Australasia – Page 26
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NewsThree shortlisted for Melbourne’s High Capacity Metro Trains contract
AUSTRALIA: Three consortia have been shortlisted for the High Capacity Metro Trains public-private partnership contract to supply and maintain 37 electric multiple-units for Melbourne suburban services, Victoria’s Minister for Public Transport & Employment Jacinta Allan announced on November 9. The shortlisted bidders are: Bombardier (Bombardier Transportation Australia, Macquarie Bank, ITOCHU ...
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NewsInland Rail technical services tender called
AUSTRALIA: The federal government has called tenders for a contract to provide major technical advisory and engineering services for the proposed Melbourne – Brisbane Inland Rail project, and a briefing session is to be held in Brisbane on November 13. In parallel, Infrastructure Australia is considering the business case to ...
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NewsWabtec acquires lineside sensor supplier Track IQ
AUSTRALIA: Wabtec Corp announced its acquisition of lineside sensor manufacturer Track IQ on October 12. Track IQ products use acoustic sensors to monitor the condition of bearings and wheels on passing rolling stock. They are installed at more than 150 locations in countries including Australia, New Zealand, ...
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NewsInland Rail delivery plan released
AUSTRALIA: The final report of the Inland Rail implementation group was delivered to the federal government on September 11, along with a business case developed by Australian Rail Track Corp. The delivery plan outlines a 10-year timeframe for developing the proposed 1 700km corridor between Melbourne and Brisbane via Wagga ...
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NewsARTC awards National Train Communications System contract
AUSTRALIA: Inter-state network manager Australian Rail Track Corp has awarded Telstra a ‘multi-million dollar’, 10-year contract to provide telecoms services through the National Train Communications System. NTCS was developed as a cost-effective and interoperable voice and data communications network for the 8 500 km inter-state and Hunter Valley networks, using ...
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NewsAsciano board recommends acceptance of Brookfield offer
AUSTRALIA: The board of Asciano has unanimously recommended that shareholders accept Brookfield Infrastructure’s offer to acquire its entire issued capital, in a deal which gives the rail and port group an implied enterprise value of A$12bn. ‘After careful consideration of all the options available to the company, the Asciano ...
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NewsSydney suburban fleet modernisation contract awarded
AUSTRALIA: Transport for New South Wales has awarded the UGL Unipart Rail joint venture an A$131m contract to modernise Sydney Trains’ fleet of 446 Tangara suburban electric multiple-unit cars by July 2018. The aim is to extend their service life and undertake ‘customer experience enhancements’ on the EMUs which ...
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NewsKiwiRail seeks interest in Napier – Gisborne line
NEW ZEALAND: KiwiRail has invited proposals from freight or tourist train operators interested in a non-exclusive licence to run services on the 210 km Napier – Gisborne line on North Island. Tenders are due by September 10, with the final decision scheduled to be announced by mid-October. ‘A number ...
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NewsFour shortlisted for New South Wales train contract
AUSTRALIA: On July 9 New South Wales Minister for Transport & Infrastructure Andrew Constance announced the shortlist for a contract to supply and maintain a fleet of around 65 electric multiple-units totalling 520 cars for used on NSW TrainLink Intercity services: Alstom Transport Australia;Downer-CNRCRC Consortium (Downer EDI Rail and ...
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NewsBrookfield submits proposal for Asciano acquisition
AUSTRALIA: Port and logistics company Asciano, owner of rail freight operator Pacific National, confirmed on July 1 that Canadian utility, transport and energy asset investor Brookfield Infrastructure Group had made an indicative non-binding proposal to acquire 100% of its shares. Brookfield manages a 5 100 km freight network in ...
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NewsVictoria begins High Capacity Metro Train procurement
AUSTRALIA: The government of Victoria has invited expressions of interested by August 14 in the High Capacity Metro Train PPP contract to finance, design, supply and maintain a fleet of 37 suburban electric multiple-units for Melbourne’s Cranbourne and Pakenham lines. At 160 m, HCMT would be longer than existing trainsets, ...
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NewsRegional Rail Link inaugurated
AUSTRALIA: The A$3·65bn Regional Rail Link project in Melbourne was formally inaugurated on June 14, when Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Infrastructure & Regional Development Warren Truss joined the Premier of Victoria Daniel Andrews and the state’s Minister for Public Transport Jacinta Allan on a special train to mark ...
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NewsSydney intermodal terminal agreement
AUSTRALIA: An agreement for the development and operation of a major intermodal freight terminal in southwest Sydney was signed by the federal government’s Moorebank Intermodal Co and the Sydney Intermodal Terminal Alliance of Qube Holdings (67%) and Aurizon (33%) on June 4. The development would be on federal and ...
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NewsNew Zealand increases rail funding
NEW ZEALAND: Additional funding for KiwiRail was announced in the budget presented by Finance Minister Bill English on May 21, although he also called for savings to be identified. The national railway is to get NZ$210m from the Future Investment Fund in 2015-16, and a further NZ$190m was announced as ...
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NewsMore Melbourne crossings to go
AUSTRALIA: The Victoria state government announced on May 19 that it had awarded a A$524m contract for the elimination of four level crossings in southeast Melbourne, as part of a commitment to remove 50 of the city’s busiest and most dangerous level crossings over eight years. A consortium of John ...
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NewsCowra Lines tender fails to find private operator
AUSTRALIA: The government of New South Wales has been unsuccessful in its attempt to find a private operator to revive the dormant Cowra Lines for freight services, New South Wales Minister for Roads, Maritime & Freight Duncan Gay has announced. The 200 km Cowra Lines running from Blayney to Harden ...
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NewsBrookfield Rail rolls out radio network
AUSTRALIA: The A$16·5m installation of a radio communications network covering the 385 track-km Kalgoorlie – Esperance route has been completed by Brookfield Rail, which manages Western Australia’s 5 500 km open access, multi-user freight network. Maintenance staff and train crew had previously relied on fixed landline telephones and mobile or ...
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NewsVictoria budget kicks off 10-year rolling stock spend
AUSTRALIA: The Victoria state government has allocated more than A$6bn for rail investment in its 2015-16 budget, announced by Treasurer Tim Pallas on May 5. The headline element is A$2bn for rolling stock investment as the first tranche of a 10-year programme to strengthen local public transport and revitalise the ...
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NewsTennant Creek – Mount Isa railway study
AUSTRALIA: The Northern Territory government has committed A$1m to undertake a feasibility study for the construction of a 600 km line from Tennant Creek, NT, to Mount Isa in Queensland. The study is expected to take two years to complete. The east-west link connecting the Alice Springs – Darwin ...
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NewsCross Track TV in Brisbane
AUSTRALIA: XTD says its Cross Track TV is the ‘first designed for rail, cross-track digital video system’. It uses billboard-size LED screens and high-definition sound to broadcast information and advertising to passengers waiting at stations. Following installations in Sydney and Melbourne, Cross Track TV is being installed in at four ...