Railway Gazette International articles from October 2005

Railway Gazette International archives from October 2005

Pacific National could break up.(COMMENT)
October 1, 2005... PATRICK CORP Chief Executive Chris Corrigan said last month that his company's Pacific National joint venture with Toll Holdings is 'totally dysfunctional' and likely to be broken up. This could be the dramatic outcome of a bitter row...

Ing concedes THSRC will be late.(COMMENT)
October 1, 2005... TAIWAN High Speed Rail Corp has finally conceded that it will not be opening its 345 km line for business this month. Although trial running has made good progress, with 200 km/h attained at the end of August and engineers anticipating 300...

Network Rail found guilty over Hatfield.(COMMENT)
October 1, 2005... FINES totalling millions of pounds may be imposed on Network Rail and Balfour Beatty this month, after the jury in the eight-month Hatfield trial found NR guilty of offences under Section 37 of the Health & Safety at Work Act on September 6....

Recovering from Katrina.(COMMENT)
October 1, 2005... HERCULEAN efforts have been made by railways in the US Gulf Coast region to restore services in the wake of the devastation caused by Hurricane Katrina on August 29. Once the storm had passed, pre-positioned maintenance-of-way gangs swung...

SRT restructuring approved.(NEWS)
October 1, 2005... THE TRANSPORT and Finance Ministries have approved plans for the restructuring of State Railway of Thailand. On August 22 Transport Minister Pongsak Raktapongpaisal said the ministries had signed off the plan to deal with SRT's liabilities...

Terminal expanded.(NEWS)
October 1, 2005... SWISS intermodal operator Hupac held celebrations on September 9 to mark the expansion of its Busto Arsizio-Gallarate terminal near Milano. Italian Transport Minister Pietro Lunardi and his Swiss counterpart Moritz Leuenberger participated in...

Saudi Landbridge.(NEWS)
October 1, 2005... On September 6 SRO President Khaled Alyahya confirmed that nine consortia had submitted applications to prequalify for the Saudi Landbridge project (RG 3.05 p134). 'The consortia include leading Saudi and international companies with activities...

Funding accord.(NEWS)
October 1, 2005... FRENCH Transport Minister Dominique Perben signed three agreements with his Swiss counterpart Moritz Leuenberger on August 25 confirming Switzerland's participation in financing French rail infrastructure projects. The Swiss are to...

Tsukuba Express.(NEWS)
October 1, 2005... Ceremonies were held at Tokyo's Akihabara station on August 24 to mark the opening of the 58.3 km Tsukuba Express line running north to the new satellite town of Tsukuba in Ibaraki province (RG 6.03 p391). Dual-system six-car trainsets running...

Dispatching software upgrade.(NEWS)
October 1, 2005... ON AUGUST 22, Union Switch & Signal announced that it had entered into 'one of the largest software agreements in railroad history', to upgrade train planning and computer-aided dispatching for Union Pacific. As well as implementing its...

Syrian.(NEWS)
October 1, 2005... Eng Makrem Obeid from the Syrian Ministry of Transport signed a Memorandum of Understanding with UIC Chief Executive Luc Aliadiere on September 1, under which UIC will provide technical assistance to CFS for train operations, maintenance and...

ERTMS study.(NEWS)
October 1, 2005... PRESAGING the use of ETCS Level 2 on new high speed lines in western and southwestern France, RFF has commissioned studies into the compatibility of ERTMS with TVM300 cab signalling. RFF has opted to make the transition to ERTMS by...

Remodelling to start next year.(NEWS)
October 1, 2005... PLANNING approval for the second phase of the ambitious Stuttgart 21 remodelling programme was granted by the Federal Railway Office on September 6, paving the way for DB to start construction in the second half of 2006. EBA has approved...

China picks EMD.(NEWS)
October 1, 2005... ON SEPTEMBER 7 Electro-Motive Diesel Inc announced that it had signed a contract to supply 300 locomotives to China's Ministry of Railways. The 6 000 hp locos are to be assembled by Dalian Locomotive Works under a technology licensing...

Thameslink/Great Northern.(NEWS)
October 1, 2005... Final bids for the operation of the Thameslink/Great Northern franchise in London were submitted to the UK Department for Transport on September 6. The five shortlisted bidders are: National Express Group; FirstGroup; Stagecoach Holdings; John...

Kenya-Uganda bids in.(NEWS)
October 1, 2005... BIDDING documentation for the 25-year concession to operate the rail networks in Kenya and Uganda was issued on August 30, after the submission deadline was extended at the request of the bidders. Final offers were due by September 30, and...

Chiltern Railways Chairman Adrian Shooter.(NEWS)
October 1, 2005... UK Transport Secretary Alistair Darling (inset) joined Chiltern Railways Chairman Adrian Shooter on September 7 to open a [pounds sterling]20m maintenance depot at Wembley. Able to hold 58 DMUs, it has freed space for two new platforms at...

Open access challenge.(NEWS)
October 1, 2005... BRATISLAVA-based regional operator BRKS is planning to launch open-access inter-city services from the capital to cities in eastern Slovakia, including Kosice. BRKS is the most successful new operator on the Slovak network. As well as...

Iranian.(NEWS)
October 1, 2005... The Iranian parliament has approved in principle the concept of open access to the RAI network, calling for increased private sector involvement to increase rail's market share. As well as opening the state-owned network to on-rail competition,...

Smartcard deal.(NEWS)
October 1, 2005... DENMARK is set to become the second country in Europe to introduce a national smartcard ticket accepted by all rail, metro and bus operators. The Travel Card project is being managed by Rejsekort A/S, a joint venture company set up by all...

Nanjing metro inaugurated.(CITY NEWS)
October 1, 2005... ON SEPTEMBER 3 Nanjing became the sixth Chinese city with an operational metro, when the first section of Line 1 was formally inaugurated by the Governor of Jiangsu province Liang Bao-Hua. The governor was joined at the inauguration by...

EMUs.(CITY NEWS)
October 1, 2005... The first two of 33 three-car EMUs that Siemens is building for the Oslo metro are due to arrive in the Norwegian capital this month for winter running trials following commissioning tests at Wildenrath. Oslo Sporveier expects to take delivery...

Five bids for Line H.(CITY NEWS)
October 1, 2005... BUENOS AIRES metro construction authority SBASE has received five bids for a contract to build the second section of Line H, running from Caseros to Hospitales via one intermediate station at Parque Patricios. The lowest bid of 71.9m pesos...

CAF wins in Mexico.(CITY NEWS)
October 1, 2005... MEXICO's Secretariat of Communications & Transport announced on August 24 that a consortium led by CAF of Spain had been awarded a 30-year concession to upgrade, equip and operate the 27 km commuter route between Buenavista and Cuautitlan (RG...

Palermo.(CITY NEWS)
October 1, 2005... On September 5 a consortium led by Systra of France was awarded a contract to undertake preliminary studies for a fully-automated light metro in Palermo. The first stage would run underground for 7.3 km from Oreto to Notarbartolo, serving 10...

Delhi Phase II approved.(CITY NEWS)
October 1, 2005... THE GOVERNMENT of India has approved plans for the second phase of the Delhi metro, which will add a further 53 km and 45 stations to the network by 2010. Following the formal go-ahead, Delhi Metro Rail Corp announced on September 12 the...

La Paz light metro out to tender.(CITY NEWS)
October 1, 2005... ON AUGUST 31 Mayor of La Paz Juan Del Granado formally launched a bidding for a 35-year concession to build and operate a 10.6 km elevated light metro route in the Bolivian capital. Expected to cost US$73m to build, the route would run from...

Thessaloniki metro revived.(CITY NEWS)
October 1, 2005... A CONSORTIUM headed by Greek construction company AEGEK has been named as temporary contractor for the 9.6 km first phase of the long-planned metro in Thessaloniki. Budgeted at [euro]798m, the first phase would run underground through the...

Mumbai BOT tenders submitted.(CITY NEWS)
October 1, 2005... THERE HAS been a 'great response' from bidders for the build-operate-transfer contract to build the first section of the planned Mumbai metro, according to Project Director G R Madan from Mumbai Regional Development Authority. Madan...

Bombardier Transportation.(CITY NEWS)
October 1, 2005... On September 14 Bombardier Transportation handed over the first of 27 T3000 and 19 T4000 Cityrunner low-floor cars to Brussels operator STIB, 23 months after the placing of the contract. During the celebrations at Woluwe tram museum, STIB...

Kazan opens.(CITY NEWS)
October 1, 2005... RUSSIAN President Vladimir Putin became the first passenger to ride the Kazan metro when it opened on August 27. He was joined for the 1.2 km trip from Kremlyovskaya to Ploschad Tukaya by Tatarstan's premier Mintimer Shamiyev and Russian...

Ottawa.(City News in Brief)
October 1, 2005... Ottawa's municipal government has shortlisted three consortia to build the 31 km north-south light rail line from Rideau Centre to Barrhaven at an estimated cost of C$675m. They are SNC Lavalin with Bombardier, Kiewit-Ellisdon with Kinki Sharyo...

Parma.(City News in Brief)
October 1, 2005... A joint venture of Alpina, Semaly, Scetauroute, Ci-Tra and Teodoro Aldo Battaglia has been selected to undertake studies for a [euro] 193m light rail or light metro network in Parma. The Italian city is planning two underground routes, one...

Shenyang.(City News in Brief)
October 1, 2005... The Chinese government has approved plans for the first phase of the proposed 82.5 km metro network in Shenyang. Work on Lines 1 and 2 totalling 40.9 km is expected to start in November for completion by 2012 at a total cost of 17.2bn yuan. The...

Singapore's Land Transport Authority.(City News in Brief)
October 1, 2005... Singapore's Land Transport Authority has completed preliminary design for the 3.4 km Downtown Extension which will serve the development area around Marina Bay. Due to be completed in 2012, the DTE will link the Circle Line at Millenia with the...

Caracas.(City News in Brief)
October 1, 2005... CA Metro Los Teques has let a [euro]204m contract to the Frameca consortium for equipping its 9.8 km metro feeder line in Caracas. Linking Los Teques to the south end of Line 2 at Los Adjuntas, the line is due to open in October 2006 (MR 05...

ProRail.(INTELLIGENCE)
October 1, 2005... ProRail has been undertaking train detection tests on its Utrecht-Arnhem main line using one of the Bombardier A32 LRVs from the Alphen-Gouda tram-train project. The aim is to assess whether track circuits will be adequate to permit the...

China.(INTELLIGENCE)
October 1, 2005... China: Work began on August 26 to add a fourth track on the 147 km line between Guangzhou and Shenzhen at a cost of 4.74bn yuan. This will allow services to be increased from 100 to 137 per day, and it is expected that traffic will rise from 27...

Czech Republic.(INTELLIGENCE)
October 1, 2005... Czech Republic: On September 5 infrastructure manager SZDC formally launched a KC53bn project to modernise Corridor 4 from Praha to Ceske Budejovice and the Austrian border at Horni Dvoriste by 2016. An initial 18.2 km between Praha-Hostivar...

France.(INTELLIGENCE)
October 1, 2005... France: With effect from September 5, Novatrans replaced CNC as operator of the intermodal terminal at Sete owned by RFF. A [euro]4.57m investment programme has been undertaken with financial support from the EU, the government and local...

Germany.(INTELLIGENCE)
October 1, 2005... Germany: On September 3 DB began a [euro]7.4m project funded by the Land of Brandenburg to electrify the Angermunde to Schwedt branch. Electric services will begin with the December 11 timetable change.

India.(INTELLIGENCE)
October 1, 2005... India: On September 19 South Eastern Railway launched broad-gauge passenger services on a 41 km line between Bankura and Sonamukhi, built at a cost of Rs950m. Railway Board Chairman J P Batra has announced a project to plant a further 6...

Iran.(INTELLIGENCE)
October 1, 2005... Iran: Modernisation of 30 GE diesel locos has been completed at Karaj, with electromechanical controls replaced by micro-processors, D-77 traction motors replaced by D-78 motors, and cab air-conditioning installed. A further 25 will be...

Spain.(INTELLIGENCE)
October 1, 2005... Spain: On September 4 RENFE introduced two new high speed shuttle passenger services in each direction between Cordoba and Sevilla, increasing the total number of daily return services to eight. Four new services running on Fridays and Sundays...

Switzerland.(INTELLIGENCE)
October 1, 2005... Switzerland: BLS and Regionalverkehr Mittelland have restarted talks regarding a merger, which is now expected to be approved at the end of June 2006.

Uganda.(INTELLIGENCE)
October 1, 2005... Uganda: A USh4bn rail connection has been built to the Biadco oil refinery in Jinja. The link to URC will cut the transit time from Mombasa from 10 days to three.

USA.(INTELLIGENCE)
October 1, 2005... USA: On September 9 RailAmerica announced the $77.5m acquisition from Alcoa of the 21 km Point Comfort & Northern Railway, the 10 km Rockdale, Sandow & Southern Railroad and the 5 km Massena Terminal and Bauxite & Northern railways. The...

Zambia.(INTELLIGENCE)
October 1, 2005... Zambia: RSZ has begun the second phase of a national track rehabilitation programme, covering 450 km between Mazabuka and Livingstone.

King Carl XVI Gustav.(INTELLIGENCE)
October 1, 2005... On August 28 King Carl XVI Gustav of Sweden formally inaugurated the second Arsta bridge in Stockholm, which will open with the December timetable change, completing the quadrupling of the southern approach to the capital as far as Sodra...

Argentina.(Market)
October 1, 2005... Argentina: TBA is taking delivery of 1 600 tonnes of UIC 54 rail from Aceralia of Spain, which is to be laid on concrete sleepers during track renewals costing 34m pesos on the 5-5 km of four-track main line between Retiro and Empalme Maldonado...

Australia.(Market)
October 1, 2005... Australia: This month Barclay Mowlem's Rail Group will complete a contract awarded by BHP Billiton Iron Ore in July to install 60 000 concrete sleepers at Port Hedland, Mount Newman and Jimblebar.

Belgium.(Market)
October 1, 2005... Belgium: On September 14 Alcatel announced it had won a contract from SNCB to install communications and security equipment in the 3.8 km cross-city tunnel under construction in Antwerpen (RG 1.04 p28).

China.(Market)
October 1, 2005... China: A consortium of Alstom and Changchun Railway Vehicles Co has placed a [euro]61m order with Knorr-Bremse for brakes and doors for 60 eight-car inter-city trainsets which are under construction for delivery in 2006-07. Congo, DR...

Czech Republic.(Market)
October 1, 2005... Czech Republic: A consortium owned 60% by Skanska and 20% each by Subterra and Leonhard Weiss & Co has been awarded a KC3.7bn contract to upgrade 24 km of track between Cervenka and Zabreh na Morave for 160 km/h operation by October 2008.

France.(Market)
October 1, 2005... France: SNCF has amended a December 2004 order for 30 Alstom Prima electric locos to triple rather than dual-voltage machines, taking the cost to [euro]78m. The locos will be delivered between January and October 2006 for use on freight...

Germany.(Market)
October 1, 2005... Germany: On September 13 Alstom announced a [euro]27m order from Fahma for 10 two-car 120 km/h Coradia Lint 41 DMUs which will be used from late 2006 on Frankfurt-Konigsteiner Railway services. Using an option within an existing contract,...

India.(Market)
October 1, 2005... India: Siemens has been awarded two contracts to supply GSM-R equipment for use on 2 200 route-km in the Delhi, Haryana, Punjab and Jammu & Kashmir regions.

Israel.(Market)
October 1, 2005... Israel: Minrav has been awarded a US$29m contract for infrastructure work on the Rishon le-Ziyyon-Ashdod route, Yavne interchange and Yavne West station. Ortam Sahar is to build Yosephtal station between Holon and Bat-Yam at a cost of US$...

Netherlands.(Market)
October 1, 2005... Netherlands: On September 1 Holland Railconsult signed a contract to provide systems integration testing on the Betuwe Route by March 2007. Arcadis has been selected to advise on engineering aspects of the consolidation of rail, tram,...

Pakistan.(Market)
October 1, 2005... Pakistan: On September 19 Korean firm Sambu was formally awarded a Rs5.4bn contract to restart work this month on the long-planned Lowari tunnel, suspended in 1995. A rail shuttle service through the 8.8 km tunnel will provide all-weather...

Poland.(Market)
October 1, 2005... Poland: Last month PKP took delivery of five PESA SA 103 railbuses for use on regional services in Pomorze Zachodnie.

South Africa.(Market)
October 1, 2005... South Africa: Sheltam Grindrod Rail & Locomotive Services has acquired 10 diesel-electric locos from General Electric at a cost of US$2m each.

Spain.(Market)
October 1, 2005... Spain: Necso has been awarded a [euro]48m contract to cover over 3 km of FEVE's Bilbao-Santander route through Basurto. Due for completion within 36 months, the project includes construction of two new stations at Hospital and Lejabarri. ...

United Kingdom.(Market)
October 1, 2005... United Kingdom: EDM has designed and built a series of full-size simulators to train and assess Network Rail staff on the use of mechanical signalboxes and modern control panels. The simulators are located at 11 training centres, including one...

Uruguay.(Market)
October 1, 2005... Uruguay: AFE has called tenders for the supply of up to four diesel railcars on a leasing basis. The supplier would also be responsible for maintenance over a period of three years.

USA.(Market)
October 1, 2005... USA: In August Union Pacific placed a $8.2m order for 10 Green Goat low emission shunters to be used in southern California. Wabtec subsidiary MotivePower has been awarded a $8m contract to overhaul seven diesel locos for use on Metro-North...

Vietnam.(Market)
October 1, 2005... Vietnam: On August 5 DSVN signed an order with Phuong Nam Rolling Stock Corp and Ziyang Locomotive Works for five standard gauge 2 000 hp diesel-electric locos, to be delivered in April 2006. South Korean firm Chungsuk Engineering Co has...

Germany.(Finance)
October 1, 2005... Germany: On September 16 Sachsen-Anhalt Transport Minister Dr Karl-Heinz Daehre confirmed a further [euro]3.3m of Land funding towards the 8.5 km extension of the metre-gauge Harz Railway from Gernrode to Quedlinburg. Work on the [euro]6m...

Iran.(Finance)
October 1, 2005... Iran: The Islamic Development Bank has provided a US$35m loan for the Bafgh-Mashhad project and US$34m for railways in the west of the country.

Israel.(Finance)
October 1, 2005... Israel: The Transport and Finance ministries have agreed a 250m shekel annual subsidy for Israel Railways running to 2008.

Sri Lanka.(Finance)
October 1, 2005... Sri Lanka: India has agreed to provide financial assistance to reconstruct and modernise track, bridges and signalling infrastructure damaged by the December 2004 tsunami.

Australia's Southern Shorthaul Railroad.(INTELLIGENCE)
October 1, 2005... Australia's Southern Shorthaul Railroad has won contracts to handle infrastructure trains as part of the reconstruction of Melbourne's Spencer Street station, and to move Alstom EMUs to and from the electrified network for suburban operator...

Uruquay.(Pointers)
October 1, 2005... As track renewal work has resumed on several sections of the national network in Uruquay, state-owned train operator AFE is due to complete work on a new business plan this month. Under the new government's 2005-09 budget bill, responsibility...

Belgrano Cargas.(Pointers)
October 1, 2005... Argentinian construction company and motorway concessionaire Sideco, part of the Macri group, signed a letter of understanding on September 12 to acquire 73% of Belgrano Cargas from Union Ferroviaria. The potential purchaser has said that a...

Nepalese.(Pointers)
October 1, 2005... In September King Gyanendra proposed the construction of an electric railway from the southern Nepalese commercial centre of Birganj to Tatopani, close to the border with Tibet.

Ecuador.(Pointers)
October 1, 2005... On September 6 the national congress of Ecuador passed a law to create a new railway company known as EFE which would succeed ENFE and take forward work to revive the national network. On the same day ENFE signed an agreement with the Ministry...

Israel.(Pointers)
October 1, 2005... Israel's Planning & Building Board has approved the route for the planned 3.5bn shekel Tel Aviv-Jerusalem fast line following the withdrawal of environmental objections.

Tanzania.(Pointers)
October 1, 2005... To allow the export of soda ash from Lake Natron, plans are being drawn up in Tanzania to rehabilitate and increase capacity on the 450 km line from Arusha to the Indian Ocean port of Tanga.

Chinese Railways.(Pointers)
October 1, 2005... An undersea rail tunnel between Xiangan and Xiamen Island in Fujian province is being planned. Chinese Railways puts the cost at 3.2bn yuan and suggests the 9 km tunnel could open in 2010.

Sao Paulo.(Pointers)
October 1, 2005... Sao Paulo state government is proposing a PPP arrangement to finance the planned US$572m Guarulhos International Airport rail link. The 31 km line would run from a transport interchange in Barra Funda, and a 19 km line between Bras and Cecap...

Manila.(Pointers)
October 1, 2005... The Philippines National Economic & Development Authority has approved in principle Universal LTD's proposals for the planned 22 km metro Line 7 in Manila, linking North Avenue with Tala in Novaliches. The Department of Transportation is now...

China.(Metros)
October 1, 2005... China: In August Knorr-Bremse received an order worth [euro]7m to supply brakes for use on 128 metro cars which are being built for use on Shanghai Line 1.

Croatia.(Metros)
October 1, 2005... Croatia: On September 14 the first two of 70 TMK 2200 trams ordered from the Crotram consortium by Zagreb Electric Tramways entered revenue service on Lines 11 and 12 following extensive testing. A total of 17 of the low-floor trams will be...

France.(Metros)
October 1, 2005... France: RATP has appointed Semaly and the Centre for Tunnel Studies to carry out a [euro]82 000 study into water infiltration on the metro and RER networks, looking at costs and strategies to reduce ingress. Since September 5, peak services...