Main line rail industry news – Page 1322
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Cargo Express launched
SWISS Federal Railways introduced an accelerated overnight service for domestic freight on June 11. Offering later loading times and earlier deliveries than existing wagonload services, Cargo Express combines SBB’s former Cargo Rail Rapid and Cargo Domizil networks and relies on a network of trains that converge on yards at Bern ...
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Dutch plan to juggle capacity
STUDIES by Railforum Nederland suggest that it may be possible to boost capacity on the Dutch rail network by 30 to 40% over the next five years with relatively minor modifications to signalling and track layouts.NS is currently struggling to handle its growing traffic, with many passenger trains cancelled due ...
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ARTC updates
MOVING TO overcome the legacy of its fragmented heritage, Australian Rail Track Corp implemented a new national code of practice for operations and safeworking on the interstate rail network on June 4. Track owners and operators from Queensland to Western Australia have agreed to implement the new code, which ...
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Branch revival
RESTORATION of the railway to Kotipalli in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh began with the laying of a foundation stone on May 11. The route from Kakinada through the Godavari delta is primarily expected to handle agricultural traffic to and from the port at Kakinada which is being expanded.The ...
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Sergeli accord
CONSTRUCTION of a fourth broad-gauge metro line in the Uzbekistan capital is expected to get under way in 2004-05, following the signing of an accord between Toshkent Metro and the China International Trust & Investment Corp at the beginning of June.To be known as the Sergeli line, Line 4 will ...
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Metrorail investment boost
SOUTH AFRICAN Transport Minister Dullah Omar has approved a R400m investment package for modernising the country’s urban rail networks over the next five years. Funding is being allocated to SA Rail Commuter Corp in the national budget for safety improvements including signalling and telecommunications upgrading.Later this year SARCC expects to ...
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Marina line phase 2 go-ahead
SINGAPORE’S Land Transport Authority has awarded a €170m contract to a consortium of Alstom and ST Elec for mechanical and electrical work on the second phase of the medium-capacity Marina automated metro line.An initial 5·6 km section of the Marina line is now under construction between Dhoby Ghaut and Stadium ...
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Madrid - Valladolid progress
THE LAST stage of the planning process for the Madrid - Segovia high speed line was completed on May 19. The government published its formal approval of the final alignment, enabling civil works to begin on the first 76 km of the route from the capital to Valladolid and Medina ...
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Eskisehir bids shortlisted
FINAL NEGOTIATIONS for a concession to finance and build an 8 km light rail line in the Turkish city of Eskisehir were held on June 13. The municipality had previously shortlisted two groups following the opening of technical bids on May 9. One comprises Yapi Merkezi, Insaat Sanayi and Bombardier ...
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VAL Line B deal
ON MAY 9 Toulouse transport authority SMTC awarded a turnkey contract for construction of the city’s second VAL automated metro line. The €232m contract with Matra Transport International covers the long-planned 15·6 km north-south Line B linking Borderouge and Ramonville. With 20 stations, Line B will interchange with Line A ...
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Line 9 goes out to tender
The Catalunya regional government’s new construction authority Gestió d’Infraestructures has called tenders for civil works on the first sections of Barcelona metro Line 9, expected to open in 2004. The works have been divided into three packages. The first covers the section from Sagrera on Lines 1 and 5 east ...
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MTA seeks capital funds
NEW YORK MTA has applied for federal funding to support a number of capital projects during the financial year starting in September. MTA has allocated $4bn for New York City Transit, $302m for Metro-North, and $216m for Long Island Rail Road, plus $150m for the LIRR’s East Side Access project. ...
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Paris plans third light rail line
PUBLIC consultation began on May 17 for an 8 km orbital tram route across southern Paris. The newly-elected mayor Bernard Delano
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Letters
ETCS in SpainSir - You reported in the May 2001 edition of Railway Gazette International and in the May 10 2001 issue of your newsletter Rail Business Intelligence that the signalling contract for the Madrid - Barcelona high speed line had been awarded to Alstom and the Cobra Consortium.This is ...
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Unusual layout led to Ladbroke Grove crash
The unsafe track and signalling layout adopted by British Rail when the approaches to Paddington were remodelled in 1989-92 appears to be the root cause of the 210 km/h head-on collision that occurred at Ladbroke Grove on October 5 1999 (RG 11.99 p703). Lord Cullen’s report on the accident, published ...
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Eastern promises
EXPANSION of the 1520mm gauge Russian rail network is once again in prospect. Prof Sergey Zakharov of the All-Russian Railway Research Institute told the 7th International Heavy Haul Conference in Brisbane of proposals for modernising the 86660 km network over the next 30 years. Several major projects will add 15000 ...
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NewsIntegrating 'global brilliance'
IN HIS KEYNOTE speech to the 7th International Heavy Haul Conference in Brisbane on June 11, former Spoornet Chief Executive Braam le Roux, currently Representative for Southern Africa at the International Union of Railways, drew attention to the constant threat facing railways from their competitors. Telling 580 delegates from 27 ...
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Freight goes west
ON JUNE 13 New South Wales operator FreightCorp announced that aluminium supplier Alcoa had signed an agreement on June 1 giving it preferred bidder status for a contract to move traffic in Western Australia. The first step will be for FreightCorp to agree with Alcoa and infrastructure company WestNet Rail ...
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Sell-off goes ahead
SALE OF the Japanese government’s outstanding shares in the three mainland JR companies may start later this year. This follows the passage of a bill through the Diet on June 15 paving the way for full privatisation of JR Central, JR West and JR East.The bill had been opposed by ...
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SNCF pioneers the tram-train concept
Dual-mode vehicles able to run on city-centre tram routes and main line tracks have been running successfully in Karlsruhe since 1992. Jean-Paul Masse investigates French National Railways' proposals to introduce the concept to its network