Main line rail industry news – Page 1190
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Saudi Landbridge ready to launch
The prequalification process is expected to start this month for a concession to develop a rail corridor across the Arabian peninsula, with the aim of having trains running by 2010. Chris Jackson reports
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Intelligent trains provide real-time feedback
Vehicle information systems using mobile phone technology provide real-time tracking of equipment condition and help to optimise fleet availability
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Easing the strain
BACK injuries can be a problem for maintenance staff working underneath trains, so Metronet asked Harmill Systems to develop a trolley-mounted access seat which would improve the ergonomics of working in a depot inspection pit on London Underground. The 60m long pit at the Waterloo & City Line depot ...
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Jarvis completes Tube Lines sale
UKENGINEERING and PFI group Jarvis announced on January 29 that it had completed the sale of its one-third stake in Tube Lines to Amey for a total gross consideration of £146·8m. This includes £95·5m from Amey, release of existing cash collateral of £51m mostly relating to the assumption by Amey ...
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Railways slow to react to airline threat
OBSERVERS of long-distance international passenger travel by train across Europe may well have concluded that the future outlook is pretty bleak. Their pessimism was confirmed at the EuroRail 2005 conference on January 26-27 in Berlin, where a panel discussion found that such services were likely to survive only in ...
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SNCF sets service level on TGV Est
ON FEBRUARY 2 SNCF announced details of services planned over the TGV Est Européen line when it opens on June 15 2007.In contrast to other French high speed lines where there has been a gradual build-up, TGV Est Européen will offer frequent services from day one with 85% of the ...
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Grande Ceinture Ouest reopened
SNCF has reinstated passenger services over a section of the orbital Grande Ceinture belt line round the west of Paris.The €91m project was completed at the end of last year, with trains entering commercial service with the timetable change in mid-December.The 9·8 km route runs from Saint-Germain-Grande-Ceinture to Saint-Germain-Bel-Air, Mareil-Marly, ...
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Dual-gauge loco to start trials
ABOUT TO undergo testing in Spain is a dual-gauge electric locomotive designed to run at up to 260 km/h. Starting point for the design was a prototype Talgo XXI diesel-hydraulic power car built in 1998 using a gauge-convertible power bogie developed with Krauss-Maffei and Voith. Patentes Talgo has built the ...
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Norwegian competition starts
THREE BIDDERS have submitted tenders for a 10-year contract to operate inter-city services on the Oslo - Gjøvik route from June 2006. Final bids were presented to the Ministry of Transport & Communications on February 7.The 123 km Gjøvikbanen is one of three pilot projects for the introduction of competition ...
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Thanlwin river road and rail bridge inaugurated
MYANMAR: The inauguration of Myanmar's longest bridge on February 5 has completed Myanma Railways' long coastal route serving Mon state in the southeast of the country. Linking Moktama and Mawlamyine over the Thanlwin river, the 27-span road and rail bridge is 2346m long, with approaches each side bringing the total ...
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Xining express
CHINESE Railways announced at the end of January that work is to start this year on a second double-track railway from Lanzhou to Xining at a cost of 4bn yuan.The electrified line is being designed for 200 km/h passenger trains, bringing the 169·9 km trip between the capitals of Gansu ...
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IE orders inter-city DMUs
ON JANUARY 31 Ireland's Minister for Transport Martin Cullen announced that Iarnród Éireann had placed its biggest-ever order for new rolling stock, valued at €262m. A fleet of 120 diesel multiple-unit vehicles (RG 8.04 p448) will complete the replacement of IE's inter-city fleet, of which half is more ...
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Iran invests in network expansion
PLANS TO invest US$2·5bn in expansion and modernisation of Iran’s rail network were announced in January by RAI President Mohammad Saeedi Nejad.The 2005-10 development plan envisages the acquisition of 180 new locomotives, 8800 freight wagons and 500 coaches, helping to lift the network’s annual capacity to 50 million tonnes of ...
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Boring contract
CONTRACTS worth €80m have been awarded for a trial bore on the alignment of the proposed base tunnel for the Lyon - Torino high speed line.Lyon-Torino Ferroviaire, the bilateral joint venture company steering the project, announced on February 8 that it had selected a consortium led by CMC of Ravenna, ...
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Heavy haul PPPs
SOUTH AFRICAN iron ore producer Kumba Resources announced on January 26 that it had reached an agreement in principle with Transnet over capacity expansion on the Sishen - Saldanha heavy haul railway.Kumba had criticised Spoornet’s failure to respond to growing demand, and proposed buying its own trains (RG 2.05 p59). ...
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Istanbul railway upgrading bids in
TURKEY: Eight consortia have submitted prequalification bids for a contract to upgrade TCDD's existing railways in Istanbul as part of the Marmaray cross-Bosporus project (RG 5.04 p251). Five bidders are due to be shortlisted this month to tender for Contract CR1, which covers upgrading of the Sirkeci - Halkali and ...
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Coastal corridor
TENDERS are due this month for a 15-month contract to design three extensions to the M
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Faster to Genève
PLANS to cut 30 min off the Paris - Genève journey moved ahead on January 31 when the French Ministry of Transport issued a Declaration of Public Utility for the reconstruction of the Haut Bugey line between Bourg-en-Bresse and Bellegarde. Upgrading and electrification of the single-track branch and construction of ...
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Dubai metro to start in May
CONSTRUCTION work on the two-line metro network in Dubai is expected to start on May 5, with a target completion date of September 9 2009. The timescale was announced last month by the Municipality’s Director-General Qassim Sultan, who chairs the metro steering committee.Technical bidding for the 70 km network (RG ...
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Fleet renewals
ON JANUARY 28 Chicago Transit Authority issued a request for proposals for 206 metro cars, with options that could bring the total to 706. Bids are due in mid-2005, with deliveries to begin in 2008. The new cars are intended to replace the 2200 series Budd vehicles dating from 1969-70 ...