All Railway Gazette International articles in September 2009 – Page 4
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NewsNS Hispeed launches HSL-Zuid services
NETHERLANDS: NS Hispeed launched Amsterdam - Rotterdam passenger services over HSL-Zuid on September 7, following a formal inauguration by the Dutch Transport Minister Camiel Eurlings and the mayors of Amsterdam, Haarlemmermeer and Rotterdam the previous day. The interim service comprises 17 weekday return trips, with Bombardier Traxx electric locomotives ...
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NewsLooking into stopping faster
BRAKING: An Inertia Dynamometer Test Rig now installed at Knorr-Bremse’s München plant can simulate extreme environmental conditions found in the hottest and coldest parts of the world, allowing the brake manufacturer to reproduce any requirements a high speed train operator may envisage. Knorr-Bremse has made a significant investment in ...
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NewsPeople in the News - September 2009
Recently-appointed President of national rail operator RENFE Operadora, Teófilo Serrano has named four additional members of the company’s executive management board. Enrique Urkijo Goitia becomes Director General of Strategic Development, Avelino Castro López Director General of Construction & Maintenance, Francisco Celso González Director General of Economics & Finance, and Jésus ...
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NewsMumbai Line 2 awarded
INDIA: Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority awarded the PPP contract for Mumbai Metro Line 2 to the sole bidder, a consortium of Reliance Infrastructure, Reliance Infocomm and Canada’s SNC Lavalin, on July 29. The consortium is already building Line 1 which will connect Versova, Andheri and Ghatkopar. Work on ...
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NewsCitadis tram arrives in Istanbul
TURKEY: On September 1 Alstom delivered the first of 37 Citadis trams ordered by Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality. The vehicle left Alstom’s engineering and production centre in Valenciennes, France, on August 25 and travelled by road to Trieste in Italy, from where it was shipped to Turkey on August 29. The ...
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NewsTyva railway PPP signed
RUSSIA: Eniseiskaya Industrial Corp and the government of the Tyva republic signed a public-private partnership agreement for the construction of the Kyzyl - Kuragino railway during a visit by Federal Minister for Regional Development Viktor Basargin on August 28. Under terms agreed in February, the 98·6 rouble cost of ...
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NewsNo go on DB’s IPO
GERMANY: Despite recent suggestions by some political commentators that the postponed partial flotation of DB Mobility Logistics could be reactivated after the country’s federal elections this month, DB Chairman Rüdiger Grube has ruled out any sale for the foreseeable future. Last month he told Der Spiegel that ‘there will probably ...
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NewsStruggling concessions under review
EAST AFRICA: Frustrated by a lack of progress in revitalising the region’s railways, politicians are increasingly questioning the ability of the concessionaires and withdrawing their support in favour of ambitious proposals to develop new standard-gauge lines.
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NewsAlstom retains Luas infrastructure maintenace contract
IRELAND: The Railway Procurement Agency has awarded the infrastructure maintenance contract for Dublin’s Luas light rail network to Alstom after a competitive tender. The five-year contract, which will take effect on October 1, is worth more than €30m for Alstom and its partner Dalkia, with Alstom’s share being €24m. There ...
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NewsMelbourne's trains to get Metro brand
AUSTRALIA: 'Metro' was unveiled as the branding for Melbourne's suburban rail services on September 1, when the Victoria government signed the operating contract under which Metro Trains Melbourne will replace Veolia Transport. On the same day, Keolis Downer EDI signed the contract to operate the Yarra Trams network. ...
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NewsVeolia agrees sale of freight division
EUROPE: Veolia Environnement confirmed to the Paris stock exchange on September 3 that the sale of its rail freight business to SNCF and Groupe Eurotunnel had been agreed, subject to approval by competition authorities. Veolia Cargo’s operations in France, which include the Socorail, Veolia Cargo France, Veolia Cargo Link and ...
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NewsConstellation Software buys intelligent transport business
PUBLIC TRANSIT SOLUTIONS: Automotive component supplier Continental signed a contract to sell its Public Transit Solutions business to Toronto-based Constellation Software Inc on August 31, as part of a streamlining of its portfolio. The PT business develops control equipment, on-board computers and passenger information systems for trams and buses. ...
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NewsDutch tram-train trial to end
NETHERLANDS: The Dutch tram-train pilot project between Alphen-aan den Rijn and Gouda is expected to end with the December 2009 timetable change, when the current mix of trams and EMUs will be replaced by a strengthened train service. This follows the signing of an agreement between the province of ...
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NewsWestinghouse Rail Systems becomes Invensys Rail
INVENSYS: Renaming of Westinghouse Rail Systems Ltd to Invensys Rail with effect from September 1 marked the start of an international rebranding which will bring the companies within the Invensys Rail Group under the Invensys Rail banner over the next few months. This reflects ongoing co-operation between UK-based Westinghouse ...
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NewsLGV Est Phase 2 tendering gets underway
FRANCE: Infrastructure manager RFF invited tenders on September 2 for work on the second phase of Ligne à Grande Vitesse Est Européenne, with a view to starting construction in the spring of 2010. This follows the signing of the formal financing agreement for the project on September 1. Participating ...
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NewsCircle Line tunnelling completed
SINGAPORE: Tunnelling works for the Circle Line were completed on August 17, with the break-through of a tunnel boring machine into Farrer Road Station. Tunnelling on the last stretch, known as Stage 4, comprised four drives. Two drives from One-North to Haw Par Villa were completed in February 2008. ...
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NewsAECOM buys LAN Engineering
USA: AECOM Technology Corp has acquired Lim & Nascimento Engineering Corp, saying the deal announced on August 30 would strengthen AECOM's transport activities and increase the geographical reach of California-based LAN. Working mainly with public sector clients, LAN provides engineering design and management services for transport projects including rail ...
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NewsVoith wins Syntus train maintenance contract
NETHERLANDS: Passenger operator Syntus has selected Voith Railservices to maintain its fleet of DM90 and Alstom Coradia Lint diesel multiple-units for three years from mid-December. There were five bidders for the contract, which is currently held by Nedtrain. Voith already has similar agreements with Arriva and Veolia Transport. ...
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NewsVeolia and Transdev in talks
FRANCE: European legislation on the procurement of public services is starting to drive further consolidation between the major public transport operators. On July 22 state-owned investment body Caisse des Dépôts confirmed that it had decided to enter into exclusive negotiations with Veolia Environnement with a view to merging their Transdev ...
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NewsCisalpino II in service at last
EUROPE: While Dutch and Danish engineers continue to wrestle with the V250 and IC4 trainsets respectively, another challenging procurement saga appears to be drawing to a close. With a palpable sense of relief, the Cisalpino joint venture operator announced on July 20 that the first of its Class 610 tilting ...