Main line rail industry news – Page 1247
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INTELLIGENCE
Austria: The 936m Birgl tunnel was holed through on April 28, as part of a project to double-track the 208 km Tauern line from Salzburg to Rosenbach.China: On May 9 work began in Lhasa on a 919m bridge required for the Qinghai - Tibet railway scheme.Europe: This month Logistica Mediterranea ...
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Slovak regional railway formed
BRATISLAVA regional authority BSK has formed a local railway company to provide services on two lines from which ZSSK has withdrawn passenger trains. BSK plans to run the 14 km Zohor - Z
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Metrotrén projects make progress
SPANISH Development Minister Francisco Álvarez-Cascos joined Feve President Eugenio Damboriena in Asturias on May 10 to mark the completion of track renewal work between Ribadesella and Llanes, and electrification between Nava and Infiesto. Both projects on Feve’s Oviedo - Santander route have been undertaken as part of the Metrotrén Asturias ...
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Madrid tunnel contracts let
THE SPANISH Ministry of Development has awarded two contracts to build a new cross-city tunnel in Madrid, which will carry suburban services between Atocha and Chamartín stations. Under a contract worth €79·7m Ferrovial-Agrom
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FNM expands freight business
ITALIAN regional operator Ferrovie Nord Milano launched a new open-access freight service on April 18, linking Desio yard in Milano and the border station at Chiasso Smistamento. The train is operated under contract for SBB Cargo, pending the start of operations by Swiss Rail Cargo Italy which received a licence ...
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Rail’s chance to shape growing cities
HIGHLIGHT of the 55th UITP World Congress in Madrid last month was the signing at the closing ceremony of the association’s Charter on Sustainable Development. Described as a ’most important development’ by UITP President Wolfgang Meyer, the charter ’makes clear to everyone, including politicians, that sustainable development of our cities ...
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Holdings swap
CVRD of Brazil has announced that it is to transfer its 32·4% holding in the loss-making Nordeste Railway (CFN) to steel producer CSN and Taquari Participaç
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LA Gold line ready to open
NEXT MONTH is due to see the opening of the 22 km Gold line between Los Angeles Union Station and Sierra Madre Villa in Pasadena. The line is now substantially complete, and was handed over to operator Los Angeles MTA on April 18 for test running and driver training. Delivery ...
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Airport backs metro plan
PLANS to develop an automated metro or light rail line serving the rapidly-growing corridor between Vancouver and Richmond received a boost last month, when the Vancouver International Airport Authority confirmed that it had committed C$300m towards the link. President & CEO Larry Berg said the authority had signed a memorandum ...
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Moscow extends
THE 166th station on the Moscow metro network entered service on May 9, with the opening of a 4 km extension of the Arbatsko-Pokrovskaya line westwards from Kievskaya. The new terminus at Park Pobedy is claimed to be the deepest metro station in the world, with the platforms lying 97m ...
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Luzern S-Bahn
A THREE-STAGE project to develop an S-Bahn network in the Swiss city of Luzern was officially unveiled on May 7 by the head of the city’s transport and works department Max Pfister. The project forms part of the second phase of the Bahn 2000 programme, which is due to be ...
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Metra grants
LAST MONTH the US Federal Transit Administration awarded grants totalling more than $50m to Chicago commuter rail operator Metra under a November 2001 agreement to provide 60% funding for three projects costing $558m.The awards include $24m for double-tracking of the North Central line between Antioch and Franklin Park, which will ...
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FEMU to the rescue
PROSPECTS for JR Freight's M250 freight EMU (RG 5.03 p265) look encouraging given that the Japanese government has decided to impose new regulations on heavy lorries from September, forcing road haulage companies to fit speed limiters which will cut fuel supply if they exceed 90 km/h. Intended to reduce the ...
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Missing link in place
AT THE START OF 2004, Portuguese infrastructure authority Refer expects to complete the second phase of its North-South link programme, which will see routes either side of the Tagus finally connected via the 25 de Abril bridge in Lisboa (RG 4.98 p258). Although passengers have been crossing the Tagus by ...
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Pajares base tunnel bids in
SPANISH high speed construction authority GIF has received seven bids (below) for Lot 2, one of the four contracts to be let to build the 25 km Pajares base tunnel on the León - Oviedo route (RG 4.03 p183). Bid prices were due to be considered on May 21, and ...
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New York subway orders
MTA New York City Transit has awarded a $90m contract to Kawasaki Rail Car Inc for another 80 R142A subway cars. They will be similar to 520 cars now in service on the Lexington Avenue line, which have proved to be one of NYCT’s most reliable fleets, achieving an average ...
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Pyrenees line retendered
A NEW INVITATION to tender has been published for the concession to fund, build and operate the 45 km Perpignan - Figueres cross-border route, with bids due back by September 30. The French and Spanish governments hope to award a contract by the end of this year, so that work ...
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Menangle aftershock hits NSW
IN A MOVE that will be seen as highly significant, New South Wales Transport Minister Michael Costa announced on April 30 that ownership of the infrastructure used by Sydney’s regional and suburban passengers trains would be transferred on January 1 2004 from the Rail Infrastructure Corp back to the State ...
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Rivals bidding for Tranz Rail
ONMAY 15 the Board of Tranz Rail confirmed that RailAmerica Inc had offered to acquire the share capital of New Zealand’s freight operator, which leases and manages the national network. According to their statement, the directors had ’considered, in particular, the condition [of the offer] relating to the company’s ability ...
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Amtrak battle looms again
ONAPRIL 24 Amtrak President David Gunn outlined an $8bn, five-year plan to repair and replace outdated infrastructure and rolling stock while retaining much of the US network of long distance trains. It would require $4·5bn for capital funding and $3·5bn in operating subsidies in fiscal years 2004 to 2009. Proposals ...