Freight news – Page 154
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NewsPrototype shunter rolls out
CZECH REPUBLIC: CZ Loko has rolled out a prototype diesel-electric locomotive for shunting and light mainline duties. The Class 744 Bo-Bo loco has asynchronous traction motors and a 1 MW Caterpillar 3508C engine meeting the EU Stage IIIA emissions standards. Maximum speed is 100 km/h. The 72 tonne locomotive ...
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NewsEurorunner reaches the finish line
EUROPE: Siemens announced the sale of its final Eurorunner ER20 diesel locomotive on July 26. The design has now been replaced in the manufacturer's range by the Vectron DE, which incorporates customer feedback from the Eurorunner, has improved braking and fuel consumption and meets the latest standards for crashworthiness ...
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NewsEuroporte to operate Port of Bordeaux rail network
FRANCE: The Port of Bordeaux authority has awarded the Socorail business of Eurotunnel's Europorte subsidiary an eight-year contract to operate and maintain the 20 km of rail infrastructure at its Bassens and Le Verdon sites. Europorte has previously won similar contracts at the ports of Dunkerque, Nantes Saint-Nazaire, Le Havre, ...
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NewsPPP model to fund Kalimantan coal network
INDONESIA: A declaration to pursue construction of a number of new lines in Kalimantan under a public-private partnership model was signed at a joint meeting of ministers held on July 17. The declaration was signed by representatives of a number of private companies and public authorities, including ...
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NewsGenesee & Wyoming agrees to buy RailAmerica
USA: Genesee & Wyoming Inc announced on July 23 that it had agreed to acquire RailAmerica and ‘combine the two largest short line and regional rail operators in North America’. The deal is still subject to approval by the Surface Transportation Board, which GWI hopes to receive between the ...
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NewsPlovdiv – Svilengrad integrated control centre opens
BULGARIA: A centralised traffic control centre has been opened in Plovdiv, marking the latest stage in the long-running modernisation of the main line to Svilengrad, close to the Turkish border. At an inauguration ceremony on July 10, Transport Minister Ivaylo Moskovski said the dispatch facility was the ...
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NewsChina to Europe rail freight joint venture established
INTERNATIONAL: Transport Holding of Chongqing, China Railway Company for International Multimodal Transport, RZD Logistics, Schenker China and Kaztransservice have established the YuXinOu (Chongqing) Logistics joint venture to manage rail freight services between China and Europe. Operations will begin with container traffic between Chongqing and Duisburg. The joint venture expects to ...
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NewsSiemens awarded heavy haul electric locomotive contract
AUSTRALIA: The BHP Billiton Mitsubishi Alliance has awarded Siemens a contract to supply 13 electric locomotives for use on heavy-haul coal trains in Queensland. Announcing the order on July 12, Siemens said the 1067 mm gauge locomotives would be 'some of the highest-powered narrow gauge electric locomotives in the world'. ...
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NewsKyrgyz Railways orders Evolution locomotives
KAZAKHSTAN: National railway KTZ's JSC Lokomotiv Kurastyru Zauyty manufacturing plant has won its second contract to produce TE33A Evolution diesel locomotives for export. The contract for five locomotives was signed on July 3 by Argynbek Malabaev, Chief Executive of Kyrgyzstan's national railway KTJ. LKZ was established in ...
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NewsRio Tinto automation contract confirmed
AUSTRALIA: Train operations on Rio Tinto’s heavy haul iron ore railways in the Pilbara are to be fully automated by 2015 under two contracts announced on July 6. Valued at A$362m in total, the contracts have been exercised under the framework agreement which Rio Tinto signed with Ansaldo STS in ...
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NewsRDC wins case in Guatemala railway dispute
GUATEMALA: Pittsburgh-based Railroad Development Corp announced on July 5 that it had won its five-year arbitration case against the Republic of Guatemala over the disputed concession to revive and operate the country’s national rail network. On June 29 a tribunal of the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes unanimously ...
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NewsSwiss start work on fourth control centre
SWITZERLAND: The foundation stone for SBB’s new Central Region control centre at Olten was officially laid on July 5, although preparatory work has been underway since last October. The ceremony was attended by Bruno Stehrenberger, Head of Operations at SBB Infrastruktur, the city’s mayor Ernst Zingg and canton Solothurn’s Director ...
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NewsWagon fleet privatisation proposed
KAZAKHSTAN: The government is developing plans for the Kaztemirtrans freight business of national railway KTZ to transfer ownership of its wagon fleet to the private sector. Because of a shortage of wagons Kaztemirtrans currently uses foreign-registered vehicles for 20% of its traffic, and as neighbouring countries reform their wagon ownership ...
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NewsThree-year investment programme approved
VIETNAM: An investment programme worth US$9·5bn over the next three years has been approved by parliament, paving the way for state railway DSVN to undertake significant modernisation works on key north-south corridors. Due for completion by 2015, the package focuses on raising line speeds to 120 km/h ...
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NewsDB Schenker to serve London Gateway
UK: DB Schenker expects to operate four intermodal trains per day from the London Gateway deep-water port when it opens in the fourth quarter of next year. Representing total investment of £1·5bn, London Gateway is being developed by DP World on the site of the former Shellhaven ...
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NewsUnion Pacific subsidiary buys Yard Control Systems business
USA: Union Pacific Corp's PS Technology subsidiary announced its acquisition of the Yard Control Systems division of Ansaldo STS USA on June 25. Terms were not disclosed. Based at Norristown in Pennsylvania, Yard Control Systems provides automation and control technology for marshalling yards. Later this year it expects to release ...
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NewsPostgraduate partnership extended
RUSSIA: Russian Railways and DB Schenker agreed at the 1520 Strategic Business Forum in Sochi on May 31 to extend their postgraduate educational partnership for a further five years. DB Schenker and RZD established a joint Centre for International Logistics & Supply Chain Management at St Petersburg State University in ...
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NewsNîmes - Montpellier contract signed
FRANCE: The 25-year PPP contract covering financing and construction of the mixed-traffic high speed line bypassing Nîmes and Montpellier was formally signed on June 28, by Réseau Ferré de France President Hubert du Mesnil and Bouygues Construction President & CEO Yves Gabriel on behalf of the OC’VIA consortium. Bringing together ...
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NewsReforms proposed to cut SNCB losses
BELGIUM: In a bid to address the growing debts and operating losses incurred by the national railway, Minister of Public Enterprises Paul Magnette has announced proposals to abolish SNCB-Holding and split the business into two stand-alone companies, operator SNCB and infrastructure manager Infrabel. Last year the group’s accumulated debts reached ...
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NewsFreight sale heads Israeli reform programmme
ISRAEL: General Manager Boaz Zafir has confirmed that a subsidiary company to operate Israel Railways' freight services will begin operations during the third quarter of 2012. The company is due to be legally established by the end of June, ready for partial privatisation in early 2013 when a strategic ...