Infrastructure news – Page 8
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News
North Macedonia and Serbia plan Skopje – Niš route upgrade
EUROPE: A memorandum of understanding for the planned upgrading of the 206 km Skopje – Niš route has been signed by officials from North Macedonia and Serbia. This is likely to include modernisation of the existing single-track route and eventually the construction of sections of ...
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News
Track and signalling renewals completed at Buenos Aires hub
ARGENTINA: The complex rebuilding of the Mitre suburban railway’s Retiro terminus in Buenos Aires was completed on November 6. This was marked by the restoration of services on the Bartolomé Mitre branch from the station. The station has seen the platform tracks and approaches renovated ...
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News
Set back as badgers undermine 11 km of railway
GERMANY: Deutsche Bahn reports that burrowing badgers have undermined about 11 km of embankment on the Fröndenberg – Unna railway, and repairs are likely to be very expensive and take a long time as the damage is more extensive than expected. In some places the repairs ...
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News
Infrastructure manager established ahead of South African rail network opening
SOUTH AFRICA: National railway and logistics group Transnet has established an interim rail infrastructure manager as part of plans to open the network to third party train operators in 2024. Vertical separation forms part of the government’s National Rail Policy which aims to facilitate private sector ...
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News
Tackling an ETCS retrofitting bottleneck
GERMANY: Stadler says it is now set up to help accelerate the roll-out of ETCS, after its AngelStar joint venture with MerMec completed the first retrofit of its Guardia equipment to another manufacturer’s locomotive without the involvement of the original supplier. Two of DB Cargo’s Bombardier ...
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In depth
Safety: Railways must report, learn and improve
The EU Agency for Railways is continuing its campaign to develop a risk-based safety culture across Europe’s rail networks, as Executive Director Josef Doppelbauer explains to Chris Jackson.
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In depth
Signalling: Visualising designs at an earlier stage
Most signalling schemes across the sector are designed using 2D schematic plans. But this approach can make it difficult to visualise what drivers in the train cab will see, and when and how they will react. To address this and other challenges, Arup has created a signalling visualisation tool that is being deployed as part of Network Rail’s Transpennine Route Upgrade.
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News
Northeast Corridor enhancements allocated $16·4bn
USA: The Federal Railroad Administration has awarded $16·4bn for 25 passenger rail enhancement interventions along the Northeast Corridor between Boston and Washington DC. The projects were selected through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law’s Federal-State Partnership for Intercity Passenger Rail programme. ‘We are finally delivering the generational investments ...
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News
EU recovery funds underwrite two more Italian route modernisation schemes
ITALY: As part of an intensive investment programme underpinned by EU funding, infrastructure manager RFI has awarded two route enhancement contracts totalling €633m. Under a €374·2m contract announced on October 31, a consortium of Eteria Consorzio Stabile Scarl and Salcef is to double-track the 9 km ...
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News
Revised California high speed rail track and electrification design RFQ issued
USA: California High-Speed Rail Authority has released a new request for qualifications for a contract to provide design services for the track and overhead electrification systems. The contract has an estimated value of up to $131·2m, plus options. It would cover high-level designs for track and ...
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News
Austria announces €21bn rail investment plan
AUSTRIA: The federal government has announced a €21·1bn railway infrastructure investment plan for 2024–29, an increase on the previous plans to spend €19bn in 2023-28. This includes the addition of projects worth €1·5bn. ‘With this framework investment plan, we are securing the railway expansion programme in ...
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News
Bari – Martina Franca line electrified
ITALY: Ferrovie del Sud Est has completed electrification of the 81 km line running from Bari through Casamassima and Putignano to Martina Franca. This will save 1 900 tonnes of CO2 a year, FS Group subsidiary FSE said when the electrification was inaugurated on October 16. ...
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News
AI looks for patterns to identify track and wheel faults
TRACK: ZF Group has started using vibrations and artificial intelligence to monitor track condition, wheel fatigue and damage. Connect@rail uses ZF’s heavy duty inertia sensors to detect potential irregularities from rail surface defects and wheel faults. AI is used to filter out common events such as ...
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News
Californian coastal railway to be relocated inland
USA: San Diego Association of Governments has selected HDR in partnership with Mott MacDonald and SMEs to undertake environmental clearance and advanced conceptual engineering for a project to replace a section of coastal railway by a new inland alignment. The LOSSAN Rail Realignment Project would bypass ...
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In depth
Italy: Accelerating ERTMS deployment offers great benefits
Italian infrastructure manager RFI has launched an accelerated programme to equip the entire national network with ETCS by 2036. National ETCS Project Manager Nazzareno Filippini explains the thinking behind the strategy.
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News
Gotthard Base Tunnel repairs could take until September 2024
Source: SBB SWITZERLAND: The 57 km Gotthard Base Tunnel may not fully reopen until September 2024, 13 months after a derailed freight train badly damaged the track in the western bore. In an update on November 2 Swiss Federal Railways said the damage to the world’s ...
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News
Pandrol launches Common Interface to futureproof non-ballasted track
INTERNATIONAL: Pandrol has launched a Common Interface System for ballastless track, so that the fastenings can be adapted quickly and affordably to meet changing performance requirements.
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News
Namibian railway modernisation loan approved
NAMIBIA: The African Development Bank has approved a US$196·4m loan to support the second phase of Namibia’s Transport Infrastructure Improvement Project. The loan approved on October 31 will cover 51·8% of the total cost, leaving the Namibian government to provide the remaining 48·2%. The project aims ...
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News
Nijmegen – Roermond upgrading and electrification contract awarded
NETHERLANDS: Infrastructure manager ProRail has awarded Swietelsky Rail Benelux a contract to upgrade, partly double-track and electrify the 88 km Nijmegen – Roermond line. The Maaslijn is one of the longest and most intensively used diesel-operated single-track lines in the Netherlands, with the Arriva-operated services carrying ...
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Rail Business UK
Regulator approves Network Rail’s £43·1bn five-year plan
UK: The Office of Rail & Road has published its final determination setting out how Network Rail plans to use the £43·1bn being made available to fund infrastructure operation, maintenance and renewal during the five-year Control Period 7 starting on April 1 2024. Network Rail has ...