Main line rail industry news – Page 1315
-
News
Alpine study group formed
DETAILED design studies and exploratory works for the Lyon - Torino rail link and base tunnel project are to get under way ’immediately’, according to Sergio Pininfarina, President of the intergovernmental commission set up to oversee the project. Meeting in Torino on July 24 to follow up the June 28 ...
-
News
Mandurah cut-off
WESTERN AUSTRALIA Premier Dr Geoff Gallop announced on July 16 that the state Cabinet had approved plans to re-route the A$1·2bn rail link being built between Perth and the southern suburbs of Rockingham and Mandurah. Instead of diverging from Transperth’s existing Armadale line at Kenwick, the 130 km/h line will ...
-
News
Portland opens two lines
MORE THAN 50000 people jammed the Portland City Streetcar for free rides during the opening weekend, following the formal inauguration on July 20. The 3·8 km L-shaped route connects northwest Portland, the Pearl district and Portland State University campus. Connecting with the region’s MAX light rail routes, the Streetcar is ...
-
News
Valenciennes go-ahead
THE FINAL hurdle for construction of a light rail network in the French city of Valenciennes was cleared at the beginning of August, when the Préfet of Nord- Pas-de-Calais signed the formal declaration of public utility, nine years after the project was first floated. Local transport authority Siturv expects to ...
-
News
Kaohsiung E&M contract signed
SIEMENS Transportation Systems has been awarded the €363m contract to supply electrical and mechanical equipment for the first two lines of the Kaohsiung metro in Taiwan. The contract was formally signed in Singapore by Kaohsiung Rapid Transit Corp Chairman Chen Chengjung and Siemens Turnkey Systems Manager Karl Neubeck on August ...
-
News
Tram-trains to Heilbronn
THROUGH light rail services have been introduced between Karlsruhe and Heilbronn, increasing the regional tram-train network to 240route-km. Operator AVG has leased the 25 km Eppingen - Heilbronn line from DB, and double-tracked and electrified it at 15 kV at a cost of DM72m. A new connection at Heilbronn Hbf ...
-
News
CTA Blue line rehabilitation
WORK is to get under way shortly on the long-awaited refurbishment of Chicago Transit Authority’s Blue line Douglas branch in the southwest of the city. On July 11 the CTA board awarded a $317m contract to Kiewit Construction and Delgado Erectors for reconstruction of the 10·6 km between Hoyne and ...
-
News
Delays trigger Dutch revolt
FOR MANY years Netherlands Railways enjoyed a reputation as one of Europe’s most efficient railways. When NS came top in a 1985 productivity survey, it ran reliable and frequent passenger trains on a densely-meshed interconnecting network. By almost any measure, it was a success story.Ambitious plans for increasing the level ...
-
News
Canal Street line starts
GROUNDBREAKING ceremonies were held on July 20 for the Canal Street tram line in New Orleans, with construction expected to start this month. Costing $157m, the 6·6 km line between the Mississippi River and the cemeteries is due to be completed in early 2004. On July 24 the Regional Transportation ...
-
News
Ankara extends
CONSTRUCTION of the 17·7 km Batikent - Sincan metro extension in Ankara was due to get under way on August 18, following the award of a US$151m contract to Guris Insaat ve Muhendislik. This covers civil engineering on the western extension, which will add 12 stations to the heavy metro ...
-
News
Rijn-Gouwe takes off
PLANS to develop dual-mode light rail services in the Netherlands moved ahead last month, when Den Haag transport operator HTM ordered six LRVs from Bombardier. Based on the Stockholm A32 cars, they are due for delivery by the end of 2002. To be built in Wien at a cost of ...
-
News
Putin and Kim agree Trans-Siberian strategy
MEETING in Moscow on August 4 (p572), Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean President Kim Jong-il backed plans to connect the Korean rail network into the Trans-Siberian landbridge corridor, confirming that ’the two countries will start working on reconnecting [the two lines] in the very nearest future.’Following the accord, ...
-
News
Trinity and Thrall Car to merge
US WAGON builders Trinity Industries and Thrall Car Manufacturing announced on August 13 that they are to merge by the end of this year. As Thrall is a privately-owned company, the deal provides for it to be acquired for US$165m and 7 million Trinity shares. Extra payments worth up to ...
-
News
Amtrak restructures to cut costs
ON JULY 27 America’s National Railroad Passenger Corp announced that it will implement a corporate restructuring programme with effect from October 1, in a bid to improve its bottom line by up to US$85m a year. Amtrak plans to offer early retirement and other incentives to reduce its management ...
-
News
Derailment blocks Goonyella line
FOR THE third time since the electrified heavy haul coal line linking Goonyella mine to the port of Hay Point opened in 1971, a massive derailment on July 1 closed this vital export route. This time it took Queensland Rail four days to clear the double track and repair the ...
-
News
Taiwan track row threatens opening date
RUMBLES of discontent can be heard in Japan and Taiwan about progress with the 346 km Taipei - Kaohsiung high speed line. Last December, when Taiwan High Speed Rail Corp signed the Core System agreement with Taiwan Shinkansen Corp in Tokyo (RG 3.01 p186), there was an understanding that Japanese ...
-
News
Alstom wins Firenze
ALSTOM FERROVIARIA has been selected to build and equip the first of three planned light rail lines in the Italian city of Firenze. This follows a second round of international tenders, as none of the bids lodged in July 2000 proved acceptable. Local transport operator ATAF has been allocated 240bn ...
-
News
Report recommends IR overhaul
INDIA’S Railway Minister Nitish Kumar is currently pondering the latest in a series of reports suggesting that it is high time for Indian Railways to undergo reforms to turn it into a more commercial business in an increasingly competitive world. Submitted on August 7 by Dr Rakesh Mohan, an economist ...
-
News
Bosnia wires to be restored
BOSNIA: Work began on July 2 to reinstate war-damaged overhead electrification on the Sarajevo - Doboj line, which forms part of Pan-European Corridor Vc from Budapest to Ploce. This will allow electric traction to be restored to the 205 km route by June 2 next year. 120 track-km of overhead ...
-
News
Line 9 contracts awarded
ON JULY 31 the Catalunya regional government announced the award of its largest ever package of public works contracts, comprising design, construction and technical assistance for Barcelona metro Line 9 (RG 7.01 p437) worth a total of Pts119·5bn. The largest single contract worth Pts64·4bn has been awarded to a consortium ...