http://www.railwaygazette.com/ Latest News en http://www.railwaygazette.com/typo3conf/ext/tt_news/ext_icon.gif http://www.railwaygazette.com/ 18 16 Latest News TYPO3 - get.content.right http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss Thu, 24 May 2012 17:07:00 +0200 http://www.railwaygazette.com/nc/news/single-view/view/final-phase-of-kiwirail-turnaround-funded.html NEW ZEALAND: The government's 2012-13 budget unveiled on May 24 has allocated NZ$250m of capital funding to KiwiRail, the final instalment in a three-year NZ$750m package to support the national railway's Turnaround Plan announced in 2010. The funding will be used to remove capacity constraints and improve the reliability of freight services. 'The plan is designed to help the rail freight business become sustainable by 2020 so it can fund its business solely from customer revenue', said Transport Minister Gerry Brownlee. 'While the lion's share of the investment is coming from the business itself, government funding over three years demonstates our commitment to improving the rail freight network by providing capital investment to kick-start the growth process.' Over the last two years KiwiRail has acquired new locomotives and wagons and refurbished the existing locomotive fleet, while infrastructure has been renewed to improve speeds and reliability and remove capacity constraints. The train ferry Aratere connecting KiwiRail's North and South Island networks has been lengthened by 30 m, providing 30% more capacity. KiwiRail has ordered a batch of Ecotrax composite sleepers from Axion for use on turnouts and bridges. 'We're looking for durability and sustainability', said Mark Gullery, Manager, Track Engineering. 'We look forward to testing these new recycled plastic and sustainable replacements for wooden ties and to hopefully solving one of the challenges we face in the decline of readily available and reliable wooden ties.'

KiwiRail has ordered a batch of Ecotrax composite sleepers from Axion for use on turnouts and bridges. 'We're looking for durability and sustainability', said Mark Gullery, Manager, Track Engineering. 'We look forward to testing these new recycled plastic and sustainable replacements for wooden ties and to hopefully solving one of the challenges we face in the decline of readily available and reliable wooden ties.'

]]> Policy + Legislation Thu, 24 May 2012 17:07:00 +0200 http://www.railwaygazette.com/nc/news/single-view/view/alstom-buys-db-stake-in-locomotive-joint-venture.html GERMANY: On May 22 Alstom announced it had signed a contract to take over the 49% stake in the Alstom Lokomotiven Service joint venture which is held by DB Mobility Logistics, giving it full control. The joint venture was formed in 2002 and is based at Stendal. It now has more than 200 employees, undertaking locomotive and rolling stock modernisation and maintenance work and component refurbishment. Over the past five years it has developed a three-axle industrial shunting locomotive concept offering four models of engine, including diesel-battery hybrid technology. 'The business model of the Stendal site has proven itself to our customers', said Klaus Hiller, head of Alstom Transport Germany's Train Life Services Department. 'I am sure that in the coming decades we will see this historic site, founded in 1873, as a strong, flexible partner with advanced business ideas in this exciting market.' Industry + Technology Thu, 24 May 2012 15:32:00 +0200 http://www.railwaygazette.com/nc/news/single-view/view/russian-bearings.html RUSSIA: SKF has opened a railway axlebox bearing test facility at its Tver factory which it says is the first to be certified under new Russian safety norms. The Tver factory was opened in 2010 to produce sealed and pre-lubricated compact tapered bearing units for Russian and international customers. 'This investment will further strengthen our position as a supplier to the Russian Railways, and provide the local market with high-quality solutions for its rapidly expanding railway infrastructure', said Rutger Barrdahl, President of SKF's Railway Business Unit. Industry + Technology Thu, 24 May 2012 14:28:00 +0200 http://www.railwaygazette.com/nc/news/single-view/view/gas-tank-wagon-leased-signed.html RUSSIA: Leasing firm Brunswick Rail announced a seven-year agreement to supply 150 gas tank wagons to the SIBUR-Trans subsidiary of petrochemicals group SIBUR on May 24. The type 15-1780 wagons built by Ukrainian firm Poltavhimmash are designed to carry propane and butane. The first 20 are expected to be delivered by the end of May, with the remainder by the end of June. Brunswick Rail has a fleet of more than 22 000 wagons, and the latest deal takes the number leased by SIBUR-Trans to 760. 'Given the current shift in demand from open wagons towards specialised rolling stock, we are interested in working closely with companies from the petrochemicals and gas sectors', said Brunswick Rail Deputy CEO & Business Development Director Vladimir Khoroshilov. 'In the medium term, we plan to increase the number of specialised wagons in our fleet, including gas tank cars, and hope that this will give us the opportunity to further meet our clients' demand for such rolling stock.' Freight Thu, 24 May 2012 14:21:00 +0200 http://www.railwaygazette.com/nc/news/single-view/view/kazakhstan-plans-its-place-on-the-new-silk-road.html KAZAKHSTAN: Speaking at the 25th meeting of the Council of Foreign Investors on May 22, President Nursultan Nazarbayev set out his vision for a 'New Silk Road' strategy to exploit the country's potential as an east-west and north-south transit hub by 2020. Rail projects in the strategy include the completion by 2015 of an 988 km east-west railway to fill the gap between Zhezkazgan and Beineu, and a 214 km line to link Arkalyk and Shubarkol. Policy + Legislation Projects + Infrastructure Thu, 24 May 2012 12:05:00 +0200 http://www.railwaygazette.com/nc/news/single-view/view/donetsk-station-rebuild-completed.html UKRAINE: National railway UZ officially completed an extensive modernisation of the main station in Donetsk on May 22. The project has been undertaken to increase capacity from 15 000 to more than 35 000 passengers/day, shorten walking distances, improve links to local transport and increase accessibility for users with disabilities. The main building dating from 1945-49 has been completely renovated, two retail areas created and total floor area increased from 5800 m² to 21593 m². Railway infrastructure has also been renovated, with the installation of 15·8 km of new track, 83 turnouts, 28 km of overhead wires and 200 signals. Projects + Infrastructure Passenger Thu, 24 May 2012 10:57:00 +0200 http://www.railwaygazette.com/nc/news/single-view/view/malaysia-singapore-rapid-transit-study-commissioned.html ASIA: Malaysia's Land Public Transport Commission and Singapore's Land Transport Authority have awarded AECOM Technology Corp a US$42m contract to undertake engineering studies for the proposed Malaysia - Singapore Rapid Transit System Link. AECOM will undertake an architectural and engineering study for the proposed connection between Singapore and Johor Bahru in southern Malaysia, determining the technical parameters and options for a 'convenient and cost-effective system' that would be integrated with public transport services at both ends. Malaysian national railway KTMB operates a passenger service as far as the Woodlands border checkpoint in Singapore, but the 26 km line through Singapore to the former Tanjung Pagar station closed on June 30 2011 to free the corridor for redevelopment. Urban Rail Thu, 24 May 2012 06:00:00 +0200 http://www.railwaygazette.com/nc/news/single-view/view/ge-transportation-to-build-diesel-engine-plant-to-serve-cis-region.html KAZAKHSTAN: A memorandum of understanding setting out plans to establish a US$90m diesel engine manufacturing plant in Astana was signed by GE Transportation, TransmashDiesel and national railway KTZ on May 23. The parties plan to form a joint venture which would produce around 400 Evolution Series engines a year for rail, maritime and stationary power customers in the Commonwealth of Independent States and 1 520 mm regions. The joint venture would also offer servicing and spares. The plant is scheduled to be operational by the end of 2013, with the first engines coming off the assembly lines by early 2014. GE Transportation anticipates additional production volume at its Grove City plant in the USA, which will provide engine kits for the new facility. KTZ's JSC Lokomotiv Kurastyru Zauyty subsidiary already operates a locomotive assembly facility in Astana, which has capacity to roll out around 100 GE TE33A Evolution Series locomotives a year. KTZ plans to acquire 70 GE locomotives this year, as well as 64 shunting locomotives. Industry + Technology Wed, 23 May 2012 16:32:00 +0200 http://www.railwaygazette.com/nc/news/single-view/view/world-rolling-stock-market-may-2012.html Argentina: Last month 15 ex-NS DH1 single-car DMUs were shipped from the Netherlands to Buenos Aires suburban concessionaire TBA. Ferrosur Roca has taken delivery of two more EMD G26 locomotives rebuilt by TŽV Gredelj. Bangladesh: Using Indian government credit, BR has awarded Texmaco a 600m taka contract to supply 81 oil tank wagons and three brake vans. Bosnia: Elektroprivreda has ordered 40 wagon bogies from TŽV Gredelj for 5m kuna. Canada: On March 22 CN announced orders for 35 GE Transportation ES44AC and 30 EMD SD70ACe locomotives, its first with AC traction. They are to be delivered in 2013-14 to haul coal on steep and curved routes. CN is also buying 42 second-hand and 11 leased GE Dash 8-40C and 43 second-hand EMD SD60 locos. China: CNR Corp has announced plans to produce a catenary-free tram for sensitive environments such as tourist destinations and new urban developments. A Bombardier/New United Group JV has won a 469m yuan contract to supply Mitrac traction equipment for 63 six-car trains which CNR Changchun and CSR Sifang are building for the 47·3 km Beijing metro Line 14 scheduled to open in 2013-14. CSR Qingdao Sifang announced on March 21 that it had been selected to supply nine 350 km/h eight-car trainsets based on the CRH380A design for the 146 km Express Rail Link which will connect Hong Kong with Shenzhen and Guangzhou. CNR Xian has supplied Qinghai Zhonghao Natural Gas Chemical Co with 51 methanol tank wagons to a new design which increases capacity from 60 tonnes to 70 tonnes. Croatia: EMD has ordered 88 locomotive bogie frames from TŽV Gredelj, the first contract under a joint development agreement. Europe: Transmashholding and CZ Loko are to supply 16 TEM18-derived TEM-TMH shunters with Caterpillar engines to Lithuanian Railways and the Estonian port of Sillamäe by early 2013. Final assembly will be undertaken at Vilnius locomotive depot. France: Bombardier has been awarded a €238m contract to supply six more Flexity Outlook 1 trams to Marseille, and provide support services for the existing fleet of 26. Germany: On April 3 DB Regio announced firm orders for EMUs within existing frameworks. Stadler will supply 14 four-section Flirts for Münster - Mönchengladbach service RE42 at a cost of €75m, while Alstom has a €140m contract to supply 28 three-section Coradia Continental units for Rhein-Ruhr routes S5 and S8. On March 30 DB announced a €160m order for 16 four-car Bombardier Twindexx double-deck EMUs within a 2008 framework. They will be deployed on services from Hamburg to Kiel and Flensburg from 2014. India: Integral Coach Factory manufactured 1511 coaches in 2011-12, ahead of the target of 1503. The 2012-13 target is 1525. Iraq: China Northern is to supply CW-1B bogie spares to IRR. Kazakhstan: This month KTZ is due to take delivery of 42 coaches ordered from Kriukov Car Building Works in Ukraine. Montenegro: TZV Gredelj is to refurbish two EMUs and repair 11 coaches at a total cost of 15m kuna. Nigeria: Having imported 20 Type N30m tank wagons from China, NTC is proposing to order 50 more to support plans by oil firms to transfer fuel movements from road to rail. Poland: TS Opole and Skoda Transportation are to modernise 21 EN57 EMUs for SKM Trójmiescie under a 129m złoty contract. PR has awarded Pesa a 18m złoty contract to refurbish 10 Type 111A coaches for RegioEkspres services. Russia: TMH's Bryansk plant has completed a prototype TEM18V shunter with an 882 kW Wärtsilä engine which is expected to be 30% more efficient than a ChME3. The main fan wheel is made of plastic, and Gulfstream preheating is fitted. Sinara is to supply 12 single-unit Bo+Bo-Bo+Bo TE8 SuperSkid locomotives with 2·2 MW GE engines to Yakutia Railways in 2014-17. Spain: Under a €9·5m contract CAF is to modify four Urbos 2 trams for use on the Sevilla metro, including installation of ATO and ATP. The trams operated the surface route until their replacement last year by cars equipped for catenary-free operation. Switzerland: To cope with an anticipated doubling of traffic following the opening of the Gotthard and Ceneri base tunnels, SBB has called tenders for 29 non-tilting 249 km/h trainsets estimated to cost more than SFr800m. USA: On March 28 New York MTA selected lowest bidder Bombardier for a contract to supply 300 metro cars. Bombardier's bid of $600m beat a rival offer from an Alstom/Kawasaki Heavy Industries. The R179 cars are to built at Bombardier's Plattsburgh factory in New York State to replace R32 cars on the C Line from late 2016. CNR Yongji delivered an initial batch of 110 traction motors for the US market in March. Argentina: Last month 15 ex-NS DH1 single-car DMUs were shipped from the Netherlands to Buenos Aires suburban concessionaire TBA.  Ferrosur Roca has taken delivery of two more EMD G26 locomotives rebuilt by TŽV Gredelj.  Bangladesh: Using Indian government credit, BR has awarded Texmaco a 600m taka contract to supply 81 oil tank wagons and three brake vans.  Bosnia: Elektroprivreda has ordered 40 wagon bogies from TŽV Gredelj for 5m kuna.  Canada: On March 22 CN announced orders for 35 GE Transportation ES44AC and 30 EMD SD70ACe locomotives, its first with AC traction. They are to be delivered in 2013-14 to haul coal on steep and curved routes. CN is also buying 42 second-hand and 11 leased GE Dash 8-40C and 43 second-hand EMD SD60 locos.  China: CNR Corp has announced plans to produce a catenary-free tram for sensitive environments such as tourist destinations and new urban developments.  A Bombardier/New United Group JV has won a 469m yuan contract to supply Mitrac traction equipment for 63 six-car trains which CNR Changchun and CSR Sifang are building for the 47·3 km Beijing metro Line 14 scheduled to open in 2013-14.  CSR Qingdao Sifang announced on March 21 that it had been selected to supply nine 350 km/h eight-car trainsets based on the CRH380A design for the 146 km Express Rail Link which will connect Hong Kong with Shenzhen and Guangzhou.  CNR Xian has supplied Qinghai Zhonghao Natural Gas Chemical Co with 51 methanol tank wagons to a new design which increases capacity from 60 tonnes to 70 tonnes.  Croatia: EMD has ordered 88 locomotive bogie frames from TŽV Gredelj, the first contract under a joint development agreement.  Europe: Transmashholding and CZ Loko are to supply 16 TEM18-derived TEM-TMH shunters with Caterpillar engines to Lithuanian Railways and the Estonian port of Sillamäe by early 2013. Final assembly will be undertaken at Vilnius locomotive depot.  France: Bombardier has been awarded a €238m contract to supply six more Flexity Outlook 1 trams to Marseille, and provide support services for the existing fleet of 26.  Germany: On April 3 DB Regio announced firm orders for EMUs within existing frameworks. Stadler will supply 14 four-section Flirts for Münster - Mönchengladbach service RE42 at a cost of €75m, while Alstom has a €140m contract to supply 28 three-section Coradia Continental units for Rhein-Ruhr routes S5 and S8.  On March 30 DB announced a €160m order for 16 four-car Bombardier Twindexx double-deck EMUs within a 2008 framework. They will be deployed on services from Hamburg to Kiel and Flensburg from 2014.  India: Integral Coach Factory manufactured 1511 coaches in 2011-12, ahead of the target of 1503. The 2012-13 target is 1525.  Iraq: China Northern is to supply CW-1B bogie spares to IRR.  Kazakhstan: This month KTZ is due to take delivery of 42 coaches ordered from Kriukov Car Building Works in Ukraine.  Montenegro: TZV Gredelj is to refurbish two EMUs and repair 11 coaches at a total cost of 15m kuna.  Nigeria: Having imported 20 Type N30m tank wagons from China, NTC is proposing to order 50 more to support plans by oil firms to transfer fuel movements from road to rail.  Poland: TS Opole and Skoda Transportation are to modernise 21 EN57 EMUs for SKM Trójmiescie under a 129m złoty contract.  PR has awarded Pesa a 18m złoty contract to refurbish 10 Type 111A coaches for RegioEkspres services.  Russia: TMH's Bryansk plant has completed a prototype TEM18V shunter with an 882 kW Wärtsilä engine which is expected to be 30% more efficient than a ChME3. The main fan wheel is made of plastic, and Gulfstream preheating is fitted.  Sinara is to supply 12 single-unit Bo+Bo-Bo+Bo TE8 SuperSkid locomotives with 2·2 MW GE engines to Yakutia Railways in 2014-17.  Spain: Under a €9·5m contract CAF is to modify four Urbos 2 trams for use on the Sevilla metro, including installation of ATO and ATP. The trams operated the surface route until their replacement last year by cars equipped for catenary-free operation.  Switzerland: To cope with an anticipated doubling of traffic following the opening of the Gotthard and Ceneri base tunnels, SBB has called tenders for 29 non-tilting 249 km/h trainsets estimated to cost more than SFr800m.  USA: On March 28 New York MTA selected lowest bidder Bombardier for a contract to supply 300 metro cars. Bombardier's bid of $600m beat a rival offer from an Alstom/Kawasaki Heavy Industries. The R179 cars are to built at Bombardier's Plattsburgh factory in New York State to replace R32 cars on the C Line from late 2016.  CNR Yongji delivered an initial batch of 110 traction motors for the US market in March.]]> News Wed, 23 May 2012 06:00:00 +0200 http://www.railwaygazette.com/nc/news/single-view/view/europorte-channel-trials-piggyback-to-london.html UK: Eurotunnel’s rail freight subsidiary Europorte Channel ran a trial train from Antwerpen to Barking on May 21-22 to demonstrate the feasibility of operating unaccompanied piggyback trains to London via High Speed 1, carrying P400 craneable semitrailers as used in mainland Europe. The test used a Sdggmiss two-section pocket wagon which had to be approved for operation on RFF tracks in France and over HS1 in the UK. The train carried a pair of ‘megatrailers’ provided by Dutch carrier Ewals Cargo Care, loaded with automotive components for Vauxhall. Ewals confirmed that the company was keen to start a regular rail service to the UK as an alternative to its current ferry operation, using some of the wagons it leases from AAE for regular piggyback flows between Belgium and Italy. The trial wagon was loaded at the Combinant terminal in Antwerpen on May 21, and travelled to Calais via Mouscron and Lille; haulage was arranged by Belgian open access operator Railtraxx and Europorte France. From Fréthun the train was hauled to London using one of Europorte Channel’s Class 92 electric locomotives. Victa Railfreight provided ‘last mile’ diesel haulage between the HS1 exchange sidings and the nearby John G Russell intermodal terminal. According to Europorte Channel’s Commercial Director Neil Crossland, a regular service could begin by the end of this year, offering a 7 h journey time between Antwerpen and Barking. The train would operate over HS1 at night, and return the following night, leaving around 20 h for the trailers to be delivered and reloaded for the return trip. Read more about the project in the June issue of Railway Gazette International.

Read more about the project in the June issue of Railway Gazette International.

]]> Freight Tue, 22 May 2012 18:05:00 +0200