Infrastructure news – Page 216
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NewsTelent to renew NR’s traction power control network
UK: Network Rail has started a four-year programme to modernise and consolidate its electric power control network, covering traction power, signalling and telecommunications. The infrastructure manager says it is the country’s largest single consumer of electricity. NR confirmed on September 12 that it had awarded a four-year contract to Telent ...
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NewsGotthard contractor changes hands
SWITZERLAND: Following the insolvency of Austria’s Alpine Bau group earlier this year, the company’s Swiss subsidiary has now been sold to Wien-based Renaissance Construction AG. Headquartered in Hergiswil, the Swiss business unit is one of the four partners in the Transtec Gotthard consortium, which is the general contractor responsible for ...
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NewsHallandsås tunnel holed through
SWEDEN: Infrastructure manager Trafikverket celebrated the successful holing through of the second bore of the Hallandsås tunnel on September 4. The project to remove one of the biggest bottlenecks on the West Coast main line is now expected to be completed in 2015. Bypassing a steep, winding section of single ...
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NewsBombardier wins signalling contract in Azerbaijan
AZERBAIJAN: On September 11 Bombardier Transportation announced the award of its first major signalling contract in Azerbaijan, where it is to supply its Interflo 200 product for the 503 km double-track main line between Baku and Boyuk Kesit. Covering design, manufacture, supply, installation, testing and commissioning, the contract has been ...
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NewsWork starts on Ostrava airport link
CZECH REPUBLIC: A ceremony was held on September 9 to mark the start of construction on a 2⋅9 km route from Sedlnice to Leoš Janáček Airport outside Ostrava. Due for completion in 2014, the single-track electrified line is being built by Eurovia CS. The first airport link on the SZDC ...
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NewsPrivate-sector reopening proposed
AUSTRALIA: The government of New South Wales has invited registrations of interest from private-sector groups to restore, operate and maintain the 200 km Cowra Lines between Blayney and Demondrille, on which services have been suspended since 2007. The project is seen as a pilot scheme that could pave the way ...
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NewsTrack renewals to accelerate passenger services in eastern Michigan
USA: Work began on September 9 on the first element of a three-stage programme to raise speeds over 50 km of mixed-traffic railway in Michigan as part of a wider initiative to accelerate passenger services between Detroit and Chicago. Much of the work will focus on track renewals between Jackson ...
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NewsCarpentras branch to reopen
FRANCE: Work is underway to reopen the 16 km branch from Sorgues-Châteauneuf-du-Pape to Carpentras to passenger traffic, with the aim of introducing services between Avignon and Carpentras at the end of 2014. Infrastructure work including track renewals for a maximum speed of 120 km/h, resignalling and the closure of nine ...
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NewsPhase One of National Gateway completed
USA: The ‘on-time, on-budget’ completion of Phase One of the National Gateway programme was announced on September 5, enabling double-stack intermodal services to be operated between the CSX terminals in Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, and North Baltimore, Ohio. Enlarging bridges and tunnels to accommodate double-stack trains between the Mid-Atlantic and Midwest, the ...
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NewsAgreement signed for Barcelona port link
SPAIN: On September 4 an agreement to build a new rail connection to the Port of Barcelona was signed by the Ministry of Development and the Catalunya regional government. Other partners in the project include railway infrastructure authority ADIF and regional operator FGC. Through equal contributions from ADIF and Barcelona ...
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NewsSiemens to supply mobile reactive power compensation systems
SWITZERLAND: In what Siemens says is a world first, Swiss Federal Railways has awarded Siemens’ Smart Grid Division a SFr9·3m contract to design and supply mobile 15 MVAr reactive power compensation systems which can be deployed by rail. These will be used to stabilise the traction voltage and improve ...
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NewsSee-through station planned for Bydgoszcz
POLAND: Railway holding company PKP SA has unveiled proposals for the modernisation of Bydgoszcz Główna station. This follows a feasibility study undertaken by Ernst & Young and Atkins. Instead of demolishing and replacing the historic island platform building, a new structure is to be built outside the tracks. This would ...
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NewsMaglev testing extended
JAPAN: Trials resumed on August 29 at the magnetic levitation test facility in Yamanashi prefecture following completion of work to extend the guideway. Transport Minister Akihiro Ota and JR Central Chairman Yoshiyuki Kasai were on board a demonstration run that day which attained a speed of 505 km/h. Tests on ...
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NewsCompetition concerns spark traction energy price changes
GERMANY: The European Commission is seeking comments on Deutsche Bahn’s proposals to change its 15 kV 16·7 Hz traction current pricing system in response to concerns that the existing model restricts competition in the freight and long-distance passenger markets. If the consultation confirms that the changes would remedy the European ...
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NewsStrukton Rail wins Citybanan fit-out
SWEDEN: National infrastructure authority Trafikverket has awarded a SKr207m contract to Strukton Rail for fitting out the 6 km Citybanan line now under construction under the centre of Stockholm. The contract announced on September 2 covers the entire double-track route between the existing stations at Tomteboda and Stockholms Södra, including ...
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NewsHigh-output electrification train ready to roll
UK: Windhoff has completed a £40m High-Output Plant System 'factory train' ordered by UK infrastructure manager Network Rail, which will use it to install 25 kV 50 Hz electrification on 380 route-km on the Great Western Main Line from London to Swansea in 2014-18. OPS consists of 23 vehicles with ...
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NewsColton Crossing grade separation completed
USA: The Colton Crossing grade separation project to remove a flat crossing between north-south BNSF and east-west Union Pacific tracks in southern California has been completed 'significantly under budget and ahead of schedule', state transport agency Caltrans and San Bernardino Associated Governments announced on August 26. Skanska was lead contractor ...
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NewsGamla Uppsala double tracking gets underway
SWEDEN: Minister for Infrastructure Catharina Elmsäter-Svärd attended a ceremony to launch work to double-track a 4 km section of the Ostkustbanan through Gamla Uppsala on August 21. This forms one of the final parts of a programme to double track the entire Ostkustbanan between Uppsala and Gävle by 2017. The ...
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NewsSiemens to support Swiss network control system to 2025
SWITZERLAND: Swiss Federal Railways has awarded Siemens a €260m contract to continue to support and develop the Iltis traffic management system until the end of 2025. Originally developed for SBB and first deployed in Bern in 1995, Iltis provides computer-based control and automation functions. It is used to manage train ...
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NewsForth Bridge public access proposal
UK: Network Rail has unveiled proposals for the provision of visitor access to the top of the Forth Bridge, which the infrastructure manger describes as 'the world's most recognised railway bridge'. Two concepts have been identified by a feasibility study undertaken as part of an application for UNESCO World Heritage ...