High speed rail industry news – Page 51
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NewsLGV Est Phase 2 completed
FRANCE: On March 31 SNCF President Guillaume Pepy joined SNCF Réseau President Jacques Rapoport and other dignitaries as the last rail was welded to mark the completion of construction work on Phase 2 of LGV Est, the high speed line between Paris and Strasbourg. Work on Phase 2, covering the ...
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NewsIndian high speed rail study bids called
INDIA: The Ministry of Railways has invited bids to undertake feasibility studies for the development of high speed lines in three corridors, at an estimated cost of Rs300m. Minister of Railways Suresh Prabhu made clear when announcing the railway budget and five-year action plan in February that his priority was ...
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NewsTGV relaunch planned
FRANCE: Voyages SNCF Director Rachel Picard has outlined the strategy that the national operator is to implement with the aim of making the TGV once again the preferred mode of transport, in the face of rising competition that includes ride-sharing. At the same time, cost savings averaging €80m a year ...
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NewsSpeed increase on the Tokaido Shinkansen
JAPAN: Central Japan Railway increased the maximum speed of its premium services between Tokyo and Shin-Osaka from 270 to 285 km/h with effect from March 14, cutting journey times by 3 min for 29 of its 37 Nozomi trains each day. The fastest timing over the 515·4 km route ...
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NewsMoscow - Kazan high speed line tenders called
RUSSIA: On March 16 Russian Railways called tenders for a contract to undertake surveys, project development and route planning for the proposed 770 km Moscow – Kazan dedicated high speed line. The deadline for submissions is April 16, and the maximum price is set at 20·79bn roubles plus VAT. The ...
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NewsHokuriku Shinkansen opens between Nagano and Kanazawa
JAPAN: The 228 km Hokuriku Shinkansen high speed line between Nagano, Toyama and Kanazawa opened on March 14. The opening has reduced the fastest journey between Tokyo and Kanazawa to 2 h 28 min, compared to the previous time of 4 h 20 min via the 1 067 mm gauge ...
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NewsUK Eurostar sale price 'ahead of expectations'
EUROPE: The British government announced an agreement to sell its entire stake in Eurostar International Ltd for £757·1m on March 4. Eurostar International owns the UK’s 40% stake in the cross-Channel high speed train operator, with France’s state-owned train operator SNCF holding 55% and its Belgian counterpart SNCB the remaining ...
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News‘Connectivity and vision’ key to future of high speed
RAILWAY GAZETTE TV: More than 370 viewers in 20 countries registered to watch Railway Gazette’s interactive live debate on high speed rail on February 25. Sponsored by Bombardier Transportation, the latest in RG TV’s debate series assessed the future of high speed rail over the next five decades saw Chris ...
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NewsTesting underway on Honam high speed line
SOUTH KOREA: National train operator Korail has begun trial running on the first phase of the Honam high speed line, which is now expected to open for revenue service in April. Intended to serve the southwest of the country, Phase I of the country’s second high speed line has been ...
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NewsTCDD orders 10 more Velaros
TURKEY: State railway operator TCDD has selected Siemens to supply a further 10 Velaro TR high speed trainsets, the company confirmed on February 18. Subject to any legal challenges from other bidders, the contract is expected to be signed shortly. Having bought the former Velaro D demonstrator and then ordered ...
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NewsAstaldi to complete Napoli Afragola station
ITALY: On February 16, construction group Astaldi announced that it had been awarded a €61m civil works contract by Italferr for ‘completion’ of Napoli Afragola station on the Napoli – Roma high speed line. Although site clearance and other preparatory works were undertaken at Afragola, 3 km north of Napoli, ...
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NewsEurostar growth continues in 2014
EUROPE: Announcing preliminary results for 2014 on February 18, Eurostar International Ltd reported sales revenue of £867m, up 1% from £857m the year before or 4% at constant exchange rates. Like-for-like operating profit was up 2% at £55m from £54m the year before, reflecting ‘additional non-cash charges’ made against the ...
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NewsSNCF posts stable results as competitive threats mount
FRANCE: National operator SNCF issued its 2014 financial results on February 12, which highlighted the scale of the competitive threats that the business is facing in its home market. In what the company termed ‘the difficult environment in France’, SNCF reported year-on-year growth in revenue of 1·5% against 0·5% for ...
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NewsHigh speed project cancelled as economy worsens
MEXICO: The federal government has decided to suspend ‘indefinitely’ the project to build a high speed line between Mexico City and Querétaro, Secretary of the Treasury & Public Finance Dr Luis Videgaray announced on January 30. The separate project to build a new railway for passenger and freight traffic between ...
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NewsMurcia high speed line ETCS contract
SPAIN: ADIF has awarded a consortium led by CAF Signalling and including FCC and Revenga a €155m contract to supply and maintain for 20 years the signalling and telecom systems for the 65 km Monforte del Cid – Murcia high speed line. CAF Signalling will supply ETCS Level 2 ...
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NewsRussian Railways plans Ukraine avoiding line as high speed test track
RUSSIA: Russian Railways, engineering organisations and Voronezh State University of Architecture & Civil Engineering are developing plans for a new 140 km double-track electrified line which would avoid the need for trains on the main line to Rostov-na-Donu, Krasnodar and Sochi to pass through a short section of Ukrainian territory. ...
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NewsTGVs to be fitted with Energymiser driver advisory system
FRANCE: Following the completion of a seven-month proof-of-concept assessment on the Marne-la-Vallée – Marseille/Montpellier routes, SNCF is to go ahead with the roll-out of TTG Transportation Technology’s Energymiser driver advisory system across its TGV fleet. Energymiser provides drivers with real-time advice on when to apply power and when to coast, ...
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NewsNew competition for Mexico City – Querétaro high speed line
MEXICO: Tendering for the project to build a 210 km high speed line between Mexico City and Querétaro began again on January 14 when the Secretariat of Communications & Transport published ‘pre-bidding documentation’ for a contract including civil works, railway systems and rolling stock. SCT is aiming to award the ...
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NewsJoint venture to maintain Moroccan TGV fleet
MOROCCO: A joint venture is to be established during the first half of the year for the maintenance of high speed trainsets in Morocco as part of preparations to introduce Africa’s first high speed passenger service over the 320 km corridor between Tanger and Casablanca. Outlined at a ceremony in ...
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NewsGroundbreaking launches California high speed line construction
USA: California High-Speed Rail Authority held a groundbreaking ceremony at noon on January 6 to officially ‘commemorate the start of sustained construction’ of the state’s high speed line. During the event, Governor Jerry Brown and other dignitaries signed a ceremonial section of rail at the site of the future Fresno ...