Railway Gazette International articles from November 2008

Railway Gazette International archives from November 2008

Continuing investment demands technical expertise; 'The biggest challenge is to overcome rail's image as an outdated mode'.(COMMENT)
November 1, 2008... Uncertainty is stalking the corridors of operators and suppliers around the world, as they try to assess the potential impact on the rail sector of the current crisis in the global financial markets. With huge sums of state funding being...

DB flotation on hold.(MAIN LINE)
November 1, 2008... GERMANY: The partial flotation of DB Mobility Logistics AG scheduled for October 27 has been postponed because of the turmoil in the global financial markets, which would have reduced the potential value of the shares. Finance Minister Peer...

Amtrak funding approved.(MAIN LINE)
November 1, 2008... USA: Amtrak is set to receive $13bn in federal funding over the next five years under legislation approved in Congress with a veto-proof 74-24 majority and subsequently signed into law by President Bush despite his administration's long...

Kashmir launch.(MAIN LINE)
November 1, 2008... INDIA: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh travelled to Srinagar to flag off the first train on the recently-completed line between Anantnag, Srinagar and Rajwansher in Kashmir on October 11. An initial section of the route had opened in 2006....

Tunnel complete.(MAIN LINE)
November 1, 2008... TURKEY: Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan joined ceremonies in Istanbul on October 13 to mark completion of the immersed tube which will carry the Marmaray rail link under the Bosporus. After removing the last seal from the final segment,...

Work begins on high speed lines.(MAIN LINE)
November 1, 2008... CHINA: Construction started last month on two major high speed line projects which will ultimately form a 2 300 km corridor linking Beijing with Wuhan, Guangzhou and Hong Kong. October 7 saw the formal start of construction of the 281 km...

Passenger lease order.(MAIN LINE)
November 1, 2008... EUROPE: The Railpool joint venture of HSH Nordbank and KfW IPEX-Bank announced its entry to the passenger stock leasing market last month, with a [euro]75m order for 45 Bombardier double-deck coaches to be used by Danish state railway DSB. ...

Broader, colder.(MAIN LINE)
November 1, 2008... FINLAND: Stadler rolled out its first 1 524 mm gauge EMU at the Bussnang plant in Switzerland on October 7. The four-car Flirt is part of a [euro] 190m order for 32 placed in August 2006 by Paakaupunkiseudun Junakalusto, a body formed in 2004...

RZD funding accord.(MAIN LINE)
November 1, 2008... RUSSIA: On October 3 Russian Railways signed co-operation agreements with the Federal Agency for Rail Transport, which will provide 45.6bn roubles for two important infrastructure upgrading projects. The accord is the first to finance major...

SBB Cargo weighing up partners.(MAIN LINE)
November 1, 2008... SWITZERLAND: Strong interest in SBB Cargo was evident when bids to work in partnership with the freight operator closed last month. As many as 25 organisations had submitted expressions of interest by September 22 (RG 10.08 p780), and 14 of...

Trans-Eurasia soon.(MAIN LINE)
November 1, 2008... INTERNATIONAL: As a container train from China arrived in Hamburg on October 6, DB Chairman Harmut Mehdorn confirmed that DB Schenker plans to launch a scheduled service following the Chinese new year in February 2009. The Trans-Eurasia...

Structure finalised.(MAIN LINE)
November 1, 2008... NEW ZEALAND: The final structure of the renationalised rail industry came into effect on October 1. Operator KiwiRail and infrastructure manager Ontrack are now separate operating units of New Zealand Railways Corp, the legacy body which held...

Cross-city high speed.(MAIN LINE)
November 1, 2008... SPAIN: ADIF has awarded a joint venture of Dragados, FCC, Copisa and Tecsa a [euro]206m contract to build the third underground route connecting Atocha and Chamartin stations in Madrid, with two 1 435 mm gauge tracks for high speed services....

Intermodal ECP.(MAIN LINE)
November 1, 2008... USA: Union Pacific began using electronically controlled pneumatic braking on a Long Beach-Dallas intermodal service on October 17. The first train is fitted with ECP braking equipment from New York Air Brake, while a second will operate...

Brussels bottleneck.(MAIN LINE)
November 1, 2008... BELGIUM: Infrabel has initiated a debate on expanding the capacity of the 4 km Brussels Junction railway between Nord and Midi stations. Director-General Luc Lallemand says additional capacity will be needed by 2020 at the latest, putting the...

Open access operator to take on OBB.(MAIN LINE)
November 1, 2008... AUSTRIA: Plans to run passenger services in competition with Austrian Federal Railways were unveiled in Wien on October 16. Starting in 2011, trains would run hourly between Wien and Salzburg, with Bratislava and Munchen to follow if they are...

Pepy takes a stake in NTV.(MAIN LINE)
November 1, 2008... ITALY: NTV Chairman Luca di Montezemolo and SNCF President Guillaume Pepy have signed a deal in Roma under which the French national railway will take a 20% stake in NTV, which plans to run open access high speed services in Italy. SNCF will...

Rail nets 50% of investment.(MAIN LINE)
November 1, 2008... SPAIN: Rail will account for 50% of the [euro]19.27bn the government is planning to spend on transport in 2009, Development Minister Magdelena Alvarez announced on October 8. Of this [euro]9.67bn, high speed line construction is to receive...

US.(NEWS IN BRIEF)
November 1, 2008... Last month the US Surface Transportation Board approved Canadian Pacific's plan to acquire Dakota, Minnesota & Eastern Railroad Corp and its subsidiaries lowa, Chicago & Eastern Railroad and Cedar American Rail Holdings. CPR is banned from...

China.(NEWS IN BRIEF)
November 1, 2008... China Huaneng Group is to buy a 20% stake in Xiping Railway from the shaanxi provincial government for 500m yuan, becoming the second largest shareholder in the company which is building a 266 km line to carry coal traffic between Xi'an and...

On October 13 Crokombi and Okombi lauched a rolling motorway service between Spacva in Croatia and Wels in Austria.(NEWS IN BRIEF)
November 1, 2008... On October 13 Crokombi and Okombi lauched a rolling motorway service between Spacva in Croatia and Wels in Austria. Traction is provided by HZ Traction, SZ and Rail Cargo Austria.

Vietnam.(NEWS IN BRIEF)
November 1, 2008... Lulico Huong Giang has become the fifth tourist company to sign an agreement to attach private carriages to trains operated by Vietnam's national railway DSVN. Two 24-berth cars will operate on the Hanoi-Da Nang route.

Finland.(NEWS IN BRIEF)
November 1, 2008... Talvivaara produced its first metal sulphides on October 1, marking the start of production at a nickel mine near Sotkamo in central Finland. From August 2009 materials will be delivered to the mine and output shipped to Europe and Russia by...

Indian.(NEWS IN BRIEF)
November 1, 2008... Services between Tiruchendur and Tirunelveli in Tamil Nadu were restarted on September 27, after Indian Railways spent RS 1.2bn converting the 62 km route from metre to broad gauge.

Latvia.(NEWS IN BRIEF)
November 1, 2008... Latvia's Ministry of Transport has signed an agreement with state railway LDZ under which passenger business Pasazieru Vilcien has been restructured as a state-owned enterprise rather than an LDZ subsidiary.

Czech Republic.(NEWS IN BRIEF)
November 1, 2008... Last month the first PKP Cargo drivers were licensed to operate regular trains hauled by ET22, ET41 and EU07 locomotives from Poland into the Czech Republic, following examinations on the Czech rules and language.

South Africa.(NEWS IN BRIEF)
November 1, 2008... Following a successful launch on the Cape Town-Johannesburg route, in October South Africa's inter-city operator Shosholoza Meyl introduced a twice-Weekly overnight Premier Classe service between Johannesburg and Durban. Similar trains are...

Berlin's next tram arrives.(URBAN RAIL)
November 1, 2008... GERMANY: Berlin city transport operator BVG unveiled the first of four pre-production prototypes for the German capital's next generation of trams on September 19. Bombardier's Bautzen plant is supplying four pre-series Flexity Berlin...

Extension deferred.(URBAN RAIL)
November 1, 2008... USA: Citing the world economic crisis, Utah Transit Authority is to postpone the opening of its FrontRunner South commuter rail extension from Salt Lake City to Provo from mid-2012 to early 2013. UTA will accelerate construction of two TRAX...

Chennai funding agreed.(URBAN RAIL)
November 1, 2008... INDIA: Work was due to start last month on the first phase of the Chennai metro, following the confirmation of an initial loan of Rs49.9bn by the Japanese government on October 22. JBIC has agreed to lend Rs8bn towards the Rs111bn cost of Phase...

Line 11 contracts.(URBAN RAIL)
November 1, 2008... CHINA: A consortium comprising Alcatel Shanghai Bell, Thales Rail Signalling Solutions and Shanghai Automation Instrumentation Co has signed two contracts worth [euro]50m with Shanghai Shentong Group Co. Alcatel Shanghai Bell will provide...

Line goes public.(URBAN RAIL)
November 1, 2008... USA: The state of Massachusetts and CSX have signed a $100m multi-year agreement that will allow the state to acquire the Boston - Worcester commuter rail line. Negotiating the complex deal took more than two years but the state believes that...

Mumbai SPV on track.(URBAN RAIL)
November 1, 2008... INDIA: The Rs23.56bn Mumbai Metro Line 1 project reached financial closure on October 3 after a consortium of banks sanctioned funds amounting to Rs11.94bn. MMRDA will provide a capital grant of Rs6.5bn while the remaining Rs5.12bn will be...

Dubai ruler's trial run.(URBAN RAIL)
November 1, 2008... UAE: Dubai's ruler Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum officially launched test running on the Dubai Metro during a visit to the test track on September 20. Sheikh Mohammed took a ride on one of the Kinki Sharyo-built trains, accompanied by...

Vitoria plans pre-Christmas opening.(URBAN RAIL)
November 1, 2008... SPAIN: The Eusko Tran light rail line in Vitoria, capital of Alava in northern Spain, is due to enter commercial service before Christmas this year. The first of 10 trams being built by CAF arrived in Vitoria on September 29 to undergo...

Bybanen signalling.(URBAN RAIL)
November 1, 2008... NORWAY: The city of Bergen has awarded Thales a contract to supply signalling, Communications and security equipment for the initial 9-8 km section of its Bybanen Light Rail project. Thales will implement the contract in partnership with YIT, a...

Alger's first metro train arrives.(URBAN RAIL)
November 1, 2008... ALGERIA: In early October Minister of Transport Amar Tou officially took delivery of the first CAF trainset which will serve Alger metro Line 1 once it starts operation in late summer 2009. The six-car train can accommodate 1290 passengers....

Metrolinx unveils 'The Big Move'.(URBAN RAIL)
November 1, 2008... CANADA: Toronto regional transport authority Metrolinx has published a draft version of "The Big Move', its C$50bn long-range transport plan (RG 5.08 p277), but admits that the required funding sources are still unidentified. One potential...

Revenue services begin.(URBAN RAIL)
November 1, 2008... TAIWAN: Revenue services on Kaohsiung Rapid Transit Corp's 14.4 km Orange Line began on September 22, following eight days of free rides after the inauguration ceremony on September 14. During October the MRT Bureau will submit proposals to...

Crotram tour to continue.(URBAN RAIL)
November 1, 2008... EUROPE: The Crotram partnership of TZV Gredelj and Koncar expects to demonstrate a Zagreb TMK 2200 tram in Sofia shortly, having determined that the metre-gauge car will require minimal adaptation for use on the Bulgarian city's 1009 mm gauge...

'Little Bang' work starts.(URBAN RAIL)
November 1, 2008... UK: Work has begun to extend Greater Manchester's Metrolink network under the 'Little Bang' programme (RG 6.08 p 350). Bridge inspections have begun along the railway from Manchester Victoria to Oldham and Rochdale and utility surveys and...

Shenzhen prepares for Line 5 construction.(URBAN RAIL)
November 1, 2008... CHINA: Shenzhen Metro has awarded a contract worth 9.3bn yuan to China Railway Group to construct Line 5 on a build and transfer basis. Linking Shenzen West with Longhua, Line 5 will be 41 km long with 27 stations and a rolling stock depot. It...

Praha.(NEWS IN BRIEF)
November 1, 2008... Praha city council approved the extension of metro Line A to Ruzyne Airport on September 18. Construction of the 13 km route from Dejvicka to Ruzyne, which will have nine stations, is due to begin next year and be completed by 2018, at a cost...

Tel Aviv.(NEWS IN BRIEF)
November 1, 2008... Metro Transportation Solutions, the Tel Aviv light rail franchisee, has been given more time to secure financing for the project, with financial closure delayed again from September 2008 until the end of January 2009. MTS will also increase its...

Bogota.(NEWS IN BRIEF)
November 1, 2008... El Tiempo in Colombia reported on October 6 that the Spanish consortium of Sener-TMB has been awarded a contract worth 15m pesos to design Bogota's first metro line and determine its financial and legal structure. The decision now needs...

Zaragoza.(NEWS IN BRIEF)
November 1, 2008... The first monorail in Spain was opened on September 3 serving the Plaza Imperial shopping centre in Zaragoza. The 700 m long driverless line, which has two stations, was constructed by ISM SA and Sener and is fitted with Manusa platform screen...

Barcelona.(NEWS IN BRIEF)
November 1, 2008... Barcelona Metro's Line 3 extension between Canyelles and Trinitat Nova entered service on October 5. The 1.8 km section, which has 2 stations at Roquetes and Trinitat Nova, took five years to complete at a cost of [euro]142.8m, and links Line 3...

Oradea.(NEWS IN BRIEF)
November 1, 2008... The EIB is to lend [euro]16.3m to the Romanian city of Oradea. The direct loan to the municipality, the first of its kind in the country, will help fund the acquisition of 10 ULF trams as part of a modernisation of public transport across the...

Warszawa.(NEWS IN BRIEF)
November 1, 2008... On October 15 the city of Warszawa announced a second tender for the 6 km, seven station Phase 1 of metro Line 2. The decision was prompted by difficulties in transferring the allocated EU finance to other projects, and interest expressed by...

Canberra.(NEWS IN BRIEF)
November 1, 2008... The government in Canberra has set up a Light Rail Reference Group to consider introducing light rail in the city. Its work will feed into the business case to be developed by PricewaterhouseCoopers, which was appointed to prepare a feasibility...

Sevilla.(NEWS IN BRIEF)
November 1, 2008... After five years of construction work, the 18 km section of Metro de Sevilla Line 1 between Ciudad Expo and Condequinto will be inaugurated on December 20. The remaining four stations should enter service in spring 2009.

Daegu.(NEWS IN BRIEF)
November 1, 2008... Hitachi has received an order worth [yen] 35bn to supply vehicles and signalling for a 24 km monorail to be built in Daegu. Construction will begin in 2009, with operation due to start in October 2014.

Debrecen.(NEWS IN BRIEF)
November 1, 2008... The Hungarian city of Debrecen and municipal transport operator DKV have signed an agreement to develop a proposal for a second tram line. EU funding is being sought for the line, which would leave the existing route at Hunyadi Janos and run to...

Orleans.(NEWS IN BRIEF)
November 1, 2008... The EIB has agreed to provide a [euro]175m loan to finance the CLEO project in Orleans. The project includes a second tram route with 25 stations, six park-and-ride facilities, cycle paths and pedestrian crossings, and will cost around [euro]...

Mallorca.(NEWS IN BRIEF)
November 1, 2008... Serveis Ferroviaris de Mallorca have ordered 11 EMUS from CAF for [euro]54.2m. They will be used on the Palma-Inca line once electrification has been completed. The three-car trains have a maximum speed of 100 km/h, allowing journey times to be...

Australia.(CONTRACTS)
November 1, 2008... AUSTRALIA: ARTC has appointed Parsons Brinckerhoff, connell Wagner and Halcrow to undertake a A$15m feasibility study into an inland Melbourne-Brisbane route. PricewaterhouseCoopers, ACIL Tasman and SAHA will provide financial input.

Egypt.(CONTRACTS)
November 1, 2008... EGYPT: ENR has selected Kernex Microsystems Indian to undertake a US$16m modernisation of 136 level crossings.

Hungary.(CONTRACTS)
November 1, 2008... HUNGARY: Eurogate Intermodal has acquired a 51% stake in Floyd Zrt from Andras Bogdan, who now holds 26%. ICE Transport owns the other 23% of Floyd, which operates intermodal trains from northern Germany to Budapest.

India.(CONTRACTS)
November 1, 2008... INDIA: Bids have been called for 20-year contracts to establish jatropha oil biodiesel plants adjacent to IR locomotive depots.

Scomi engineering and Larsen & Toubro.(CONTRACTS)
November 1, 2008... Scomi Engineering and Larsen & Toubro have been chosen to build the 20 km elevated Mumbai monorail on a turnkey basis. Work is due to start by January, with the first 10 km from Jacob Circle to Wadala to be operational in 30 months.

USA.(CONTRACTS)
November 1, 2008... USA: On October 1 Genesee & Wyoming announced its acquisition of the 350 km Georgia South-western Railroad for $16.5m in cash and the assumption of $5.4m of debt.

MHI.(CONTRACTS)
November 1, 2008... MHI and a Parsons-Odebrecht joint venture have been awarded a $259m contract to build a 2 km peoplemover between Miami's International Airport and International Airport and Intermodal Center.

Vilnius CityElefant.(MARKET)
November 1, 2008... LITHUANIA: Skoda Transportation has delivered two three-car EJ 575 double-deck electric multiple-units to LG, which will use them on Vilnius-Kaunas services. The [euro]30m contract is Skoda's first export order for the CityElefant design,...

Trans-Korean reconstruction.(MARKET)
November 1, 2008... ASIA: Ceremonies at Tumangan on October 4 marked the start of a [euro] 150m reconstruction of the first section of the Trans-Korean Main Line between Russia and Rajin, where a container terminal is to be built. Intended to raise capacity...

Australia.(INFRASTRUCTURE)
November 1, 2008... AUSTRALIA: This month QR and Van Elk Contracting will begin work on a A$30m rail replacement contract in Tasmania. The state government said it is committed to ensuring rail freight remains viable, despite Pacific National's decision to sell...

Belgium.(INFRASTRUCTURE)
November 1, 2008... BELGIUM: CSC Tech has won a [euro]4.9m contract to supply catenary for the Gosselies branch of the Charleroi light metro, as well as a [euro]13-4m contract for track laying. Work was expected to start last month.

Canada.(INFRASTRUCTURE)
November 1, 2008... CANADA: Union Switch & Signal has won a US$13.9m contract from Toronto Transit Commission to resignal 10 km of the Yonge-University--Spadina Line, including 15 stations and three interlocking zones.

Europe.(INFRASTRUCTURE)
November 1, 2008... EUROPE: On October 10 Eurotunnel approved contracts for repairs to the Channel Tunnel following the September 11 fire. SETEC will supervise the work to be undertaken by Freyssinet (civils), ETF (track and electrification) and Vinci Energies....

Finland.(INFRASTRUCTURE)
November 1, 2008... FINLAND: Sweco has won a [euro]10m contract for project management on the 13 km Espoo extension of the Helsinki metro (RG 7.08 p409).

Germany.(INFRASTRUCTURE)
November 1, 2008... GERMANY: At the end of September DB launched a [euro]54m modernisation of the marshalling yard at Mannheim, to be completed by 2010.

Poland.(INFRASTRUCTURE)
November 1, 2008... POLAND: Arcadis is to prepare feasibility studies for 120 km/h freight and 160 km/h passenger operation on the Miedzylesie-Wroclaw and Kostrzyn-Szczecin lines. PKP PLK has awarded contracts totalling 112m zloty for the modernisation of...

Russia.(INFRASTRUCTURE)
November 1, 2008... RUSSIA: Siemens is to supply RZD with automation equipment for the modernisation of yards at Luzhskaya near St Petersburg and Chernyakhovsk in Kaliningrad.

South Africa.(INFRASTRUCTURE)
November 1, 2008... SOUTH AFRICA: Alstom has completed a R54m resignalling of the 61 km Delmas--Ogies line linking Johannesburg with the Witbank coalfields. As well as replacing semaphore signals with bidirectional multiple-aspect signalling, the work supports...

Spain.(INFRASTRUCTURE)
November 1, 2008... SPAIN: FCC and Acciona Infrae structuras have been awarded a contract worth [euro]134.9m to build a 4.5 km extension of Madrid Metro Line 2 between La Elipa and Las Rosas, with four new stations. Comsa has been awarded a [euro]33.6m...

Sweden.(INFRASTRUCTURE)
November 1, 2008... SWEDEN: Last month Banverket awarded Rejlerkoncernen a SKr6.5m contract to design catenary suitable for 250 km/h running between Mjolby and Nassjo. Banverket has awarded NCC Construction the SKr1.5bn contract for the Norrstrom tunnel and...

Turkey.(INFRASTRUCTURE)
November 1, 2008... TURKEY: This month TCDD will sign a [euro]126m contract with Ansaldo Segnalamento Ferroviario and Ansaldo Trasporti Sistemi Ferroviari for the supply of ETCS Level 1 equipment, interlockings, CTC and telecoms for the Bogazkopru-Ulukisla--Yenice...

UK.(INFRASTRUCTURE)
November 1, 2008... UK: Network Rail has awarded Balfour Beatty Rail Projects a [pounds sterling]60m contract for track doubling, 24 km of reinstatement works and electrification under the [pounds sterling]300m Airdrie-Bathgate project to reopen an additional...

Bulgaria.(ROLLING STOCK)
November 1, 2008... BULGARIA: Tuvasas has won a [euro]32m contract to supply BDZ with 30 sleeping cars within 18 months.

Croatia.(ROLLING STOCK)
November 1, 2008... CROATIA: TZV Gredelj has signed a [euro]6m contract to supply IRS with 600 Y25 bogies by the end of May 2009.

Germany.(ROLLING STOCK)
November 1, 2008... GERMANY: The city of Munchen has placed a [euro]29m contract with Stadler Pankow for a further 10 Variobahn trams to be delivered by 2011. VIAS signed a [euro]70m order with Stadler for 19 Flirts at InnoTrans. To be used on Frankfurt -...

South Korea.(ROLLING STOCK)
November 1, 2008... SOUTH KOREA: Nexans has announced a [euro]3m order to supply Hyundai Rotem with specialised power and control cables for 300 metro cars which will be delivered to Seoul metro Line 3 from 2009.

Netherlands.(ROLLING STOCK)
November 1, 2008... NETHERLANDS: Alstom signed a [euro]5.5m contract at InnoTrans to supply Rotterdam Rail Feeding with three refurbished Class 203 diesel locos.

New Zealand.(ROLLING STOCK)
November 1, 2008... NEW ZEALAND: China Northern's Qiqihar plant has delivered 100 container flat wagons. Fitted with 1 067 mm gauge ZK1 bogies, they can carry three 20ft containers.

Norway.(ROLLING STOCK)
November 1, 2008... NORWAY: On September 24 Oslo Vognselskap and Siemens signed a [euro]110m contract for the delivery of a further 20 three-car metro trains by 2010, exercising a second option on a 2003 order for 33 trainsets.