Infrastructure news – Page 222
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NewsCaltrain upgrading deal agreed
USA: Work to upgrade and electrify the Caltrain commuter rail corridor between San Francisco and San Jose to accommodate high speed trains is set to move forward, following the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between the California High Speed Rail Authority and the Peninsula Corridor Joint Powers Board which ...
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NewsJR East to test CBTC
JAPAN: East Japan Railway has shortlisted two European companies for a project to install communications-based train control on one of its Tokyo suburban lines. Alstom and Thales have been selected to bid for the work, which covers a 29·7 km section of the Joban Local Line between Ayase and ...
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NewsViaduct protection
UK: During a £12m upgrade of Network Rail’s Ouseburn Viaduct which carries the UK’s East Coast Main Line in Newcastle, Carillion identified a problem just above the rocker plates where, owing to limited access for applying protective paint, there was a potential for rainwater to build up. This could ...
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News'No delay' to High Speed 2 as legal challenges dismissed
UK: Under-Secretary of State for Transport Simon Burns confirmed on March 15 that there would be ‘no delay’ to the planned High Speed 2 railway between London and the north of England after a series of legal challenges to the project were dismissed at the High Court ...
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NewsVale suspends Río Colorado project
ARGENTINA: Brazilian mining company Vale announced on March 11 that it had informed the Argentinian government that it was suspending its Río Colorado project to develop potash deposits in the province of Mendoza. According to the company, 'in the current macroeconomic environment the economics of the project are not ...
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NewsWorld rail infrastructure market March 2013
Brazil: An Alstom-led consortium has won a €20m contract to provide ventilation systems for the 11-station extension of São Paulo metro Line 5 scheduled for completion in 2015. Bulgaria: NRIC has awarded Thales and Kapsch CarrierCom a €35m contract to provide ETCS Level 1 and GSM-R for 133 km ...
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NewsDeutsche Bahn presses on with Stuttgart 21
GERMANY: The controversial Stuttgart 21 project will be carried through to completion and not abandoned because of rising costs, Deutsche Bahn announced on March 5. ‘The time of uncertainty is over — the project will continue’, asserted DB Chairman Dr Rüdiger Grube at a hastily called press conference following ...
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NewsConsultation starts on first railway PPP
BRAZIL: Federal land transport agency ANTT has published for consultation draft tender documentation for a 35-year concession to build, operate and maintain a 477 km railway from Açailândia in Maranhão state to the port of Vila do Conde in Belém. This is the first of 12 PPP projects that the ...
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NewsNeo Ikonio freight line inaugurated
GREECE: A 17 km freight line connecting the Neo Ikonio container port near Piraeus with Thriasio on the Athens – Kiato route was inaugurated on February 28. The project was announced in 2000 but subsequently delayed by two years due to financial problems. The total cost was €156⋅6m, split equally ...
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NewsGovernment backs 113 km Budapest freight bypass
HUNGARY: The government has given its backing to a proposed 113 km freight-only bypass around the south of Budapest, State Secretary for Foreign Affairs & External Economic Relations Péter Szijjártó announced on February 27. The V0 proposal developed by logistics association MLSZKSZ is intended to significantly accelerate east-west freight movements ...
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NewsPure construction alliance for Stafford upgrade
UK: Infrastructure manager Network Rail announced on February 25 that it had formed its first 'pure construction alliance' to deliver the £250m Stafford Area Improvement Programme of upgrades on the West Coast Main Line. Under an alliance model which originates in Australia, NR is to act as both principal client ...
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NewsMechelen bypass contracts awarded
BELGIUM: Infrastructure manager Infrabel has awarded a joint venture of Royal BAM Group subsidiary CEI-De Meyer and Jan de Nul two civil works contracts totalling €85m for the Mechelen bypass project. The €254·7m bypass is intended to increase rail capacity through the city, raise line speeds for through trains from ...
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NewsNo private finance for Crossrail train fleet
UK: Plans for private finance to meet the majority of the estimated £1bn cost of procuring around 600 electric multiple-unit cars and associated maintenance facilities for Crossrail have been dropped, Transport for London announced on March 1. The largest single contract to be awarded under the Crossrail project is now ...
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NewsA vision of rail in 2050
EUROPE: A high-level vision of the future shape of rail transport was officially launched at the European Rail Awards in Brussels on February 26, hosted by CER and UNIFE. Entitled ‘Challenge 2050’, the pan-sector study outlines the rail sector’s ‘shared perception’ of what Europe’s railways could look like in the ...
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NewsEtihad Rail secures US$1·28bn funding package
UAE: A five-year loan worth US$1·28bn has been secured to finance the first phase of the national railway network, project promoter Etihad Rail announced on February 26. The loan is being financed on a club deal basis by National Bank of Abu Dhabi PJSC, Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ, Abu Dhabi ...
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NewsSaverne Tunnel holed through on LGV Est
FRANCE: Transport Minister Frédéric Cuvillier joined RFF President Jacques Rapoport and other dignitaries on February 25 to mark the completion of the second bore of the 4 020 m Saverne Tunnel, one of the major structures on the second phase of LGV Est between Paris and Strasbourg. The first bore ...
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NewsGrade separation to save 1 500 h/day
USA: Illinois Governor Pat Quinn attended a groundbreaking ceremony for a $67m grade separation project at Bensenville near Chicago on February 19. Lowering of Irving Park Road and construction of a bridge to carry Canadian Pacific tracks is intended to speed up the flow of rail and road traffic on ...
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NewsSaale-Elster Viaduct beams in place
GERMANY: The final pair of 38 tonne prefabricated components for a 110 m long, 1 420 tonne steel arch span forming part of the 8·5 km Saale-Elster Viaduct were installed on February 15. The viaduct stands up to 21 m above a flood plain south of Halle, and includes an ...
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NewsKuala Lumpur - Singapore high speed railway agreement
ASIA: An agreement to build a high speed railway between Kuala Lumpur and Singapore is included in the joint statement issued by the Prime Ministers of Malaysia and Singapore following their annual retreat on February 19. The Joint Ministerial Committee has been tasked with looking into 'the details and modalities' ...
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NewsUntere Edertalbahn reopening works begin
GERMANY: Work to reopen the out-of-use 30 km Untere Edertalbahn between Korbach and Frankenberg was launched when Hesse Transport Minister Florian Rentsch attended the start of vegetation clearance at Korbach on February 15. The project aims to improve access to tourist destinations around the Edersee, providing a direct route between ...