Railway Gazette International articles from September 2004

Railway Gazette International archives from September 2004

African links could bring peace and stability.(Comment)
September 1, 2004... GOLD, DIAMONDS, oil, uranium and other minerals in southern Sudan could be used to fund an ambitious plan to build a 4 100 km network of standard-gauge lines joining the country to Uganda and Kenya. Promoted by German rail welding...

Virgin may lose both franchises.(Comment)(Virgin Rail Group)
September 1, 2004... ON August 6 when Strategic Rail Authority Chairman Richard Bowker met Sir Richard Branson and Brian Souter, who head Virgin Group and Stagecoach with 51% and 49% stakes respectively in Virgin Rail Group, he rejected outright VRG's best and...

Security on trial.(Comment)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2004... DURING the Republican National Convention being held in New York from August 30 to September 2, passengers using Penn Station below Madison Square Garden faced the possibility of disruption to their journeys while special security measures were...

North-south joint venture.(News)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2004... PLANS to build a north-south rail link along the Caspian Sea coast moved ahead in July, when a trilateral working group met in Tehran to discuss the project. Experts from the Russian, Azerbaijan and Iranian railways agreed during talks on...

Spoornet close to Ghana accord.(News)
September 1, 2004... A CONSORTIUM led by South African rail operator Spoornet is reported to have been selected as preferred bidder for the concession to modernise and operate the rail network in Ghana. CPCS Transcom is advising the government on the...

Saudi Railways Organisation.(News)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2004... Saudi Railways Organisation has appointed UK lawyers Linklaters and the local Law Office of Abdulaziz H Fahad to act as legal advisers for its forthcoming privatisation in connection with the construction of the planned line from Riyadh to...

Links across the Andes.(News)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2004... ARGENTINA's Under-Secretary of Transport Julio Montana has formally approved tender specifications for the project developed by Tecnicagua to restore the rail link between Mendoza and Los Andes in Chile, expected to cost in excess of US$200m...

Polish changes.(News)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2004... SIGNING of an agreement on July 29 formally established the first regional passenger train operator in Poland. Koleje Mazowieckie is owned 49% by Polish State Railways' regional business unit PKP Przewozy Regionalne and 51% by the Mazowieckie...

Bulgarian.(News)(Bulgarian State Railways to be restructured)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2004... Bulgarian Deputy Transport Minister Aneliya Krushkova announced in July that state rail operator BDZ would be restructured as a holding company next year, with separate passenger and freight subsidiaries. BDZ has cancelled a tender for 25...

Keystone revival.(News)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2004... PLANS to rehabilitate Amtrak's 167.3 km Keystone Corridor between Philadelphia and Harrisburg have been revived, three years after work on the route was cancelled because of Amtrak's financial crisis. Amtrak President & CEO David Gunn and...

EAR concession takes shape.(News)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2004... PREQUALIFICATION bids have been called by October 15 for the combined concession to operate and maintain the Kenyan and Ugandan rail networks. A memorandum of understanding was signed by the two countries at the end of July, and Canarail...

Danish structure changes again.(News)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2004... FURTHER rationalisation of the Danish rail sector took effect on July 1, when the former rail safety authority Jernbanetilsynet was abolished. Under a law passed by Parliament on May 5, responsibility for safety management on the rail...

Slovaks plan freight sale.(News)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2004... PLANS to privatise rail freight operations in Slovakia were announced last month by the Minister of Transport, Post & Telecommunications Pavol Prokopovic. As a first stage, the national rail operator ZSSK is to be restructured later this...

Albanian.(News)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2004... Albanian Deputy Transport & Communications Minister Proletar Roshi signed an agreement with the Italian government in July, paving the way for the start of construction on an 18 km branch from Lin on HSH's Elbasan--Pogradec line to the...

Praha remodelling gets going.(News)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2004... AUGUST 1 saw the formal start of work on a major remodelling of the main line tracks through the centre of Praha. Due to be completed by December 15 2010, the Nove Spojeni (New Connection) project will completely remodel the connections...

NR maintenance is all in-house.(News)(Network Rail)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2004... NETWORK Rail ended its last contracts for routine maintenance of the UK rail infrastructure on July 26, when it completed a 13-month process to bring the work in-house. The last five of 20 contract areas were transferred to direct NR control...

Corridor works.(News)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2004... SLOVAK Prime Minister Mikulas Dzurinda has launched the second phase of upgrading on ZSR's 536 km section of European Corridor V, which links the Hungarian border at Rusovce with Bratislava and the Ukraine border at Cierna nad Tisou. Work...

New concession terms proposed.(News)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2004... THE PROPOSED TERMS of new contracts for Argentina's freight concessionaires were due to be considered at a series of three public hearings last month, starting with Ferrosur on August 19. New terms for FEPSA were due to be considered the...

Maidenhead study.(News)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2004... CROSS LONDON Rail Links started a new round of public consultation for Crossrail Line 1 on August 5, following the announcement by Secretary of State for Transport Alistair Darling on July 20 that a hybrid bill could be submitted to Parliament...

Mikhail Fradkov.(News)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2004... On July 28 Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Fradkov officially opened the 49 km branch line from Yandyki to the Caspian Sea port of Olya. Following the ceremony, a container train carrying paper from Pravdinsk near Nizhny Novgorod to Iran became...

TGV.(News)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2004... On July 28-29 the prototype trainset for TGV Est services between Paris and southern Germany was hauled from Alstom's Belfort plant to the Velim test centre in the Czech Republic. Due to enter service in 2008, the unit is formed from two new...

Passante route out to tender.(City News)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2004... NINE COMPANIES have prequalified for a contract to operate the first service through Milano's Passante cross-city tunnel, which is due to open throughout on December 10 2006. Lombardia region announced on July 23 that it would issue the final...

North-south Stadtbahn makes progress.(City News)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2004... MAJOR construction works are underway in Koln for the first phase of the 4 km north-south U-Bahn needed to relieve the busy tunnel between Appellhofplatz, Neumarkt and Poststrasse. Running from the main station and Breslauerplatz to...

Automated metro contract.(City News)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2004... THE SOUTH Korean city of Yong-In announced in July that it had awarded a 35-year build-transfer-operate concession for an 18.5 km automated light metro linking the Seoul metro with Yong-In and the Everland theme park (RG 2.02 p66). The 15...

Madrid picks Citadis.(City News)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2004... ON AUGUST 3, Alstom announced that it had been selected to supply 70 Citadis LRVs to operate the planned 31 km light rail network in Madrid. Signing of the [euro]144.6m contract is expected this month. The cars are to be built at the...

Second airport service launched.(City News)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2004... MOSCOW Mayor Yuri Luzhkov joined the celebrations on July 29 to mark the launch of Russian Railways' second dedicated airport rail service in the capital. He was joined at Moscow Kievskaya station by RZD President Gennady Fadeyev, Moscow...

Bonds to build London projects.(City News)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2004... MAYOR of London Ken Livingstone has been authorised by UK Secretary of State Alistair Darling to issue bonds to raise [pounds sterling]2.9m for transport projects in the capital. 'This ground-breaking agreement means that London, for the...

Lausanne.(City News)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2004... Construction of the automated metro in Lausanne has started, following a groundbreaking ceremony on June 16. The 6.1 km route from Ouchy to Epalinges is expected to open in 2008, with 15 two-car rubber-tyred MP89 trainsets from Alstom providing...

Bidders line up.(City News)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2004... PLANS to build a two-line automated metro in Dubai (RG 3.04 p164) are set to move forward this month with the announcement of a shortlist of bidders for the civil engineering work. Six groups are reported to have qualified for a shortlist...

Beograd.(City News)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2004... A feasibility study for construction of a three-line light rail network in Beograd has been completed by a consortium of local planning agency Yuginus and Ineco of Spain. Construction is expected to start in 2006, with the first line opening...

Feeder cable.(City News)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2004... ON JULY 30 the President of Colombia Alvaro Uribe inaugurated a 2 km aerial cable transit system designed to act as a feeder to the Medellin metro network. Built in 14 months at a cost of US$23m, MetroCable serves the northeast part of the...

Hauts-de-Seine.(City News)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2004... The departement of Hauts-de-Seine expects to launch a public enquiry later this year as part of the approval process for the planned 4.2 km extension of Paris light rail line T2 from La Defense to Bezons (Val-d'Oise). RATP is putting into...

Africa.(Intelligence)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2004... Africa: National Railways of Zimbabwe and Zambia Railways are jointly sponsoring a structural assessment of the Victoria Falls bridge to ascertain if it can be maintained economically or should be replaced.

Argentina.(Intelligence)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2004... Argentina: The Ferrocentral joint venture of Nuevo Central Argentino and Ferrovias was due to operate its first passenger service between Cordoba and Villa Maria on August 13. Two services were to be operated in each direction every week, with...

Australia.(Intelligence)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2004... Australia: On August 16 RailAmerica announced that the State of Victoria had granted consent for Pacific National's acquisition of Freight Australia's 45-year Primary Infrastructure Lease of the state's freight network. Completion of the...

Austria.(Intelligence)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2004... Austria: Infrastructure investment company HL-AG has awarded a [euro]340m contract to Porr for construction of the 13.1 km Wienerwald tunnel as part of the Wien--St Polten Westbahn upgrading. Boring starts at the east end this month, and a...

Botswana.(Intelligence)(Railways Amendment Bill)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2004... Botswana: Parliament has supported the Botswana Railways Amendment Bill, which will provide BR with more autonomy by transferring powers from the Minister of Works & Transport to the railway's board.

China.(Intelligence)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2004... China: Work is to begin this year on a 296 km line costing 6.2bn yuan which will link Jinghe with Korgas on the Kazakh border by 2008.

Europe.(Intelligence)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2004... Europe: Rail links between the Bulgarian Danube port of Lom and Thessaloniki in Greece are to be upgraded at a cost of [euro]25m, financed by the two governments and EBRD. Four PKP Class SU46 diesel locomotives have been modified by DB...

Germany.(Intelligence)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2004... Germany: Hochtief, Hartung Bau and Eichholz have begun work on a [euro]50m project to upgrade the line from Aachen to the Belgian border for 160 km/h operation from 2007.

Hungary.(Intelligence)(Floyd Kft, Magyar Maganvasut)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2004... Hungary: Open access operator Floyd Kft has begun hauling freight between Szentgotthard and Wiener Neustadt in Austria. A second company, Magyar Maganvasut, obtained an operating licence in July and expects to carry its first freight by the end...

Netherlands.(Intelligence)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2004... Netherlands: The 48 km Rotterdam harbour line was officially reopened by Transport Minister Karla Peijs on July 10. The line has been double-tracked and upgraded for the Betuwe Route project; 25 kV 50 Hz electrification and ETCS Level 2 are to...

Spain.(Intelligence)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2004... Spain: PENFE has approved a [euro]220m programme to increase capacity at Barcelona Sants station in preparation for the opening of the high speed line through the city in 2007. This includes extension of the central circulating area and...

Switzerland.(Intelligence)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2004... Switzerland: On July 19 ceremonies were held at Erstfeld to mark the start of preparatory work for a bypass around the town leading to the Gotthard base tunnel. The contract for a pair of 7.7 km single-track tunnels is to be placed by mid-2005,...

USA.(Intelligence)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2004... USA: On August 1 Central Railroad of Indianapolis began operating the Chicago, Fort Wayne & Eastern Railroad, which is being leased from CSX by the RailAmerica short line group. RailAmerica Inc subsidiary Indiana & Ohio Central Railroad has...

Bangladesh.(Finance)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2004... Bangladesh: Indian External Affairs Minister Natwar Singh has offered US$150m of Indian funding to help upgrade Bangladesh Railways.

Botswana.(Finance)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2004... Botswana: General Manager Reginald Ketshabile reported that BR made a loss of 8m pula for the year to March 31 2003, down from a 19m pula profit the previous year. Operating income was up 11% to 143m pula.

Germany.(Finance)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2004... The EU is providing [euro]62m towards upgrading the route from Paderborn to Chemnitz via Erfurt and Gera.

Myanmar.(Finance)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2004... Myanmar: Exim Bank of India is providing US$56.4m of credit for RITES to upgrade the Yangon--Mandalay line and maintenance facilities, and for supply of 10 locomotives rated at 1 350 hp, 48 coaches and spares.

Russia.(Finance)(Company forecasts)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2004... Russia: This year Russian Railways expects to invest 6.6bn roubles purchasing and modernising passenger rolling stock, and 2.4bn roubles on upgrading stations.

Turkey.(Finance)
September 1, 2004... Turkey: Japan Bank for International Cooperation has agreed a [yen]74bn second tranche loan for the Marmaray tunnel.

Uganda.(Finance)(upgradation planning)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2004... Uganda: URC is to upgrade 30 km of its main line from Kampala to the Kenyan border at Malaba by April 2005 using [euro]10m of EU funding.

Uzbekistan.(Finance)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2004... Uzbekistan: Japan has issued a soft loan of US$150m for the construction of a G'uzor--Boysun--Qumqo'rgo'n line. The Uzbek government has approved a US$20m project 50% funded by Japan Bank for International Co-Operation to modernise the...

Argentina.(Market)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2004... Argentina: The federal government has signed an agreement to purchase 100 000 tonnes of rail from Arcelor for use in upgrading projects, to be financed by a loan from the Spanish government. A separate agreement covers the supply and...

Australia.(Market)
September 1, 2004... Australia: Queensland Rail has ordered a Stoneblower ballast injection machine from Harsco Track Technologies for delivery in late 2005.

Belgium.(Market)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2004... Belgium: Cattron Theimeg Europe is to supply SNCB with 80 TH-EC/LO portable radio remote controls for locomotives. Swiss Federal Railways has also ordered 54 units.

Europe.(Typsa)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2004... Europe: Typsa and Systra have been appointed to provide technical assistance for construction of the Perpignan--Figueres high speed line.

France.(contracts)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2004... France: RATP has awarded Alcatel a [euro]64m turnkey contract to upgrade its private mobile radio communications on the metro, RER and bus networks from analogue to Tetra digital operation by 2007, with maintenance over five years.

Germany.(contracts)(Bombardier's Aachen )(Brief Article)
September 1, 2004... Germany: Connex has ordered nine three-car Talent DMUs worth [euro]24m from Bombardier's Aachen plant for use on Marschbahn services between Itzehoe and Husum from December 2005. Windhoff has received an order for a TeleTrac 100 EM...

Iran.(Ports & Shipping Organisation)(contracts)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2004... Iran: A consortium led by Ashok Leyland Project Services of India has signed memoranda of understanding with the Ports & Shipping Organisation for the development of a privately-financed port at Chabahar on the Gulf of Oman, and for...

Ireland.(Eireann)(contracts)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2004... Ireland: Damovo Ireland is to implement an interactive voice response and speech recognition telephone system for larnrod Eireann, replacing recorded messages with touch-tone responses that give customers access to timetables and other...

Kenya.(Kenya Railways Corporation)(contracts)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2004... Kenya: KRC has signed a KSh384m annual locomotive maintenance contract with GE, and a KSh325m equipment rehabilitation contract with Bombardier. 35 Class 93/94 and 12 Class 62 locos are covered by the agreements.

Slovenia.(contracts)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2004... Slovenia: SZ has signed a [euro]80m contract for 20 Siemens 15 kV AC, 25 kV AC and 3 kV DC EuroSprinter 200 km/h electric locomotives to be built in Munchen in 2006-08, with an option for a further 20.

Syria.(contracts)(Consolidated Builders)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2004... Syria: Aqar Holding has awarded a US$50m contract to Consolidated Builders to build the 60 000 [m.sup.2] Souk al-Hedjaz shopping mall above the Hedjaz station in Damascus.

United Kingdom.(Market)(First Swietelsky)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2004... United Kingdom: Network Rail has awarded First Swietelsky a two-year framework contract worth [euro]30m to operate high-speed track renewal and ballast-cleaning plant. Thales Telecom Services has won a [pounds sterling]6.5m contract from...

USA.(Market)(Contracts)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2004... USA: Greenbrier Companies announced on August 4 that it has received an order from TTX for 1 100 double-stack intermodal wagons for delivery in 2005-06. Hatch Mott MacDonald has been appointed to provide programme management services to...

Philippine Railway Authority.(Pointers)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2004... The Department of Transport & Communications has recommended the creation of a Philippine Railway Authority to have sole responsibility for the regulation and operation of railways.

Zahedan.(Pointers)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2004... In August an Iranian delegation informed Pakistan Railways that the rail link between Bam New Citadel and Zahedan will be completed within 18 months, joining the two railway networks.

Manila.(Pointers)(China's Export-Import Bank )(Brief Article)
September 1, 2004... China's Export-Import Bank has offered US$980m of financing towards a planned rail line from Alabang to Bicol, south of Manila, which Philippine National Railway is proposing in addition to upgrading of the existing line from Calamba to Bicol.

Belgrano Cargas.(Pointers)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2004... The Argentinian government was expected to make tender documentation available last month for a 75% stake in metre-gauge freight operator Belgrano Cargas, hoping to select a preferred bidder within 90 days. A 20% share would remain with former...

Uruguay.(Pointers)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2004... The Ministry of Transport & Public Works in Uruguay was expected to invite new bids to upgrade track on the national network at the end of last month (RG 7.04 p386). The government now proposes to pay contractors a maximum of US$5m a year,...

Madrid--Lleida.(Pointers)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2004... The Spanish Ministry of Development expects the Madrid--Lleida high speed line to be available for 300 km/h operation before the end of the year. This follows successful trials of ERTMS Level 1 signalling using a prototype Talgo/Bombardier...

Paraguay.(Pointers)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2004... Iron & Steel Plant Holding AG is backing a project to revive the former Presidente Carlos Antonio Lopez Railway in Paraguay, proposing an initial investment of US$225m. DE-Consult of Germany has been retained as technical consultant.

Argentina.(Metros)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2004... Argentina: On July 27 Metrovias formally opened its new operations control centre for the Buenos Aires metro. As well as taking over signalling control for all five lines, it will manage traction power supply, passenger information and...

Brazil.(Metros)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2004... Brazil: Systra and Dexia are to carry out an eight-month feasibility study for a 20 km tram or guided bus system in the Barra da Tijuca district of Rio de Janeiro. A syndicate of Japanese banks is providing a loan totalling [yen]28.6bn to...

China.(Metros)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2004... China: Wuhan expects to have built one light rail and six metro lines by 2050 at a cost of 100bn yuan. Work to extend the light rail line and build metro Line 4 is to begin shortly for completion by 2010.

France.(Metros)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2004... France: Sytral has selected Alstom to supply 10 trams worth [euro]23.9m for the Lea light rail line in Lyon (RG 8.04 p451), with an option for further vehicles at [euro]1.9m each.

Philippines.(Metros)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2004... Philippines: Manila LRTA has placed a [euro]12m order with Alstom for electrical equipment for use in the renovation of 63 light rail vehicles used on Line 1.

Saudi Arabia.(Metros)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2004... Saudi Arabia: Semaly of France and engineering firm Dar al-Handasah have been awarded an 8m riyal contract lasting 14 months to prepare preliminary plans for a light rail network in Riyadh. Officials in Madinah announced in August that work...

Spain.(Metros)(EuskoTran)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2004... Spain: On July 22 EuskoTran opened the final 550 m section of Bilbao light rail Line A from San Mames to Basurto. Trams now operate every 15 min over the 5 km route from Atxuri to Basurto.

Taiwan.(Metros)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2004... Work on Kaohsiung Metro's Orange Line was suspended in August following the collapse of workings between Hsitzuwan and Yangchengpu and the subsequent requirement to demolish four buildings.

United Kingdom.(Metros)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2004... United Kingdom: Metronet Rail has awarded a joint venture of Balvac, Stent and Raynesway Construction Southern a [pounds sterling]150m contract for structure and earthwork inspection and maintenance on the London Underground. Other...

USA.(Metros)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2004... USA: Hill International has been awarded a contract to provide project administration on Northeast Illinois Regional Commuter Railroad Corp's New Starts programme of upgrades and suburban line extensions. Niagara Frontier Transportation...

Israel Railways.(Intelligence)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2004... September 4 sees the start of revenue service on Israel Railways' single-track branch serving Tel Aviv's Ben Gurion International Airport, where a two-platform station has been built next to the new air terminal which is due to open in November...