Main line rail industry news – Page 1176
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EU decision blocks competition
ON JUNE 2 the Council of Ministers approved a Directive which lays down working hours and conditions for train crew who cross frontiers between EU member states. This will apply the force of law to the terms of an agreement signed on January 27 2004 between the European Transport Workers’ ...
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Stadler wins Dutch GTW order
ARRIVA has ordered a fleet of 43 low-floor diesel railcars from Stadler Bussnang to operate a 255 route-km network of secondary lines in the northeastern Netherlands provinces of Friesland and Groningen. The cars are being bought under the terms of a 15-year operating concession which starts in December 2005. Herrenveen-based ...
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IJtram inaugurated
ON MAY 28 an 8·5 km extension of the Amsterdam tram network was inaugurated by Transport Minister Karla Peijs. Known as IJtram, the line provides a connection between Amsterdam Centraal station and a new housing estate taking shape on the east side of the city.Being built on six artificial islands ...
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X60 undergoes acceptance tests
INTRO: Harry Hondius MSc reports from SalzgitterSEPTEMBER is due to see the entry into revenue service of the first of 55 X60 low-floor EMUs, ordered in May 2002 by Storstockholms Lokaltrafik for use by Citypendeln operator Keolis. The contract with Alstom includes an option for 50 more sets. Total price ...
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Interstate freight boost
AUSTRALIAN Rail Track Corp has called tenders by August 12 for upgrading work between Melbourne and Sydney, with around 450 potential partners invited to join the Southern Alliance.A$500m is to be spent on the route as part of ARTC’s government-funded A$1·3bn upgrading programme (RG 7.04 p386). Work is to be ...
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Private finance needed
CHINESE Railways started construction of its latest dedicated passenger railway on June 12, with a ceremony on the borders of Hebei and Shanxi provinces. Expected to cost 12·6bn yuan, the 189 km route linking the provincial capitals at Shijiazhuang and Taiyuan is predicted to carry 15 million passengers a year ...
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Cross-border co-operation accord
A LETTER of Intent setting out terms for the operation of TGV Est Européen was signed in Strasbourg on May 23 by SNCF President Louis Gallois and DB Chairman Hartmut Mehdorn. Also present at the event were the then French Transport Minister Gilles de Robien and his German counterpart ...
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Reform on track
PLANS are on course for conversion of Pakistan Railways to a corporation at the end of July, Railways Minister Mian Shamim Haider announced on June 20.The minister said the plans were awaiting approval by the federal cabinet. The Railways Board is to be abolished and a new Chief Executive will ...
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News in Brief
On June 8 Bombardier announced that it had won a €35m contract from Trenitalia to upgrade 60 ETR500 power cars for dual-system operation. Built by the Trevi consortium in 1992, the original 3 kV DC power cars will be rebuilt with 25 kV 50Hz capability and ETCS Level 2 equipment ...
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Port line started
VIETNAM Railways announced on June 1 that work had started on the creation of a 130 km rail link from Hanoi to the new deep-water port at Cai Lan.Expected to cost 4bn dong, the project involves the reconstruction of DSVN’s residual standard-gauge line from Kep to Ha Long, together with ...
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Resignalling deal
AFTER a lengthy hiatus in awarding major signalling contracts, Network Rail announced on May 24 that it had selected Siemens for a £50m resignalling of the Portsmouth, Fratton and Havant area.Work is due to start this month for completion in 2007. A new centre at Havant will control 131 signals ...
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Tunnels completed
WITH THE WESTERN bore holed through at 12.30 on June 1, tunnelling work has been completed on the 28·4 km Guadarrama tunnel on the Madrid - Valladolid high speed route. Spanish Development Minister Magdalena Álavarez had been on hand when the eastern bore was completed on May 5.The boring of ...
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Flood repair funds
ON JUNE 13 the Andean Development Corporation signed an agreement to lend the Argentinian government US$35m, which will be used to fund a US$50·8m project to raise a section of ALL-Central’s Buenos Aires - Mendoza main line that has been flooded following a rise in the level of the La ...
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Argentina shops for passenger trains
THE ARGENTINIAN government has signed an agreement with the Spanish trade development organisation Expansión Exterior that will see 96 trainsets and 536 locos and coaches bought from Renfe and Feve over five years at a cost of 1·1bn pesos. Transport Secretary Ricardo Jaime said the stock would be strengthen Buenos ...
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Back to square one
UNABLE to agree terms with the last of five potential bidders, the Argentinian government has quietly shelved its plans to sell a 79% stake in metre-gauge freight operator Belgrano Cargas to the private sector (RG 6.05 p350). Negotiations with a consortium led by EMEPA are reported to have foundered largely ...
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Plans amended
ON JUNE 17 the Spanish Ministry of Development began public consultation on its proposal to alter the alignment of the cross-city tunnel in Gijón, where work began in April 2003. This is one of a number of major changes to the project announced by Development Minister Magdalena Álvarez on June ...
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Renfe plans for growth
RENFE President José Salgueiro has unveiled the Spanish national operator’s 2005-09 strategic plan, which forecasts revenue to grow by 79·6% and passenger traffic to increase by 19·3% by 2009. The €5·5bn investment programme for 2005-09 includes €4·05bn for new trains, €746m for rolling stock refurbishment and €322m for maintenance facilities.A ...
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Capital growth
PLANS FOR another north-south metro line across the Chinese capital were unveiled by the Beijing Municipality on June 9. Line 9 is designed to open up development zones on the western side of the city.The 18·3 km route with 15 stations is expected to cost 6·7bn yuan. It will connect ...
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Tren Urbano opens
JUNE 6 saw the start of revenue services on the 17·7 km Tren Urbano metro line in San Juan, Puerto Rico, which links the western suburbs of Bayamon and Guaynabo with Santurce, serving 16 stations. Construction began in 1996, and the line was scheduled to open on July 1 2001. ...
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2020 vision in green
AN ENTICING vision of attractive, sustainable and efficient public transport, contributing to a higher quality of life, was painted by speaker after speaker at the International Union of Public Transport’s 56th World Congress, which took place in Roma on June 5 to 9.Many of the factors needed to ensure high-quality ...