Infrastructure news – Page 212
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NewsRail-specific export credit rules introduced to encourage sustainable development
INTERNATIONAL: The Organisation for Economic Co-operation & Development has introduced sector-specific rules to govern government-backed export credits, loan guarantees and risk insurance in the rail market. The rail sector understanding which came into effect on January 1 provides tailored amendments to the credit rules followed by the 34 OECD member ...
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NewsWorld rail infrastructure market January 2014
Australia: Thiess has selected a joint venture of Aecom and Aurecon Design to provide design services for the Moreton Bay Rail project. Belarus: China National Electric Import & Export Corp beat four other international bidders for a contract to electrifiy the line from Maladzyechna to the Lithuanian border, with ...
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NewsLoose bolts to blame for Brétigny derailment
FRANCE: On January 10 land transport accident investigation bureau BEA-TT published its interim report on the derailment which had taken place on July 12 2013 at Brétigny-sur-Orge. The last four cars of an SNCF Paris - Limoges inter-city service had left the track when entering the station from the north, ...
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NewsRail arrives for track renewal projects
ARGENTINA: Minister of the Interior & Transport Florencio Randazzo visited the Port of Buenos Aires on January 9 to inspect the first shipment of 10 000 tonnes of rail from ArcelorMittal Poland for track renewals on the routes from the federal capital to Rosario and Mar del Plata. Pointing out ...
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NewsThales wins East Japan Railway CBTC contract
JAPAN: East Japan Railway has selected Thales as preferred bidder for a contract to design a communications-based train control system for Joban Local Line in the greater Tokyo area. The scope includes 14 stations on the 29·7 km Ayase - Toride route, along with 70 trainsets. Subject to a final ...
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NewsTesting underway on Ankara – Istanbul fast line
TURKEY: Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan joined newly-appointed transport minister Lütfi Elvan in the cab of a CAF trainset to travel over the Arifiye – Köseköy section of the Ankara – Istanbul high speed corridor on December 27. Elvan has replaced Binali Yıldırım, who has stood down after 11 years ...
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NewsIsrael Railways opens Sderot station
ISRAEL: Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attended the official opening of a railway extension from Ashkelon south to Sderot on December 24. Public services began at 16.00, and to encourage ridership local residents are able to apply for up to three months of free travel. The building at the US$56m Sderot ...
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NewsDB to spend €4·6bn in 2014
GERMANY: Deutsche Bahn has set out its plans to spend €4·6bn on modernisation and renewals on the 34000 km network during 2014. Maintenance spending will increase by €200m compared to 2013. More than 3000 km of track is to be replaced at 755 sites on 65 corridors. Major ...
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NewsChina opens seven new lines
CHINA: The 514 km coastal line between Xiamen and Shenzhen in southeast China was opened for revenue service on December 28. This completes the link between the Beijing – Guangzhou – Shenzhen Passenger-Dedicated Line and the east coast route which starts in Shanghai and serves Hangzhou, Ningbo, Wenzhou, Fujian and ...
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NewsSiemens trainees on heritage line
UK: Graduate trainees and apprentices from Siemens are to work on signalling projects on the heritage North Yorkshire Moors Railway this winter. 'With over 20 miles [32 km] of signalling ranging from mechanical signals to our HD-link transmission system, it is hoped that this will become a regular feature ...
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NewsHigh speed inspection vehicle order
CHINA: China Railways Corp has approved series production of a fleet of diesel railcars designed to enable overhead electrification equipment on high speed lines to be inspected and repaired during short maintenance windows. The prototype 711CN railcar developed by German manufacturer GBM Gleisbaumechanik Brandenburg has been tested at speeds ...
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NewsChinese rail projects approved
CHINA: The final 527 km of the Southern Xinjiang line between Aksu and Korla opened for traffic on December 5 with the departure of a freight train from Aksu. The 1449 km line has been built in stages with the fiorst phase opening in 1984. It is designed for 160 ...
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NewsChikmagalur line opened
INDIA: Minister of Railways Mallikarjun Kharge opened South Western Railway’s 45 km Kadur – Chikmagalur line on November 19. The broad gauge branch connects Chikmagalur, Kanivehalli, Sakarayapatna and Bisalehalli to the Hubli – Bangalore main line, and includes four major and 75 minor bridges. The project was first proposed in ...
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NewsFirst ETCS certified in Poland
POLAND: The first certification for commercial use of ETCS equipment in Poland was granted on November 21, covering Level 1 operation on the CMK fast line from Grodzisk Mazowiecki to Zawiercie. The equipment supplied by Thales under a 17·65m złoty contract included 1200 balises, 250 wayside controllers and 20 ...
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NewsAesthetically pleasing electrification competition
UK: 'New, aesthetically pleasing designs' for overhead electrification masts are being sought in an international competition managed by the Royal Institute of British Architects. The rail industry Enabling Innovation Team is promoting the competition in conjunction with high speed line project promoter HS2 using funding from the Department for ...
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NewsWorld rail infrastructure market December 2013
Algeria: Enterprise du Metro d’Alger has awarded a consortium of Alstom and Yapi Merkezi a €380m contract to build the 15·5 km eastern and 7·2 km southern lines of the planned tram network in Sétif. Argentina: ADIF has awarded Comsa EMTE an €11m contract to build a new 20 ...
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NewsMakhalino - Hunchun cross-border railway upgraded
ASIA: The first revenue train carried coal over the reopened cross-border line between Makhalino in Russia and Hunchun in China on December 17. The line opened in 1999 but services were suspended in 2004. The infrastructure has now been upgraded by Russian Railways' Far Eastern Railway for use by transit ...
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NewsSiemens outsources signalling project design
UK: Siemens has appointed Indian company Infotech to undertake the signalling design work for a project to increase capacity at Whitby station, which is served by franchised operator Northern Rail as well as the heritage North Yorkshire Moors Railway. The signalling contract awarded to Siemens in October covers design, supply, ...
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NewsConcession signed for construction of 525 km coal railway
MOZAMBIQUE: Two concession agreements for the construction of a coal export port at Macuse in Zambezia province and a 525 km railway to the Moatize coalfields in Tete province were signed on December 13. The agreements were signed by Minister of Transport & Communications Gabriel Muthisse and Premchai Karnasuta, President ...
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NewsNorwegian ERTMS pilot line goes live
NORWAY: Infrastructure manager Jernbaneverket has inaugurated its pilot project for the European Rail Traffic Management System on the Rakkestad - Sarpsborg branch of the Østfoldbanen southeast of Oslo. The line, which last saw regular passenger services a decade ago, has been fitted with ETCS Level 2 in order to test ...