Infrastructure news – Page 245
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NewsBanedanmark awards track renewal contract
DENMARK: Infrastructure manager Banedanmark has awarded a joint venture of Strukton Rail and Aarsleff a contract to renew 38 km of track on the Bramming - Tønder route in southwest Denmark. The work to be undertaken from June to mid-August includes ballast cleaning and the renewal of 13 turnouts, which ...
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NewsMagnetic separation
SAFETY: The use of temporary fences to protect worksites is becoming more common, as railways come under pressure to keep busy lines open during maintenance and upgrading work. Such fences are typically secured to spikes driven into the ground or clipped to adjacent tracks. The RSS magnetic safety fence is ...
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NewsProducts & Technology in Brief
The German Federal Ministry for Economics & Technology has approved funding for a 42-month research project into the use of composite materials to reduce noise caused by wagon brakes. TMD Friction and four other suppliers are to investigate the cost-effectiveness of retrofitting existing wagons with composite blocks, which can reduce ...
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NewsExtremadura high speed PPP tendering launched
SPAIN: The Ministry of Development announced on April 26 the start of tendering for two PPP contracts to complete the 450 km high speed line between Madrid and Badajoz in Extremadura. The winning bidders would part-finance work with a combined estimated cost of €3·83bn, including maintenance over a period ...
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NewsAuto measuring vehicle
GEOMETRY: Eurailscout's latest Switch Inspection & Measurement Vehicle combines video inspection of turnouts with automated measurement of their geometry. Based in Amersfoort, the company has been undertaking video inspection of track and turnouts for ProRail for several years, and the SIMV reflects current trends in combining video and geometry recordings. ...
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NewsCox's Bazar to join network in 2013
BANGLADESH: Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina officially launched construction of a rail link to the southern coastal town of Cox's Bazar on April 3. First planned in 1890, the 100 km metre gauge line will start from the current railhead at Dohazari, southeast of Chittagong, and run to Satkania, Dulahazra, Chakarin, ...
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NewsNational plan to put cities 90 min apart
SOUTH KOREA: The Ministry of Land, Transport and Maritime Affairs has published plans for national network of high speed and upgraded lines which would put the most of the major cities within 90 min travel time of each other by 2020. The second national railway plan published on April 3 ...
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News£200m package to ease Cardiff bottleneck
UK: Network Rail unveiled a £200m three-year plan to alleviate the congested double-track bottleneck through Cardiff on April 12. Local passenger traffic is growing at 8% a year, and the opportunity to increase capacity arises because the area is being resignalled and electrification of local commuter lines is planned. The ...
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NewsQatar integrated rail project launches in May
QATAR: Next month is due to see the formal launch of the 'integrated rail project', with Qatar Railway Development Co holding an industry day to provide details of the proposed network which is provisionally costed at 130bn riyals. QRDC is a 51:49 joint venture of state-owned property development group Qatari ...
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NewsHofuf bypass contract
SAUDI ARABIA: Saudi Railways Organization has awarded SAAd Al Mobty & Partners a 659m riyal contract for construction of a bypass to move its existing railway away from the centre of Hofuf, which is a key junction on the SRO main line between Dammam and Riyadh. Realignment of ...
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NewsWorld rail infrastructure market April 2011
Australia: The TrackStar Alliance of Thiess, United Group Infrastructure, Aurecon and Aecom has been awarded a A$475m contract to build the 9·5 km Richlands - Springfield section of Queensland's Springfield suburban line by 2013. China: Harsco has won orders totalling $11m to supply rail grinders to the Suzhou and ...
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NewsFaster to Samarkand
UZBEKISTAN: An ¥18·1bn Japan Bank for International Co-operation loan to fund electrification of the 389 km Marakand – Qarshi – Qumqo’rgo’n – Termez line was among the agreements reached when President Karimov made an official visit to Japan in February. President Karimov has also signed a decree financing modernisation ...
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NewsArmenia looks to end rail isolation
ARMENIA: OTIF agreed to the accession of Armenia on April 11, with the result that the Bern-based body which provides a legal framework for international rail traffic will gain its 47th member with effect from July 1. OTIF said the accession is 'an important step in the process of linking ...
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NewsFirst contract placed under heavy haul signalling agreement
AUSTRALIA: Rio Tinto Iron Ore has placed its first A$96m firm order for signalling and communications equipment under a five-year framework agreement with Ansaldo STS, the signalling supplier announced on April 7. Ansaldo STS anticipates that the total value of works under the five-year framework agreed in November 2010 will ...
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NewsCrossrail restructures as final tunnelling contracts are awarded
UK: Preferred bidders for the two final tunnelling contracts on London’s Crossrail project were announced by project promoter Crossrail Ltd on April 7. Covering construction of the Thames Tunnel between North Woolwich and Plumstead and refurbishment of the Connaught Tunnel under the former Royal Docks, the two contracts are valued ...
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NewsNortheast Corridor tops bidding for US high speed funding
USA: There has been overwhelming demand for a share of the $2·4bn of federal high speed rail funding rejected by the Governor of Florida, according to US Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood. He said on April 6 that 90 applications totalling more than $10bn had been received from 24 states, ...
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NewsPTC scaled back to save $500m
USA: The Federal Railroad Administration has agreed to put forward revised requirements for the roll-out of Positive Train Control, after the Association of American Railroads launched a legal challenge to the original scope (RG 3.11 p31). The Rail Safety Improvement Act of 2008 requires more than 40 railway operators to ...
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NewsWork starts on passenger lines
CHINA: Work is underway on the first Passenger-Dedicated Line in Inner Mongolia, a 286 km route linking provincial capital Hohhot with the eastern city of Zhangjiakou. A ceremony on February 28 marked the start of construction on the line, which is designed for 250 km/h running and will have ...
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NewsGauge-enhancement work completed
UK: The completion of a £71m programme to allow 9 ft 6 in containers to be carried on conventional flat wagons from the UK's second-largest container port was marked with a ceremony at Southampton Central station on April 4. The enhancement of the loading gauge on the key artery between ...
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NewsAlaska Railroad tenders Port MacKenzie extension works
USA: Tenders are to be invited this month for construction work on the first section of Alaska Railroad’s 51 km Port MacKenzie Extension, following the publication of the final Environmental Impact Statement by the Surface Transportation Board’s Office of Environmental Analysis on March 25. The line is intended to connect ...