All Railway Gazette International articles in September 2008 – Page 5
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NewsHigh speed rail in Qatar plan
QATAR: Deutsche Bahn has revealed details of its agreement to assist with the conceptual development of a rail network in the emirate. A memorandum of understanding was signed by DB and state investment company Qatari Diar at the end of August. DB will develop conceptual designs and provide consultancy ...
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NewsVeolia to run S-Bahn from 2010
GERMANY: The NordWestBahn subsidiary of Veolia Transport has been selected to manage the future Regio-S-Bahn services in Bremen and Niedersachsen from December 2010. Niedersachsen transport authority LNVG confirmed Veolia as the winner after Deutsche Bahn withdrew an appeal against conditions in the call for tenders. Veolia said it is ...
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NewsVTG shares to be listed on SDAX
GERMANY: Hamburg-based wagon leasing company VTG AG will be listed on the SDAX index from September 22 2008, Deutsche Börse decided on September 3. VTG said that it will be amongst the 110 largest listed companies in Germany based on share trading volume and freefloat market capitalisation, excluding the 30 ...
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NewsRail-air competition hots up
EUROPE: We have long argued that there is considerable scope for high speed trains to replace short-haul flights between cities up to 1 000 km apart. Notable examples include SNCF's TGVs linking Paris with Lyon, Rennes and Avignon, Thalys between Paris and Brussels, and Eurostar on the London - Paris ...
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NewsToronto reopens tram bidding process
CANADA: On August 27 Toronto Transit Commission formally approved reopening the procurement process for 204 low-floor trams at an estimated cost of C$1·25bn. The initial attempt had attracted only two bids, both of which were deemed non-compliant. A multi-phase bidding process will now be used, with Alstom, Bombardier and ...
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NewsCegelec alive to world-wide expansion
TRACTION: Cegelec's Praha plant has established a strong market in updating Tatra tram cars with chopper controls.
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NewsSecond line planned in Santo Domingo
DOMINICAN REPUBLIC: In his speech accepting a third term of office on August 16, President Leonel Fernández announced that a second metro line would be built in the capital, Santo Domingo. The opening of the 14·5 km Line 1 running north-south across the city is now scheduled for November. End-to-end ...
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NewsZürich double-deck order confirmed
SWITZERLAND: On September 2 Siemens and Bombardier confirmed they had received a previously-announced €189m order to supply 121 low-floor intermediate double-deck coaches. SBB will receive 113 of the coaches to lengthen existing Zürich S-Bahn trainsets, while eight will go to the Sihltal Zurich Uetliberg Bahn. Deliveries will run from ...
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NewsAGV: Testing times ahead
Alstom's AGV demonstrator faces a lengthy programme of testing and approvals before the first trains enter revenue service in 2011. Technical Director François Lacôte talks to Chris Jackson in Velim.
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NewsWork starts on Libyan railway
LIBYA: On August 30 Russian Railways formally began the construction of a 554 km double-track railway parallel to the Mediterranean coast between Surt and Banghazi. The Office for the Implementation of Railway Projects signed the contract with RZD in Tripoli on April 17. Construction of the standard gauge line ...
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Toronto airport link edges closer
CANADA: The Ontario government is holding talks with engineering group SNC Lavalin to revive plans for a rail link between Toronto's Union Station and Pearson international airport. The company won a concession to build and operate the project five years ago (RG 7.03 p417). But progress stalled because of ...
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Hyderabad consortium selected
INDIA: Last month the government of Andhra Pradesh presented the NMII Consortium with a 'letter of award' for a design, build, finance and operate concession for the Hyderabad metro. Financial close is expected within six months. The consortium comprises Maytas Infra (26%), Nava Bharat Ventures (27%), Italian-Thai Development (5%) and ...
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Marseille ditches the private sector
FRANCE: Following the election of a new socialist administration earlier this year, Marseille Provence Métropole, the authority for the greater Marseille area, has voted to terminate the eight-year contract to operate the city's light rail network held by a joint venture of municipal operator RTM and Veolia. RTM will ...
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Warszawa prepares tram fleet renewal
POLAND: An agreement has been signed between ZTM, the Warszawa city transport authority, and the mayor to replace much of the capital's tram fleet over the next 20 years. The 16bn zloty programme will see 246 low-floor trams bought by 2027 — the first tenders were due to be issued ...
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NewsCrossrail bill gets Royal Assent
UK: The £16bn Crossrail project to link London's Liverpool Street and Paddington stations via an east-west tunnel (RG 11.07 p679) gained parliamentary approval on July 22. The Crossrail Act grants powers for land acquisition to permit construction of the line, stations and associated maintenance facilities. Enabling works are ...
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Indian wheel plant contract
LARSEN & TOUBRO: Indian Railways has awarded engineering and construction company Larsen & Toubro a Rs10·5bn turnkey contract to build and commission a cast steel wheel plant in the Saran district of Bihar. The plant is scheduled to be completed within two years, and will have a capacity of ...
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Mendoza bidding timetable
ARGENTINA: By means of Resolution 514/2008 published on July 25, the federal government has set out a revised bidding timetable for its project to create a 'high performance' passenger route between Buenos Aires and Mendoza (RG 10.07 p595). Technical bids are now due to be opened on ...
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NewsRace to the coal
AFRICA: Word reaches us that Pittsburgh-based Railroad Development Corp has reached agreement to sell its stake in Central East African Railway, which operates the 1 067 mm gauge railway linking Malawi with the port of Nacala in northern Mozambique. CEAR took over the Malawi rail network in 1999, but did ...