Main line rail industry news – Page 1139
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Higher productivity to help fund rising renewals spend
INTRO: French Transport Minister Dominique Perben has authorised higher government spending on track renewals, and is putting in place a performance contract with RFF to ensure the money is spent effectively. Murray Hughes reports from OrléansHISTORY was made in 1967 on the Les Aubrais - Vierzon section of the Paris ...
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Catalytic converter on test at UP
Union Pacific claims to have ’the most environmentally-friendly locomotive fleet in the nation’, with 47% of its 8200 units meeting EPA Tier 0, I or II emissions standards. In California, UP has signed agreements to reduce NOx emissions within the South Coast Non-attainment Area by 67% by 2010, and to ...
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European diesel rivals revive electric versus hydraulic contest
Demonstration diesel locos aimed at the heavy freight market in Europe are taking to the rails this summer
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NewsProfit for the environment's sake
Swedish freight operator Green Cargo has enshrined sustainable development as a core value, seeing profitability as the path to ensuring that the environmental benefits of moving goods by rail are not lost to society
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People
The General Assembly of European Rail Infrastructure Managers has appointed head of Network Rail’s European Affairs Department Michael Robson to succeed Marc Falchi as EIM Secretary-General. His three-year term begins on September 1.Kang Gil-Hyun of Korail has been elected Chairman of the WCRR Organising Committee, in succession to Roy Allen, ...
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US loco market still a two-horse race
As the domestic market booms, North American locomotive builders Electro-Motive Diesel and General Electric are striving to meet their customers' demands for ever-higher availability and reliability with a relatively narrow range of rugged, standardised products. David Lustig reports
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Interiors segment proves popular
INTRO: More than 100 exhibitors reserve display space in Hall 6.2THE’Interiors’ segment being launched at InnoTrans 2006 is already proving to be a great success. Well over 100 exhibitors have registered to take part - half of them from outside Germany - filling to capacity the 6000 m2 allocated in ...
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Research progresses together
IF THERE WAS any doubt that a great deal of research is still being undertaken into the rail mode, this was rapidly dispelled by the seventh World Congress on Railway Research on June 5 - 9. Over 750 delegates from more than 40 countries assembled in Montréal to debate several ...
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No approval for Belgrano transfer
Appearing before a congressional committee on June 1, Argentina’s Transport Secretary Ricardo Jaime said that the government was still considering proposals to transfer a majority shareholding in Belgrano Cargas to a consortium of Macri, Roggio, Emepa and Sanhe Hopefull Grain & Oil (RG 5.06 p244). He added that if a ...
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EU still pushing for rail reforms
ON June 22 the European Commission adopted a ’Communication’ on transport policy. Essentially, this is a mid-term review of the White Paper published in September 2001.In general terms the review finds that change in the European transport sector is much slower than anticipated, with no appreciable shift in the share ...
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Edinburgh - Glasgow link goes ahead
THE Airdrie - Bathgate Railway & Linked Improvements Bill was introduced into the Scottish Parliament on May 30 by Network Rail. The objective is to restore a route between Glasgow and Edinburgh serving industrial areas in the Scottish Lowlands that last saw through passenger trains in the 1950s. This is ...
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Tianjin - Shengyang to be electrified
BALFOUR BEATTY Rail Power Systems based in München has won a second electrification and signalling contract in China covering 619 km of double track between Tianjin and Shengyang in Liaoning province. In addition to supplying and erecting 25 kV 50Hz catenary, 11 feeder stations spaced at 50 km intervals are ...
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Russia rejoins ’global’ UIC
AT A MEETING of the UIC General Assembly in Montréal last month, the return to membership of Russian Railways after an absence of 58 years was approved unanimously. A series of joint ’technical discussions’ will now take place, leading to full membership for RZD in about a year.UIC Chairman Benedikt ...
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Eurotunnel unveils debt restructuring
AFTER 10 months of tortuous negotiations, Eurotunnel Chairman Jacques Gounon was finally able to announce on May 31 that agreement had been reached with the Ad-Hoc Committee representing co-financier creditors on a debt restructuring plan that could avoid the company becoming insolvent in January 2007.A new French holding company would ...
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Still no access to Pilbara ore lines
DESPITE A draft recommendation in March from the National Competition Commission that railways owned by Rio Tinto and BHP Billiton should be made available for use by other train operators, Australia's federal Treasurer Peter Costello decided in May not to grant access to BHP's 295 km Mount Newman line. The ...
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Victoria to spend
PROPOSALS to invest more than A$3bn in the state rail network over the next 10 years were announced by Victoria Premier Steve Bracks and Transport Minister Peter Batchelor on May 17. The Transport & Liveability Statement envisages investment totalling A$10·5bn; it provides A$2·9bn for rail improvements and A$200m for level ...
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Four for Saudi Landbridge
SAUDI RAILWAYS Organisation announced on May 31 that four consortia had been qualified to bid for the BOT concession to build and operate the Saudi Landbridge railway between Jeddah, Riyadh, Dammam and Jubail. Preliminary tender information was released to the consortia on June 10. 'The Supreme Economic Council, chaired by ...
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Upgrade underway
MAY 25 saw the start of upgrading work on the initial 37·7 km section of the Plovdiv - Svilengrad line in Bulgaria.Reconstruction and electrification of the section from Krumovo on the outskirts of Plovdiv as far as Parvomai is being project managed by Greek contractor Tema SA. Local firm Rubicon ...
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Singer success
EARLY results from the Singer project were announced in Ljubljana on June 8. The Slovenian Intermodal Gateway to European Rail project is being supported for the first two years by the EU’s Marco Polo programme (RG 11.04 p728). The aim is to develop ’an international network of unaccompanied services’ between ...
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Arctic iron ore line proposed
DETAILED plans are taking shape for a heavy-haul iron ore railway on Baffin Island in northern Canada. The line is intended to link the Mary River deposits with a deep-water port from which the ore would be shipped to steel producers in Europe.The Mary River deposits were identified in the ...