Infrastructure news – Page 132
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NewsDeveloping a design language for Rail Baltica
EUROPE: Rail Baltica standard gauge line project promoter RB Rail has commissioned Italian company 3TI Progetti and SBS Engineering Group to develop architectural, landscaping and visual identity guidelines for the future infrastructure, including public safety requirements and accessibility requirements for people with reduced mobility. The guidelines are intended to harmonise ...
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NewsCzech electrification contract awarded
CZECH REPUBLIC: Infrastructure manager SŽDC has selected a consortium of Skanska, EŽ Praha and AŽD Praha to electrify the 5·6 km Kadaň-Prunéřov – Kadaň line at 25 kV 50 Hz. The KC339m project includes resignalling, modernisation of Kadaň station and construction of a halt at Kadaň-Sídliště. The work is ...
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NewsCzech Republic’s longest railway tunnel opens
CZECH REPUBLIC: Passenger services began using the country’s longest railway tunnel on November 16, the day after the first revenue freight train. With a 4 174 m long northern bore and 4 150 m southern bore, the tunnel under the Chlum and Homolka hills near Ejpovice to the east of ...
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Rail Business UKSmarter approach to flood prevention on test
UK: A project has been launched which aims to combine real-time measurement of water levels, weather forecasting, historical data and smart analysis to prevent the flooding of railway lines. The TrackWater project is being undertaken by InTouch Ltd, Network Rail, Lancaster University and the Transport Systems Catapult, with funding from ...
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News‘Serious challenges’ facing California high speed programme
USA: The programme to build a high speed rail network through California linking Los Angeles with the San Francisco Bay Area is facing ‘serious challenges’, according to a report issued by the state auditor on November 15. Many of the risks relate to California High Speed Rail Authority’s decision to ...
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Rail Business UKCorrosion resistant rail installed at Drax power station
UK: British Steel has supplied Drax power station with Zinoco corrosion resistant coated rail for use at a level crossing where significant rail damage had been identified during a track renewal programme. The coating provides a barrier to corrosion, with enhanced impact resistance compared to previous treatments, and also provides ...
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NewsDedicated Freight Corridors to open in stages
INDIA: Several sections of the first two Dedicated Freight Corridors are on course to open over the next few months, the Ministry of Railways confirmed on November 5. The ministry’s original intention had been to open the corridors in their entirety once completed, but with work on some sections reportedly ...
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Metro Report InternationalMinneapolis Southwest LRT civils contract awarded
USA: The Twin Cities Metropolitan Council awarded the civil works contract for the Southwest LRT light rail line on November 15 to a joint venture of Lunda and C.S. McCrossan. Bids were invited last year, and the joint venture beat one other bidder with its offer of $799·5m. The ...
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Metro Report InternationalSecond München S-Bahn crossing contract awarded
GERMANY: DB Netz has awarded the first contract for main construction works for the second S-Bahn city crossing in München, the infrastructure manager announced on November 15. The €189m Overground West package, covering the section from Laim to Donnersberger Brücke, has been awarded to a consortium of Ed Züblin, ...
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NewsEU funds Plovdiv – Burgas modernisation
BULGARIA: The European Union is providing more than €293m from the Cohesion Fund to support modernisation of the 293 km line from Plovdiv to the Black Sea port of Burgas. The route forms part of the Orient/East Med TEN-T corridor connecting central and southeastern Europe. The scope includes raising lines ...
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NewsPrivate funding needed under C$6bn VIA Rail investment plan
CANADA: National passenger operator VIA Rail says that private-sector backing will be needed to support an investment programme worth more than C$6bn over the next decade. Chief Executive Yves Desjardins-Siciliano told the Terrapinn World Rail Festival conference in Amsterdam on November 13 that VIA Rail’s most pressing priority is to ...
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NewsAfghan railway terminal expansion MoU signed
AFGHANISTAN: A memorandum of understanding for the development of the freight terminal at Aqina on the Afghan-Turkmenistan border, including the construction of 10 track-km of main line and sidings, was signed by the Afghanistan Railway Authority and Turkmenistan’s Ministry of Railways in Ashgabat on November 2. The MoU has six ...
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Metro Report InternationalSantiago metro extension electrification contract awarded
CHILE: Metro de Santiago has awarded Colas Rail a €20m contract for the electrification of a southern extension of Santiago metro Line 2. The scope of work covers the 5·1 km underground extension and enlarged depot. The work is to take three years and Colas will provide five years ...
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NewsFrequentis to support Polish GSM-R deployment
POLAND: Infrastructure manager PKP PLK has selected Frequentis to provide dispatcher terminals and communication nodes as part of the national roll-out of GSM-R. The prime contractor for the GSM-R project is Nokia, which is providing a common IT platform for all the core software under a five-year turnkey contract awarded ...
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NewsSmartRail 4.0 pilot within three years
SWITZERLAND: Swiss Federal Railways expects to launch trials of a next-generation signalling system within three years. Reporting details of progress with the ‘ambitious’ SmartRail 4.0 programme at the Alpine Rail Optimisation conference in Wien on November 8, SBB’s head of Co-operation & Research for the project Bernhard Rytz said the ...
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NewsNigeria plans railway northwards to Niger
NIGERIA: Alongside the many projects to develop new 1 435 mm gauge railways to augment and gradually replace Nigeria’s 1 067 mm gauge network, the government has unveiled plans for a line running north into the neighbouring Niger Republic. The 248 km standard gauge route from Kano to Maradi would ...
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Metro Report InternationalManila metro Line 3 upgrade financing agreed
PHILIPPINES: The government signed a loan agreement with Japan International Cooperation Agency on November 8 for the metro Line 3 rehabilitation project. The 40-year, ¥38·1bn loan will fund the overhaul of infrastructure and rolling stock on Line 3 with the aim of returning it to its design capacity, as ...
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NewsGerman rail projects added to implementation list
GERMANY: Following detailed studies, 29 rail projects included in the 2030 federal transport infrastructure plan have been added to the priority list for implementation, Federal Transport Minister Andreas Scheuer announced on November 6. The decision follows examination of the cost-effectiveness of 44 potential projects, some of which could be added ...
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NewsHeavy lifting for Buenos Aires viaduct project
ARGENTINA: Specialist heavy lifting contractor ALE has used its TLG1000 telescopic hydraulic gantry for the first time to position concrete girders for the construction of a 5 km railway viaduct in Buenos Aires. The viaduct is being built to elevate the San Martín commuter line above street level between Palermo ...
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Metro Report InternationalPowerful LED lights to illuminate Elizabeth Line stations
UK: Office lighting specialist Future Designs has designed and supplied three types of bespoke lighting units to illuminate the passenger areas of stations on the underground section of London’s future Elizabeth Line. The lighting concept for the station concourse, escalator and platform areas aims to emphasise the spatial envelope rather ...