Freight news – Page 162
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NewsEuropean Commission outlines 2050 transport vision
EUROPE: ‘Curbing mobility is not an option’. That is the one of the central tenets of the European Commission’s latest transport White Paper published on March 28. Building on the previous document issued in 2001, the Commission has entitled its White Paper a ‘Road Map to a Single European Transport ...
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NewsEtihad Rail on course to open in 2013
UAE: The first freight trains on the emirates’ nascent rail network will start running in 2013, according to the Chairman of Etihad Rail Nasser Al Sowaidi. Speaking at an event in Abu Dhabi on March 23 to mark the rebranding of the company previously known as Union Railway, Al Sowaidi ...
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NewsPKP Cargo starts running into Germany
EUROPE: Just 24 h after the Polish government invited expressions of interest for the sale of a majority stake in PKP Cargo to a strategic investor, the state-owned freight operator announced on March 22 that it had started running its own trains on the German network. Up to now, PKP ...
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NewsTransContainer targets Eurasian transit market
KAZAKHSTAN: Russian intermodal freight operator TransContainer announced on March 21 that it had taken control of a majority stake in Kazakh container terminal operator JSC KedenTransService, with an eye to expanding rail’s share of the transit market for containers moving between Asia and Europe. As well as providing cargo handling ...
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NewsTrinity Industries and GATX announce five-year wagon deal
USA: Leasing firm GATX Corp has agreed to order 12 500 tank and other wagons from Trinity Industries over the next five years, the companies announced on March 15. TrinityRail Group President D Stephen Menzies said the long-term deal would provide the manufacturer with 'production continuity', while GATX President & ...
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NewsDoors instead of curtains
AUSTRALIA: Intended as an improvement on curtain-sided designs, the Supalite container has been developed by Adelaide-based SCF Group. The container has moulded plastic bi-folded doors that are intended to save weight whilst retaining structural strength. Freight forwarder Toll Group expects to trial Supalite on an intermodal flow in August. The ...
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NewsSafer, simpler shunting
EUROPE: The movement of wagons around industrial premises and private sidings has been simplified by the development of the RVK shunting adaptor for use with a conventional front-end loader. The RVK has been developed by Austrian engineering group Fiegl Maschinenbau for use at a local steelworks. The steel company had ...
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NewsMRS Logística awards CBTC contract
BRAZIL: MRS Logística has awarded a US$165m contract for the design and installation of communications-based train control across its 1 674 route-km network by the end of 2013. Operating in the states of Rio de Janeiro, Minas Gerais and São Paulo, the railway handles substantial flows of iron ore, ...
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NewsPKP Cargo privatisation strategy approved
POLAND: On March 1 the Prime Minister’s office confirmed that the government intends to press ahead with plans to privatise the national state-owned rail freight operator PKP Cargo As with other freight operators across Europe, PKP Cargo was hit hard by economic slowdown, reporting an operating loss of 497m złoty ...
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NewsTülomsas rolls out Turkish PowerHaul
TURKEY: Celebrations in Eskisehir on February 28 marked the rollout of the first PowerHaul diesel locomotive to be assembled in Turkey. The locomotive has been assembled by Tülomsas using components manufactured at GE Transportation’s plant in Erie, Pennsylvania, USA. The locomotive will run on the TCDD network for testing and ...
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NewsNorfolk Southern sets out 2011 spending plan
USA: Norfolk Southern is planning capital investment of $2·2bn in 2011. 'Baseline' investment of $1·74bn is up 19% on last year, and includes $300m for track and terminal expansion. Resumption of its coal wagon replacement programme will see the purchase of 1500 vehicles, a level which is expected to ...
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NewsIndian Railways faces testing times, says minister
INDIA: Presenting the Indian Railways budget for 2011-12 to Parliament on February 25, Minister of Railways Mamata Banerjee warned that IR was facing a ‘testing time’, citing a significant jump in fuel costs, and wage increases imposed following a review by the Pay Commission. With 1·4 million employees and 1·2 ...
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NewsTransnet takes delivery of GE locomotives
SOUTH AFRICA: A ceremony at Transnet Rail Engineering's Koedoespoort works in Pretoria on February 21 marked the formal delivery of the first two of 100 GE Transportation C30ACi diesel locomotives ordered by Transnet Freight Rail in December 2009. According to GE they are the first diesel locomotives with AC traction ...
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NewsCN announces capital investment
CANADA: Canadian National Railway Co announced a 2011 capital spending plan totalling C$1·7bn on February 9. Approximately C$1bn will be allocated to track, bridge and other infrastructure works, with improvements to be made to the Elgin, Joliet & Eastern Railway which was acquired in 2009 to provide a 'missing ...
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NewsBNSF announces $3·5bn 2011 capital programme
USA: BNSF announced a $3·5bn capital programme for 2011 on February 7, with the largest element being $2bn allocated to investment in the core network and related assets. BNSF will spend $450m acquiring 227 locomotives and $350m on wagons and other equipment. The federally-mandated PTC programme will require $300m, and ...
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NewsCSX to invest $2bn in 2011
USA: CSX Corp is to invest $2bn in its network during 2011, with two-thirds going on infrastructure and rolling stock and the rest split between strategic and regulatory investments. This is up from $1·8bn in 2010. On January 24 CSX announced 2010 operating income of $3·1bn, up 35% on 2009. ...
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NewsRZD’s first 2ES10 locomotive unveiled
RUSSIA: The Ural Locomotives joint venture of Sinara Transport Machines and Siemens Mobility has completed production of the first of two prototype 2ES10 electric locomotives at the Verkhnyaya Pyshma plant near Yekaterinburg.While Sinara has been using Siemens components and design input to produce 83 2ES6 DC locomotives for RZD’s Sverdlovsk ...
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NewsSNCB Logistics gains independence
BELGIUM: A major step in the restructuring of SNCB's freight activities came into effect on February 1, when SNCB Logistics began operating as an autonomous subsidiary owned 93·14% by SNCB and 6·86% by parent group SNCB Holding. Management and some supervisory staff have transferred to SNCB Logistics, with central services ...
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NewsEMD wins two SD70ACe orders
NORTH AMERICA: Electro-Motive Diesel announced on January 28 that it had won two more orders to supply its 4 300 hp SD70ACe locomotive to operators in Canada and Mexico. Quebec North Shore & Labrador has ordered a further five locomotives for delivery from August, augmenting a build of seven that ...
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NewsEconomical wagons cut bitumen transport costs
UK: Total has replaced the fleet of wagons which carry bitumen from its refinery in Immingham to its processing and distribution plant in Preston with a more efficient design developed in conjunction with leasing firm VTG Rail UK. The 30 new wagons eliminate the need for staff to access ...