Main line rail industry news – Page 1136
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Siemens bets on Desiro Main Line
Two new EMU designs are being developed for use by independent operators bidding to run regional concessions in Europe. Harry Hondius reports
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Golmud – Lhasa railway inaugurated
CHINA: Premier Hu Jintao presided at ceremonies on July 1 to mark the official opening of the 1 142 km line from Golmud in Qinghai to Lhasa in Tibet. Cutting the ribbon at Golmud station, Hu told an audience of 2600 people gathered in the station square that ‘the project ...
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Ministers and railway heads confer
INTRO: This year’s international Rail Summit will be held on September 19Once again, the European and Asian Rail Summit will serve to underscore the international character of InnoTrans. Guests from more than 50 countries in Europe and Asia, including transport ministers, railway CEOs and leading representatives from the railway industry ...
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Gearless motor
A GEARLESS 110 kW traction motor developed by Siemens is undergoing trials at the Wegberg-Wildenrath test facility, where it is fitted to a former München U-Bahn car. Siemens claims an efficiency of 96% for the Syntegra permanent magnet synchronous drive. As it does not have gears it produces less ...
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Spie sale terms agreed
AMEC has agreed terms for the sale of AMEC Spie to a new company controlled by private equity firm PAI. The £707m sale was expected to be completed last month, with AMEC to record an exceptional profit on disposal of £295m which will be used to pay down debt.AMEC Spie ...
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Rail expansion dominates Taiwan’s urban transport plans
ON JUNE 26 President Su Tseng-chang of Taiwan presided over groundbreaking ceremonies in Taoyuan County for the 51·5 km rail link between Taipei and Chiang Kai-Shek International Airport (RG 2.06 p58). Expected to cost NT$93·6bn to complete, the line is supposed to be partially financed from a special package of ...
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Buenos Aires branches revived
UNDER A 180m pesos investment programme funded by the Argentinian government, work was expected to begin this month to renew track on four diesel-worked sections of the Buenos Aires commuter network. On TBA’s Sarmiento route, the Moreno - Mercedes and Merlo - Lobos sections are to be upgraded, together with ...
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Interlocking orders
INDIAN RAILWAYS has awarded two contracts to Union Switch & Signal India for the installation of electronic interlocking equipment on two routes as part of its network-wide signalling and safety upgrading programme.The bigger contract covers the supply of Microlok-II interlockings for 14 stations on the Northeast Frontier Railway’s Rangiya Division ...
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Trackwork contracts
SWEDISH infrastructure manager Banverket has awarded three contracts totalling £40m to UK-based infrastructure services and construction company Carillion. The largest contract covers double-tracking of the Mj
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Subsidiaries progress RZD reforms
JULY 1 saw the formal start of operations for Russian Railways’ Federal Passenger Board, which has been established as an early priority for the third stage of the RZD reform programme.The reform of RZD’s passenger operations is based on splitting the commercial and social services into separate businesses. According to ...
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Wires to Nanjing
ELECTRICALLY-hauled freight trains began running on Chinese Railways’ Shanghai - Nanjing main line on July 1, with the completion of wiring work on the southern section of the Beijing - Shanghai corridor.CR’s Shanghai Railway Bureau expects to operate around 20 freight trains each way per day on the 303 km ...
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UIC hosts first Middle East Assembly
FOLLOWING a decision taken by the UIC General Assembly in Montréal on June 8 to set up five UIC Regional Assemblies worldwide, the first meeting of the Regional Assembly for the Middle East took place in Istanbul on June 13-14. Chaired by Khalid Alyahya, President of Saudi Railways Organisation, ...
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Arriva expands in Europe
ON JULY 4 Arriva announced that it had won a contract to operate trains between München and Oberstdorf in the Bavarian Alps, and also to Lindau in southern Germany. The contract starts from December 9 2007 and is expected to generate total revenue exceeding €150m over the following 10 years.In ...
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No interest for the creditors
EUROTUNNEL effectively declared itself insolvent on July 13, after last-ditch negotiations failed to reconcile conflicting interests among its creditors that were blocking agreement on a debt restructuring plan. Chairman & Chief Executive Jacques Gounon had already lodged papers on July 11 with the commercial courts in Paris for a Procédure ...
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Africa needs to cut border delays
ACCORDING TO Spoornet CEO Siyabonga Gama, delays to freight trains at international borders on the Cape gauge network serving southern Africa are costing the region US$48bn a year. Gama told the ninth AfricaRail conference near Johannesburg on June 28 that it could take up to 12 days to get a ...
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Granada light rail funding agreed
CONSTRUCTION of a 15·5 km light rail route in the Spanish city of Granada is expected to begin this autumn, following the signature of funding agreements by the Andalucía regional government and the municipalities of Granada, Armilla, Albolote and Maracena on July 12.Excluding rolling stock, the project is expected to ...
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Metrolink tries a Little Bang instead
NEXT MONTH is due to see a call for expressions of interest in building three light rail lines in Manchester, following the agreement of a £650m funding package which will allow work to start on part of the long-planned ’Big Bang’ Metrolink expansion scheme, now priced at £1·2bn.The Association of ...
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Czech orders
SKODA Transport has won two framework contracts for the supply of low-floor trams to two Czech cities over the next decade.Praha transport operator DphmP plans to acquire up to 200 cars in 2009-18 at a cost of KC12·2bn, or €2·1m a vehicle. These are expected to be the Porsche-designed Type ...
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Light rail go-ahead for Ottawa
OTTAWA city council voted on July 12 to approve the contract for construction of the city’s planned north-south light rail line, clearing the way for work to begin later this year. The 29·7 km route will link Barrhaven with the University of Ottawa, serving 23 stations. The DBOM concession contract ...
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SSB announces midlife car refit
STUTTGARTER Straßenbahn AG announced on July 5 that it intends to start a mid-life refit for around a third of its 164-strong fleet of LRVs.The 60 cars in the DT8.4 to DT8.9 series, which are coming up to 20 years old, will be fully refurbished and brought up to the ...