Infrastructure news – Page 280
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Australia's last frontier is conquered
John Kirk was in Adelaide to watch the departure of the first train to Darwin
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IR electrification to be tendered
ISRAEL Railways confirmed on January 14 that it expected to call tenders in April for electrification at 25 kV 50Hz of 300 route-km. Expected to cost around US$270m, the work will take 4½ years. IR had originally envisaged wiring its entire passenger network, which is expected to grow from 450 ...
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Transcontinental link completed
On January 15 the first FreightLink container train for Darwin will leave Adelaide, arriving at the Northern Territory port two days later. The inaugural service on the Alice Springs - Darwin marks the completion of the 150 year dream of linking Australia's Top End with the cities in the south ...
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NewsNürnberg - München in one hour
Germany's second 300 km/h route, now under construction between Nürnberg and Ingolstadt, opens in 2006. Ralf Roman Rossberg reports
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Swiss ETCS is late
SWISS FEDERAL Railways confirmed on September 25 that its first production installation of ETCS Level 2 would not be completed in time for the inauguration of the new line between Mattstetten and Rothrist on December 12 2004. The line will open with conventional signalling, and cut over to ETCS in ...
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Marmaray tunnel bids in
TURKEY: Three prequalified consortia submitted technical bids on October 3 for construction of Istanbul's Marmaray tunnel, comprising a 1·8 km double-track submerged tube under the Bosporus together with 11·5 km of bored tunnel approaches on each side. Four groups had prequalified last year (RG 9.02 p465), but one subsequently withdrew. ...
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IR looks at Suez landbridge
NEXT MONTH is due to see the publication of a report into the feasibility of a rail freight corridor between Eilat and the Mediterranean port of Ashdod. On August 20 Israeli Transport Minister Avigdor Liebermann announced that creation of 'a landbridge alternative to the slow and costly Suez Canal' had ...
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Team to review Crossrail again
THE CASE for building London's long-planned east-west Crossrail Line 1 is to be reviewed by a team of experts appointed by Transport Secretary Alistair Darling. The team, headed by Network Rail Deputy Chairman Adrian Montague, will report 'around the turn of the year', he said on September 9. They will ...
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Optimising Banestyrelsen’s renewals and maintenance strategy
A consortium led by Atkins Rail has completed a strategic review for the Danish national railway infrastructure agency Banestyrelsen, setting the forecast investment budget for 2003-15. A more proactive approach to managing railway assets should make a real difference to the bottom line
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NSW's largest tunnelling project gets underway
This month sees the launch of the first tunnel boring machine for the orbital Chatswood - Epping - Parramatta rail link connecting the northern and western suburbs of Sydney
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NewsCondition-based decision-making minimises track costs
Stanislav Jovanovic explains how software developed by ERRI in 1991-98 is increasingly being used in Europe, North America and Australia to plan maintenance and renewal over long periods, based on the observed and forecast condition of track elements
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Asmara reconnected
AFTER a 10-year reconstruction programme, Eritrea Railways confirmed last month that it had completed the rebuilding of its 117 km main line linking the capital Asmara to the Red Sea port of Massawa (RG 2.01 p93). A formal inauguration ceremony is planned for later this year. Including 3·5% grades on ...
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Zhuhai closer
WORK IS expected to get underway this year on a 139·8 km railway serving the Zhuhai Special Economic Zone in southern China. Costed at 21bn yuan, the line is being promoted by the Guangdong Provincial Development Planning Commission, which completed a detailed feasibility study in December. Construction work is expected ...
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Leuven - Liège brings the European high speed network a step closer
Belgium's second purpose-built 300 km/h line will bring the capital of Europe closer to the east, and improve communications between the Ile de France and the Ruhr
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Marmaray construction bids due
TURKEY: Prequalification bids are due by September 17 for construction of Istanbul's Marmaray tunnel. As well as the 1·8 km double-track submerged tube under the Bosporus linking Eminonu on the European shore with Uskudar on the Asian side, there will be 11·5 km of bored tunnel forming an underground route ...
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Uzbek electrification study
UZBEKISTAN: Three segments of Uzbek Railways' network totalling 539 route-km are to be rehabilitated and electrified over the next six years, thanks to an agreement with the US Trade & Development Agency signed in Toshkent on July 12. Providing US funding for studies into major infrastructure projects, the deal was ...
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South African machine ready to grind
SPOORNET’S rails are being reprofiled by two Speno 24-stone grinding machines built under licence in South Africa. Grinaker-LTA subsidiary Lennings Rail Services is using the Speno RR24M-12 and 13 rail profiling machines in the five-year contact with Spoornet. Most components were made locally for assembly and commissioning at the LRS ...
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NewsKuala Lumpur's airport in the city opens for business
The 57 km standard gauge rail link serving Kuala Lumpur International Airport and Malaysia’s new administrative capital opened last month. Andrew Grantham sampled the ride
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Zambian rail links
CONSTRUCTION is expected to start soon on two 1067mm gauge lines in eastern Zambia, following the receipt of US$100m in grants from the International Monetary Fund and the European Union. The long-planned 40 km link from Malawi’s Mchinji railhead to the Zambian town of Chipata will be a comparatively straightforward ...
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Eritrea's rail renaissance takes an international dimension
As work to re-open the route between the Eritrean capital Asmara and the port of Massawa continues, studies for a new line across the border from Kassala in Sudan are now under way. Peter Badcock reports