Infrastructure news – Page 10
-
In depthComment: Rail safety credentials matter
Politicians contines to raise doubts with rail safety, despite railways being one of the safest forms of land transport. Benjámin Zelki considers that while continuous improvement is welcome, sweeping claims about rail safety may not always align with the evidence.
-
Metro Report InternationalEnergy bank to boost tramway power supply
NETHERLANDS: The use of an ‘energy bank’ to reinforce a tramway power supply without needing to build a substation is to be piloted in Rotterdam from December. The energy bank will be installed at the Posthumalaan turning loop, which is currently only used at times of ...
-
NewsGrand Est invests in secondary routes
FRANCE: Rural railways and branch lines in the Grand Est région are to receive a funding injection worth more than €52m to ensure continuity of service over the next few years. The funds are destined for 14 routes where little or no maintenance has been carried out ...
-
NewsApplications invited for €7bn of Connecting Europe Facility funding
EUROPE: The European Commission has issued its latest call for proposals for funding under the Connecting Europe Facility, making available €7bn to support new or upgraded infrastructure on the Trans-European Transport network. CE funding can be used to support projects on the Core and Comprehensive TEN-T ...
-
NewsSouth African operator addresses maintenance backlog with turnout contract
SOUTH AFRICA: Transnet Freight Rail has awarded Voestalpine VAE SA a three-year contract to supply turnouts and components. VAESA Chief Executive Pulane Tshabalala Kingston said this is the first substantial turnout contract to have be successfully awarded by TFR in the last five years. She said ...
-
Metro Report InternationalElectric excavator tested on Los Angeles metro extension work
USA: Skanska is piloting the use of a zero-emissions electric excavator on Los Angeles Metro’s Purple (D Line) extension project. The contractor says the battery-powered Volvo EC230 is the largest electric excavator of its kind, and offers the same capabilities as a diesel equivalent. ...
-
NewsPolish FRMCS testing letter of intent signed
POLAND: A letter of intent for the implementation and testing of the Future Railway Mobile Communication System in Poland has been signed by Alstom, Ericsson, NetWorks and rail research organisation Instytut Kolejnictwa. The signatories plans to engage in joint research and development, verify requirements under real-world ...
-
NewsPoint machine predictive maintenance partnership
EUROPE: Vossloh is to develop a predictive maintenance model for point machines through a strategic collaboration with Swedish data analysis and artificial intelligence company Predge. ‘With the help of this trendsetting forecast model, our customers will be able to plan their maintenance measures more proactively, in ...
-
Rail Business UKResearch expertise used to optimise Transpennine Route Upgrade designs
UK: The University of Huddersfield’s Institute of Railway Research is providing specialised pantograph-catenary interaction and vehicle dynamics expertise to optimise designs for the Transpennine Route Upgrade programme. The IRR has worked with Network Rail, J Murphy & Sons, Siemens, Systra and VolkerRail to produce a three-dimensional ...
-
NewsKelani Valley rail renovation gets underway
SRI LANKA: A programme to renovate the 59 km Kelani Valley railway between Maradana and Avissawella was launched on September 7 with a ceremony at Homagama station attended by Minister of Transport, Highways & Mass Media Dr Bandula Gunawardena. Expected to take two years to complete, ...
-
NewsInstallation of Japanese slab track on Indian high speed line begins
INDIA: Construction of ballastless reinforced concrete trackbed is underway at Surat on the Mumbai – Ahmedabad high speed line, in what National High Speed Rail Corp Ltd says is the first time the Japanese J-slab system is being used in India. The ballastless trackform is installed ...
-
News5G-ready FRMCS telecoms deployed on Mozambique network
MOZAMBIQUE: Huawei has been chosen to equip the 1 067 mm gauge routes operated by Caminhos de Ferro de Moçambique with a digital communications system based on FRMCS. Designed to ensure robust and stable communications for train-to-ground voice and data links, it replaces legacy infrastructure based ...
-
In depthItaly: Bringing rail and air closer together
Infrastructure manager RFI is embarking on a programme to complete rail links to airports in Venezia, Bergamo, Brindisi, Olbia and Alghero by the end of 2026, while a major reconfiguration of the rail network around Milano Malpensa is also in hand. Benjámin Zelki reports.
-
NewsFirst Frederick Douglass Tunnel main works contract awarded
USA: Amtrak has selected a joint venture of Clark Construction and Stacy & Witbeck for the first of three major contracts to be awarded under the Frederick Douglass Tunnel programme to rebuild 6 km of the Northeast Corridor through central Baltimore. The central element of the ...
-
NewsZambia – DR Congo – Angola railway study backed by EU and USA
AFRICA: Studies are to be undertaken for the construction of a railway linking the Copper Belt region of Zambia with the Katanga region of DR Congo and the existing railway to the port of Lobito in Angola. This would form part of a planned Trans-African Corridor. ...
-
NewsRailway planned as part of India – Middle East – Europe Economic Corridor
ASIA: Ambitions to develop an India – Middle East – Europe economic corridor with sea transport from India to the Gulf region and a railway linking Middle Eastern countries with each other and to Europe were announced at the G20 summit in New Delhi. IMEC is ...
-
NewsTororo – Gulu rail revival underway
UGANDA: Reconstruction work has started on the 382 km metre-gauge railway line that links Tororo near the Kenyan border to Gulu on the northwest, Uganda Railways Corp has confirmed. The railway has not seen traffic for about three decades. A reconstruction agreement was signed on April ...
-
NewsDivača – Koper railway systems contract awarded
SLOVENIA: Project promoter 2TDK has signed a €203·8m contract with a consortium of SŽ-Železniško gradbeno podjetje, Kolektor IGIN, GH Holding and YM Construction for the supply of railway systems for the second track from Divača to the port of Koper. 2TDK announced the signing of its ...
-
In depthFreight: Alpine corridors reflect rail’s struggle for modal share
Anchored in Italy, three north-south Rail Freight Corridors provide significant opportunities for modal shift in line with the European Commission’s Green deal objectives. However, the transalpine routes still face many challenges that need to be addressed, suggests Reinhard Christeller.
-
NewsWork starts on Iran – Iraq rail link
INTERNATIONAL: Construction of a cross-border rail link between Iraq and Iran was formally inaugurated on September 2 with a foundation stone laying ceremony at the Shalamcheh border crossing point near Basra.