NEWS IN BRIEF)
May 1, 2008... A 3 km extension of the Linha Sul from Imbiribeira to Shopping in the Brazilian city of Recife was opened on March 28.

Big bridge flies in.(URBAN RAIL)
May 1, 2008... UK: As part of the East London Line Extension project (RG 2.07 p89), the UK's largest mobile crane placed a 350 tonne bow-string bridge in place across Shoreditch High Street on March 29. The 35 m long and 11 m high bridge was assembled on site...

Bilbao Line 3.(URBAN RAIL)
May 1, 2008... SPAIN: Construction of Bilbao metro Line 3 is expected to start later this year, after bids were invited for the first 2.7 km section between San Antonio Etxebarri and Txurdinaga within a budget of [euro]75m. Due for completion in 2012, the...

Sha Tin--Central line gets the go-ahead.(URBAN RAIL)
May 1, 2008... HONG KONG: The Executive Council finally approved construction of the long-planned Sha Tin--Central metro line, although it is not expected to be completed until 2019. Following the West Island Line, South Island Line and Express Rail Link...

Yokohama opens Green Line.(URBAN RAIL)
May 1, 2008... JAPAN: Yokohama Municipality opened its second metro line on March 30, the 13-1 km Green Line serving Kohoku New Town northwest of the city centre. Also known as Line 4, the route runs from Nakayama to Hiyoshi, interchanging with the Blue Line...

City operators to merge.(URBAN RAIL)
May 1, 2008... ITALY: Milano's ATM and GTT of Torino have announced plans to merge. The intention is to create a public transport operating business better placed to compete on the international stage with British and French rivals. The group would...

Australia.(MARKET)
May 1, 2008... Babcock & Brown Infrastructure purchased a further 25% of WestNet Rail at the end of March, giving it a 76% stake in the Western Australia infrastructure operator.

Egypt.(MARKET)
May 1, 2008... Next month staff from Italian state railway FS will began a five-year project to advise ENR on restructuring and staff training.

Finland.(MARKET)
May 1, 2008... VR has placed an order with Almex and local partner Enfom for 900 almex.mobile portable ticket machines.

Germany.(MARKET)
May 1, 2008... Dow Chemical Co has extended DB Schenker's contract to provide logistics and shunting services at its Stade and Brunshausen sites until 2010, with an option for a further two years. This month DB begins a three-year project with T-Mobile,...

India.(MARKET)
May 1, 2008... Maave Electronics is to supply Indian Railways with 20 000 LED emergency lamps for use on coaches under a Rs80m contract.

Norway.(MARKET)
May 1, 2008... ESP Group is to supply NSB with 3 200 Axis Communications CCTV cameras by mid-2010.

Serbia.(MARKET)
May 1, 2008... On April 11 the Agency for Reconstruction awarded a contract to a group of Dutch and Serbian companies led by Italferr to draft a national plan for investment in rail, road, air and river transport; the work will take 16 months.

Sweden.(MARKET)
May 1, 2008... ERS Railways has signed an agreement for Hector Rail to haul containers of Tetra Pak products between Gavle and the port of Goteborg for three years, renewable for a further two.

UK.(MARKET)
May 1, 2008... Network Rail has formed a 50:50 joint venture with Kier Property to redevelop an initial portfolio of six stations and another site in southern England. On March 25 Freightliner Group took over the operating lease of the council-owned...

Freight loco unveiled.(MARKET)
May 1, 2008... SPAIN: RENFE has unveiled the first of 100 freight locomotives that are being built at its Villaverde workshops in joint venture with Bombardier. Rated at 5 400 kW, the 3 kV DC locos are part of the Traxx family and have a maximum speed of 140...

France.(INFRASTRUCTURE)
May 1, 2008... Sitram has awarded Colas Rail a [euro]4.1m contract for tram track works in Mulhouse.

Germany.(INFRASTRUCTURE)
May 1, 2008... Stadwerke Augsburg has awarded Klaus Hoch-& Tiefbau a [euro]3.7m contract for the construction of 1.5 km of tram track from Theodor-Wiedemann-StraBe to Damaschkeplatz.

Greece.(INFRASTRUCTURE)
May 1, 2008... Michaniki subsidiary Tholos has been awarded a [euro]11.9m contract for Phase 2 construction works on the Polykastro--Idomeni upgrading project in northern Greece. Work on the 9.7 km route is to be completed within 18 months.

Hungary.(INFRASTRUCTURE)
May 1, 2008... A consortium of OHL ZS and Kozepszolg has won a [euro]100.1m contract to upgrade the 20.6 km Mezotur--Gyoma section of the route from Budapest to Arad in Romania for 160 km/h running by December 2009. OHL ZS expects to complete shortly a...

Libya.(INFRASTRUCTURE)
May 1, 2008... During an official visit by President Putin, on April 17 Russian Railways President Vladimir Yakunin signed a US$4.5 bn contract for RZD subsidiary Zarubezhstroy to construct 554 km of new railway between Surt and Banghazi as part of the future...

Serbia.(INFRASTRUCTURE)
May 1, 2008... On March 24 Serbian Railways awarded Energoprojekt a contract for the construction of a new Beograd Central station in Prokop. TriGranit had previously been selected to undertake the work, but terms could not be agreed. The [euro]230m project,...

Slovenia.(INFRASTRUCTURE)
May 1, 2008... SZ has sold most of its 20% stake in the [euro]220m Emonika project to redevelop Ljubljana's main station to its Hungarian partner TriGranit. The railway retains a 3% stake in the commercial and residential development scheme.

Spain.(INFRASTRUCTURE)
May 1, 2008... ADIF has awarded Tecsa a [euro]612 700 contract to upgrade the 1 km La Cartuja branch in Sevilla for regular commuter services. This includes modifying the station originally built to serve the Expo '92 site.

Sweden.(INFRASTRUCTURE)
May 1, 2008... On April 21 tunnel boring machine Katrin broke through a concrete wall at Malmo C to complete boring of the 4.6 km Citytunnel from Holma. The 17 km link between the city's main station and the [empty.set] resund bridge is expected to be...

Spain.(INFRASTRUCTURE)
May 1, 2008... The Ministry of Development has been given approval to call tenders for civil works on the 13.3 km GrijotaBecerril de Campos section of the high speed line between Palencia and Leon. Work is expected to take 34 months to complete within a...

UK.(INFRASTRUCTURE)
May 1, 2008... NR has named preferred contractors for works in London under the Thames-link programme (RG 3.08 p172). Balfour Beatty will be responsible for [pounds sterling]15m of advance works at Blackfriars station, Skanska will carry out [pounds...

USA.(INFRASTRUCTURE)
May 1, 2008... On April 17 New Jersey Transit awarded George Harris Construction a $58.4m contract for a 1.6km extension of the Hudson-Bergen Light Rail line south from 22nd Street to 8th Street in Bayonne by June 2010.

Australia.(ROLLING STOCK)
May 1, 2008... AUSTRALIA: On March 28 Downer EDI announced a contract to supply an additional 19 EMD SD70ACe locos to BHP Billiton Iron Ore, bringing the miner's total order to 55 of the locos. Changes to manufacturing schedules enabled EMD to ship the first...

Belarus.(ROLLING STOCK)
May 1, 2008... BELARUS: Transmash Holdings' Kolo-mensky plant has supplied BC with the first two of five TEP70BS locos under a contract signed earlier this year. Transmash will also supply 15 engines for modernising M62 diesel locos, four engines for TE10...

Europe.(ROLLING STOCK)
May 1, 2008... EUROPE: Last month leasing firm TOUAX Rail announced a framework agreement for International Railway Systems to supply 6 000 wagons by 2012, including 3 600 container flats, 1 200 steel wagons and 1 200 coal hoppers. Five PKP Cargo ET22...

Hungary.(ROLLING STOCK)
May 1, 2008... HUNGARY: MAV has awarded Bombardier a [euro]17m contract to refurbish 46 Bhv suburban coaches at its Dunakeszi site by December 2009.

India.(ROLLING STOCK)
May 1, 2008... INDIA: Golden Rock workshop has developed a prototype stainless steel wagon with a capacity of 71 tonnes, 3 tonnes more than a conventional vehicle. Around 150 are expected to be built this year.

Lithuania.(ROLLING STOCK)
May 1, 2008... LITHUANIA: LG has awarded Skinest Rail contracts to supply wagons worth 44.8m litas.

Netherlands.(ROLLING STOCK)
May 1, 2008... NETHERLANDS: Nedtrain has signed a 10-year contract to maintain the seven Stadler EMUs being delivered to Arriva for operation on the Dordrecht--Geldermalsen line from December this year. Nedtrain will also maintain 11 RandstadRail RegioCitadis...