Main line rail industry news – Page 1338
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News
SJ splits into six companies
JANUARY 1 marks the end of Swedish State Railways as a national operator after 145 years. Under a restructuring which received government approval on December 14, SJ is being broken up into six independent state-owned companies.The railway’s staff of 11600 is being split between the six businesses, which were set ...
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ZSR to separate
THE SLOVAK government has approved proposals to split the state-owned railway into two separate businesses from April 1 2001. The strategy was agreed by the ZSR board last May, and endorsed by the Transport Ministry in August.Zeleznice Slovenskej Republiky will be transformed into a joint stock company responsible for management ...
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Kiley unveils PPP alternative
COMISSIONER of Transport for London Robert Kiley unveiled his programme for the ’rehabilitation and management’ of London Underground on December 13. Appointed by TfL Chairman and Mayor of London Ken Livingstone, the former head of New York’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority had been asked by the mayor to review the government’s ...
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THSRC signs shinkansen deal
ON DECEMBER 12 Taiwan High Speed Rail Corp signed the Core System contract for supply of rolling stock and electrical and mechanical equipment with the Japanese-based Taiwan Shinkansen Corporation. Initialled in a Tokyo hotel by THSRC Chairman Nita Ing and TSC President Kazuo Sato, the deal is worth NT$95bn. TSC ...
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Diet asked to approve total sell-off
THIS MONTH may be decisive for the future of the three JR companies on Honshu. Following a government decision on December 7, the Diet is being asked to approve a bill authorising sale of the remaining government-held shares in the three companies - just 12·5% of East Japan Railway’s shares ...
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Australia the ’big loser’ in Speedrail dumping
FURY ERUPTED in Australia in the wake of the federal government’s decision on December 11 that it would not provide financial support for the Sydney - Canberra Speedrail project. A formal announcement the following day attempted to disguise the abandonment of the A$4·5bn scheme by calling for a feasibility study ...
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Queens Connector completed
REVENUE services will start this month on the complex and expensive link between New York’s overcrowded Queens Boulevard subway and the 63rd Street line leading under the East River to Manhattan. Construction of the 457m link has taken six years and cost $645m, in part because of the intricate work ...
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Ohedo opened
JAPANESE Transport Minister Chikage Ogi and Tokyo Governor Shintaro Ishihara joined celebrations at Shinjuku station on December 11 to mark the completion of the capital’s small-profile metro Line 12. Now named the Ohedo line, the 40·7 km route has taken Tokyo Municipal Government Subway (TOEI) 13 years to build at ...
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Line 5 funding
BEIJING Municipal Government has set up a subsidiary company to raise international and private sector funding for the construction of a new metro line in the capital. The north-south Line 5 will link Songjiazhuang in Fengtai district with Taipingshuang in neighbouring Changping county. Construction of the route - one of ...
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Jerusalem starts tendering
THIS MONTH is due to see formal tender documents issued to the five consortia shortlisted last year for the build-operate-transfer concession to develop the first light rail lines in Jerusalem (RG 8.00 p462). The Transport Ministry and the Municipality announced at the end of November that preliminary works totalling US$75m ...
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Barcelona progress
LAST MONTH Barcelona transport administration ATM signed the formal concession contracts for the city’s planned 16·8 km light rail line. The GroupTramMet consortium led by FCC Construcción, which includes CGEA Transport and Alstom, will design, build operate and maintain the network, which is due to open between the city and ...
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U-Bahn to Simmering
ON DECEMBER 2 the city of Wien celebrated the opening of a 3·1 km extension of metro Line U3. The capital’s Mayor Michael Häupl and Wiener Linien Director-General Günther Grois were joined by other politicians and Austrian pop stars for the celebrations, which also featured the inaugural public run of ...
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Trolley launch
COLOURFUL ceremonies on November 17 marked the start of construction on San Diego’s $431m Mission Valley East light rail extension. The 9·5 km route will connect the Mission San Diego terminus of the Misson Valley West route to the Orange (El Cajon) line in La Mesa. This is the most ...
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Docklands keeps growing
FOLLOWING the completion of the public enquiry process in November, London’s Docklands Light Railway has invited proposals for a concession to design, build and maintain a 4·4 km branch from Canning Town to London City Airport and North Woolwich. Prequalification bids are due by January 12, and the aim is ...
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PEOPLE
Ms Chikage Ogi, head of Japan’s Conservative Party, has been appointed Minister Land, Infrastructure & Transport in the new coalition government which took office on December 5.Sergey N Gapeev has been named acting Vice-Minister at Russia’s Ministry of Railways responsible for passenger traffic, repair and maintenance of carriage stock, following ...
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Separation finds another fan
CHANGE is coming to Austria. Newly-appointed Transport Minister Monika Forstinger has made it clear that she favours the European Commission’s view on rail policy (p3), and will campaign for competition. Until now Austria had interpreted Directives on separation of infrastructure and operations somewhat loosely - and indeed it was not ...
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Railion recruits another member
WHILE EUROPE's politicians wrestle with ways to introduce competition between operators (below), the national railways continue in their slow march towards a series of alliances. Earlier rumours about Danish State Railways' freight business, DSB Gods, were confirmed on December 15 when it joined the Railion holding group formed by German ...
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View from the bank
ON DECEMBER 5 Deutsche VerkehrsBank published a study1 suggesting that investment in transport will total US$300bn a year for the next decade. ’The Global Transport Market - a Tremendous Investment Opportunity’ estimates that US$45bn is being spent every year on ’rail infrastructure improvements’, and that by 2004 annual spending on ...
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Strategy out of the shadow
THIS MONTH should see publication of a strategic plan for Britain’s national rail network. The Strategic Rail Authority - which is finally dropping its ’shadow’ status following the passing of the Transport Act on November 29 - has substantially redrafted the plan to take account of the post-Hatfield crisis. Part ...
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Mexican train ferry link
THIS MONTH is due to see the start of train ferry services between Mobile, Alabama, and Coatzacoalcos, Mexico. To be operated by International Shipholding Corp of New Orleans as a joint venture with Ferrosur, it will give eastern US railways independent access to Mexico. Ferrosur will handle traffic in Mexico, ...