Infrastructure news – Page 264
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NewsTrans-Asian Railway Network Agreement comes into force
ASIA: A ceremony in Bangkok on June 11 marked the entry into force of the Intergovernmental Agreement on the Trans-Asian Railway Network. Drawn up under the auspices of the United Nations Economic & Social Commission for Asia & the Pacific, the agreement aims to facilitate a co-ordinated regional approach to ...
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NewsMontréal may electrify
CANADA: Agence Métropolitaine de Transport and Hydro-Québec agreed on May 5 to invite proposals for a study to determine the feasibility of electrifying four of Montréal’s commuter rail routes totalling 250 km. Only one line, the Deux-Montagnes, is now operated by electric traction. Converting the Dorion, Blainville and Delson routes ...
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NewsGovernment takes control of London & Continental Railways
UK: The government has taken direct ownership of London & Continental Railways Ltd for a nominal price, Secretary of State for Transport Andrew Adonis announced on June 8, and LCR's financial subsidiaries have also been transferred to the government. This follows last month's clearance by the European Commission of state ...
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NewsMerMec to supply high-speed measuring equipment
TURKEY: TCDD has awarded MerMec contracts totalling €9m for the supply and installation of track and overhead line measuring equipment on a CAF trainset operating on the 250 km/h Ankara - Eskisehir line. The line was opened in March as the first phase of a national high speed rail network. ...
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NewsHyder Consulting wins Express Rail Link contract
CHINA: MTR has awarded Hyder Consulting a contract covering the detailed design of lineside electrical and mechanical services for the HK$39·5bn Express Rail Link in Hong Kong. Starting at an underground terminus in West Kowloon, the link will run underground for 26 km to the boundary with mainland China ...
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NewsMRS launches CBTC operation
BRAZIL: The pilot section of MRS Logística's broad-gauge network equipped with SIACO communications-based train control was officially released for full commercial operation on June 1, two months later than planned following a period of intensive field testing. The 35 km section of the busy Pombal - Guaíba branch, together ...
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NewsA rolling programme optimises wiring
UK: Two financially-viable main line schemes plus strategic infills offering the best value for money would initiate the rolling programme of electrification set out in a draft strategy published for consultation by Network Rail on May 15. For its core strategy, the infrastructure manager proposes electrification of around ...
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NewsLargest Hanze Line contract signed
NETHERLANDS: The largest contract to be awarded under the €1bn Hanze Line project was signed by infrastructure manager ProRail and the HanzaRailTeam consortium on May 12. The €164m agreement covers track, 1·5 kV DC electrification, signalling and sound mitigation measures on the 50 km line now under construction between Lelystad ...
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NewsGetting a grip with plastic sleepers
SLEEPERS: A small number of plastic bearers have been installed on some turnouts in the Netherlands since creosoted timber was banned, but a different approach to sleeper design is now being taken by Lankhorst Mouldings, which has looked beyond the straight replacement of wood. The company specialises in the production ...
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NewsWestinghouse to provide Sydney freight line signalling
AUSTRALIA: Invensys Rail Group announced on May 21 that Australian Rail Track Corp had awarded its Westinghouse Rail Systems Australia subsidiary a A$14m turnkey contract for signalling on the Southern Sydney Freight Line. The SSFL project will provide a 36 km dedicated freight line between Macarthur and Sefton, ...
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NewsLoan for Serbian Railways train order
SERBIA: The European Bank for Reconstruction & Development signed a €100m loan agreement with state railway Zeleznice Srbije on May 8. The money will part-fund the purchase of a fleet of around 30 two or three-car electric multiple-units for regional and inter-city services. Tendering is expected to begin in the ...
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NewsParis Saint Lazare station works launched
FRANCE: On May 13 Sophie Boissard, head of SNCF's stations department, launched the third and most substantial phases of the Cœur Saint Lazare project to refurbish the Paris terminus. The main concourse floor will be opened up in a number of places, with 20 escalators installed to improve the ...
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NewsElectric services launched in Alger
ALGERIA: President Abdelaziz Bouteflika inaugurated electric outer-suburban passenger services from Alger on May 2, following a month of testing. Regular operations began the next day. From Alger the 25 kV 50 Hz wiring runs 54 km east to Thénia and 68 km west to El Affroun. Electrification of the ...
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NewsCoal project gets the go-ahead
INDONESIA: The Regency of East Kutai granted approval in late March for a 150 km railway linking coal mines at Muara Wahau in East Kalimantan to the coast. It is promoted by Trans Kutai Kencana, a special purpose vehicle formed by the regional authority’s investment body and companies owned by ...
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NewsCosta del Sol corridor
SPAIN: As part of project to build a 532 km route between Fuengirola and Estepona that is expected to carry 100 million passengers a year, the Andalucía regional government has awarded two contracts to build the 4 km section in tunnel between Las Lagunas and La Cala de Mijas. ...
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NewsThree bidders for Nîmes - Montpellier
FRANCE: On May 11 RFF Presidert Hubert du Mesnil announced that three consortia had been shortlisted for construction of the Contournement Nîmes - Montpellier, which will form the first stage of the connection between TGV Méditerranée and the Perpignan - Figueras cross-border link into Spain. Prequalification bids were invited ...
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NewsBrenner base tunnel approved
AUSTRIA: The final go-ahead for the construction of the Brenner base tunnel is due to be signed at a meeting of the German, Italian and Austrian transport ministers on May 18. Infrastructure Minister Doris Bures announced on April 15 that legal procedures were complete. The 55 km tunnel will ...
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NewsHigh speed PPP tendering underway
PORTUGAL: Tendering was launched on March 30 for the second 40-year PPP concession to design, finance, build and maintain the high speed line between the capital and the Spanish border, covering the 34 km between Lisboa and Poceirão. Work on the route, designed for mixed traffic and a maximum ...
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NewsTackling the challenges to standard train control
ETCS: Some decisive action needs to be taken soon in order to ensure the evolution of a truly standardised European Train Control System.
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NewsWork set to start on Mongolian coal line
MONGOLIA: Construction of a 260 km railway to carry coal from Energy Resources LLC’s mine at Ukhaa Khudag to the Chinese border at Gashuun Sukhait is set to begin by the end of the year, with the first trains running in 2011. Having already completed a preliminary study, DB ...