Infrastructure news – Page 209
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NewsGulf Co-operation Council states discuss OTIF accession
INTERNATIONAL: The Gulf Co-operation Council and the Intergovernmental Organisation for International Carriage by Rail have signed a memorandum of understanding which could lead to the GCC and its six member states Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE acceding to the COTIF convention. The convention provides a legal ...
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NewsOverhead inspection vehicles with ETCS
GERMANY: DB Netz is taking delivery of a further four Robel Bahnbaumaschinen 57.44 catenary maintenance vehicles, fitted with two independent work platforms. Eight vehicles of this type have been in service since 2010, but the latest batch is equipped with ETCS.
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NewsStudy considers long-term options for Devon - Cornwall rail link
UK: Following the catastrophic destruction of around 100 m of sea wall at Dawlish during an exceptional storm in February, a taskforce has been established to undertake high-level study into ways of protecting the railway between Devon and Cornwall from extreme weather. The project is being led by infrastructure manager ...
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NewsWorld rail infrastructure market March 2014
Chile: Metro de Santiago has awarded Isolux Corsán a €75m, 28-month contract to build a section of Santiago metro Line 3 including a 3·7 km NATM tunnel under the Mapocho River and Hospitales, Puente Cal y Canto and Plaza de Armas stations. China: MVA is to design the Pingtan ...
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NewsERTMS Regional contract in Zambia
ZAMBIA: A consortium of Bombardier Transportation, Huawei and local company GMC Technologies has been awarded a US$51m contract to deploy ERTMS Regional on Zambia Railway Ltd's 980 km Chingola - Livingstone line. The route is being upgraded and double-tracked using government funding allocated last year. Pioneered in Sweden, ERTMS Regional ...
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NewsJernbaneverket plans ahead
NORWAY: Jernbaneverket has set out details of how it is to implement the government’s national transport strategy for 2014-23 which was unveiled last year. The infrastructure manager said on February 13 that there is agreement about the main priorities, but it feels greater emphasis should be given to maintenance, ...
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NewsNorthern focus needed, says HS2 Chairman
UK: Deferral of the proposed link between High Speed 2 and High Speed 1 and extension of the first phase route from Lichfield north to Crewe are among the recommendations of a report issued on March 17 by HS2 Ltd Chairman Sir David Higgins outlining how the UK’s proposed high ...
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NewsConstruction of 2·2 km Amur bridge begins
ASIA: A ceremony on February 26 officially launched construction of a 2 209 m railway bridge across the River Amur or Heilong between Nizhneleninskoye in Russia's Jewish Autonomous Oblast and Tongjiang in China's Heilongjiang province. Construction is expected to take 2½ years, for opening in December 2016. The bridge is ...
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NewsKing opens rebuilt Rotterdam Centraal station
NETHERLANDS: King Willem-Alexander ceremonially inaugurated the rebuilt Rotterdam Centraal station on March 13, during celebrations which included dancing and musical performances. The station has been rebuilt to cope with predicted growth from the current 110 000 passengers/day - as many people as use Amsterdam Schiphol airport - to 323 000 ...
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NewsTendering to start for new line to Toluca
MEXICO: Secretary of Communications & Transport Gerardo Ruiz signed off tendering documentation for the project to build an electrified passenger railway from Mexico City to Toluca at a ceremony held on February 28. The new line would run for 58 km from Observatorio, the western terminus of Line 1 of ...
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NewsWarszawa - Łódź ERTMS contract awarded
POLAND: Infrastructure manager PKP PLK has awarded a Thales-led consortium a €100m contract to install GSM-R and ETCS Level 2 on the Warszawa Zachodnia - Koluszki - Łódź Widzew route. The contract covers around 125 route-km and includes the design and construction of a control centre in Skierniewice. The project ...
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NewsCompetition seeks ways to increase bridge clearances
UK: Rail industry technology body FutureRailway, infrastructure manager Network Rail and the Department for Transport have launched a £3m competition which is seeking novel ways to increase clearances beneath overbridges, enabling overhead electrification equipment to be installed without needing to rebuild the bridge. The aim is to minimise the cost ...
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NewsPTC, higher speeds and accessibility in Amtrak infrastructure programme
USA: The continued roll-out out of Positive Train Control, works to upgrade the Northeast Corridor and improvements to station accessibility for passengers with disabilities are included in Amtrak's infrastructure programme for 2014. PTC has now been installed on 850 track-km of Amtrak-owned sections of the Northeast Corridor and its Michigan ...
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NewsFirst blast for the Falkenberg tunnel
GERMANY: Construction of the 2·6 km Falkenberg tunnel as part of the upgrade of the Hanau - Aschaffenburg - Würzburg corridor was ceremonially launched on March 6 with a first blast triggered by Gerswid Herrmann, wife of Bayern transport minister Joachim Herrmann. The twin-bore tunnel is the longest of three ...
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News10 consortia interested in Moscow - Kazan high speed line
RUSSIA: More than 400 representatives from 150 companies including the major international suppliers, consultancies and investors attended an industry day for the Moscow - Kazan high speed line project which was held in Moscow on March 4. After appointing the Lengiprotrans Design Institute to undertake initial studies for high speed ...
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NewsContract awarded for Chiltern to Oxford
UK: Network Rail announced on March 7 that it had awarded a contract worth £87m to a joint venture of Carillion and Buckingham Group Contracting, covering the infrastructure works required to introduce direct Chiltern Railways services between London Marylebone and Oxford. As well as the construction of a 1 km ...
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NewsHigh Speed Rail College site sought
UK: Skills & Enterprise Minister Matthew Hancock officially launched the search for a location for a High Speed Rail College on March 7. The proposed college would provide the specialist engineering skills and qualifications needed for the development of High Speed 2 and other future infrastructure projects. It would have ...
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NewsFreight spend planned
MEXICO: Speaking at a recent conference in Cancún, federal Under-Secretary of Transport Carlos Almada outlined the 13 railway projects that are being taken forward by the administration of President Enrique Peña Nieto, representing total investment of 125bn pesos. As well as the projects for new passenger lines from Mexico City ...
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NewsTogfonden DK investment approved
DENMARK: The list of infrastructure projects to be implemented under the DKr28·5bn Togfonden DK package of investment in the rail network was formally agreed by the government and opposition parties during January. The work is to be funded by taxes on North Sea hydrocarbon extraction. It will see the all ...
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NewsDeux-Montagnes line sold to AMT
CANADA: The C$97m sale of CN's Deux-Montagnes subdivision to Montréal regional transport authority AMT was completed on February 28. The 34 km route from Gare Centrale through the 5 km Mont-Royal tunnel to Deux-Montagnes is primarily used by AMT commuter services. CN retains operating rights over a section of the ...