Infrastructure news – Page 213
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NewsADIF to split into high speed and conventional businesses
SPAIN: Meeting on December 13, the Spanish cabinet approved legislation to split infrastructure manager ADIF into two companies, one responsible for the 1 435 mm gauge high speed network and the other for the 1 668 mm and 1 000 mm gauge routes used by conventional services. As well as ...
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NewsBase tunnel tests start the countdown to opening
SWITZERLAND: Transport Minister Doris Leuthard launched the first official test train through a completed section of the Gotthard Base Tunnel on December 16. Accompanied by Swiss Federal Railways CEO Andreas Meyer and AlpTransit Chairman Renzo Simoni, Leuthard took the opportunity to announce that the Base Tunnel would be inaugurated during ...
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NewsTaskforce to study electrification in northern England
UK: The Department for Transport is to establish a joint taskforce with infrastructure manager Network Rail to study options for further electrification in northern England. Announcing the plan on December 13, DfT said the taskforce would work with train operators, local authorities including the Rail North consortium, the supply industry ...
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NewsDoncaster concrete sleeper factory opened
UK: On December 9 Secretary of State for Transport Patrick McLoughlin officially opened the new concrete sleeper factory that Trackwork Moll has built in Doncaster to supply infrastructure manager Network Rail over the next 10 years. Employing around 45 staff, the plant will produce around 400 000 concrete sleepers each ...
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NewsAfghan government commissions east - west rail study
AFGHANISTAN: The Ministry of Public Works has commissioned a feasibility study for a proposed 300 km east - west railway across northern Afghanistan. The C$3·7m contract announced on December 11 has been awarded to Systra's Canadian freight railway consultancy Canarail and its partner Appleton Consulting Inc, which specialises in programme ...
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NewsFehmarn Belt tunnel E&M systems tender
EUROPE: Project promoter Femern A/S has published an OJEU prior information notice for the contract to provide electrical and mechanical systems for the future 18 km Fehmarn Belt rail and motorway tunnel between Denmark and Germany. An industry day is to be held in København on January 21. The scope ...
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NewsMadrid suburban segregation studies
SPAIN: In order to increase capacity and improve reliability by segregating Madrid suburban services from freight and other passenger trains, the Ministry of Development has approved design studies for quadrupling the 17·9 km between Pinar de las Rozas and Villalba, and doubling the 4·3 km of single track between Villalba ...
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NewsSiemens awarded Gauteng signalling contract
SOUTH AFRICA: Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa has awarded Siemens a €180m contract to complete the replacement of signalling and train control systems on lines around Johannesburg and Pretoria by 2018. In 2011 Siemens was awarded an initial €90m contract covering the replacement of around a quarter of the ...
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NewsTianjin - Qinhuangdao high speed line opens
CHINA: The latest section of Passenger-Dedicated Line opened on December 1, linking the city of Tianjin east of Beijing with Qinhuangdao on the coast of the Bohai Sea to the northeast. The 287 km line cuts travel times between the cities by around a half to 1 h 11 min, ...
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NewsColas Rail buys Amey's tamping business
UK: Colas Rail has expanded its on-track plant fleet which it says was already 'the largest and most advanced' in the UK, with the acquisition of Amey's on-track tamping machines business for £5m. The sale announced on November 29 'provides significant synergies with our existing extensive on-track plant business allowing ...
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News‘MoKaKi’ project breaks ground in Mombasa
KENYA: A ceremony led by President Uhuru Kenyatta in Mombasa on November 28 marked the start of construction of the first phase of the planned 2 937 km standard gauge cross-border corridor linking the Kenyan port city with Kampala in Uganda and the Rwandan capital Kigali. The initial phase of ...
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NewsBridge boosts capacity in Missouri
USA: Union Pacific Railroad opened a bridge over the Osage River at Jefferson City, Missouri, on November 25 as part of a capacity enhancement programme on the 455 km Kansas City – St Louis route. The 365 m structure carries a double-track alignment and removes one of the most significant ...
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NewsVossloh to supply fastenings to Haramain high speed project
SAUDI ARABIA: Vossloh Fastening Systems announced on November 28 that it had won a €30m contract to supply rail fastenings for the 444 km Haramain high speed line that is to run from Madinah to Jeddah and Makkah. Deliveries are due to start before the end of the year, ...
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NewsCalifornian high speed programme hits funding hurdle
USA: California’s high speed rail programme is facing potentially significant delays following a series of rulings on funding issues by the Sacramento County Supreme Court. The rulings centre on the California High Speed Rail Authority’s plan to use so-called Proposition 1A bonds to part-fund an Initial Operating Segment through the ...
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NewsKapsch CarrierCom to supply GSM-R for Hungary
HUNGARY: State holding company NISZ has awarded Kapsch CarrierCom and local company MVM OVIT a €46m contract to install GSM-R on 900 km of the national rail network, Kapsch announced on November 27. With MVM responsible for physical infrastructure, installation is due for completion at the end of 2015 when ...
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NewsNetwork Rail Consulting opens Australian office
AUSTRALIA: Network Rail Consulting marked the opening of its third international office at an event in Sydney on November 27, organised jointly with UK Trade & Investment to coincide with the AusRail Plus conference and exhibition. Network Rail Chief Executive Sir David Higgins said that rail investment was essential ...
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NewsDouble-deck rail and bus tunnel proposed for Brisbane
AUSTRALIA: The Queensland state government has announced plans for a 5·4 km double-deck tunnel in Brisbane with a twin-track railway on the lower level and a two-lane busway on the upper level. ‘This is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to transform Brisbane into a world city with a public transport system ...
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NewsUpgraded EARS for better performance
UK: DeltaRail has received Network Rail approval for its Enhanced Automatic Route Setting technology, which automatically routes trains without the need for signaller intervention. EARS builds on DeltaRail's proven ARS to provide a range of performance-enhancing functions including mandatory sequences, standard timing patterns and train priorities. The company ...
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NewsFlexible tests of rigid catenary
SPAIN: Aries Ingeniería y Sistemas has supplied a catenary test bench which it says is is unique in Europe for infrastructure manager ADIF's Railway Technology Centre at the Parque Tecnológico de Andalucía near Málaga. It is designed to measure the performance of rigid catenary, with pre-loaded force and acceleration profiles ...
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NewsRussian Railways' 1·2tr rouble three-year investment plan
RUSSIA: The government met on November 14 to consider the draft three-year investment and financial plan for Russian Railways. This envisages spending 396bn roubles in 2014, 415bn roubles in 2015 and 438bn roubles in 2016. 'This is a lot, but then, the company's tasks are challenging too', said Prime Minister ...