All Railway Gazette International articles in September 2008 – Page 3
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NewsContracts September 2008
Czech Republic: OKD Doprava, the largest private freight operator in the country, has taken over Viamont Cargo, the third largest. Europe: European Commission clearance enabled investment bank Arcapita to complete its acquisition of Freightliner Group Ltd from 3i, Electra Private Equity and the company’s management and staff on July ...
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NewsBerlin's next generation tram arrives
GERMANY: Berlin city transport operator BVG unveiled the first of four pre-production prototypes for the German capital's next generation of trams on September 19. Bombardier Transportation's Bautzen plant is supplying four pre-series Flexity Berlin vehicles under a contract placed in September 2006. If the 100% low-floor cars prove successful, ...
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NewsWest Coast Pendolino contract signed
UK: Leasing company Angel Trains announced on September 19 that it had signed contracts with Alstom for 106 extra Pendolino vehicles for West Coast services. Alstom's Saviglinao plant is set to begin work in January on the production of four 11-car trainsets plus 62 vehicles to lengthen 31 existing ...
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NewsSkoda rolls out CD's first three-system locomotive
CZECH REPUBLIC: The unveiling at Skoda Transportation's Plzen plant of the first 200 km/h electric locomotive for CD marks a new start for the domestic loco manufacturing industry, reports Michal Málek.
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NewsKawasaki unveils 350 km/h efSET
JAPAN: Kawasaki Heavy Industries has unveiled the design concept for efSET, a 350 km/h high speed train which it is developing to compete in the global export market. The basic design of the Environmentally Friendly Super Express Train will be completed by March 2009, with engineering verification to be ...
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NewsAir France-KLM confirms high speed rail discussions
FRANCE: Speaking at the opening of Terminal 2G at Roissy-Charles-de-Gaulle airport on September 9, Air France-KLM President Jean-Cyril Spinetta confirmed that the airline was in discussions with Veolia Transport over the establishment of a joint venture to operate high speed trains in place of short-haul flights. 'We are looking ...
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Auckland electrification contract
NEW ZEALAND: Infrastucture manager Ontrack has awarded Balfour Beatty, Maunsell and Evans & Peck a NZ$10m contract for 175 track-km of electrification around Auckland. The project forms part of a NZ$1bn investment programme announced in 2007. Work on the Britomart - Papakura and Newmarket - Swanson routes will ...
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Invensys buys Quantum Engineering
QUANTUM ENGINEERING: Invensys Rail Group announced on September 17 that had purchased Quantum Engineering for US$38m. IRS said Quantum 'has built a solid reputation for the development of mainline onboard signalling, locomotive performance controls and train integrity devices in the Americas', and would lift IRG's profile in the ...
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NewsDB Schenker buys 49% stake in NordCargo
ITALY: On September 17 DB Schenker subsidiary Railion Italia announced that its offer for a 49% stake in Milano-based rail freight company NordCargo had been accepted. Spun off from parent company Ferrovienord in 2003, NordCargo operates between Germany, Switzerland and Italy, with 182 employees and revenue of €34m in 2007. ...
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Uncertain times in Estonia
ESTONIA: National rail operator Eestie Raudtee confirmed last month that it planned to split infrastructure management and freight train operations into separate companies with effect from January 1 2009. New subsidiaries EVR Infra and EVR Cargo are to be established, with EVR remaining as a holding company to deal with ...
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NewsDual-system EMUs will revitalise Mumbai suburban services
INDIA: Indian Railways has ambitious plans to boost capacity on its busiest suburban network around Mumbai. As part of a comprehensive renewal project, Siemens and ICF are supplying 174 dual-system EMUs to improve reliability and passenger comfort as IR manages the transition to 25 kV AC supply.
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NewsWabtec to buy Standard Car Truck
SCT: Wabtec Corp announced on September 15 that it had signed a definitive agreement to acquire wagon bogie and locomotive component manufacturer Standard Car Truck for $300m in cash. Based at Park Ridge in Illinois, Standard Car Truck has annual sales of about $225m, including the Barber range of ...
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NewsDancing partner
ITALY: Just days after the private-sector NTV consortium unveiled its plans to compete with Trenitalia in the domestic high speed market from 2011, potential partners started beating a path to its door. According to Chief Executive Guiseppe Sciarrone, NTV recognises that it does not have practical experience of 300 ...
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NewsRDC sells Central East African Railway stake
AFRICA: Railroad Development Corp has completed the sale of its stake in Nacala Corridor concessionaire Central East African Railway to Mozambican investment group Insitec, the Pittsburgh-based rail management and investment company announced on September 15. 'The sale of our economic interests to local investors represents a major development in ...
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NewsBudapest metro trainset unveiled
HUNGARY: Budapest transport operator BKV and Alstom Transport Katowice have unveiled the first of 37 Metropolis trainsets for the Budapest metro. BKV and Alstom signed a €247m contract in May 2006 covering the supply of 22 five-car trainsets to replace the existing stock on line M2, and 15 four-car ...
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NewsKorail sets out its 2015 vision
SOUTH KOREA: With traffic climbing steeply in recent years, Korail is focusing on further expansion of its passenger business and seeking ways to strengthen its freight operations in a competitive global market.
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Moscow ring agreed
RUSSIA: On September 11 Russian Railways President Vladimir Yakunin and Mayor of Moscow Yuri Luzhkov signed an agreement establishing Moscow Railway Ring as an equally-owned joint venture of RZD and the city. The special purpose vehicle will be responsible for the development and funding of the 5bn rouble ring railway ...
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NewsDesign your own railway
TRINIDAD & TOBAGO: WSP International confirmed on August 12 that it had been appointed as technical adviser to the national infrastructure agency Nidco during the design and construction of planned Trinidad rail network. The consultant says it will 'provide technical advice to the government as project manager’ for the ...
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NewsPointers September 2008
The Ministry of Transport in Jordan unveiled its railway development plan at the end of July which would see two lines totalling 1 018 km built by 2013. A north-south route would run from the Syrian border to Aqaba via Mafraq, Amman and Ma’an, whilst an east-west route would run ...
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NewsCommission looking into DSB funding
DENMARK: The European Commission is to determine whether public service contracts concluded between the Ministry of Transport and national railway DSB for the periods 2000-04 and 2005-14 amount to state aid. Many DSB services are operated on the basis of public service contracts agreed without tendering. DSB is required ...