Main line rail industry news – Page 1231
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Toll takes over Tranz Rail
ON OCTOBER 10 Australian transport and logistics group Toll Holdings declared its bid for New Zealand's Tranz Rail unconditional. Toll already holds a 50% stake in Australia's Pacific National. The company confirmed that it now had a majority of directors on the Tranz Rail board, and announced that Mark Rowsthorn ...
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Bavarian agreement
After two years of tough negotiations DB Chairman Hartmut Mehdorn and Bavarian Transport Minister Otto Wiesheu signed an agreement on September 12 covering regional rail services for a 10-year period. This will see the Land contract with DB Regio to provide local services at a total cost of €8bn. The ...
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Will DB make it to the market?
INTRO: DB’s ability to qualify for a stock market listing depends on the prevailing economic conditions and on the political situation, argues Ralf Roman RossbergKEYSTONE of the programme of reforms begun in 1994 was to ensure that DB would become financially self-sufficient and thus able to enter the capital markets. ...
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Dortmund hosts rail#tec forum
SUPPLIERS and international railway organisations will be participating in the 4th international rail#tec trade fair and congress, which takes place at Westfalenhallen in Dortmund from November 10-12. The event is sponsored by the Land of Nordrhein-Westfalen, whose Transport Minister Dr Axel Horstmann believes it will be a key forum for ...
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Revised package rescues Alstom
ALSTOM announced on September 23 that it had reached an agreement with its banks and the European Commission on a package to meet the company’s financial needs. The proposals were developed following the EC’s decision that a previous rescue deal announced on August 6 was inconsistent with its procedures for ...
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Mid-range locomotive engine
THE LATEST addition to Cummins’ Quantum Series of diesel engines for the locomotive market was officially unveiled at the Nordic Rail show on October 7. Rated at 1800hp at 1800rev/min, the QSK45-L has been configured for both new build and repowered locomotives weighing up to 80 tonnes. The compact 12-cylinder ...
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‘Let us shamelessly borrow ideas from others’
INTRO: Over 700 research experts were urged to share know-how and knowledge at the sixth World Congress on Railway Research on September 28 - October 1EATING HAGGIS, quaffing whisky and other Scottish cultural activities are now familiar to much of the world’s railway research community. As host city for WCRR ...
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Franchise deals move ahead
ON OCTOBER 20 the UK Strategic Rail Authority confirmed that it had signed a 15-year franchise agreement with Arriva Trains Ltd to operate the Wales &Borders franchise, giving Wales ’a unified railway under a single operational management structure’. Arriva will take over from National Express Group on December 7.On October ...
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CD abandons split
CZECH Railways announced on September 1 that it was introducing a new organisational structure as part of its four-stage programme to transform the state-owned company into a holding group. CD is being assisted with the development and implementation of the new structure by Spanish National Railways under an EU-funded programme ...
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Swiss ETCS is late
SWISS FEDERAL Railways confirmed on September 25 that its first production installation of ETCS Level 2 would not be completed in time for the inauguration of the new line between Mattstetten and Rothrist on December 12 2004. The line will open with conventional signalling, and cut over to ETCS in ...
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Second SCC opened
ITALIAN infrastructure manager RFI put into service its second SCC traffic control centre on September 22. Located in Bari, the new centre controls the 650 km Adriatica main line between Bari and Bologna, including 77 stations. The route currently handles around 600 trains/day.Linked to existing local interlockings, the control equipment ...
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ÖBB to be restructured
AUSTRIAN Federal Railways is to be restructured next year into a state-owned holding company and five independent subsidiaries, under proposals announced by the government on October 2. Separate business units will be created to manage passenger services, freight, infrastructure construction, network operation and maintenance, and personnel.Two days earlier Finance Minister ...
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FNC launched
ANOTHER open-access freight operator took to the rails of the Italian network on November 22 with the launch of Ferrovie Nord Cargo. Based in Milano, FNC is the former freight division of Ferrovie Nord Milano, reconstituted as a wholly-owned subsidiary company. In turn, FNC holds FNM’s 76% stake in Eurocombi ...
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Second AVE line opens
THE 481 km initial section of Spain’s Madrid - Barcelona high speed line was inaugurated on October 10 by King Juan Carlos, who was accompanied by Renfe President Michel Corsini and other VIPs on a special trip to Zaragoza Delicias (right). Commercial services began running at 06.40 on October 11, ...
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North to Gulu
AFTER a suspension of 15 years due to civil unrest and insurgency, Uganda Railways Corp is planning to restore passenger and freight services on its 509 km Northern line between Tororo and Pakwach. Acting Managing Director Bugeni Buwolya announced in mid-September that work had begun to clear bushes, earth and ...
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Letter: Speeds in Israel
Sir - An error has crept into the entry for Israel in the 2003 World Speed Survey (RG10.03 p661). Table III should refer to Tel Aviv's newer University station, not Merkaz. The distance to University is 81·7 km, not the 84·4 km shown, which is the distance to Merkaz. ...
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Alcatel wins Tube Lines resignalling
LONDON Underground infrastructure concessionaire Tube Lines announced on October 2 that it had awarded a £300m contract to Alcatel for resignalling of the Jubilee and Northern lines. Installation of SelTrac S40 communications-based train control is expected to increase ’capability’ by 22% on the Jubilee line by 2009 and 18% on ...
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Kharkiv metro extends
THIS MONTH is due to see the delivery to Kharkiv metro of the first of 25 additional cars ordered earlier this year from Metrowagonmash of Moscow. Under the agreement signed by General Manager Mikhail Pilipchuk, the cars are due to arrive at the rate of five per month for final ...
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Marmaray tunnel bids in
TURKEY: Three prequalified consortia submitted technical bids on October 3 for construction of Istanbul's Marmaray tunnel, comprising a 1·8 km double-track submerged tube under the Bosporus together with 11·5 km of bored tunnel approaches on each side. Four groups had prequalified last year (RG 9.02 p465), but one subsequently withdrew. ...
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Overbrook revival
PITTSBURGH light rail operator Port Authority Transit started test running last month on its 8·8 km Overbrook line, following a 10-year closure for rebuilding from tram to light rail standards. A diesel-hauled test train ran on September 15, after which the overhead line was energised to permit trial running from ...