PROJECTS & INFRASTRUCTURE
24 Jul 2008 | Heavy haul in the high north
CANADA: Within a few years, Baffin Island in the Arctic archipelago will see construction of the world's most northerly railway, currently being designed by Canarail. The harsh environment poses daunting challenges in terms of design, construction and operation. More...
14 Jul 2008 | Fortescue opens the world's heaviest haul railway
AUSTRALIA: A remarkable iron ore railway has been built across the Pilbara region in record time. John Kirk reports. More...
14 Jul 2008 | Madrid - Valencia contracts awarded
SPAIN: Infrastructure authority ADIF has awarded 14 contracts worth a total of €430m for construction of the high speed line that will connect Madrid with Valencia, Alacant and Cartagena. On the branch to Cartagena, two civil works contracts worth a total of €83·3m have been awarded to Pavasal, Obru More...
08 Jul 2008 | Gautrain from dream to reality
SOUTH AFRICA: The Gautrain rapid rail link between Johannesburg and Tshwane is taking shape, with the first section on course to enter revenue service before the two cities host the 2010 football World Cup. More...
08 Jul 2008 | Carrying commuters in comfort
SOUTH AFRICA: Bombardier's proven Electrostar EMU family is being customised for South Africa, giving a powerful demonstration of modern high-quality rail services. More...
07 Jul 2008 | Testing takes train into Laos
LAOS: State Railway of Thailand began running test trains over the recently-completed rail link into Laos on July 4. SRT plans to operate two test trains a day until July 15, with passengers carried free of charge but unable to alight in Laos until customs facilities are completed. The railway will More...
01 Jul 2008 | EIB funds Warszawa - Gdynia upgrade
POLAND: Infrastructure manage PKP PLK signed a €400m loan agreement with the European Investment Bank on June 30. The money will fund the modernisation of the main line between Warszawa, Gdansk and Gdynia to enable trains to run at up to 200 km/h. Current speed restrictions on the 350 km route wil More...
23 Jun 2008 | Network Rail team to study high speed corridors
UK: Citing increasing capacity constraints and projections of strong growth in passenger and freight demand over the next 25 years, Network Rail announced on June 23 that it was launching a 'strategic review into the case for building new rail lines across the network of Great Britain'. A team was More...
19 Jun 2008 | Ambitious vision in East Africa
AFRICA: Following closely on the aborted multi-billion-dollar scheme to replace Nigeria's dilapidated 1 067 mm gauge railway with a new standard-gauge network, the East African Community has announced a 'master plan' to do something similar with the metre-gauge lines in Uganda, Kenya and Tanzania. More...
17 Jun 2008 | Miners in the market
AFRICA: As two European companies start work on short-term contracts to rescue the existing railway networks in the Democractic Republic of Congo, word reaches us of ambitious plans to build more than 3 000 km of new railway in that country, together with further spending on roads, hospitals an More...
