Infrastructure news – Page 179
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NewsWorld rail infrastructure market March 2016
Australia: Public Transport Authority of Western Australia has selected a joint venture of Salini Impregilo and NRW as preferred bidder for the main works contract to build the A$2bn Forrestfield-Airport Link in Perth. Signing is planned by May. Austria: ÖBB Infrastruktur has awarded SPL Powerlines a contract for the ...
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NewsWhale way to keep drains clear
UK: Infrastructure manager Network Rail has taken delivery of eight bespoke road-vehicles designed for drainage cleaning by specialist tank lorry supplier Whale Tankers and Hilton Rail Consulting. The vehicles will be deployed to clear leaves and other materials from trackside catch pits which are used to ensure large volumes of ...
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News£800m London Waterloo capacity programme launched
UK: A £800m package of works intended to provide a 30% increase in peak capacity on the routes into London Waterloo station by 2019 was officially launched on March 23. This encompasses a number of previously-announced projects, including: Rebuilding the former Waterloo International terminal to provide an extra five ...
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NewsNew operator for Dakar – Bamako railway
AFRICA: The governments of Senegal and Mali have established Dakar Bamako Ferroviaire to manage the revival of the 1 286 km railway between the port of Dakar and Bamako. The new company replaces concessionaire TransRail, a 51% subsidiary of Advens which had operated the metre-gauge line under a concession awarded ...
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NewsFirst train to Moreton Bay
AUSTRALIA: Queensland Rail has started test running on the 12·6 km Moreton Bay Rail Link, which is expected to open for revenue service later this year. Following energisation of the 25 kV 50 Hz electrification in January, the first test EMU operated over the line on March 16. Diverging from ...
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NewsHS2 Ltd appoints delivery partner
UK: HS2 Ltd announced on March 18 that it had appointed a team of CH2M, Atkins and Sener as engineering delivery partner for Phase 1 of the high speed line project. The engineering delivery partner will provide engineering and construction management support, and assist with preparations for the procurement ...
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NewsJakarta – Bandung DBOM concession agreed
INDONESIA: A 50-year design build operate maintain concession was signed in Jakarta on March 16 between the government and the Sino-Indonesian consortium promoting a 142 km fast passenger line between the capital and Bandung.The concession held by the Kerata Cepat Indonesia Cina consortium takes effect on May 31 2019, when ...
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NewsQueensland to fund rail upgrading
AUSTRALIA: A$95m has been allocated for upgrading work and capacity improvement projects on Queensland’s North Coast Line in a A$500m State Infrastructure Fund announced by Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk on March 13. The additional capacity is needed to support growing freight traffic, including minerals and agricultural produce. The announcement was made ...
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NewsNR privatisation ruled out as Shaw focuses on growth
UK: Identifying ‘a compelling vision for growth’, the report into Network Rail’s structure and financing prepared for the government by HS1 Chief Executive Nicola Shaw was published on March 16, in conjunction with the presentation of the national budget in Parliament. Citing feedback from extensive consultation over the past few ...
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NewsBözberg Tunnel groundbreaking
SWITZERLAND: A groundbreaking ceremony held at Schinznach-Dorf on March 9 launched construction of the 2·7 km new Bözberg Tunnel, the biggest single element of the project to increase clearances to 4 m to accommodate semitrailers on the Gotthard corridor between Bern and Italy. The new double-track bore is being built ...
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NewsBelfast Transport Hub planning underway
UK: Northern Ireland public transport agency Translink is developing plans for an extensive redevelopment of Belfast Great Victoria Street station and the adjacent bus station to form an integrated Belfast Transport Hub with rail, bus, cycle, taxi and car facilities. The current rail and bus stations handle seven million passengers/year, ...
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NewsVenezia airport rail link agreement
ITALY: Timescales for the construction of a rail link to Venezia’s Marco Polo airport were set out in a memorandum of understanding signed by RFI and airport management company SAVE on March 9 The project would require 12 km of new alignment. This would diverge from the existing Venezia – ...
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NewsStrukton Rail wins northern Sweden track renewals contract
SWEDEN: Trafikverket has awarded Strukton a contract to use high-output plant to renew 40 route-km of double track on the route between Boden and Bastuträsk in northern Sweden. There is an option for a further eight route-km. The project is to be undertaken in three stages starting with the ...
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NewsLyon - Torino ‘a priority’, say France and Italy
EUROPE: Construction of the new railway between Lyon and Torino via a base tunnel under Mont Cenis is ‘a priority’ for France and Italy, the two governments stressed on March 8 as they held a summit in Venezia. During the summit, Italian Minister of Infrastructure & Transport Graziano Delrio and ...
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NewsColmar wins its biggest road-rail lifter order
ITALY: Colmar has announced its biggest-ever order, a €45m contract to supply 141 Type T11000FS road-rail loaders to infrastructure manager RFI over four years. These will join 400 vehicles which it has previously supplied. The 29 tonne T11000FS has a maximum lifting capacity in rail mode of 12 tonnes. The ...
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NewsTehran – Mashhad capacity increased
IRAN: National railway RAI has completed a €31m project to increase capacity on its 926 km main line between Tehran and Mashhad, with the commissioning of the second phase of its resignalling programme. Building on the introduction of automatic train protection in January 2015, RAI has installed intermediate signals to ...
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NewsCBTC goes live on København S-Bane
DENMARK: Infrastructure manager Banedanmark has commissioned the first section of CBTC signalling on the København S-Bane network. The northern section of Line A between Jægersborg and Hillerød was switched over with effect from February 29. The legacy signalling on the 1·5 kV DC electrified network uses a mix of technologies ...
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NewsPolish GSM-R certified for Level 2 operation
POLAND: Rail regulator UTK issued the first certification on March 3 for the use of GSM-R data radio to support ERTMS train operations on the Polish network. The use of ETCS Level 2 had been certified on March 19 2014, but formal approval of the GSM-R data communications was needed ...
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NewsStation waiting room fitted with timed doors
CANADA: As part of a programme to revitalise underused stations, the waiting room at La Pocatière station in Québec has been reopened through a partnership between VIA Rail and the municipality of Ste-Anne-De-La-Pocatière. It has been equipped with a timed door-opening system synchronised with the timetable of the Montreal – ...
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NewsKamchik Tunnel completed
UZBEKISTAN: The first test trains are scheduled to run through the 19·1 km Kamchik Tunnel on April 15, following a ceremony on February 27 which marked the completion of construction works. The tunnel is the key element of the 123 km Angren – Pap railway which is being built at ...