Main line rail industry news – Page 1414
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Airport bidders named
LAST MONTH was due to see the signing of an agreement between the Bureau of Taiwan High Speed Rail and the Chang Sheng International Development Co for construction of a 35 km rail link from Taipei to Chiang Kai-shek International Airport. Chang Sheng was selected as preferred bidder by the ...
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St Louis speed-up
ILLINOIS Department of Transportation has signed a $3·75m contract with Gateway Western Railroad to build a cut-off line parallel to the Mississippi River, eliminating many conflicts between passenger and freight trains on the approach to St Louis. The link through East St Louis will cut 20 min off the timings ...
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Georgian BOT plan
THE GEORGIAN government is planning to invite bids this month for a build-operate-tender concession to complete its share of the planned rail link between Tbilisi and the Turkish town of Kars. No bids were received when the project was tendered earlier this year (RG 1.98 p7).The work includes upgrading of ...
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Cut-offs open
ON JULY 1 Spanish National Railways inaugurated a 12·2 km cut-off in Andalucía, intended to reduce journey times from Sevilla and Córdoba to Granada and Almería. Avoiding a reversal at Bobadilla, the cut-off saves around 45min. Aligned for 160 km/h, the link between Fuente de Piedra and Las Maravillas is ...
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Stagecoach buys into Virgin Rail
BRITAIN’s Virgin Group has abandoned its planned flotation of Virgin Rail in favour of a partnership with Stagecoach Holdings. Under a deal announced on June 22, Stagecoach will pay £138m for the 59% venture capital equity interests in Virgin Rail, and a further £20m for loan stock at par. It ...
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Sydney expansion approved
NEW SOUTH WALES Transport Minister Carl Scully announced on July 5 that the government had approved construction of a 28 km orbital rail link between Paramatta and Chatswood through Sydney’s north-western suburbs. Costed at A$1·4bn, the line will take six years to build. Detailed planning and environmental impact reviews are ...
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Glatt valley to get light rail
PROPOSALS have been published for a 17 km three-line light rail network serving towns in the Glatt valley and the northern sector of the Zürich conurbation. Announcing the results of nine years of planning, Project Manager Andreas Fleury unveiled a project that should see light rail services running on the ...
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People
Pakistan Railways has designated Managing Directors for the three business units which are being formed as part of a restructuring ahead of privatisation (p500). Chaudhry Abdul Qayyum has been named head of the Passenger business, with Chaudhry Mohammad Aslam as head of Freight and Nasir Amin as head ...
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Sidetrack
All steamed upOne of the world’s most famous railways now has its own international support group. The Darjeeling Himalayan Railway Society has been established with the support of Indian Railways to help keep trains climbing 2135m up the 88 km, 610mm gauge line. Each monsoon season results in numerous trackbed ...
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Track rules revised
THE US Federal Railroad Administration has revised its track safety regulations to incorporate the latest data on dynamic performance of vehicle and track systems. Major changes include new standards for installation and maintenance of continuous welded rail, with related staff training.More frequent inspection of track for internal flaws will see ...
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Marina line to go ahead
CONSTRUCTION of a fourth metro line in Singapore will get under way in 2000, following a government decision in June to push ahead with the 13 km Marina line to serve the New Downtown area taking shape on reclaimed land around Marina Bay. First proposed as a light rail line ...
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WestRail bids out
LAST MONTH Kowloon - Canton Railway Corp invited prequalification bids for 12 construction contracts on Hong Kong’s WestRail link to Tuen Mun. According to project director James Blake, the five packages into which the route was split for design have been subdivided to provide more opportunities for local contractors to ...
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Yauza enters service
MOSCOW metro has started revenue trials with a prototype Yauza metro trainset developed at Mytischchy car works. Designated Class 81-720 for the driving cars and 81-720 for non-driving, the prototype set had earlier been tested at the Shcherbinka test track (RG 12.94 p805.The stainless-steel bodied train was launched by Metro ...
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LRT becomes SkyTrain 2
VANCOUVER’s planned east-west light rail line is to be built as a second fully-automated SkyTrain route, compatible with BC Transit’s existing Waterfront - New Westminster - Surrey line. The change of policy was confirmed on June 24, when Bombardier announced that it had signed a memorandum of understanding with the ...
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Madrid opens Line 8
THE King and Queen of Spain officially opened the first section of Madrid Metro’s Line 8 on June 24. Built at a cost of Pts8·9bn, the 2·6 km route runs from Mar de Cristal on Line 4 to Campo de las Naciones, serving the Madrid fair grounds and the Juan ...
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Paris projects
IN A CEREMONY at Madeleine station on June 24, Paris Transport Authority President Director General Jean-Paul Bailly officially launched the construction of the second phase of the Météor automated metro Line 14. He was joined for the event by Ile de France and Paris Préfet Jo
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Transnet still in trouble
Further improvement in the financial position of South Africa’s transport holding group Transnet has increased the prospect of partial or complete privatisation. The multi-mode corporation is being focused into business groups, with restructuring likely to lead to sweeping job cuts across many sectors, including senior management. So drastic have the ...
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‘Effetto bang’ kills Milano - Genova
THINK OF A reason for abandoning plans to build a high speed railway, and you will find it among those cited by Italian Environment Minister Edo Ronchi for cancelling the 135 km line from Milano to Genova. Announcing his decision on July 15, Ronchi produced a 20-page ruling that referred ...
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Mine the gap
LAST MONTH saw the start of work on the second phase of reconstruction of Angola’s 1304 km Benguela Railway, following a 15-year closure because of the civil war. Italy’s Tor di Valle company is just over a year into its barter deal to undertake a US$500m 14-year renovation for 37500ha ...