Infrastructure news – Page 175
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NewsCarmichael coal railway approved
AUSTRALIA: Indian energy group Adani has received the final approval from the federal government and the state of Queensland for its A$21·7bn project to develop the planned Carmichael coal mine in the north Galilee Basin, together with a 388 km 1 435 mm gauge rail link to a new export ...
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NewsKuala Lumpur – Singapore high speed rail agreement signed
ASIA: A bilateral agreement for the development of the 350 km Kuala Lumpur – Singapore high speed rail project was signed on December 13, when the two countries’ Prime Ministers took part in their annual retreat, which was this year was held at Putrajaya in Malaysia. The agreement was signed ...
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NewsHigh speed network grows as Brescia – Treviglio route opens
ITALY: A further section of the high speed railway across the north of the country opened for traffic with the European timetable change on December 11. The previous day, inauguration ceremonies included a celebratory run using an ETR1000 trainset carrying Transport Minister Graziano Delrio and other local and national dignitaries. ...
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NewsNylon Line handrail installed at station
UK: Architectural hardware supplier Laidlaw has installed 180 m of its 40 mm diameter Nylon Line handrail on a footbridge at Great Bentley station in Essex as part of a refurbishment programme. Unlike coated products, Nylon Line has solid colour throughout the 4 mm thick polyamide sleeve fitted over the ...
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NewsHigh speed link to Seoul suburbs opens
SOUTH KOREA: The 61 km Sudokwon high speed railway opened for traffic on December 9, with trains initially being operated by new entrant Supreme Railways. The high speed line provides a link from Suseo in the southern suburbs of Seoul to a junction near Pyeongtaek with the existing Gyongbu high ...
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NewsWuhan opens fourth metropolitan PDL
CHINA: The 61·8 km Hankou – Xiaogan Passenger-Dedicated Line was opened for revenue service on December 1. The 200 km/h route with 11 stations is the fourth line of the Wuhan Metropolitan Area Intercity Railway network to be inaugurated. Like the other routes, it is served by a fleet of ...
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Metro Report InternationalEU tram funding agreements signed
POLAND: Implementing agency Centre for EU Transport Projects signed agreements with two tram operators on December 6 allocating EU funds, subject to approval by the European Commission. MPK Kraków is to receive 124·9m złoty to support its 314·4m złoty purchase of 35 low-floor trams. These would be 32 to ...
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Metro Report InternationalChangzhou Metro selects Bombardier signalling
CHINA: The Bombardier NUG Signalling Solutions Co joint venture of Bombardier Transportation and New United Group has won a 226m yuan contract to supply communications-based train control for Line 1 of the Changzhou metro. Announcing the contract on December 6, Bombardier said that it was the first for the ...
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NewsEast West Rail heads move to vertical reintegration
UK: On December 6 Transport Secretary Chris Grayling announced a series of measures that aim to provide ‘a better service for the passenger’ through closer working between train operators and infrastructure manager Network Rail. ‘We want to see closer working across the industry to resolve problems more quickly’, said Grayling. ...
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Metro Report InternationalKatowice tram extension design preferred bidder
POLAND: A consortium of Sweco Consulting Poznań and Sweco Belgium has been selected as preferred bidder to design a tram extension in Katowice, with a lowest bid of 1·8m złoty. The 5 km extension of the Tramwaje Śląskie network would run from the Brynów turning loop to ul Kostuchna ...
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NewsVossloh acquires Rocla Concrete Tie
USA: As part of a strategy to strengthen its core rail infrastructure business, Vossloh has acquired North American concrete sleeper manufacturer Rocla Concrete Tie, at an estimated cost of US$117m. The contract to acquire Rocla from Altus Capital Partners II was signed on December 5, and subject to regulatory approval ...
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Metro Report InternationalQingdao Line 4 PPP contract awarded
CHINA: A consortium of China Railway Construction Corp subsidiaries and Qingdao Urban Construction Group Co has been awarded the public-private partnership contract to build Qingdao metro Line 4. Opening of the 30·7 km entirely underground Line 4 is planned for December 2020. The contract has an estimated total value ...
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NewsSepura TETRA integrated with Siemens ETCS
TETRA: Sepura Group business Teltronic has announced the successful completion of integration of its TETRA technology with Siemens’ ETCS Level 2. This follows extensive testing at Siemens facilities in Berlin to verify that it met the parameters outlined in the EIRENE specifications for railway communications. Teltronic said its NEBULA infrastructure ...
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NewsVestfold line goes underground in Holmestrand
NORWAY: A new 14∙3 km alignment between Holm and Nykirke on the Vestfold line entered service on November 28. Built at a cost of NKr6∙6bn, the new alignment has been designed for a maximum speed of 250 km/h and will cut 5 min from journey times between Drammen and Eidanger. ...
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NewsThree Gorges PDL inaugurated
CHINA: The 247 km Chongqing – Wanzhou Passenger-Dedicated Line serving the Three Gorges area and the Yangtze River Economic Belt was opened for revenue operation on November 28. Test running on the route had started on July 16. Operated by Chengdu Railway Bureau using a fleet of CRH2A trainsets running ...
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Metro Report InternationalFunding for Chicago Red Line studies
USA: The Chicago Transit Authority board has approved an amendment to its 2016-20 Capital Improvement Plan which adds $75m for preliminary engineering and a final environmental impact statement for the proposed Red Line Extension. This work is required before CTA can apply for more than $1bn in federal funding which ...
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Metro Report InternationalTampere tramway construction contract signed
FINLAND: An alliancing agreement for the construction of the Tampere tramway has been signed by the city council and a consortium of VR Track, Pöyry and YIT. Announcing the deal on November 29, the partners said the revised cost estimate for the implementation of the project was €238·8m. The national ...
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News‘Uneven progress’ with PTC roll-out
USA: Third quarter 2016 data on the implementation of Positive Train Control shows ‘uneven progress across the country and across railroads’, according to the Federal Railroad Administration. Releasing data on November 28 which covers the three months to September 30, FRA said PTC was now active on 12% of freight ...
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NewsAfghanistan and Turkmenistan open Lapis Lazuli railway
ASIA: A line running 85 km from Atamyrat in Turkmenistan to the Ymamnazar border crossing point and 3 km onwards to Afghanistan’s border facilities at Akina was officially opened by Turkmenistan’s President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov and Afghanistan’s President Ashraf Ghani who ceremonially tightened a golden bolt on November 28. The 1 ...
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NewsINEA backs Croatian route upgrade
CROATIA: The European Commission’s Innovation & Networks Executive Agency has signed an agreement to provide 85% co-financing for HŽ Infrastruktura’s €300m modernisation of the 43·2 km route from Križevci to the Hungarian border. The work to permit 160 km/h operation will include the modernisation of 10 stations, elimination of all ...