Infrastructure news – Page 246
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NewsExpo branch revived
SPAIN: ADIF has awarded a joint venture of Iberovías, Sando and Elecnor a €324m contract to convert the branch to La Cartuja into route C2 of the Sevilla suburban network. Covering a total of 12 km, the project includes conversion of 53 km originally built for high speed ...
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NewsGO Transit tracks change hands
CANADA: Metrolinx, the regional transport agency for Greater Toronto and Hamilton, Ontario, confirmed on March 30 that it had completed the purchase of a section of CN's Kingston Subdivision for C$299m. Running eastwards from Toronto’s Union station to Pickering, Ontario, the two and three-track line is primarily used by GO ...
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NewsCalifornia applies for federal high speed funding
USA: At a board meeting on March 30, California High-Speed Rail Authority voted unanimously to apply for federal high speed rail funding previously allocated to Florida. The $2·43bn grant was rejected by Florida Governor Rick Scott on February 16, effectively cancelling that state’s plan to build a 135 km line ...
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NewsDB calls temporary halt to Stuttgart 21
GERMANY: Deutsche Bahn announced on March 29 its intention to cease work temporarily on the Stuttgart 21 project to rebuild the city’s main station. DB Board Member, Technical, Dr Volker Kefer confirmed that no further contracts would be let and no more construction work undertaken until a new government has ...
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NewsEuropean Commission outlines 2050 transport vision
EUROPE: ‘Curbing mobility is not an option’. That is the one of the central tenets of the European Commission’s latest transport White Paper published on March 28. Building on the previous document issued in 2001, the Commission has entitled its White Paper a ‘Road Map to a Single European Transport ...
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NewsNorthern resignalling underway
VIETNAM: A ceremony at Hanoi’s Yen Vien station on March 24 marked the start of a Chinese-backed resignalling programme covering Vietnam Railways’ routes to the border crossings at Lao Cai and Dong Dang. Deputy Minister for Transport & Communications Le Manh Hung told assembled guests that the resignalling work would ...
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NewsNTV brands RFI access changes 'illegal'
ITALY: In an exceptionally strongly-worded statement, private high speed operator Nuovo Trasporto Viaggiatori has urged the Italian government to intervene to resolve an increasingly bitter dispute with infrastructure manager RFI over paths. NTV convened an emergency board meeting on March 25 after receiving notification that RFI’s Network Statement had been ...
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NewsIllinois awarded $1·2bn in high speed rail funding
USA: A further grant of $1·2bn in federal funding has been released for high speed rail development on the Chicago – St Louis corridor in Illinois, where work is underway to upgrade the existing Union Pacific line for 177 km/h running. The previously-negotiated award was confirmed in Chicago on March ...
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NewsEtihad Rail on course to open in 2013
UAE: The first freight trains on the emirates’ nascent rail network will start running in 2013, according to the Chairman of Etihad Rail Nasser Al Sowaidi. Speaking at an event in Abu Dhabi on March 23 to mark the rebranding of the company previously known as Union Railway, Al Sowaidi ...
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NewsSecond Gotthard bore holed through
SWITZERLAND: Five months after the celebrations to mark the breakthrough of the eastern running tunnel of the 57 km Gotthard base tunnel, the western bore was finally completed on March 23. The second breakthrough was not marked by the same kind of public ceremony as the first event on October ...
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NewsSino-Thai construction agreement edges closer
THAILAND: A framework agreement for a Memorandum of Understanding covering the construction of two standard-gauge inter-city corridors was approved by Deputy Prime Minister Suthep Thaugsuban on March 21. This marks the latest milestone in the Thai government’s efforts to agree its position ahead of ministerial negotiations with China to reach ...
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NewsWorld rail infrastructure market March 2011
Brazil: Engexata Engenharia has won a R$38·7m 18-month contract to build two light rail routes totalling 12·5 km with 11 stations in Sobral. Bom Sinal is supplying five two-car trains. Vale has awarded Uzminias contracts to build six bridges for the first phase of the Carajás railway project. ...
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NewsRambol to undertake Trondheim - Oslo high speed rail study
NORWAY: National railway authority Jernbaneverket has appointed Danish engineering group Ramboll to assess the feasibility of constructing a high speed line between Trondheim and Oslo, one of six high speed rail schemes currently being considered for inclusion in the government's 2014-23 National Transport Plan. The study is to be completed ...
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NewsTenders called for railway construction
ISRAEL: Tendering for the construction of two new railway lines in northern Israel got underway this month. On March 17 tenders were called for the initial section of a 23 km line from ’Akko to Karmi’el, with one intermediate station at Ahihud. The project is expected to ...
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NewsNortheast Corridor to get high speed funding
USA: Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood has officially designated the Northeast Corridor between Boston, New York, Philadelphia and Washington DC as the country’s 11th high speed rail corridor, making it eligible for federal funding under the Passenger Rail Improvement & Investment Act 2008. LaHood recently invited applications from states interested ...
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NewsJR East earthquake update
JAPAN: Thanking railwaymen and women from around the world for their messages of condolence and encouragement, on March 14 East Japan Railway Vice-Chairman Yoshio Ishida and President & CEO Satoshi Seino gave an update on the effects of the disastrous March 11 earthquake and tsunami. JR East understands that no ...
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NewsThe long arm of the saw
USA: Michigan-based Hougen Manufacturing has updated its Trak-Star HS16 hydraulic rail saw. The latest version is expected to provide faster cutting whilst being more comfortable to operate. The saw has a 1105 mm frame with an ergonomic grip handle designed to reduce vibration. An arbour bearing supports the axial load ...
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NewsBrescia high speed line contract signed
ITALY: A €700m contract for construction of the Treviglio - Brescia second phase of the Milano - Verona high speed line was signed by RFI and the Cepav Due consortium on March 7. The contract is the first of two which are to be awarded for the section, which is ...
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NewsTlemcen - Akkid Abbas construction contract awarded
ALGERIA: Railway development agency ANESRIF has awarded a joint venture of ETRHB Haddad and Spanish construction company FCC a €1·23bn contract to build the 66 km Tlemcen - Akkid Abbas section of the route between Oued Tlélat and the Moroccan border. Work is due to take 48 months. The double-track ...
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NewsTarragona bypass contracts
SPAIN: The Ministry of Development has awarded contracts totalling €205m for a connection between the Valencia - Barcelona route and the Madrid - Barcelona high speed line, replacing single track through built-up areas between Vandellós and Tarragona. A joint venture of FCC Construcción, Copasa and Coalvi has been awarded a ...