Infrastructure news – Page 180
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NewsGreat Western Railway and Network Rail sign alliance agreement
UK: Network Rail and Great Western Railway signed an alliance agreement on March 4, committing the infrastructure manager and franchised train operator to a ‘more aligned approach’ to improve performance and increase efficiency. Joint planning will aim to minimise disruption during major upgrading projects such as the ongoing 25 ...
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NewsGibela starts work on EMU factory
SOUTH AFRICA: The Gibela joint venture of Alstom and local partners marked the start of construction of its new EMU manufacturing plant at Dunnotar on March 4, with a ceremony attended by Alstom Chairman & CEO Henri Poupart-Lafarge, PRASA Chairman Dr Popo Molefe, Transport Minister Dipuo Peters and the Mayor ...
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NewsFehmarn Belt tunnel contract awards authorised
EUROPE: On March 4 Fehmarn Belt fixed link project promoter Femern A/S was granted Danish political authorisation to negotiate contracts with its preferred bidders for the main tunnel works contracts. Femern A/S will present the results of the negotiations to the Danish Minister of Transport before signing the final ...
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NewsNetwork Rail tests market for private investment in power infrastructure
UK: Infrastructure manager Network Rail announced on March 4 that it was looking at options for bringing in private capital and expertise to support the operation, maintenance, renewal, financing and enhancement of its electrical distribution and traction power assets. This will include assessing interest in its electrical assets from global ...
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NewsSydney Trains to build integrated control centre
AUSTRALIA: Sydney Trains is to develop an integrated Rail Operations Centre at a cost of A$276m, New South Wales Minister for Transport & Infrastructure Andrew Constance announced on March 2. To be located at Green Square, on the Airport line south of the city centre, the ROC is expected to ...
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NewsBuilt awarded Flinders Street station contract
AUSTRALIA: Built Pty Ltd has been awarded a contract to refurbish the historic administration building at Melbourne’s Flinders Street station, Victoria state Premier Daniel Andrews and Minister for Public Transport Jacinta Allan announced on March 1. The work will include repairing the leaking roof, restoring the ‘crumbling’ façade and re-painting ...
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NewsBelgian ETCS Level 2 pilot line to be ready this year
BELGIUM: The first of three pilot projects to prepare for the implementation of ETCS Level 2 across the national network is due to be ready later this year, according to Infrabel project director Yves Werner. Three sections of line are being used to test different applications of Level 2 as ...
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NewsTesting resumes on LGV Est
FRANCE: Dynamic trials on the second section of LGV Est-Européene between Baudrecourt and Vendenheim resumed on February 29. Testing of track, electrification, signalling and radio systems on the high speed line is being carried out under stricter safety procedures introduced following the fatal accident at Eckwersheim on November 14 2015. ...
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NewsSecond Luxembourg – Bettembourg line approved
LUXEMBOURG: The government approved plans for the construction of a new line between the capital and Bettembourg on February 26, authorising the route and compensation measures for those affected by the project. The €292m scheme involves the construction of a 7 km double-track electrified alignment, which would leave the existing ...
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NewsTime to get ahead of the game
With her review of Network Rail's structure and financing expected to be published in March, HS1 CEO Nicola Shaw outlined her thinking to the Railway Study Association in London.
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NewsExercise tests Schuman — Josaphat tunnel
BELGIUM: An exercise to test safety equipment and emergency planning was held during the early hours of February 26 in the tunnel connecting Schuman and Josaphat stations in Brussels, involving the police and emergency services as well as infrastructure manager Infrabel and train operator SNCB. The exercise simulated the evacuation ...
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NewsDolomite rail link to be studied
ITALY: A feasibility study for the construction of a rail link between Calalzo, Cortina d’Ampezzo and Toblach (Dobbiaco) is to be undertaken within three years, following the signing of a memorandum of understanding by the Veneto and Trentino-Alto Adige regional authorities on February 13. Calalzo is the terminus station of ...
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NewsFRA awards level crossing upgrading grants
USA: The Federal Railroad Administration has awarded nearly $10m in grants for nine projects to increase the safety of level crossings on routes used by oil trains. ‘Today's grants will upgrade the warning systems at critical crossings and close others where crude oil and other energy products are transported’, said ...
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NewsWorld rail infrastructure market February 2016
Algeria: A consortium of Colas Rail and Kou G C is to build two extensions of the Alger metro under contracts worth €117m and €51m. Australia: Queensland has awarded Golding Contractors a civil works contract for the A$163m double-tracking of the 8·2 km Coomera – Helensvale section of the ...
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NewsCalifornia targets high speed service to Silicon Valley by 2025
USA: Issuing its Draft Business Plan for 2016 on February 18, the California High Speed Rail Authority set a target date for launching revenue-earning services between ‘Silicon Valley and Central Valley’ by 2025. With construction work now underway along an alignment covering approximately 160 km in the state’s Central Valley, ...
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NewsMoR unveils Rs107bn capacity stimulus programme
INDIA: Following cabinet approval on February 17, a Rs107bn railway investment stimulus programme covering the double and triple-tracking of several routes has been announced by the Ministry of Railways. To be delivered through ‘extra budgetary resource and institutional funding’, the six schemes around the country are intended to increase capacity ...
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NewsAmtrak reviews Gulf Coast revival
USA: Proposals to reinstate inter-city passenger services between New Orleans and Jacksonville are moving forward, with the operation of a special inspection train by Amtrak and the Southern Rail Commission on February 18-19 to examine the infrastructure along the Gulf Coast route. The line had previously ...
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NewsNetwork Rail to pilot Digital Railway in East Anglia
UK: Network Rail is finalising the site for a pilot deployment of technology integration under its Digital Railway programme, with the route from Norwich to Lowestoft and Great Yarmouth in East Anglia understood to be under consideration. The project aims to integrate ERTMS, train operations management systems and real-time ...
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NewsThree aims for Network Rail’s Digital Railway
UK: More trains, better connections and greater reliability are the three aims of Network Rail’s Digital Railway strategy to apply technology to make the most effective use of existing infrastructure, Digital Transformation Director Patrick Bossert told TechUK’s Digital Railway for the UK conference in London on February 11. NR’s ...
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NewsSignalling TSI revised
EUROPE: Meeting on February 10, the European Union’s Railway Interoperability & Safety Committee – bringing together representatives of the member states – voted unanimously in favour of the proposed recast of the Control Command & Signalling TSI. Being enacted as a Commission Regulation, the Change Control Management Regulation enacts a ...