Infrastructure news – Page 253
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NewsMbalam ore railway scoping study agreed
CAMEROON: A memorandum of understanding to co-operate in establishing the scope, cost and delivery programme for a 490 km railway linking planned iron ore mines to the proposed Lolabe port has been signed by Australian mining exploration company Sundance Resources and CRCC China-Africa Construction Ltd. The proposed railway forms part ...
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NewsAmbitious strategy ready to start
JORDAN: Following the completion of a feasibility study by BNP Paribas, Minister of Transport Alaa Batayneh hopes to call tenders this year for development of three routes totalling 1080 km under a PPP concession. The government began land acquisition last year, and construction is expected to begin ...
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NewsCommuter trains return to Dunboyne
IRELAND: On September 3, Iarnród Éireann operated the first scheduled passenger services to Dunboyne since 1947 with the opening of the 7∙5 km double-track line from Clonsilla to M3 Parkway. Representing an investment of €160m under the Transport 21 investment programme, the project marks the first phase of a ...
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NewsWires going up in Toshkent
UZBEKISTAN: Last month UTY completed electrification of the 114 km Toshkent Tukimachi – Angren line, the last diesel-worked route in the Toshkent area. Wiring was undertaken at a cost of US$85·4m funded by UTY and foreign sources including Germany’s KfW and the Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development. Russian firm ...
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NewsMarmaray upgrading contract retendered
TURKEY: Suppliers have until January 7 2011 to submit bids for a contract to modernise existing commuter routes as part of the 77 km Marmaray Project in Istanbul, which includes a rail tunnel beneath the Bosporus connecting Europe with Asia. The retendering follows termination earlier this year of the previous ...
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NewsTrack machine exports
INTERNATIONAL: US on-track plant manufacturer Harsco Rail announced on August 30 that it had received orders worth US$13m to supply tamping and grinding machines to Bangladesh and Liberia. Bangladesh Railway will receive a Mark VI ballast tamper to support the upgrading of its 1 676 mm gauge ...
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NewsRoyal ceremony marks Botniabanan opening
SWEDEN: A ceremony in Kramfors on August 28 attended by King Carl XVI Gustaf marked the start of a rolling inauguration of the Botniabanan in northeast Sweden. A royal train then left for Örnsköldsvik and Nordmaling, where further celebrations were held, before it reached Umeå in the evening. Revenue passenger ...
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NewsThree Gorges route linked up
CHINA: Work has been completed on the Yiwan Railway, paralleling the lake formed by the Three Gorges dam. Running through mountainous terrain to the south of the Yangtze valley, the 377 km east -west line links the city of Wanzhou east of Chongqing with Yichang in Hubei province via Lichuan ...
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NewsRoad and rail share Swiss tunnel
SWITZERLAND: Drivers traversing the A13 between Chur and Bellinzona through the San Bernardino Pass may be surprised to see a standard gauge railway laid along the road, 1600 m above sea level. Roads department Astra is spending SFr38m upgrading the A13, including work to improve tunnel safety following the fatal ...
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NewsRepublika Srpska rail investment plan
BOSNIA: Republika Srpska’s Minister of Transport Nedeljko Cubrilovi outlined plans to spend €500m over three years modernising the entity’s rail network when he signed orders for Polish wagons and workshop equipment on August 13. The contracts were placed using a €20m credit from the Polish government. EKK Wagon will supply ...
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NewsKarara ore railway construction contract
AUSTRALIA: Macmahon has been awarded a A$86m contract for civil works and tracklaying on an 85 km railway forming part of the Karara Iron Ore Project in Western Australia. Starting from Karara, 500 km northeast of Perth, the new line will run to Tilley Siding near Morawa where it will ...
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NewsKeen interest in High Speed 1 concession
UK: August 17 was the deadline for the submission of indicative bids for a 30 -year concession to operate High Speed 1, the rail link between London and the Channel Tunnel. Railway Gazette International's sister publication Rail Business Intelligence understands that government-owned London & Continental Railways has secured keen ...
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NewsDesert locomotives delivered to Saudi Arabia
SAUDI ARABIA: The first six of 25 Electro-Motive Diesel SD70ACS freight locomotives ordered in April 2009 were handed over to Saudi Railway Co in Dammam on August 22. Deliveries are scheduled to be completed by the end of the year, bringing the number of EMD locomotives in the country to ...
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NewsSakura stars at depot launch
JAPAN: The first of 10 Series N700-8000 Shinkansen trainsets being supplied to JR Kyushu was put on display when the operator unveiled its new rolling stock maintenance depot at Kumamoto on Sunday August 22. Being built as part of the second phase of the Kyushu Shinkansen, the new depot ...
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NewsHigh speed concession plan
SPAIN: Development Minister José Blanco visited Santander on August 11 where he signed an agreement with Miguel Ángel Revilla, President of the Cantabria region, committing the government to completing a high speed line between Madrid and Santander by the end of 2015. The third signatory, Cantabria’s Vice-President Dolores Gorostiaga, pointed ...
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NewsVossloh awarded €140m Urumqi track contract
CHINA: The Ministry of Railways has selected Vossloh Fastening Systems (China) to supply rail fastenings for the 1 800 km passenger line now under construction to parallel the existing railway between Lanzhou and Urumqi in western China. On August 23 Vossloh said it expected to sign agreements worth €140m covering ...
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NewsBudget crunch hits Czech rail projects
CZECH REPUBLIC: On August 9 Transport Minister Vít Bárta called an immediate halt to all railway upgrading projects being undertaken by infrastructure manager SZDC with funding from the State Transport Infrastructure Fund. The move is part of aggressive austerity measures announced by the new government which came to power ...
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NewsContract signed for Surt - Banghazi line signalling
LIBYA: A €247m contract to supply signalling, telecoms, power, security and ticketing systems for the 554 km Surt - Banghazi line has been awarded to a consortium of Finmeccanica companies Ansaldo STS and SELEX Communications. The contract was placed by Russian Railways subsidiary Zarubezhstroytechnology following an international tender. RZD is ...
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NewsVossloh awarded €100m point machine contract
SWEDEN: Trafikverket has awarded Vossloh a 10-year framework agreement for the supply of in-sleeper point machines for the 11 904 route-km national rail network, which has 11 428 turnouts. The contract is worth more than €100m and has an optional five-year extension. Vossloh will supply a customised version of the ...
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NewsCustom-designed lowbed electrification vehicle
NEW ZEALAND: Manco Engineering has produced a custom 1067 mm gauge flatbed transporter to carry electrification masts, wire and concrete products during KiwiRail's Auckland electrification project. The 1250 Lowbed Rail Transporter is equipped with a Palfinger crane and a low-profile 12·4 m non-slip deck which can take a 30 tonne ...