Infrastructure news – Page 230
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NewsWeed control without herbicide
FRANCE: Infrastructure manager RFF and SNCF's engineering department are undertaking long-term performance trials with a DuPont non-woven geotexile intended to prevent ballast contamination and the growth of weeds in areas where tightening environmental regulations will soon restrict the use of herbicides. The polypropylene filament fabric forms a barrier to ...
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NewsCalifornia vote approves high speed funding
USA: Following a highly-charged debate, California’s state legislature voted on July 6 to allocate the funding needed to start construction of the state’s planned high speed line between Los Angeles and San Francisco, which is currently costed at $68bn. The senate voted 21-16 to approve a bill authorising the state ...
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NewsRío Colorado plant arrives
ARGENTINA: Three SVM 1000R new track construction trains, two ballast tampers and two ballast regulators supplied by Plasser & Theurer were landed at the port of Bahía Blanca last month. They have been delivered for the rail component of Brazilian mining company Vale’s US$59bn Río Colorado project to extract ...
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NewsRio Tinto automation contract confirmed
AUSTRALIA: Train operations on Rio Tinto’s heavy haul iron ore railways in the Pilbara are to be fully automated by 2015 under two contracts announced on July 6. Valued at A$362m in total, the contracts have been exercised under the framework agreement which Rio Tinto signed with Ansaldo STS in ...
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NewsRDC wins case in Guatemala railway dispute
GUATEMALA: Pittsburgh-based Railroad Development Corp announced on July 5 that it had won its five-year arbitration case against the Republic of Guatemala over the disputed concession to revive and operate the country’s national rail network. On June 29 a tribunal of the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes unanimously ...
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NewsSwiss start work on fourth control centre
SWITZERLAND: The foundation stone for SBB’s new Central Region control centre at Olten was officially laid on July 5, although preparatory work has been underway since last October. The ceremony was attended by Bruno Stehrenberger, Head of Operations at SBB Infrastruktur, the city’s mayor Ernst Zingg and canton Solothurn’s Director ...
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NewsThree-year investment programme approved
VIETNAM: An investment programme worth US$9·5bn over the next three years has been approved by parliament, paving the way for state railway DSVN to undertake significant modernisation works on key north-south corridors. Due for completion by 2015, the package focuses on raising line speeds to 120 km/h ...
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NewsOpening in sight?
BRAZIL: Federal railway construction company Valec expects the first section of the North-South Railway, running from Palmas to Gurupi in Tocantins state, to be operational in September this year. This would be followed by Gurupi – Uruaçu in April 2013 and Uruaçu – Anápolis in September of that ...
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NewsDB Schenker to serve London Gateway
UK: DB Schenker expects to operate four intermodal trains per day from the London Gateway deep-water port when it opens in the fourth quarter of next year. Representing total investment of £1·5bn, London Gateway is being developed by DP World on the site of the former Shellhaven ...
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NewsSBB to replace maintenance fleet
SWITZERLAND: The Swiss Federal Railways board has approved a SFr606m programme to procure 1750 new infrastructure maintenance vehicles. These will replace the current fleet of 2240 vehicles, which have an average age of 33 years and no longer meet current technical, environmental and safety standards. SBB expects ...
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NewsWorld rail infrastructure market July 2012
Australia: A Leighton/Downer JV has been awarded the A$43m West Werribee Junction design and build contract, the final package of works for the Melbourne Regional Rail Link. China: Siemens is to supply Trainguard MT automatic train control and protection for the 26 km Suzhou metro Line 2, 25 km ...
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NewsSkanska to start work on Bermondsey diveunder
UK: Network Rail has awarded Skanska a £60m contract to design and build the Bermondsey diveunder, a 'crucial component' of the final phase of the Thameslink Programme. The grade-separated junction on the eastern approach to London Bridge station will allow services on the Thameslink route to cross the lines ...
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NewsConsortium to build Doncaster concrete sleeper factory
UK: Work is set to begin shortly on the construction of a concrete sleeper plant in Doncaster which will supply more than half of Network Rail's annual needs. Production is scheduled to start in spring 2013. The factory on the former Woodyard site will be owned and funded by Network ...
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NewsNîmes - Montpellier contract signed
FRANCE: The 25-year PPP contract covering financing and construction of the mixed-traffic high speed line bypassing Nîmes and Montpellier was formally signed on June 28, by Réseau Ferré de France President Hubert du Mesnil and Bouygues Construction President & CEO Yves Gabriel on behalf of the OC’VIA consortium. Bringing together ...
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NewsEthiopian Railways Corp awards northern construction contracts
ETHIOPIA: State railway development agency Ethiopian Railways Corp has signed contracts for the construction of a new railway network in the north of the country. Planned to be completed within three years, the 1 435 mm gauge lines are intended to support regional development by providing Ethiopia with a second ...
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NewsStuttgart S-Bahn extension project gets underway
GERMANY: Work to upgrade an existing line to S-Bahn standards to enable Stuttgart service S4 to be extended from Marbach to Backnang was launched with a ceremony on June 22. The R31 train service is being replaced by buses from July to November while the 13·7 km route and four ...
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NewsEIB lends €1bn for Basque Y high speed network
SPAIN: The European Investment Bank has signed an agreement to provide an initial tranche of €500m to fund construction of the 'Basque Y', the 140 km high speed network under construction between Bilbao, Vitoria and San Sebastián. EIB is to lend a total of €1bn towards the project, which ...
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NewsFirst major Wiggins Island Rail Project contract awarded
AUSTRALIA: QR National has awarded the first major contract for its A$900m Wiggins Island Rail Project, a programme of new and upgraded lines being undertaken to serve the Wiggins Island Coal Export Terminal at the Port of Gladstone from mid-2014. The A$76m contract announced on June 22 will see Abigroup ...
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NewsBologna tunnel boosts speed and capacity
ITALY: A 17·8 km link connecting the Bologna - Firenze and Bologna - Milano high speed lines was brought into service in June. It includes a tunnel under Bologna which allows high speed services which do not stop in the city to run through at speed. The link has been ...
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NewsPort of Le Havre awards signalling contract
FRANCE: Le Havre port authority GPMH has awarded Thales a €2·1m turnkey contract to equip the rail network at its Port 2000 intermodal terminal with PIVOS computer-based interlocking based on the supplier's proprietary PIPC technology. Commissioning is planned for July 2013. Announcing the contract on June 21, Thales said this ...