Railway Gazette International articles from November 2004

Railway Gazette International archives from November 2004

DB AG stock market listing postponed.(COMMENT)(Deutsche Bundesbahn AG)
November 1, 2004... IN OUR September edition we asked whether German Railway was fit to be privatised with a stock market listing. DB AG's half-year results published in mid-August included encouraging figures for freight traffic with a 7% rise in tonne-km to 41.6...

Commission baulks at Plan Fret.(COMMENT)
November 1, 2004... COMPETITION authorities at the European Commission have signalled that they may be prepared to veto the state aid that French National Railways proposes to use to try and rescue its ailing freight business. In 2003, Fret SNCF turned in a...

RZD builds a reputation.(COMMENT)(Russian Railways)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... MODERNISATION of Russian Railways is gathering pace, as RZD celebrated its first anniversary as a state-owned joint stock company on October 1. President Gennady Fadeyev reported that freight turnover had risen by more than 8% and...

Chinese orders confirmed.(NEWS)(Changchun Railway Co)(Bombardier Sifang Power)
November 1, 2004... ON OCTOBER 9 China's Ministry of Railways confirmed two orders for fast inter-city trainsets and another for 180 heavy-haul electric freight locos. Announced during a state visit to China by French President Jacques Chirac, the orders form part...

Renfe to split on January 1.(NEWS)(Red Nacional Ferrocarriles Espanoles)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... THE SEPARATION of infrastructure from operations on the Spanish national network, postponed earlier this year by the new government, is now to take effect on January 1 2005. RENFE's infrastructure functions will transfer to the new agency...

Marco Polo boosts rail freight.(NEWS)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... FIVE RAIL projects have been included in the first tranche of grants to be awarded under the European Union's Marco Polo programme. The successor to PACT is intended to facilitate the transfer of at least 12 billion tonne-km of freight per year...

Central Japan Railway.(NEWS)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... Central Japan Railway held a ceremony at Tokyo Central on October 1 to mark the 40th anniversary of the opening of the Tokaido Shinkansen. Over the 40 years the service has increased from 60 to 291 trains per day, and average ridership from 61...

UP to order low-emission diesel locos.(NEWS)(Union Pacific)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... WITH THE EPA Tier 2 emission regulations for new locomotives coming into force on January 1 2005, Union Pacific announced on September 30 that it was planning to order 315 low-emission locos for delivery from the first half of 2005. UP...

Arriva.(NEWS)(Regentalbahn AG )(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... UK-based rail and bus operator Arriva announced on October 14 that it had completed the [euro]60m purchase of a 76.3% stake in Germany's Regentalbahn AG formerly owned by the Land of Bayern. With around 400 staff and 71 trainsets. Regentalbahn...

Russian joint venture plans.(NEWS)(Russian Troika Corp)(Far East Sea Navigation Company)
November 1, 2004... ON OCTOBER 6, the Russian Railways board approved plans to form a joint venture company known as Russian Troika Corp, one of three announced by RZD in September which are due to become operational next year. A partnership between RZD and...

Beira Railway Co inaugurated.(NEWS)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... MOZAMBIQUE President Joaquim Chissano participated in ceremonies at Dondo on October 5 to mark the launch of the Beira Railway Company, a joint venture entity formed to operate the two 1 067mm gauge railways serving the east African port for 25...

Kansas City Southern.(NEWS)(Mexican Federal Competition Commission)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... On October 7 Kansas City Southern announced that the Mexican Federal Competition Commission had extended the time available for it to negotiate the purchase of a controlling interest in Mexican freight concessionaire TFM until April 5 2005. The...

Belgrano bidding deadline extended.(NEWS)(Belgrano Cargas )(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... AT THE REQUEST of two of the groups seeking more detail on the company as they prepare bids for a 75% stake in metre-gauge freight operator Belgrano Cargas (RG 10.04 p660), the Argentinian government has extended the deadline for submitting...

rail4chem.(NEWS)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... German open access freight operator rail4chem has set up a Rotterdam-based subsidiary with effect from October 11. Responsible for container shuttles between Rotterdam, Eindhoven and Venlo, rail4chem Benelux BV has a staff of 30 and eight...

Maintenance deal.(NEWS)(Pacific National )(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... AUSTRALIAN interstate freight operator Pacific National has awarded a five-year contract for diesel locomotive maintenance to EDI Rail, valued at over A$250m. Covering periodic maintenance and overhaul of more than 300 locos operating in...

French Transport.(NEWS)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... French Transport Minister Gilles de Robien and RFF President Jean-Pierre Duport participated in ceremonies at Vadenay/St-Hilaire-au-Temple on October 19 to mark the start of tracklaying work on the first phase of TGV Est. RFF said that over 80%...

Passenger revival decreed.(NEWS)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... BY MEANS OF presidential decree No 1261 published on September 28, the Argentinian government has resumed powers to provide long-distance passenger services across provincial boundaries. The move revokes an earlier decree signed by...

RZD plans North Caucasus upgrade.(NEWS)(Russian Railways)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... VISITING Rostov-na-Duna on October 15, Russian Railways President Gennady Fadeyev announced that the company expects to invest 37.6bn roubles in the North Caucasian Railway during 2005-07. RZD has invested 6bn roubles this year on upgrading...

SNCB stock orders.(NEWS)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... BELGIAN National Railways announced on October 12 that it had ordered 70 more double-deck inter-city coaches from Alstom and Bombardier for [euro]179m. The vehicles will include 19 first class and 19 multi-functional cars plus 32 driving...

Sri Lanka.(NEWS)(Sri Lanka Transport Ministry )(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... The Sri Lanka transport ministry announced on October 4 that the government had agreed to allocate Rs6.5bn for railway upgrading over the next eight months under its short-term action plan. The bulk of the money will go on 10 new locomotives...

Ahern opens Luas Red Line.(CITY NEWS)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... DUBLIN light rail Line A, now known as the Red Line, was officially opened by Irish Prime Minister Bertie Ahern and Transport Minister Seamus Brennan on September 28. After unveiling a plaque at the Tallaght terminus, the dignitaries...

Washington wins metro funding.(CITY NEWS)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... THE METRO MATTERS funding package providing $3.3bn for expansion and remedial work on the Washington DC metro network over the next six years was approved by the WMATA board on October 21. The authority's budget committee approved the...

Triangle Transit Authority.(CITY NEWS)(United Transit Systems )(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... Triangle Transit Authority in North Carolina announced on October 7 that it was to buy 16 two-car DMUs from United Transit Systems at a cost of $90m to operate commuter rail services between Raleigh and Durham from 2008. UTS is a joint venture...

Capital spending.(CITY NEWS)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... ON SEPTEMBER 28 the New York MTA board voted to approve the agency's $27.3bn five-year capital plan. The package includes $4bn for expansion projects including NYCT's Second Avenue subway and LIRR's East Side Access (RG 9.04 p535). The...

Northern Suburbs line extended.(CITY NEWS)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... WESTERN Australia Premier Geoff Gallop and Planning & Infrastructure Minister Alannah MacTiernan participated in the ceremonies on October 4 to mark handover of the first stage of Perth's A$1.5bn New MetroRail project. The event marked the...

Shanghai Shetong Holdings Group.(CITY NEWS)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... Shanghai municipality's transport investment company Shanghai Shetong Holdings Group has ordered a fleet of 16 eight-car Metropolis trainsets from a consortium of Alstom Transport, Shanghai Electric Corp and CSR Nanjing Puzhen Rolling Stock...

Circle completed.(CITY NEWS)(Nagoya metro's Meijo Line)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... OCTOBER 6 saw the opening of a 5.6 km extension to Nagoya metro's Meijo Line, completing a circular route around the city centre in the run-up to next year's Aichi World Expo. The extension connects the former Line 4 terminus at...

Mayor unveils [pounds sterling]10bn plan.(CITY NEWS)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... A FIVE-YEAR capital investment programme was unveiled on October 12 by Mayor of London Ken Livingstone, who said it 'marks an end to stop-start funding for London's transport.' Due to be formally approved by the TfL board on October 27, the...

Wuhan metro inaugurated.(CITY NEWS)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... CHINA's latest metro network was officially opened on September 28, with the inauguration of the first phase of Wuhan's elevated light metro line. Passengers have been carried on the limited test service on the 10 km route since June, but...

Utility diversion work has begun in Nice in preparation for the construction of light rail Line 1 between Pont Muchel and Comte de Falican.(CITY NEWS)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... Utility diversion work has begun in Nice in preparation for the construction of light rail Line 1 between Pont Muchel and Comte de Falican. This 8.7 km route serving 21 stops is expected to open at the end of 2006. The fleet of 20 Citadis cars...

Den Haag inaugurates tram tunnel.(CITY NEWS)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... FREE TRAVEL all day was offered by Den Haag transport operator HTM on October 16 as the capital of the Netherlands celebrated two transport milestones. Transport Minister Karla Peijs officially opened the long-awaited 'Souterein' tram...

Yapi Merkezi and AnsaldoBreda.(CITY NEWS)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... A consortium of Yapi Merkezi and AnsaldoBreda has been named as low bidder for the [euro]100m contract to build a 17.5 km light rail line with 31 stops in the Turkish city of Kayseri. A fleet of 22 double-ended 30 m long cars with 70% low...

Dubai tenders due this month.(CITY NEWS)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... TECHNICAL BIDS for construction of the Dubai light metro network are due to be submitted on November 1, under a two-stage process that will see the financial proposals lodged by January 31 next year. The municipality hopes to award the contract...

Wellington boost.(CITY NEWS)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... COMMUTERS between Wairarapa and Wellington will see their ageing trains replaced next year, following the approval of a government grant towards the cost. On October 7 Finance Minister Michael Cullen announced a grant of NZ$10.6m which...

Trenitalia.(INTELLIGENCE)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... As part of its Photovoltaic Train project, Trenitalia has equipped. Siena-based Bo-Bo-Bo E636.385 with roof-mounted solar panels to feed the batteries and air-conditioning equipment. The loco is seen on a test trip at Alessandria at the end of...

Argentina.(INTELLIGENCE)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... Argentina: Buenos Aires suburban operator Metropolitano expects to complete a US$3m track renewal and level crossing modernisation programme on its Roca network by the end of the year.

Belgium.(INTELLIGENCE)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... Belgium: The 6 530 m Soumagne tunnel on the high speed line between Liege and the German border was holed through on October 20. Civil works are due for completion in autumn 2005 with the new line expected to enter service in 2007.

Bolivia.(INTELLIGENCE)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... Bolivia: FCA has introduced an experimental passenger service on the 160 km Potosi--Sucre route, operated two days a week using a diesel railcar. A Buen Retiro--Cochabamba--Chaguarani railcar service was due to be introduced last month, and...

Canada.(INTELLIGENCE)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... Canada: CN and CP have signed reciprocal track access agreements to increase capacity on key routes in the Vancouver area.

China.(INTELLIGENCE)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... China: Work is to start this month on the 167 km Dali--Lijiang line, to be completed by 2008 at a cost of 4.5bn yuan. The 205 km Guangtong--Dali section built at a cost of 2.6bn yuan was opened on August 26. On September 8 construction...

Amalgamated Construction.(INTELLIGENCE)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... Amalgamated Construction has installed a concrete lining along 1 534 m of previously unlined bores in Higham and Strood tunnels in southeast England. Network Rail's year-long programme of lining, track renewal and drainage improvements in the...

Czech Republic.(INTELLIGENCE)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... Czech Republic: CD is to set up subsidiary company Tratove Strojni Stanice to operate track machines from January 1, as a pilot for the conversion of CD into a holding company for a series of businesses in which it will hold a majority stake.

Europe.(INTELLIGENCE)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... Europe: Passenger and freight trains between Dresden and Praha will be worked by the same crew throughout from the December timetable change, eliminating the current changes at the border stations. A Ljubljana--Istanbul freight service was...

Germany.(INTELLIGENCE)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... Germany: Nord-Ostsee-Bahn has begun building a [euro]12m depot at Husum to maintain rolling stock for the Hamburg--Westerland services which it is to operate under contract from December 2005.

India.(INTELLIGENCE)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... India: The Railway Ministry is to create a Rail Land Development Authority which will exploit the commercial opportunities of railway-owned land. Broad-gauge services on the Rajapalayam--Tenkasi line were inaugurated on September 20 after...

International.(INTELLIGENCE)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... International: Russia and North Korea have agreed to modernise the cross-border rail link between Tajin and Khasan to give access from Korea to the Trans-Siberian route.

Israel.(INTELLIGENCE)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... Israel: A half-hourly passenger service from Tel Aviv to Ben Gurion International Airport was launched on October 10.

Netherlands.(INTELLIGENCE)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... Netherlands: Husa Capital has reached an agreement to acquire a majority stake in freight operator ACTS Nederland BV from five existing shareholders, who had been looking for a new strategic partner.

Turkey.(INTELLIGENCE)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... Turkey: On September 27 Ukrferry and Bativagon commissioned a terminal at Derinje for train ferry services to llyichevsk in Ukraine. It will be further expanded by 2006 at a total cost of US$3m.

United Kingdom.(INTELLIGENCE)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... United Kingdom: Royal Mail has awarded GB Railfreight a contract to operate two daily mail trains in each direction between London, Warrington and Glasgow during December, carrying around 4% of the peak Christmas mail traffic.

USA.(INTELLIGENCE)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... USA: On October 3 Southwestern Railroad Inc began operating under lease BNSF's 421 km Carlsbad subdivision between Loving Junction and Clovis in New Mexico. BNSF trains began using the 3 km Argentine Connection flyover in Kansas City on...

Zambia.(INTELLIGENCE)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... Zambia: Services between Livingstone and Mulobezi were withdrawn at the end of September. ZR had been leasing a loco from RSZ for use on the 150 km route, which is not covered by RSZ's concession.

France.(Finance)(Societe Nationale des Chemins de Fer )(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... France: On October 7 SNCF signed a [euro]200m loan agreement with EIB to fund 18 TGV Duplex trainsets being built for Paris--Marseille services, which are intended to free older stock for use on TGV Est. On September 1 EIB signed an...

Romania.(Finance)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... Romania: On October 5 the World Bank granted a US$225m credit for rail and road infrastructure projects.

Slovenia.(Finance)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... Slovenia: Eurofima is providing SZ with a [euro]74m loan towards the [euro]77.8m cost of 20 Siemens EuroSprinter locos (RG 9.04 p523).

Spain.(Finance)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... Spain: Under a funding agreement signed on October 19, the Extremadura regional government is to provide [euro]70m towards a [euro]176.6m programme of infrastructure upgrading works for 2004-09. The Ministry of Development and RENFE are to fund...

Taiwan.(Finance)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... Taiwan: The cabinet has approved a five-year major projects package worth NT$500bn including NT$1.9bn for railway expansion and NT$48bn for metro construction in Taipei, Taichung and Kaohsiung.

Turkey.(Finance)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... Turkey: On September 20 EIB signed a 30-year credit agreement worth [euro]220m for the Bosporus tunnel project, the first tranche of a phased [euro]650m loan for the project.

USA.(Finance)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... USA: On October 7 FTA announced a $73.8m grant for design and project management on the East Side Access extension of Long Island Rail Road to New York's Grand Central Station by 2012. Tri-Met has received a $5.7m FTA grant for design and...

Bosnia.(Market)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... Bosnia: Republik Srpska Railways has bought three Fiat Class 813 DMUs from Slovenian Railways. Dating from the mid-1970s, they will replace loco-hauled local trains on the Doboj--Tuzla line.

Croatia.(Market)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... Croatia: TZV Gredelj has received a letter of intent for the remanufacture of six GM-EMD G16 locos owned by National Railway Equipment Co of the USA.

India.(Market)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... India: Union Switch & Signal is to supply a further 15 Microlok II microprocessor-based interlockings to IR for installation at eight stations on North Central Railway and seven stations on Eastern Railway.

Iran.(Market)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... Iran: RAI has ordered 34 sleeper, three dining and six other coaches from China Southern Locomotive & Rolling Stock Industry Corp.

Malaysia.(Market)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... Malaysia: Balfour Beatty's contract to maintain electrification equipment on commuter routes around Kuala Lumpur has been renewed until April 2007.

Romania.(Market)(Caile Ferate Romane )(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... Romania: CFR has awarded Alcatel a [euro]60m contract to supply LockTrac 6151 interlockings for 11 stations on the Constantza--Lugoj section of Corridor IV.

Lirex EMUs.(INTELLIGENCE)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... The first of 55 X60 Lirex EMUs being built at Alstom's Saizgitter works for Stockholm's suburban network arrived in Sweden on October 16 for test running around Aivsjo. Series deliveries of the 107 m long six-section articulated low-floor...

Slovakia.(Market)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... Slovakia: Next month Tatravagonka will complete an order for 100 Sggrss 80 six-axle 120 km/h container flats from intermodal operator Metrans Praha.

South Africa.(Market)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... South Africa: Spoornet has ordered 6 800 forged wheels for wagons used on the Orex and Richard's Bay heavy-haul lines from DCD-Dorbyl's Ringrollers division, the southern Africa distributor of Lucchini products.

Spain.(Market)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... Spain: As part of the programme to upgrade the Sevilla--Cadiz route for high speed operation, Necso has been awarded a contract worth [euro]40.2m covering the 9.3 km Bahia Sur section, including double-tracking and overhead electrification...

Tanzania.(Market)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... Tanzania: Tazara has taken delivery of 50 Chinese-built covered wagons worth US$1.6m. They followed 50 flat wagons delivered to Dar es Salaam in June.

Turkey.(Market)(Eser Muhendislik)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... Turkey: Eser Muhendislik has been awarded a 2 772bn lira contract for surveying and project engineering services on the 475 km Ankara--Sivas route. A joint bid by SU Yapi and Yuksel Domanic won a similar contract covering the Ankara--Izmir...

Turkmenistan.(Market)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... Turkmenistan: Chinese firm Capital-Longji Sci-Tech is to supply diesel locos, coaches and equipment worth US$128m over a 14 month period.

Vietnam.(Market)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... Vietnam: Siemens and Vossloh are to supply 16 metre gauge AR15 diesel-electric locomotives to DSVN in a [euro]46m order. To be built in Munchen, the 120 km/h Co-Co locos will be used on Hanoi--Ho Chi Minh City services from 2006.

United Kingdom.(Market)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... United Kingdom: The Association of Train Operating Companies has awarded BT a contract to develop and host an automated telephone information service, using speech recognition technology from Eckoh Technologies. Siemens has signed a...

Uruguay.(Market)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... Uruguay: AFE has ordered 25 flat wagons to carry containers and timber for US$1.3m. They are due to be delivered from the Czech Republic by the end of 2004, and a second wagon order is expected next year.

USA.(Market)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... USA: Mid-Region Council of Governments and New Mexico Department of Transportation have ordered 10 double-deck coaches worth $22m from Bombardier to provide a commuter service between Belen, Albuquerque and Bernalillo. Nashville RTA has...

TransNamib.(INTELLIGENCE)
November 1, 2004... TransNamib Holdings has put into service the first of four diesel locos supplied by Ziyang Loco Works of China, which were delivered in September. The locos are the first to be powered by Cummins 16-cylinder QSK60-L engines rated at 2 200 hp at...

Argentina and Brazil.(Pointers)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... The 1 000 mm gauge networks in Argentina and Brazil could be connected by designing the proposed road bridge across the River Parana between Reconquista and Goya in Argentina to accommodate rail infrastructure. The proposals also include a 1...

Ferrosur Roca.(Pointers)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... Signature of a new concession contract for Ferrosur Roca (RG 10.04 p661) has been delayed as government officials and the freight operator attempt to head-off political opposition by resolving outstanding claims. These include the 8m pesos in...

Jordan.(Pointers)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... The government of Jordan plans to call for proposals from international companies for upgrading lines and extending the rail network to provide links to Damascus, Baghdad, Riyadh and Cairo.

Myanmar.(Pointers)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... RITES is carrying out a technical and economic feasibility study for a rail link from India to Kalay in Myanmar. A memorandum of understanding to introduce rail services was signed by the two countries on July 27.

Alberta Economic Development Authority.(Pointers)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... Alberta Economic Development Authority is to review a two-year study by the Van Horne Institute which found that a Calgary--Edmonton passenger service would be feasible. New tracks parallel to existing CP lines would cost C$1.7bn, and a new...

Ethio-Djibouti Railway.(Pointers)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... Acting General Manager of the Ethio-Djibouti Railway Abraha Habtegzi said in September that six companies from Canada, Indian, South Africa, the UAE and USA have expressed interest in the privatisation of the railway, expected to take place in...

Marechaux Sud.(INTELLIGENCE)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... Tracklaying work for the Tramway des Marechaux Sud in Paris began on September 29, when the first rails were laid in the Avenue de la Porte de Sevres in the city's 15th arrondissement. This section will form part of the connecting link from the...