Main line rail industry news – Page 822
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NewsMainline research project examines whole-railway assets
EUROPE: Funded under the European Union’s FP7 grant programme, the Mainline research project is examining best practice in the application of whole-life analysis tools to a broad spectrum of rail-related assets, including bridges, tunnels, earthworks and retaining walls. The €4·5m project is being co-ordinated by UIC and is due for ...
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NewsCSR locomotives arrive in Buenos Aires
ARGENTINA: The first two of 24 diesel locomotives that CSR of China is supplying for the San Martín commuter route were unloaded at the Port of Buenos Aires on February 1. Capable at operating at up to 120 km/h, the new locos are equipped with rheostatic braking. As well as ...
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NewsNS opens third Crescent Corridor intermodal terminal
USA: Norfolk Southern officially opened its $97m Franklin County Regional Intermodal Facility at Greencastle, Pennsylvania, on January 21. Intended as a major gateway for freight in the Mid-Atlantic region, the terminal is located north of Hagerstown, adjacent to the Interstate 81 corridor linking central Pennsylvania, western Maryland and northern Virginia. ...
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NewsDoha tram track to be provided by Rail.One
QATAR: Construction contractor Habtoor Leighton Group has awarded Rail.One a contract to supply Rheda City ballastless track for the Education City tram project in Doha. About 15 km will be concreted, with a short section will be covered with turf. Around 14 000 TB/BZ concrete sleepers for the track ...
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NewsBidirectional Pesa trams coming to Warszawa
POLAND: Tramwaje Warszawskie has selected Pesa to supply 45 new bidirectional low-floor trams to the Polish capital for 380bn złoty. Delivery will start in April 2014. The trams will be similar to the six Pesa Swing Duo trams that arrived in Warszawa in September, which are twin-cab versions of ...
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NewsTÜV SÜD Rail acquires DNV KEMA's European transportation division
EUROPE: TÜV SÜD Rail announced the acquisition of the European Transportation Systems division of Norwegian-Dutch energy consulting, testing and certification company DNV KEMA on January 30. DNV KEMA is focusing its activities on the energy sector, and TÜV SÜD Rail said the deal was an opportunity to expand its portfolio ...
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NewsProducts & Technology in Brief
RATP Développement has selected GoalRailmetro and GoalStaff software from Spanish company Goal Systems to plan the deployment of light rail vehicles and drivers during the expansion of the Manchester Metrolink network. BNSF has appointed Bartless & West to digitise its collection of maps of the 51000 km network, some of ...
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NewsKuznetsovsk tunnel shortens the BAM corridor
RUSSIA: The Kuznetsovsk Tunnel on the Komsomolsk-na-Amur – Sovetskaya Gavan section of the Baikal-Amur Magistral was opened on December 25. Priced at 60bn roubles, it is one of the biggest infrastructure projects undertaken by RZD in recent years. The 3890 m single-track tunnel was designed by Bamtonnelproject and built by ...
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NewsDirect Rail Services reveals Class 68 design
UK: Freight and charter train operator Direct Rail Services has unveiled the design of its future UKLight mixed traffic diesel-electric locomotives. Vossloh España is building 15 locomotives in Valencia under a contract announced in January 2012, with deliveries scheduled to begin towards the end of this year. To ...
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NewsCarillion awarded £40m Cumbernauld electrification contract
UK: Network Rail has awarded Carillion a £40m contract to electrify at 25 kV 50 Hz 'over 50 km of railway' between Cumbernauld and Glasgow, lengthen platforms at Cumbernauld and install turn-back facilities at Springburn. The contract announced on January 30 forms part of a £80m upgrade of the Cumbernauld ...
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NewsSão Paulo Line 6 tender called
BRAZIL: São Paulo state governor Geraldo Alckmin called tenders for a PPP concession to develop metro Line 6 (the Orange line) on January 30. The project is valued at an estimated R$7·8bn and construction is due to start in July 2014. The concession will run for 25 years, allowing six ...
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NewsMichael O’Higgins
Michael O’Higgins has been appointed a Non-Executive Director on the Network Rail board. The former Audit Commission Chairman and current Chairman of The Pensions Regulator was selected to bring a stronger focus on ‘serving the public interest’. The UK infrastructure manager has also named Jonathan Crick as Commercial Director, Retail.
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NewsOpen access operator Hamburg-Köln-Express celebrates first six months
GERMANY: Open-access inter-city operator Hamburg-Köln-Express held the ‘Fastest Music Festival in Germany’ on January 23 to celebrate six months of operation. Bands and solo artists travelled with the passengers, performing music in 120 sec slots while the train doors were opened at stations HKX has carried almost 150 000 passengers ...
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NewsFeature articles in the February 2013 issue of Railway Gazette International
Articles in the February 2013 issue of Railway Gazette International magazine. Comment Liberalisation: the war of words rages on Analysis Fyra lurches from farce to fiasco Amtrak and California team up UK franchising ‘not fundamentally flawed’ Heavy haul Developing a heavy haul network Indian Railways is adopting ...
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NewsNorfolk Southern plans $2bn investment programme in 2013
USA: A $2bn investment programme for 2013 was announced by Norfolk Southern on January 28. 'Our capital plan will maintain the safety and quality of our existing franchise, improve service quality and performance, achieve operational efficiencies and productivity improvements and support business growth,' said CEO Wick Moorman. The largest expenditure ...
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NewsChinese shunting locomotive assembled in Kazakhstan
KAZAKHSTAN: The first TEM-KZ shunting locomotive assembled by Kamkor Locomotive's Shu repair plant using components supplied by CSR Ziyang was unveiled last month. National railway KTZ and CSR signed a strategic partnership agreement in May 2012, and 14 Kamkor staff travelled to China for training. A locomotive production joint ...
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NewsRail franchising programme revised
UK: Following the publication of Eurostar Chairman Richard Brown's independent review of the Department for Transport's franchising programme earlier in the month, on January 31 the government announced its plans to restart three passenger franchise tendering competitions. These were put on hold in October 2012 after 'significant errors' led ...
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NewsIntegral Coach Factory aims to be 'multi-speciality production unit'
INDIA: Integral Coach Factory achieved its highest-ever output with the completion of 1 511 coaches during 2012, including the 45 000th vehicle since ICF was established in 1955. An expansion project which is nearing completion will increase production capacity to 1 700 vehicles/year, and according to General Manager Abhay ...
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NewsÖBB approves Siemens Desiro ML order
AUSTRIA: The Austrian Federal Railways' supervisory board authorised a firm order for 100 Siemens Desiro ML electric multiple-units on January 30. A contract worth €550m is to be signed following the regulatory standstill period. The order is being placed within a framework for up to 200 EMUs which was agreed ...
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NewsCompliance Verification Clause unlocks the Fourth Railway Package
EUROPE: Proposals to ensure open and transparent infrastructure management have been incorporated into the draft Fourth Railway Package, which was finally unveiled by the European Commission on January 30. The ‘comprehensive package of measures to deliver better quality and more choice in railway services’ had been delayed for several months ...