All articles by Railway Gazette International – Page 937
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NewsHaut-Bugey line inaugurated
EUROPE: French Secretary of State for Transport Thierry Mariani and RFF President Hubert du Mesnil travelled on a special TGV service from Paris Bercy to Genève Cornavin on November 30 to mark the completion of work to rebuild the Haut-Bugey line between Bourg-en-Bresse and Bellegarde. Reconstruction of the 47 km ...
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NewsNorthern Railway revival funded
SRI LANKA: Ceremonies were held on November 27 to mark the start of work on the first phase of a programme to refurbish the war-damaged railways serving the island’s Northern Province, following the signing of a credit agreement under which India will provide US$416m towards the cost of the work. ...
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NewsCalifornia picks first high speed section
USA: California High Speed Rail Authority has selected the first section of its planned high speed network to be built, although the choice immediately drew criticism as ‘a line to nowhere’. The initial section will run for approximately 105 km through a rural part of the San Joaquin Valley from ...
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NewsDynamic testing rig
CHINA: Renk Test System of Germany has won a contract to supply a dynamic wheelset test rig to the China Academy of Railway Sciences, able to simulate operation at 500 km/h whilst applying vertical, lateral and yaw forces up to 250 kN each at a frequency of 60 Hz. Renk ...
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NewsBelgrano Railway upgrade
ARGENTINA: The federal government's US$408m programme to upgrade 1645 km of the metre-gauge Belgrano network is to be funded by a US$326m loan from the Andean Development Corporation. Work is already underway to upgrade routes between Joaquín V González in the northwestern province of Salta and the river ports ...
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NewsCrossrail seeks privately-financed rolling stock
UK: Procurement of rolling stock for the Crossrail east-west link through London was officially launched with the publication of an OJEU notice on December 1 seeking expressions of interest in a privately-funded train provision contract. With a capital cost estimated at around £1bn, the package would include the supply and ...
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NewsUS high speed plans in the balance
ANALYSIS Some US high speed plans are likely to go ahead despite the changing political landscape following the mid-term elections, but others are set to be abandoned, reports Julian Wolinsky.
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News'All change' awards
UK: Nexus has awarded framework agreements to five companies - Balfour Beatty Rail, BAM Nuttall, May Gurney, Serco and Morgan Sindall - as part of its £385 'all change' programme to modernise the Tyne & Wear metro (RG 1.09 p32). The government is providing £350m, with the remainder ...
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NewsUnion Railway starts prequalification process
UAE: Prequalification bids have been submitted for the first two contracts on the 265 km initial phase of the proposed Union Railway network linking the Gulf port at Ruwais with the gas fields at Shah and Habshan in the western region of Abu Dhabi emirate. The first two lots to ...
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NewsPRASA to resignal suburban lines
SOUTH AFRICA: Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa has selected Siemens as preferred bidder for a R961m contract to install new signalling on key suburban routes. Work on the first phase is expected to start in January 2011, with the construction of a CTC control centre for the Gauteng ...
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NewsMoscow metro builder to be sold
RUSSIA: The Federal Agency for State Property Management has announced its intention to auction 100% of the shares in Moscow metro construction company Mosmetrostroy before the end of this year. Founded in 1931, OAO Moscow Metrostroy has been responsible for constructing the whole of the capital’s metro network which now ...
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NewsFast trams modernised
UKRAINE: Kyiv fast tram lines T1 and T3 were partially reopened on October 16 following a three-year renovation project. All stops are operational on route T1 from Hnata Yuri south to Simirenka, and from the T3 terminal at Kiltseva Doroga to Simyi Sosninykh. Trams then run non-stop to Politekhnichna, and ...
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NewsParsons gets PTC contract
USA: Southern California Regional Rail Authority has awarded Parsons a $120m contract to install Positive Train Control on the 820 km Metrolink commuter rail network. The contract announced on October 26 includes onboard computers, displays, GPS tracking and radios for 52 locomotives and 57 driving cars, with PTC providing protection ...
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NewsCaptrain completes ITL acquisition
GERMANY: French rail freight and logistics group SNCF Geodis confirmed on November 29 that it would complete its acquisition of ITL Eisenbahngesellschaft mbH with effect from December 1. Having acquired a 75% stake in the family-owned business in 2008, SNCF Geodis is now acquiring the remaining 25% held by ITL ...
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NewsRFF plans Roissy – Picardie link
FRANCE: Following an initial public debate earlier this year, the RFF board voted on November 25 to launch formal studies and public consultation for the development of a rail link running northwest from Roissy Charles-de-Gaulle airport to serve the Picardie region. The infrastructure manager hopes to be able to apply ...
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NewsMulti-purpose works tram delivered
FINLAND: Helsinki transport operator HKL has taken delivery of a custom-designed €2·5m Windhoff maintenance vehicle for its tram network, the first of a pair it intends to buy to replace two cars dating from the 1950s. The metre-gauge vehicle is equipped for rail grinding, snow clearance and de-icing of the ...
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NewsTransContainer IPO
RUSSIA: Trading in shares in Russian Railways’ intermodal subsidiary TransContainer began in London and Moscow on November 12, following an initial public offering which raised US$400m through the sale of 35% minus 2 shares. Allowing for debt this implied an enterprise value of US$1·32bn. ‘We are very pleased that the ...
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NewsAirport link opens
JAPAN: Private railway operator Keikyu and Tokyo Monorail opened stations serving the new international terminal at Tokyo’s Haneda airport on October 21. Both rail operators provide connections to city centre stations in around 13 min. The terminal has been built for the return of international flights to Haneda, 32 years ...
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PR restarts tourist operations
PAKISTAN: Having been instructed by Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani that it needs to become 'more commercial' and profitable ahead of its planned restructuring and possible privatisation, Pakistan Railways has decided to relaunch tourist services. The Ghandhara Heritage Steam Safari was officially inaugurated at Rawalpindi in October by ...
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NewsSan Francisco and Toronto consider Sumitomo DMUs
NORTH AMERICA: Metrolinx is considering the purchase of up to 18 two-car Sumitomo DMUs for the proposed link from Toronto city centre to Pearson International Airport. The 3·3 km branch from Go Transit’s Georgetown line to the airport is due to open in time for the Pan Am Games to ...