Main line rail industry news – Page 1361
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Surf Board to rule in 2001
NEW REGULATIONS for consideration of US railroad mergers will be published by the Surface Transportation Board on June 11 2001. Board Chairman Linda Morgan announced the date on March 31, confirming the timescale set in the March 17 decision to suspend consideration of all mergers, including the proposed US$6bn BNSF-CN ...
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Railtrack’s £51·5bn ’wish list’
ISSUING its 2000 Network Management Statement on March 29, British infrastructure company Railtrack proposed a total spend of £51·5bn over the next 12 years. Of the total, £22·3bn represents maintenance and renewal; the rest is ’investment’ to enhance the network.However, only £4·2bn of the enhancement spend is actually ’committed’. The ...
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Fu orders speed up
CHINESE Railways is to invest 1bn yuan to boost maximum speeds on its network during the 10th five-year plan period, running from 2001-05. Minister of Railways Fu Zhihuan announced on March 30 that all trunk lines will be upgraded for 160 km/h operation of passenger services and 120 km/h for ...
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Three make Sub-Surface shortlist
ON MARCH 28 London Underground shortlisted three bidders for the Sub-Surface Lines Infraco under the Public-Private Partnership (RG 3.00 p160). Invitations to Tender were to be issued in April, with bids due back on September 15. Detailed negotiations are to be completed by early 2001.The three bidders are the LINC ...
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Toulouse to extend VAL Line A
Construction should get under way later this year on a 2·5 km extension of Toulouse VAL Line A, following the signing of an agreement between metro operator SMAT and Matra Transport International at the beginning of April. Running from the present terminus at Jolimont to Balma-Gramont, the extension will serve ...
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African concessioning continues
PROPOSALS to privatise the operation of Zambia Railways have been approved by the country’s government. Communications & Transport Minister Prof Nkandu Luo confirmed on March 29 that the cabinet had agreed in principle to the concessioning of the national network. Trade & Industry Minister William Harrington has instructed the Zambia ...
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Rotterdam Centraal revamp
ON May 11 Rotterdam city council is to decide the way forward for redevelopment of Centraal station for its new role as an international terminal, prior to publication of a master plan scheduled for October. A public-private partnership formed between the council, Netherlands Railways, Amvest Vastgoed and ING Vastgoed is ...
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IR to redress problems
GREATER safety, improved capacity and better passenger facilities are the main thrust of Indian Railways’ budget for 2000-01, approved by parliament on March 13. All three areas have increased allocations, while investment in new lines is up by 61%. There is funding for three new gauge conversion projects, 15 doubling ...
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Airport line ready to open
THIS MONTH will see the formal inauguration of the 10 km New Southern Railway in Sydney, which is due to open on May 21. Built over the last six years by a private-sector consortium of Transfield and Bouygues, it has cost A$900m, of which A$200m was funded by the state. ...
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SJ looks ahead
PROPOSALS to give Swedish State Railway more commercial freedom have been approved by the transport ministry, which confirmed in March that new legislation will give SJ the status of a limited company from January 1 2001. This will enable SJ to compete in the deregulated market under the same conditions ...
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Montréal extensions approved
THE GOVERNMENT of Québec announced on April 11 that it plans to spend C$1·6bn on rail expansion over the next 10 years. Included are extensions of the rubber-tyred metro network to Laval, Anjou and Longueuil, and a fourth commuter rail route from Central station to Mont-Saint-Hilaire. The scheme will add ...
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British light rail takes off again
A FINAL go-ahead for the £180m Nottingham Express Transit light rail project was given by Britain’s Transport Minister Lord Macdonald on April 3. He confirmed that government revenue support would be provided as part of the public-private financing package for an initial 14 km line from Nottingham to Hucknall and ...
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CarGoTram go
DRESDENER Verkehrsbetriebe has ordered two freight LRVs to haul automotive components to a Volkswagen car plant in the city centre (RG 11.99 p698). Contracts for the so-called CarGoTrams were signed in March at a ceremony in the plant. The vehicles will be supplied by a consortium led by Schalker Eisenhütte ...
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Political deal triggers sale
REGISTRATIONS of interest were to be called last month for purchase of Western Australia’s rail freight business. This has been planned since 1997, but progress has been held up in recent months by a parliamentary stalemate over the structure of the future private sector railway. The government had wanted to ...
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Ring line start
WORK is due to start next month on the upgrading of Spanish National Railways freight bypass in Sevilla to accommodate an orbital suburban service. The long-planned project is now expected to start carrying passengers in mid-2001. Conversion is costed at around Pts1bn.The ring line diverges from Renfe’s main line just ...
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MetroSur contracts awarded
ON APRIL 6 the Madrid regional government awarded contracts totalling Pts155·5bn for construction work on the MetroSur ring line in the city’s southern suburbs (RG 2.00 p70). The work has been split between seven construction groups, and tunnelling is expected to get under way this summer.A consortium of ACS and ...
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Salt Lake City pushes on
Utah Transit Authority has selected SLC Rail Constructors to design and build the planned 4 km TRAX light rail branch from the city centre to the University of Utah, which is due to be completed in time for the 2002 Winter Olympics. In mid-March the federal government confirmed that UTA ...
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Xi’an metro plan
PROPOSALS for a first metro line in the Chinese city of Xi’an were unveiled by the Municipal Planning Committee in March. The 19·4 km route would link the western suburb of Xinxibei to Fangzhi in the east via the city centre. Construction is scheduled to start in 2002, with opening ...
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Parcels alliance
FRENCH National Railways and the French Post Office plan to form an alliance for express freight and parcels traffic. Proposals put to the boards of both organisations on March 30 envisage that the ensuing alliance would have an annual turnover of Fr38bn.The proposals will end competition between the two organisations ...
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All change in Italy
RESTRUCTURING of Italian Railways has moved a step forward with the announcement of plans to complete the long-proposed separation of infrastructure management and operations. Responsibility for infrastructure will lie with the state-controlled Rete SpA company, with operations coming under the control of FS group subsidiary Italia Trasporto Ferroviario.The change requires ...