All articles by Railway Gazette International – Page 644
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NewsIași completes tram line modernisation
ROMANIA: The latest section of the Iași tram network to be modernised reopened on September 1. Trams on the 10 km east-west route between Pasaj Nicolina and Tătărași Sud can now run at up to 35 km/h, up from 25 km/h previously. The upgrade work cost €10m. On October ...
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NewsUS-Chinese joint venture to develop Las Vegas high speed line
USA: Private-sector California to Nevada high speed rail project promoter XpressWest and a consortium of Chinese rail industry companies announced on September 17 that they had agreed to create a joint venture to develop, finance, build and operate a 370 km line between Los Angeles and Las Vegas. The Southwest ...
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NewsCourt orders review of Nürnberg S-Bahn contract award
GERMANY: On September 17 the Higher Regional Court in München instructed Bayern railway authority BEG to undertake a review of the planned award of two Nürnberg S-Bahn operating contracts to National Express Rail. On February 2 BEG had named the German subsidiary of UK-based National Express Group as its preferred ...
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NewsSwiss government funds more maintenance
SWITZERLAND: Swiss Federal Railways has secured a 15% increase in infrastructure funding from the government for the next three-year performance contract covering 2017-20. Due to be submitted to parliament after a hearing in September, the increase is justified by a predicted 9% rise in gross tonne-km and additions to the ...
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NewsInland Rail delivery plan released
AUSTRALIA: The final report of the Inland Rail implementation group was delivered to the federal government on September 11, along with a business case developed by Australian Rail Track Corp. The delivery plan outlines a 10-year timeframe for developing the proposed 1 700km corridor between Melbourne and Brisbane via Wagga ...
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NewsBeijing to start metro expansion work
CHINA: Construction is due to start this month on five metro expansion projects in Beijing, including three new lines. The east-west Line 3 would connect Dongcheng with Chaoyang on a 22 km alignment with 14 stations. The 29·6 km Line 12 would follow an east-west route to the ...
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NewsAbidjan – Ouagadougou enhancement launched
AFRICA: Work to rehabilitate the 1 260 km metre-gauge railway from Abidjan in Côte d’Ivoire to Ouagadougou and Kaya in Burkina Faso was launched by Ivorian Prime Minister Daniel Kablan Duncan with a ceremony at the renovated Treichville station in Abidjan on September 9. Duncan said the aim of ...
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NewsFTA announces TOD grants
USA: The Federal Transit Administration announced grants totalling $19·5m from its Transit-Oriented Development Planning Pilot Program on September 14. The funding will go towards detailed planning in 17 metropolitan areas. ‘Transit-oriented development is critical to the success of new projects and to the economy of the local communities they ...
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NewsMünchen orders more Avenio trams
GERMANY: München utility body SWM has selected Siemens as preferred bidder to supply 22 low-floor trams. The €70m contract is to be signed following a 10-day standstill period. Starting in mid-2017, Siemens is to deliver nine two-section, nine three-section and four four-section Avenio trams. Operator MVG envisages that on ...
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NewsNew East Midlands direct award franchise agreed
UK: The Department for Transport and incumbent operator Stagecoach Group announced the agreement of a new directly-awarded East Midlands franchise on September 16. The current franchise covering inter-city services on the Midland Main Line and regional services across the East Midlands has been operated by Stagecoach subsidiary East Midlands Trains ...
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NewsYaroslavl plans fast tram lines
RUSSIA: Yaroslavl tram operator Yargorelektrotrans has announced plans for two fast tram lines. A feasibility study is expected to be completed soon. One route would link the main line station to the airport, southeast of the city. The other would be a north-south route intended to serve the city’s ...
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NewsEBRD signs Kosovo infrastructure upgrading loan
KOSOVO: The European Bank for Reconstruction & Development has signed a €39·9m senior loan with infrastructure manager Infrakos to finance a three-stage modernisation of the 148 km railway linking Macedonia with Serbia via Fushë Kosovë and Mitrovicë. EBRD will also support improvements to asset management, track access charges and workforce ...
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NewsUS$4∙8bn for freight renaissance
ARGENTINA: Minister of the Interior & Transport Florencio Randazzo announced on September 8 that China Machinery Engineering Corp had signed a letter of intent to double the amount of funding it is providing to revive Argentina’s rail freight network. ‘It is a second tranche of US$2⋅4bn which we will entirely ...
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NewsVorgebirgsbahn electrification contract
GERMANY: Häfen & Güterverkehr Köln has awarded SPL Powerlines Germany a contract to install electrification equipment as part of the doubling of 2·1 km of single track line between Brühl and Badorf on the Vorgebirgsbahn inter-urban light rail Line 18 between Köln and Bonn. The work began this month ...
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NewsQuality improvements in new Rurtalbahn contract
GERMANY: Following the first competitive tender for the route, on September 9 transport authority Nahverkehr Rheinland selected incumbent Rurtalbahn GmbH for a contract to operate hourly local passenger service RB21 on the 26 km Düren – Linnich northern branch of the Rurtalbahn network for four years from 2016. The ...
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NewsØstfold ETCS pilot line goes live
NORWAY: Services on an 80 km section of the Østfoldbanen southeast of Oslo are now running under ETCS Level 2, following the formal commissioning of the first phase of Jernbaneverket’s national ERTMS roll-out. The ETCS installation on the plot line between Ski and Sarpsborg was inaugurated by Transport Minister Ketil ...
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NewsParis Line 18 contract awarded
FRANCE: Société du Grand Paris has awarded the Linéov Group consortium of SNC-Lavalin, Algoé and Transamo a project management assistance contract for Paris metro Line 18. The contract covers both the construction and operation phases. Linéov Group will advise SGP on project management, and oversee all the contractors and ...
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NewsTransNamib orders GE locomotives
NAMIBIA: National railway TransNamib signed a US$22·7m purchase agreement for six GE Transportation C23EMP locomotives on September 11. The 1 067 mm gauge diesel locomotives are scheduled to be delivered to Walvis Bay within the next 18 to 20 months. They will be used to haul sulphuric acid ...
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NewsPortland opens Orange Line
USA: Portland light rail operator TriMet inaugurated the MAX Orange Line between Portland and Milwaukie on September 12. The 11·7 km route is operated as a southern extension of the existing Yellow line. Startling at SE Park Avenue in north Milwaukie, the route runs north to OMSI before crossing ...
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NewsNew York opens Subway Line 7 extension
USA: New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority inaugurated an extension of the Subway’s 7-Flushing Line on September 13. The 2·4 km extension runs west from 42 Street/Times Square before turning south to reach a new station at 34 St-Hudson Yards. ‘This station is the centrepiece of an ambitious plan to ...