All Home articles – Page 5
-
NewsDB Schenker buys into Polish freight market
POLAND: Deutsche Bahn announced on January 30 that it had reached agreement to purchase PCC Logistics, the largest private-sector rail freight operator in Poland. The deal was signed in Warszawa by DB Chairman Hartmut Mehdorn, Board Member, Logistics, Norbert Bensel and the founder of PCC Group Waldemar Preussner, and is ...
-
NewsAccords signed to bring broad gauge to Wien
SLOVAKIA: In a ceremony at the Dobra container transfer terminal near the Ukrainian border, Minister of Transport Lubomir Vazny signed a Memorandum of Intent on November 25 with Russian Railways President Vladimir Yakunin and Deputy Director of Ukrainian Railways Michael Kospjuk for the construction of a 1 520 mm gauge ...
-
NewsLiefkenshoek PPP reaches financial close
BELGIUM: Work is to start on November 12 on construction of the Liefkenshoek Connection serving the port of Antwerpen, following the signing of a PPP concession for the project. Infrastructure manager Infrabel confirmed on November 5 that it had reached financial close on the deal, under which LocoRail NV will ...
-
NewsWork starts on Beijing – Shijiazhuang line
CHINA: October 7 saw the formal start of construction work on the 281 km Passenger-Dedicated Line between Beijing and Shijiazhuang. The project is expected to be completed within four years, at an estimated cost of 43·8bn yuan. Parallelling the existing main line between the two cities, the PDL is expected ...
-
NewsPepy takes a stake in NTV
ITALY: Open access passenger operator NTV has selected SNCF as its 'industrial partner' to support its launch of domestic high speed trains in 2011. NTV Chairman Luca di Montezemolo and SNCF President Guillaume Pepy announced in Roma that they had signed an deal under which the French national railway will ...
-
NewsTransmash plans Kazakh plant
KAZAKHSTAN: Prime Minister Karim Massimov is reported to have opened discussions with the Chairman of Transmash Holding Andri Bokaryov for the Russian rolling stock manufacturer to set up a plant in the Central Asian republic to build 25 kV 50 Hz electric locomotives and passenger coaches. Estimated to cost ...
-
NewsDB flotation put on hold
GERMANY: The partial flotation of DB Mobility Logistics AG scheduled for October 27 has been postponed as a result of the turmoil in the global financial markets, which would have impacted on the potential value of the shares. Finance Minister Peer Steinbrück and DB Chairman Hartmut Mehdorn announced the decision ...
-
NewsNSW moves to abolish RailCorp
AUSTRALIA: The Labor administration in New South Wales has decided to abolish RailCorp and return the state’s rail nework to government control. Premier Nathan Rees said on October 8 that legislation would be introduced into the next session of Parliament to abolish the corporation’s management board and convert the organisation ...
-
NewsTrans-Eurasia Express to launch next year
GERMANY: Welcoming the arrival in Hamburg of a container train from China on October 6, DB Chairman Harmut Mehdorn confirmed that DB Schenker planned to launch a regular scheduled service following the Chinese new year in February 2009. Operating under the Trans-Eurasia Express branding, the dedicated container trains will initially ...
-
NewsSix bids to build Polish high speed fleet
POLAND: Six companies had expressed interest in the tender to supply a fleet of 250 km/h inter-city EMUs to PKP Intercity, when the deadline for prequalification closed on October 2. PKP is looking to order 20 trainsets at an estimated cost of €400m. The six bidders are: CAF of Spain, ...
-
NewsAlstom and Transmash bid for double-deckers
RUSSIA: Alstom Transport and Transmashholding have signed a memorandum of understanding to launch a strategic partnership, and agreed to set up a specialist joint venture company to deliver double-deck coaches for the Russian market. As well as providing for technical co-operation between the two firms, the MoU includes an option ...
-
NewsRZD signs funding accord
RUSSIA: On October 3 Russian Railways signed co-operation agreements with the Federal Agency for Rail Transport which will provide 45·6bn roubles of federal funding for two important infrastructure upgrading projects. Signed in Moscow by RZD President Vladimir Yakunin and the Head of Roszheldor Gennady Petrakov, the accord is the first ...
-
NewsRFF seeks Nîmes – Montpellier offers
FRANCE: RFF has released a request for expressions of interest in the construction and management, through a public-private partnership, of the Nîmes – Montpellier bypass. The 70 km bypass follows a new alignment to connect the existing TGV Méditerranée route with the high speed line currently being built from Barcelona ...
-
NewsHybrid DMU drive takes shape
INNOTRANS: Diesel engine specialist MTU Friedrichshafen unveiled a full-size mock-up of its proposed hybrid drive package for diesel multiple-units at InnoTrans in Berlin on September 25. MTU is working with an un-named partner to develop the hybrid traction package, which will be based on the existing PowerPack 6H 1800 underfloor ...
-
News
Brake ventures formed in Johannesburg
SOUTH AFRICA: US-based railway supply group Wabtec Corp announced on August 6 that it had established two joint ventures to expand its manufacturing, supplies and service business in the South African market. Based at Kempton Park near Johannesburg, the two joint ventures have Sibanye Brakes of South Africa as ...
-
News
Genesee & Wyoming to buy Ohio Central
USA: Genesee & Wyoming Inc announced on August 4 that it had signed an agreement to purchase the Coshocton-based Ohio Central Railroad System, which operates nine short lines in Ohio and Pennsylvania. GWI has agreed to pay US$219m in cash, and a contingent consideration worth approximately $25m. GWI currently owns ...
-
News
Faiveley completes US acquisition
USA: On July 31 Faiveley Transport confirmed that it had completed the acquisition of a 100% equity shareholding in Ellcon-National, a manufacturer of braking equipment and wagon loading devices based in Greenville, South Carolina. With a staff of around 300 people, Ellcon-National recorded sales of US$58m in 2007. Describing the ...
-
NewsAsian training centre inaugurated
SOUTH KOREA: The International Union of Railways officially inaugurated its training centre for the Asia region, during the recent statutory meetings in Seoul.
-
News
Merkel approves partial sale of DB
GERMANY: Chancellor Angela Merkel confirmed on April 28 that a government committee had endorsed plans to sell an initial 24·9% stake in Deutsche Bahn to the private sector, with the process due to be completed ahead of national elections scheduled for September 2009. Previous attempts to persuade the left ...
-
News
Soaring costs undermine München maglev
GERMANY: Citing severe cost escalation, German Federal Transport Minister Wolfgang Tiefensee joined the President of Bayern Günther Beckstein at a meeting on March 27 to discuss the future of the proposed Transrapid link from Franz-Josef Strauss airport to München Hauptbahnhof (RG 10.07 p591). The meeting concluded with an agreement ...