Railway Gazette International articles from November 2006

Railway Gazette International archives from November 2006

Policy changes are urgently needed in eastern Europe.(COMMENT)
November 1, 2006... LISTENING TO some of the debate at Terrapinn's Central & Eastern European Rail conference on October 10-11 in Budapest, you would not have known that one of the rocks on which past railway policy has been built will crumble in two months from...

Turmoil in the tropics.(COMMENT)
November 1, 2006... TENDERS are to be called by the end of this year for a feasibility study into the rehabilitation of El Salvador's rail network. To be commissioned by port athority Cepa, which controls Fenadesal, it will be funded by the Spanish government,...

Stockholm rethinks Citybanan plan.(COMMENT)
November 1, 2006... UNCERTAINTY REIGNS in the Swedish capital, after voters backed congestion charging and public transport improvements, just as the council vowed to cancel the much-needed cross-city rail tunnel. After an experiment running from January 3 to...

Eesti Raudtee returns to state ownership.(NEWS)
November 1, 2006... AGREEMENT was reached on October 18 between Estonia's Ministry of Economic Affairs & Communications and Baltic Rail Services to end the contract under which BRS holds a 66% stake in Eesti Raudtee. AS Suprema Securities, representing BRS,...

Create underway.(NEWS)
November 1, 2006... THE $1.5 bn CREATE programme to modernise the complex network of railways in the Chicago area was officially launched on September 18 with a ceremony at Brighton Park Junction, where four major routes converge in the city's southwest suburbs....

Test run heralds 200km/h in China.(NEWS)
November 1, 2006... OPERATION of a test train between Jinan and Qingdao on September 29 marked completion of an upgrading and electrification programme allowing services to operate on the 393km route at up to 200km/h. Minister of Railways Liu Zhijun said that...

Hitachi Europe.(NEWS)
November 1, 2006... On October 12 Hitachi Europe announced that it is to develop 'Europe's first hybrid high-speed train' in the UK next year. Hitachi is working with Porterbrook Leasing, Network Rail and Brush Traction, which is to convert an existing HST diesel...

Valencia progress.(NEWS)
November 1, 2006... SPANISH infrastructure authority ADIF has awarded contracts for civil works on six sections of the Madrid-Valencia high speed line between Sesena and Cuenca. Worth a total of [euro]243.1m, the contracts cover 50.3 km of new construction....

North-South Railway.(NEWS)
November 1, 2006... Saudi Arabia's Finance Minister Dr. Ibrahim Al-Assaf signed two contracts last month totalling more than 1.8bn riyals for civil engineering work on the 2400km North-South Railway linking Al-Jalamid and Al-Zubairah to Riyadh and Jubail (RG 3.06...

Three years to develop cost-effective track.(NEWS)
November 1, 2006... INNOTRACK is the name of a three-year research project launched in Berlin on September 21 'to develop cost-effective high performance track infrastructure'. Due for completion in August 2009, the project has attracted funding from the...

Yamanashi maglev to grow.(NEWS)
November 1, 2006... JAPAN'S high speed magnetic levitation testing facility near Kofu in Yamanashi prefecture, about 100km west of Tokyo, is to be extended. When construction of the experimental guideway was agreed in 1990, the intention was to build a 42.8km...

Faster to Barcelona in December.(NEWS)
November 1, 2006... THE SPANISH Ministry of Development has confirmed that the next section of the Madrid-Barcelona high speed line is to open for traffic in December. Comprising 82.5km between gauge-changing installations at Puigverd de Lleida and Roda de...

Dedicated freight corridor.(NEWS)
November 1, 2006... Visiting Mumbai on October 5, Indian Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh laid the foundation stone for the 1500km Mumbai-Delhi dedicated freight corridor (RG 10.06 p686), which he said would be completed within five years at a cost of Rs115bn. On...

ONCF invests to raise capacity.(NEWS)
November 1, 2006... PRESENTING the first of 24 double-deck EMUs built by AnsaldoBreda to the local media on September 19, Director General of Moroccan Railways Mohamed Rabie Khlie said that ONCF is spending 2bn dirhams to increase capacity of the rolling stock...

High speed bidding moves on.(NEWS)
November 1, 2006... THE SECOND round of bidding for the Buenos Aires-Rosario-Cordoba high speed line (RG 10.06 p644) was due to be completed by the end of October, culminating with the award of contracts for technical studies and project management. Bids to...

Framework signalling contracts.(NEWS)
November 1, 2006... ON OCTOBER 9 UK infrastructure manager Network Rail confirmed the award of four framework contracts for major resignalling schemes, potentially worth a total of [pounds sterling]1.5bn over 10 years. A fifth contract for the South West...

Bangladesh upgrade funded.(NEWS)
November 1, 2006... THE ASIAN Development Bank confirmed on October 15 that it is to provide US$430m over five years to fund a reform and upgrading programme for Bangladesh Railways. Structured as a 32-year loan with an eight-year grace period, the deal will...

Namibia.(NEWS)
November 1, 2006... This month is due to see a formal ceremony to inaugurate the first section of tubular track which has been laid in Namibia (RG 9.05 p553). Freight trains began running over the line in October.

TGV.(NEWS)
November 1, 2006... To mark the 25th anniversary of TGV operations in France, SNCF staged a display of rolling stock around the Trocadero and Eiffel Tower in Paris on September 23-24. Pride of place went to the first series-built TGV POS multi-system power car...

GE Transportation Systems.(News on line)
November 1, 2006... GE Transportation Systems announced on September 28 that it had won a contract worth 'more than US$650m' to supply 310 Evolution Series diesel locomotives to Kazakhstan Temir Zholy. The first 10 will be assembled at Erie and shipped in 2008....

Gautrain Rapid Rail Link.(News on line)
November 1, 2006... A ceremony on September 28 marked the start of work on the Gautrain Rapid Rail Link, which will connect Johannesburg and Tshwane. The first section linking Johannesburg International Airport with Sandton and Midrand would be ready by June 2010,...

Amtrak's Keystone Corridor.(News on line)
November 1, 2006... October 30 sees the launch of an enhanced timetable on Amtrak's Keystone Corridor between Philadelphia and Harrisburg, following the completion of a $145m seven-year upgrade to permit 177km/h running. It wil also see the launch of extra...

Madrid projects near completion.(CITY NEWS)
November 1, 2006... WITH THE COMPLETION at the end of September of tunnelling on the extension of Line 7 to Coslada and San Fernando de Henares, civil works have now been completed on all the metro expansion projects taken forward under the administration of...

U-Bahn reaches Garching.(CITY NEWS)
November 1, 2006... OCTOBER 14 saw Munchen U-Bahn line U6 extended by 4.4km from Garching-Hochbruck to Garching-Forschungszentrum. Replacing the frequent shuttle buses between Garching centre and the former railhead, the extension with one intermediate stop at...

Expansion continues in Caracas.(CITY NEWS)
November 1, 2006... PRESIDENT Hugo Chavez of Venezuela drove the inaugural train on the extension of Caracas metro Line 3 from El Valle to La Rinconada on October 15, which also saw the official opening of the Tuy Medio commuter line from La Rinconada to Cua (RG...

Order lifts capacity on driverless line.(CITY NEWS)
November 1, 2006... ANOTHER 22 four-car trainsets are to be built to raise capacity on the automated Kelana Jaya Line in Kuala Lumpur under a contract signed on October 13. Operator Syarikat Prasarana Negara Bhd, a subsidiary of the Malaysian Ministry of...

Auckland.(CITY NEWS)
November 1, 2006... Auckland Regional Council has endorsed proposals to order a fleet of 40 EMUs to replace the second-hand DMUs operating the city's growing suburban network from 2012, calling on the New Zealand government to fund the electrification...

ATO contract awarded.(CITY NEWS)
November 1, 2006... BUDAPEST transport authority BKV has awarded a [euro]109m contract to Siemens for the supply and installation of communications, electrification and train control equipment on Line 4, which will be the first fully-automated metro line in...

South Africa Western Cape regional government and the Cape Town city council have announced plans to spend R3.5bn upgrading the city suburban network over the next three years.(CITY NEWS)
November 1, 2006... South Africa's Western Cape regional government and the Cape Town city council have announced plans to spend R3.5bn upgrading the city's suburban network over the next three years, ahead of the 2010 football World Cup. Various stations will be...

Muni subway moves ahead.(CITY NEWS)
November 1, 2006... AN 8.2km light rail subway under the centre of San Francisco is set to open in 2016 under detailed proposals announced by Municipal Transportation Agency Executive Director Nathaniel Ford on October 12. The $1.4 bn Central Subway would...

Mumbai metro underway.(CITY NEWS)
November 1, 2006... INDIAN PRIME Minister Dr Manmohan Singh and the Governor of Maharashtra state Mr S M Krishna led the celebrations on October 4 to mark the start of construction work on the first of three metro lines to be built in Mumbai. Expected to cost...

Expo line groundbreaking.(CITY NEWS)
November 1, 2006... CEREMONIES were held on September 29 to mark the start of construction on the 13.7km first phase of the Exposition Corridor light rail line in Los Angeles. The Exposition Metro Line Construction Authority has awarded a design-build...

Chengdu metro makes rapid progress.(CITY NEWS)
November 1, 2006... LESS THAN a year after the formal start of work on Line 1 in December 2005, Chengdu Metro announced in September that it had completed the construction of the first station. Near the southern end of the route, Xinyizhou is one of 18...

Madrid.(CITY NEWS)
November 1, 2006... The Spanish Ministry of Development has awarded Dimetronic and Alcatel a [euro]69.1m contract to install ETCS and ASFA ATP on the new cross-city tunnel between Chamartin and Atocha stations in Madrid. Work is expected to take 42 months to...

Velez Malaga opens.(CITY NEWS)
November 1, 2006... OCTOBER 12 saw the opening of the 4.7km light rail route between Velez Malaga and Torre del Mar on Spain's Costa del Sol, built at a cost of [euro]25m provided by the European Union and the Andalucia regional government. A fleet of three 31.26m...

Light rail to the airport.(CITY NEWS)
November 1, 2006... ON OCTOBER 6 the Rhone Express consortium led by Vinci was selected as preferred bidder for a concession to build and operate the Lesleys express light rail line between Lyon and Saint-Exupery airport. Conseil Generale du Rhone is planning...

Croatia.(INTELLIGENCE)
November 1, 2006... Croatia: On September 29 HZ Infrastructure energised the newly-installed 25 kV 50 Hz electrification equipment between Savski Marof and Sutla on the Zagreb-Kumrovec line, which is to be incorporated into the Zagreb suburban network with effect...

Czech Republic.(INTELLIGENCE)
November 1, 2006... Czech Republic: On November 1 a consortium of SSZ Praha, Metrostav, OHL ZS and AZD Praha will begin work on a KC1.5bn project to modernise lines in the Kolin station area by October 2008. As well as resignalling the important junction, the work...

Europe.(INTELLIGENCE)
November 1, 2006... Europe: CER has commissioned McKinsey & Co to carry out a two-month study to define infrastructure requirements to handle growing freight traffic on two pilot corridors, running from Sweden to Italy and between the Benelux countries and Italy....

France.(INTELLIGENCE)
November 1, 2006... France: Work began on October 16 to upgrade the 37km line between Aix-en-Provence and Marseille at a cost of [euro]160-5m. Three sections of the single-track route will be doubled, three closed stations will be reopened and six existing...

Germany.(INTELLIGENCE)
November 1, 2006... Germany: The Rhenus Keolis joint venture is to be split between its parent companies from January 1 2007. Keolis will operate Eurobahn passenger services around Bielefeld and Hellweg services around Hamm, while Rhenus will take on other...

India.(INTELLIGENCE)
November 1, 2006... India: On October 12 a shareholders' agreement was signed establishing the Haridaspur-Paradip Railway Co, a Special Purpose Vehicle which will build an 82km rail link in Orissa to shorten by 41km the 360km route between the Banaspani mining...

Namibia.(INTELLIGENCE)
November 1, 2006... Namibia: On October 14 President Pohamba launched the second phase of the Northern Railway Extension Project. The 55 km line between the existing railhead at Ondangwa and Oshikango is to be completed in the 2008-09 financial year at a cost of...

Serbia.(INTELLIGENCE)
November 1, 2006... Serbia: On September 15 Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica re-opened a rail bridge over the River Sava near Ostruznica. Damaged by NATO bombing in 1999, the 658 m bridge has been rebuilt by Mostogradnja at a cost of 250m dinar so that freight...

Spain.(INTELLIGENCE)
November 1, 2006... Spain: ADIF brought CTC into operation on the 230 km Chinchilla-Cartagena route on October 17. The [euro]40m resignalling programme also included the installation of electronic interlockings, axle-counters and ASFA automatic train protection....

UK.(INTELLIGENCE)
November 1, 2006... UK: On October 18 the government announced it will grant legal powers for the Thameslink 2000 scheme. This will upgrade the north-south rail route through central London for the operation of longer and more frequent trains, and permit the...

USA.(INTELLIGENCE)
November 1, 2006... USA: BNSF and CSX have reached an agreement replacing and expanding the terms of a 2001 agreement on developing a high-volume intermodal rail corridor linking California with Atlanta and the southeast USA. Two daily return trips will run from...

Bosnia.(Finance)
November 1, 2006... Bosnia: The Regional Project Railways in BIH II agreement was signed in Sarajevo on October 9. EBRD will provide a total of [euro]70m, EIB [euro]86m and the European Commission [euro]4m to railway operators ZFBH and ZRS, allowing repairs to be...

China.(Finance)
November 1, 2006... China: In September the Ministry of Railways auctioned 16bn yuan of bonds to fund railway constriction, the largest issue of bonds since it began issuing debt in 1995. Asian Development Bank has granted US$500000 towards the US$670000 cost...

Iran.(Finance)
November 1, 2006... Iran: Islamic Development Bank has approved a [euro] 19.7m short-term loan to RAI to fund the acquisition of locomotive parts and electrical equipment.

Russia.(Finance)
November 1, 2006... Russia: RZD has appointed BDO Unicon to provide the rail operator with accountancy services.

Spain.(Finance)
November 1, 2006... Spain: Under a programme agreed with the regional government, the Ministry of Development is to provide [euro]2.36bn of the [euro]3.56bn to be invested in the ADIF network in Catalunya up until 2012. Of the central government funding,...

Africa.(Market)
November 1, 2006... Africa: General Electric is to rehabilitate 18 Tazara locos over the next three years. The US$19m project is being funded by Zambian firm Konkola Copper Mines, which has undertaken to provide the operator with 12 000 tonnes of export traffic...

Austria.(Market)
November 1, 2006... Austria: OBB subsidiary Rail Cargo Austria has ordered 500 four-axle sliding wall wagons from German manufacturer Waggonbau Niesky. They will be delivered by the end of 2007.

Azerbaijan.(Market)
November 1, 2006... Azerbaijan: AZR has taken delivery of four locomotives purchased from Russian Railways at a cost of US$230 000 each, and is to purchase six more by the end of the year. The state budget is to fund repairs to up to 20 further AZR locos.

Bangladesh.(Market)
November 1, 2006... Bangladesh: Last month Indonesian firm PT Industri Kereta Api began delivering 50 coaches ordered by BR at a cost of US$13.7m, the largest export order the company has received.

Belgium.(Market)
November 1, 2006... Belgium: SNCB has called tenders for the supply of 60 dual-system 6.4 MW locos for passenger trains. Alstom, AnsaldoBreda, Bombardier and Siemens are expected to submit bids in the first week of November.

China.(Market)
November 1, 2006... China: A consortium led by Vossloh has been awarded a [euro]166.2m contract to supply rail fastenings for the planned Wuhan-Guangzhou and Wuhan-Shenzhen lines. Deliveries will be from a plant in China set up through a joint venture in which...

Croatia.(Market)
November 1, 2006... Croatia: On October 5 HZ Cargo took delivery of a batch of freight wagons built at Duro Dakovic's factory in Slavonski Brod. On the same day Transport Minister Bozidar Kalmeta announced that HZ Traction was interested in acquiring 15...

Czech Republic.(Market)
November 1, 2006... Czech Republic: Skanska has a 64% share in a consortium which has been awarded a KC2bn contract to upgrade 9 km of track in Praha over three years, to permit an increase in line speeds.

France.(Market)
November 1, 2006... France: The Regional Council of Languedoc-Roussillon is to acquire 25 Bombardier AGC trainsets for SNCF TER services at a cost of [euro]102.5m; 17 will be electrically powered and the other four will operate with both diesel and electric...

Germany.(Market)
November 1, 2006... Germany: Angel Trains Europa has placed an order with Stadler Pankow for 25 four-section Flirt trainsets worth around [euro]100m. The 160 km/h EMUs will be used by Keolis on the Hellweg network in Nordrhein Westfalen from December 2008.

Europe.(Market)
November 1, 2006... Europe: Franco-Spanish consortium TP Ferro has selected Nortel to provide GSM-R communications for the 44 km Figueres to Perpignan high speed link now under construction, including the 8 km tunnel beneath the Pyrenees.

Italy.(Market)
November 1, 2006... Italy: Veneto regional operator Sistemi Territoriali has signed a contract with Stadler for two 3 kV DC four-section Flirt EMUs, to be used on services from Padova from autumn 2008.

Netherlands.(Market)
November 1, 2006... Netherlands: On October 4 Veolia Transport signed a [euro]50m contract with Stadler for the supply of 10 two-car GTW 2/6 and six three-car GTW 2/8 DMUs for use on the non-electrified route from Nijmegen to Roermond from the end of 2007. Each...

Poland.(Market)
November 1, 2006... Poland: On September 22 Systra signed a [euro]7.9m contract to assist PKP in the upgrading of a 58 km section of corridor E59 between Wroclaw and Rawicz over 13 months. The work aims to raise passenger train speeds to 160 km/h and freight to...

Romania.(Market)
November 1, 2006... Romania: Grampet has bought 19 Croatian Railways Class 1141 Bo-Bo electric locos from HZ Traction. It had previously bought 16 Electroputere Class 461 Co-Co locos from Serbian Railways.

Spain.(Market)
November 1, 2006... Spain: SEITT has awarded Acciona Infraestructuras and Comsa a [euro]82.7m contract to undertake civil works on the 26.8 km Camarillas cut-off which will shorten the Chinchilla-Cartagena route by 17 km (RG 4.06 p180). Including the construction...

Sweden.(Market)
November 1, 2006... Sweden: Banverket has awarded Saab and Norwegian firm Baneservice a SKr164m contract for the installation of centralised traffic control on the Bohusbanan between Goteborg and Uddevalla. Work will be completed by 2010.

UK.(Market)
November 1, 2006... UK: Grand Central has purchased six diesel HST power cars and 24 Mk III loco-hauled coaches from leasing company Porterbrook, and will fully refurbish them for use from 2007. GC hopes to launch three daily return open access services from...

Vietnam.(Market)
November 1, 2006... Vietnam: On September 25 DSVN and China Railway Sixth Group signed a 1000bn dong contract to upgrade signalling and telecoms between Vinh and Ho Chin Minh City, with the provision of a 1 150 km optic fibre link and computers at 54 stations.

Bangladesh.(Metros)
November 1, 2006... Bangladesh: A Memorandum of Understanding signed on October 5 provides for a 'mass rail transit system' to be built in Dhaka. The agreement signed between Dhaka City Corp and American Transport System Corp requires a feasibility study to be...

Jordan.(Metros)
November 1, 2006... Jordan: Next month the government is to call bids for a build, operate and transfer contract for a proposed 28 km standard gauge double-track light rail line which would link Al-Mahatta in Amman with the dormitory and industrial town of Zarqa....

Spain.(Metros)
November 1, 2006... Spain: AnsaldoBreda is to maintain the 52 Series 9000 trainsets it has supplied to Madrid Metro under a 17-year contract worth [euro]320m. The contract makes provision to cover any future options for additional trains exercised by the operator....

UK.(Metros)
November 1, 2006... UK: Tyne & Wear Metro operator Nexus has appointed Parsons Brinckerhoff to support the development of 'a robust strategy for future infrastructure investment', including examination of renewal strategies for rolling stock, signalling,...

USA.(Metros)
November 1, 2006... USA: San Francisco's BART held a ceremony on September 29 to start construction of West Dublin-Pleasanton station on the line between Castro Valley and Dublin/Pleasanton. The $80m project is a public-private partnership between the agency and...

Bolivia.(Pointers)
November 1, 2006... President Evo Morales of Bolivia has announced that there will be developments next year in renationalising 'strategic' companies that were privatised during the 1990s, including state railway ENFE. His government has ordered a thorough audit...

Transrapid maglev line.(Pointers)
November 1, 2006... Planning for the Transrapid maglev line linking Munchen airport with the city centre is to continue as previously envisaged, despite the fatal collision on the Emsland test track on September 22 (RG 10.06 p642.) A statement issued jointly by...

Armenian Transport Minister Andranik.(Pointers)
November 1, 2006... Armenian Transport Minister Andranik Manukyan said on October 12 that the government was considering plans to award a 40-year concession to run the country's 845 route-km network. The contract would be let by international tender.

South African.(Pointers)
November 1, 2006... The South African government has agreed 'in principle' that a 720 km high speed line should be built between Johannesburg and Durban. The announcement was made by Kwazi Mbanjwa, Head of Kwazulu-Natal Province Transport Department, at a...

Egyptian.(Pointers)
November 1, 2006... Three new lines are proposed under plans announced by the Egyptian government to overhaul the national railway with an immediate injection of funds worth US$860m. Two of the lines would provide links to Marsa al Alam and Hurghada on the Red Sea...

Pakistan Railways Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmad.(Pointers)
November 1, 2006... A second line is to be built over the 170 km between Karachi and Kotri to provide an alternative route should the existing main line be disrupted. Pakistan's Railways Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmad revealed the plan on October 2 after the full...

Railpro.(INTELLIGENCE)
November 1, 2006... Dutch infrastructure maintenance contractor Railpro has leased four Vossloh-built diesel locos from Railion Nederland to haul ballast and works trains. The locos are now being outshopped in Railpro livery Photo: Rolandrail

SNIM.(INTELLIGENCE)
November 1, 2006... Mauritanian mining company SNIM has ordered 8000 tonnes of MHH hardened rails from Corus, designed to permit an increase in axle loads from 25 to 30 tonnes. To be shipped in 36 m lengths, the rails will be used to relay 170 km of track. Corus...