Infrastructure news – Page 93
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NewsBangkok's Three Airports rail link delayed
THAILAND: The project to built a 220 km fast rail line connecting Bangkok and its three main airports has been delayed for financial reasons. ‘The budget to demolish infrastructure to make way for the new high speed system has not been approved’, said State Railway of Thailand ...
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Rail Business UKHigh Speed 2 main works construction officially begins
UK: High Speed 2 project promoter HS2 Ltd marked the symbolic start of the main works for the 225 km Phase 1 of the project on September 4, noting that its contractors were moving from enabling, design and preparatory works to full construction. The announcement followed the ...
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NewsCeneri Base Tunnel inaugurated
SWITZERLAND: The 15·4 km Ceneri Base Tunnel between Bellinzona and Lugano was formally inaugurated on September 4, with President of the Swiss Confederation Simonetta Sommaruga cutting a ribbon before the inaugural freight train ran south. This was followed by special passenger trains carrying guests in each direction. ...
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NewsTamworth Intermodal Rail Line funding announced
AUSTRALIA: The government of New South Wales has announced A$28m of funding for the Tamworth Intermodal Rail Line to reinstate a section of non-operational railway between West Tamworth and Barraba. This will provide a rail route to a planned intermodal facility at Westdale near Tamworth. Construction is ...
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NewsRail receives €4·7bn in French recovery spending package
Photo: Christophe Masse FRANCE: The government announced on September 3 its intention to provide a financial support package for the rail sector worth €4·7bn as part of a post-pandemic recovery plan. Transport Secretary Jean-Baptiste Djebbari said that the funding package, which forms part of a wider national ...
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NewsIncreasing capacity west of Spandau
GERMANY: The Länder of Berlin and Brandenburg have signed an agreement with Deutsche Bahn to finance studies for a project to increase capacity on the 23 km Spandau – Nauen section of the Berlin – Hamburg corridor, including a proposed extension of the Berlin S-Bahn to Finkenkrug. ...
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NewsUzbekistan completes Ferghana Valley electrification project
UZBEKISTAN: Electrification of the 331 km railway ring in the Ferghana Valley was officially completed on August 30, when electric services were inaugurated on the 101 km Namangan – Andijon section. The ring runs from Pap through Namangan, Andijon, Marg‘ilon, and Qo‘qon back ...
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NewsJR East extends repair work on concrete structures
The Shinkansen network makes extensive use of long elevated structures to minimise land take in urban areas. JAPAN: East Japan Railway announced on August 26 that it intends to carry out remedial work on several elevated concrete structures across its 1 067 mm gauge conventional network, complementing ...
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NewsAzerbaijan modernises north–south and east–west corridors
AZERBAIJAN: National railway ADY has begun work to rebuild a disused railway which would allow north–south trains to bypass the Baku conurbation. During August it also converted the electrification on the 499 km east-west corridor from Baku to Böyük Kəsik on the Georgian border from 3 ...
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NewsWasp’s waist bridge replaced
SWEDEN: Infrastructure manager Trafikverket has completed the latest stage in the ongoing programme to modernise the 2 km corridor through central Stockholm. Known as the ‘wasp’s waist’, this is the busiest section of the national rail network. The latest works saw the 250 m bridge over the ...
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NewsPTC deployed on all Amtrak-owned routes
USA: Amtrak has announced that Positive Train Control has now been implemented on all 1 440 route-km of line that it owns or controls, following the final installation that covered less than 2 km of low-speed track in Chicago. All 550 Amtrak-owned locomotives are also fully equipped ...
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NewsBatteries to feed overhead electrification in ‘first of a kind’ trial
UK: Hitachi ABB Power Grids has announced a partnership with battery technology specialist Zenobē Energy to supply equipment to convert power from batteries to energise 25 kV 50 Hz overhead power supplies. According to the two companies, this will be the first time that batteries will be ...
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Rail Business UKSiemens Mobility to resignal Core Valley Lines
UK: Transport for Wales has awarded Siemens Mobility Ltd a three-year contract for the renewal and replacement of lineside signalling equipment and the creation of an integrated control centre as part of the Core Valley Lines Transformation programme. This includes 50 new signals, over 300 axle counter ...
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NewsTask forces to improve Network Rail’s understanding of severe weather and earthworks management
UK: Infrastructure manager Network Rail has launched two independent task forces to improve its understanding of severe weather and help it better manage its earthworks, following the fatal derailment of a ScotRail train near Stonehaven on August 12. Dame Julia Slingo, former chief scientist at the ...
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NewsMassachusetts commuter rail construction contract awarded
USA: Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority’s Fiscal & Management Control Board has approved the award of the second and largest of the two principal construction packages for the South Coast Rail Phase 1 project. The $1·047bn project which is scheduled for completion in late 2023 will extend Boston’s ...
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Rail Business UKDfT funding to support Welsh enhancements and freight improvements
Expansion of Cardiff Central station has been backed by UK government funding. UK: Secretary of State for Transport Grant Shapps announced funding to support a number of investment schemes in England and Wales on August 21. The announcement includes £5·8m to ‘kick start’ design work for the ...
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In depthComment: Beware of the weather
‘Disruption from extreme weather events seems to be increasing rapidly in many parts of the world’
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Rail Business UKLatest estimate says London’s Elizabeth Line could open in the first half of 2022
UK: The central section of the Elizabeth Line crossing London between Paddington and Abbey Wood could now be ready to open in the first half of 2022, project promoter Crossrail Ltd said on August 21. This follows the announcement in July that the central section would not ...
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NewsSiemens awarded Sydney traffic management system contract
AUSTRALIA: The government of New South Wales has awarded Siemens Mobility a A$80m contract to supply a traffic management system covering Sydney Trains operations. Scheduled to be ready for operation in 2023, the TMS will continually monitor the position of all trains, helping to keep services running ...
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NewsAsian Development Bank finances Delhi commuter rail project
INDIA: The Asian Development Bank has approved a US$1bn loan to support construction of the Delhi – Ghaziabad – Meerut Regional Rapid Transit System. The financing is be implemented in four tranches between August 2020 and May 2025. The government of India will provide US$1·89bn, and ...