All Railway Gazette International articles in March 2010
All articles published this month.
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NewsMTR West Island Line progresses
CHINA: Hong Kong's MTR Corp has awarded the Gammon-Nishimatsu WIL Joint Venture a HK$4·75bn contract to build 2·2 km of running tunnel for the West Island Line project along with two intermediate stations at Sai Ying Pin and Hong Kong University.Gammon had already won a HK$1·3bn contract to build Kennedy ...
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NewsWestern reopening to encourage regional development
IRELAND: Minister for Transport Noel Dempsey formally launched Ireland's first revival of an inter-city route on March 29. The following day a regular service of five daily return trains ran between Limerick and Galway for the first time since 1976. The €106·5m Phase 1 of the project to reopen the ...
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NewsChina plans heavy haul coal line
CHINA: The Ministry of Railways has started planning for a third heavy haul railway corridor to carry coal from mines in Inner Mongolia to a new port on the Bohai Sea. Work has already started on a coal export terminal at the port of Huludao in Laioning province, around 150 ...
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NewsKorail orders electric freight locomotives
SOUTH KOREA: Hyundai Rotem is to supply national railway Korail with 56 six-axle electric freight locomotives with Toshiba electrical equipment. The Japanese sub-supplier will provide traction and auxiliary power systems worth ¥10bn for the 6·6 MW 8300 series locomotives, which are due to be delivered between May 2011 and ...
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NewsStalin's Polar line revived
RUSSIA: Construction of a 355 km railway to link existing railheads at Salekhard and Nadym in northwest Siberia began in March, following the allocation of state funding and the award of construction contracts. The 243bn rouble railway is part of the Ural Industrial - Ural Polar regional development project. The ...
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NewsAtos Origin buys Shere
EUROPE: IT services company Atos Origin announced on March 30 the acquisition of Shere of the UK, which supplies self-service and desktop ticket sales systems. Paris-based Atos Origin said the deal forms part of a strategy to increase revenue from transaction-based services. Founded in 1992, Shere recorded revenues of £11m ...
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NewsBLS buys double-deckers for Bern S-Bahn
SWITZERLAND: BLS has placed its largest ever rolling stock order, awarding Stadler Rail a SFr493·7m contract to supply 28 four-car double-deck electric multiple-units to increase capacity on Bern S-Bahn services. The 160 km/h units will be delivered from Stadler's Bussnang plant between autumn 2012 and the end of 2014. They ...
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NewsRFF selects Vinci to build Tours – Bordeaux LGV
FRANCE: Infrastructure manager RFF has announced its intention to start exclusive negotiations with a Vinci-led consortium to build and maintain the 340 km Tours – Bordeaux high speed line under a PPP concession. The consortium, led by Vinci and including Caisse des Dépôts and Axa, was selected from a shortlist ...
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NewsVossloh to acquire Saargummi rail business
GERMANY: The board of Vossloh AG has approved the acquisition of the permanent way business of rubber component maker Saargummi Deutschland GmbH. The rail business produces highly elastic intermediate layers and pads for rail fastening systems, and will give Vossloh's Fastening Systems expertise in the processing of synthetic and natural ...
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NewsCeneri base tunnel blasting begins
SWITZERLAND: A first blast on March 10 launched the main drive for the 15·4 km Ceneri base tunnel, which will complete a low-gradient north – south route through the Alps in conjunction with the Gotthard base tunnel. Construction is being undertaken by a consortium of Società Italiana per Condotte ...
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NewsKawasaki preferred bidder for Washington metro
USA: Kawasaki Railcar has been nominated as preferred bidder to supply up to 748 new cars for the Washington metro network. Kawasaki’s offer was presented to the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority board of directors on March 25 but a vote to approve the contract was postponed, as board members ...
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NewsRail-sector assurance service launched in China
CHINA: Lloyd's Register Asia and the Far East Marine Surveyors subsidiary of China Classification Society have formed an equally-owned joint venture to provide independent assurance services and technical support for China's growing railway supply industry, building on their co-operation in the maritime sector. CCS-LR Technical Services will assist with the ...
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NewsPink champagne in Reims
FRANCE: The first of 18 Alstom Citadis trams for Reims’ 11·2 km light rail line went on display in front of the city’s cathedral on March 26. The event was presided over by Adeline Hazan, the Mayor of Reims and president of Reims Métropole, and Christian Messelyn, president of concessionaire ...
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NewsPartnership to develop Emirates rail projects
UAE: Deutsche Bahn and Al Masaood Group signed a memorandum of understanding in Abu Dhabi on March 29 under which they will form a strategic partnership to plan, build and operate future railways in the United Arab Emirates. Various metro and tram proposals are currently being developed in UAE, while ...
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NewsYakunin sets out investment plan
RUSSIA: Russian Railways President Vladimir Yakunin set out details of RZD’s 555bn rouble 2010-11 investment budget at a meeting on implementation and financing sources which was chaired by Prime Minister Vladimir Putin on February 27. RZD’s projects total 435·5bn roubles, and 120bn will be used for road and rail links ...
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NewsTiger grants support infrastructure upgrades
USA: Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood announced the 51 transport projects which have been selected for Tiger grants under the American Recovery & Reinvestment Act on February 17. The largest rail grants awarded under the $1·5bn Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery federal stimulus programme went to support rail infrastructure upgrades ...
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NewsScottish rebuild progress
UK: Preliminary works have begun for the Borders Railway scheme to reopen the Edinburgh - Tweedbank section of the Waverley route to Carlisle, which closed in 1969. The 56 km of reinstated line will be designed, built, financed and maintained by a not-for-profit company backed by Transport Scotland. Prospects for ...
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NewsCarrying car parts to Kaluga by rail
EUROPE: French logistics group Gefco announced on March 24 that it has launched a dedicated container train to carry automotive components between France and Russia. Running five days per week, the service is being operated on behalf of PSA Peugeot Citroën, which has opened a new assembly plant at Kaluga, ...
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NewsAmtrak launches high speed rail department
USA: National inter-city passenger operator Amtrak has created a dedicated department to pursue opportunities for the development of high speed rail corridors. Announced on March 22, the department will begin with a programme to improve the existing Northeast Corridor between Washington, New York and Boston. Priorities include reducing journey times ...
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NewsDB looking at Arriva bid
EUROPE: Deutsche Bahn confirmed on March 18 that it had approached Arriva about a possible takeover bid, adding that 'discussions are ongoing and there is no certainty that any offer will be made'. As required under the UK's takeover regulations, the international bus and rail operator had issued a ...