Freight news – Page 103
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NewsWorld rail freight news round-up
In co-operation with TurkRail, Hupac has launched a twice-weekly shuttle connection carrying tanks, swap-bodies and containers between Rotterdam, Duisburg and Istanbul Halkali with as transit time of one week. The 65 000 m2 Arken Combi Terminal at the Port of Göteborg was officially opened on February 7, enabling freight to ...
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NewsUncertainty derails Aurizon’s Galilee plans
AUSTRALIA: Prospects for the construction of rail links to serve controversial mining developments in Queensland’s Galilee Basin coal reserves have been thrown into doubt after heavy haul operator Aurizon announced on February 9 that it had decided to withdraw its application for funding from the federal government’s Northern Australia Infrastructure ...
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NewsCSX committed to Harrison’s vision
USA ‘I’m excited about the progress we are making and am confident we have the right team in place to achieve our goal of becoming the best railroad in North America’, said CSX Transportation President & Chief Executive Officer James M Foote, briefing investors on the company’s 2017 results. According ...
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NewsMedway enters Spanish market
SPAIN: Medway of Portugal has operated its first freight train on the Spanish national network between Madrid and Valencia, where five return intermodal services are now provided each week. Hauled by a Euro 4000 diesel locomotive and comprising 38 wagons carrying 76 TEU, the first service arrived at the Fuente ...
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NewsBydgoszcz – Gdynia included in electrification studies
POLAND: Infrastructure manager PKP PLK has awarded TPF a 5·8m złoty contract to study the feasibility of upgrading the Bydgoszcz – Kościerzyna – Gdynia route to handle significantly more freight traffic. This would free capacity on the main line via Gdańsk for use by passenger services. The Bydgoszcz – Kościerzyna ...
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NewsUP optimistic in 2018 forecasts
USA: Union Pacific is ‘optimistic that the economy will favour a number of our market segments, leading to another year of positive volume growth’, said Lance Fritz, Chairman, President & CEO, announcing the company’s 2017 results on January 25. UP reported net income of $10·7bn for the year, an increase ...
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NewsBNSF announces $3·3bn capital plan
USA: BNSF is planning to invest $3·3bn under its 2018 capital plan unveiled on January 31. This the same level of spending as 2017, and brings the total investment to more than $60bn since 2000. Within the total figure, $2·4bn has been allocated for maintenance and renewal of both infrastructure ...
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NewsWorld rail freight news round-up
ČD Cargo is seeking to award a framework contract for the supply of up to 55 locomotives suitable for international operation, enabling it to replace many of its older locos. The framework would cover up to 50 multi-system electric locos plus five diesels, with initial firm orders for 10 electric ...
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NewsIndian budget trebles railway investment
INDIA: A major increase in Indian Railways’ capital expenditure to Rs1 485bn in the 2018-19 financial year was announced by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley as part of the national budget unveiled on February 1. This is almost three times the Rs540m allocated for capital works in 2013-14. Jaitley said improvements ...
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NewsAcid tank wagon offers 'radically improved performance'
RUSSIA: United Wagon Co has delivered the first of 30 tank wagons of a new design developed to carry to carry highly corrosive concentrated nitric acid for fertiliser producer Uralchem. The Type 15-6901 wagons designed by UWC’s All-Union Research & Development Centre for Transportation Technology have a tank volume of ...
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NewsGrowing CN plans C$3·2bn capital spend in 2018
CANADA: ‘CN’s growth continues to outpace the economy’, said Canadian National President & Chief Executive Officer Luc Jobin, reporting the company’s 2017 results on January 23. Thanks to a strong fourth quarter, which saw a 156% increase in net income compared to the same quarter in 2016, CN recorded an ...
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NewsEIB backs upgrade of Polish broad gauge line
POLAND: Broad gauge freight line manager PKP LHS signed a 121m złoty loan agreement with the European Investment Bank on January 25 to part-finance a 263m złoty investment plan. The plan allocates 184m złoty for the installation of modern signalling to improve capacity and for the provision of optic fibre ...
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NewsRail associations call for NAFTA renewal
NORTH AMERICA: The Association of American Railroads, Railway Association of Canada and Asociación Mexicana de Ferrocarriles issued a joint letter on January 22 calling for ‘a constructive effort’ to negotiate a new North American Free Trade Agreement. 'To ensure that a new NAFTA can build upon the success of its ...
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NewsTrial shipment from Russia to Vietnam by rail
INTERNATIONAL: Russian Railways’ RZD Logistics and Ratraco have completed a trial delivery of a container by rail from the Vorsino terminal south of Moscow to Hanoi. Delivery of the container carrying cosmetic products for Russian company Red Line took 20 days, around half the time required by sea. TransContainer ...
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NewsWorld rail freight news round-up
Russian company Repetek has become the full owner of ZMK-Trans with the purchase of the 50% stake held by an outside shareholder. ZMK-Trans has around 300 flat wagons used for timber and general purpose transport, which will now supplement GK Maximum‘s fleet of more than 10 000 wagons. Malcolm Logistics ...
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NewsMolten sulphur tank wagons ordered
RUSSIA: United Wagon Co’s TikhvinChemMash subsidiary is to supply 112 Type 15-6913 molten sulphur tank wagons to Gazprom’s transport business GazpromTrans under a 952m rouble contract. The design takes into account lessons learned from the operation of older vehicles and feedback from testing undertaken at Gazprom sites in Orenburg and ...
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NewsGreen Cargo moves the same volume with fewer trains
SWEDEN: Green Cargo has begun using Innofreight's larger XXXL containers to deliver wood-based and refuse-derived fuel to Söderenergi’s fuel terminal in Nykvarn, enabling a reduction in the number of trains operated without reducing volumes. Green Cargo moves the fuel from Töva, Östavall, Ånge, Bastuträsk and Örnsköldsvik to Nykvarn, using double-headed ...
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NewsSitarail modernisation underway
AFRICA: Ceremonies were held in December to mark the formal start of work on a long-awaited project to rehabilitate the 1 260 km metre-gauge railway linking Abidjan in Côte d’Ivoire with Ouagadougou in neighbouring Burkina Faso. Announced in mid-2015, the project was dependent upon renegotiation of the concession under which ...
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NewsPortugal plans €626m South International Corridor upgrading
PORTUGAL: Having called tenders in March last year for an €18·5m upgrading of the 11 km between Elvas and the Spanish border as part of the first phase of the proposed South International Corridor, infrastructure manager Infraestruturas de Portugal provided further details of the work programme in early January at ...
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NewsAutomatic train operation to be tested on Dutch freight corridor
NETHERLANDS: Automatic Train Operation is to be tested on the Betuwe Route dedicated freight line this year, following the signing of an agreement between infrastructure manager ProRail, freight operator Rotterdam Rail Feeding and technology supplier Alstom. It is planned that an RRF locomotive will run approximately 100 km from the ...