Infrastructure news – Page 186
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NewsChiltern Railways launches Oxford Parkway service
UK: Chiltern Railways launched passenger services between London Marylebone and new stations at Bicester Village and Oxford Parkway on October 26. The trains use a 1 km chord which has been built to connect the Chiltern main line through Bicester with the existing Oxford – Bicester Town branch. The stations ...
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NewsLas Heras line to be revived for freight
ARGENTINA: The isolated 285 km route running from Puerto Deseado to Las Heras in Santa Cruz province is to be reopened for freight traffic at a cost of 90∙1m pesos, the government announced on October 5. Disused since 1978, the route is being upgraded to move materials for state-owned ...
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NewsEIB funds RENFE investment
SPAIN: RENFE President Pablo Vázquez and European Investment Bank Vice-President Román Escolano signed an agreement on October 1 that will see EIB provide up to €600m for investment projects over a period of three years. Among the projects to be financed with EIB funding will be an investment programme ...
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NewsChinese-funded consortium to build Jakarta – Bandung fast line
INDONESIA: Construction could start next year on a passenger-dedicated line linking Jakarta with Bandung over a 140 km alignment that would make use of vacant land next to a toll motorway. The approval of the project is the latest twist in a long-running series of negotiations between the authorities in ...
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NewsWorld rail infrastructure market October 2015
Argentina: ADIF has awarded contracts worth 523m pesos for the refurbishment of 23 stations on the Belgrano Sur commuter network in Buenos Aires. Work includes raising platform height to match the new DMUs supplied by CNR. Australia: Australian Rail Track Corp has awarded Telstra a 10-year contract to provide ...
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NewsCôte d'Ivoire – Mali railway study
CÔTE D'IVOIRE: On October 15 the Ivorian government signed an agreement for FS Group’s engineering consultancy Italferr to plan a 1 000 km railway corridor which would run north from the port of San-Pédro to Bamako, the capital of Mali. Italferr is to undertake a feasibility study for the ...
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NewsEIB lends €135m for Bangladesh Railways
BANGLADESH: The European Investment Bank is providing the government with a €135m loan to finance upgrading, double-tracking and signalling renewals on the 72 km Laksam – Akhaura route. The project forms part of a broader programme to upgrade the 321 km Dhaka – Chittagong corridor by 2022. The total project ...
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NewsFirst section of Rail Baltica inaugurated
EUROPE: Lithuanian Prime Minister Algirdas Butkevičius and European Commissioner for Transport Violeta Bulc inaugurated the first completed section of the Rail Baltica standard gauge line with a ceremony at Kaunas station on October 16. Rail Baltica envisages the construction of a 1 435 mm gauge corridor linking Poland with ...
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NewsBlockade to speed Chicago – St Louis upgrade
USA: Amtrak services between Chicago and St Louis have been suspended for 15 days from October 16 to permit major track and signalling renewals on the 455 km corridor, which is being upgraded for 177 km/h operation. This follows four previous eight-day blockades in 2012-15, with further closures expected in ...
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NewsBAM awarded Aberdeen – Inverness upgrade contract
UK: BAM was appointed principal contractor for the £170m first phase of the Aberdeen – Inverness Improvement Project on October 16, working with Aecom, CH2M, Stobart Rail and Siemens. AIIP is intended to enable ScotRail to operate a half-hourly commuter service between Aberdeen and Inverurie, with additional peak services between ...
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NewsPRASA’s Gauteng Nerve Centre completed
SOUTH AFRICA: The Gauteng integrated control centre in Kaalfontein near Johannesburg was handed over to passenger operator PRASA on October 13, and is due to take control of an initial section of the province’s 1 067 mm gauge 3 kV DC electrified main line network from January. The Gauteng Nerve ...
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NewsModernised Bydgoszcz Główna station opens
POLAND: The modernised Bydgoszcz Główna station was officially opened to passengers at 10.10 on October 10. A new station building with a 3 500 m2 glass façade has been erected, while the historic island platform building has been modernised along with the platforms and subways. The work used 6 ...
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NewsWabtec acquires lineside sensor supplier Track IQ
AUSTRALIA: Wabtec Corp announced its acquisition of lineside sensor manufacturer Track IQ on October 12. Track IQ products use acoustic sensors to monitor the condition of bearings and wheels on passing rolling stock. They are installed at more than 150 locations in countries including Australia, New Zealand, ...
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NewsSBB orders maintenance fleet
SWITZERLAND: To handle rising volumes of infrastructure construction and maintenance traffic, Swiss Federal Railways has placed two orders totalling SFr265m for Alstom to supply 47 mainline and shunting locomotives and Windhoff 35 self-propelled infrastructure maintenance vehicles. SBB had called tenders in March 2014 as part of programme to renew its ...
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NewsEight bids for Oman Rail operating contract
OMAN: National railway project promoter Oman Rail has received proposals from eight companies or consortia interested in the contract to operate and maintain the first phase of the future network. Proposals were received from: Aurizon Operations;FS Italiane, Almavia, Al Madina Logistics, Cavarail and Menarail Transport Consultant;Freightliner Group, Oman Investment Corp ...
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NewsKuala Lumpur – Singapore high speed rail market sounding begins
ASIA: Malaysian land transport commission SPAD and Singapore’s Land Transport Authority have jointly launched a market-sounding exercise for the Kuala Lumpur – Singapore high speed rail project. The proposed 330 km line would offer a 90 min journey time between the cities. The request for information issued on October ...
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NewsChinese contractors eye Swedish high speed rail programme
SWEDEN: A group of Chinese firms under the brand Scandinavian Bridge & Rail Consortium Company says it is keen to help Sweden accelerate the delivery of its proposed 'inverse Y' high speed network linking Stockholm with Göteborg and Malmö. Speaking at the Nordic Rail trade show in Jönköping on October ...
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NewsSiemens launches RailFusion big data asset monitoring software
USA: Siemens launched its RailFusion asset monitoring software at Railway Interchange 2015. Designed to remotely monitor and analyse data from a wide range of Siemens and third-party assets including level crossing equipment and end-of-train devices, the technology is currently being piloted in North America. Siemens said RailFusion would provide ...
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NewsManchester Victoria station modernisation completed
UK: Secretary of State for Transport Patrick McLoughlin unveiled a plaque on October 6 to mark the completion of a £44m modernisation of Manchester Victoria station, which is used by more than 7 million passengers/year. The three-year project was managed by Network Rail, with BDP as architects and Morgan Sindall ...
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NewsUpgraded Kraków Airport rail link reopens
POLAND: A new station at Kraków Airport was inaugurated on September 28, marking the return of rail services to the airport after modernisation of the line. The 11·9 km route from Kraków Główny station closed on February 1 2014 for upgrade work. Until then, services had been operated by ...