Freight news – Page 163
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NewsStrong quarter boosts CP's 2010 results
CANADA: Announcing its fourth-quarter and year-end results for 2010 in Calgary on January 26, Canadian Pacific Railway reported significant revenue improvements across all areas of its business. Revenue in the final quarter increased by 13% to C$1·3bn, contributing to a 27% jump in net income to C$186m. Total revenues for ...
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NewsRussian bogie agreement signed
SLOVAKIA: Rolling stock and component supplier Tatravagonka has signed a strategic partnership to develop and supply Barber S-2-R radial bogies for freight wagons being manufactured at the new Tikhvin rolling stock plant east of St Petersburg. The formal agreement was signed in Dobra on January 24 during a visit to ...
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NewsHeavy haul expansion plan approved
AUSTRALIA: Investment of US$4·6bn in heavy haul rail and port facilities is included in a US$8·4bn expansion plan which has been approved by Fortescue Metals Group. The 30-month project will see FMG’s Pilbara ore production capacity increased from 55 to 155 million tonnes/year. Rail works include doubling 120 km ...
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NewsCP announces 2011 capital investment plan
CANADA: Canadian Pacific Railway is to invest C$950m to C$1·05bn under its 2011 capital plan announced on January 12. The focus is on capacity to sustain efficiencies gained through its 'long train' strategy and depot and yard consolidations; projects to improve reliability and customer service; growth and market-based opportunities, ...
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NewsBreak of gauge no more
EUROPE: Opening of the new line between Perpignan and Figueres and completion of a €337m programme to provide a 1 435 mm gauge route for freight trains between Figueres and Barcelona Morrot has enabled 6 h to be cut from the transit time for intermodal services. Since December 21 ...
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NewsTouax buys wagon fleet
EUROPE: Asset leasing firm Touax Rail completed the purchase of a fleet of 685 wagons which are leased to operators in Hungary and Slovakia during December. A third-party investor funded 75% of the €30m deal, which adds Shimms steel coil and Habbi(II)nss covered wagons to Touax’s fleet of 8 200 ...
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NewsReturn to Malanje marks Angolan railway revival
ANGOLA: Caminhos de Ferro de Luanda passenger and freight services returned to the city of Malanje after 18 years on January 13, following rehabilitation of the 424 km line from Luanda. Passenger trains are scheduled to take 9 to 10 h with one stop at Ndalatando, and around 300 ...
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NewsNorth Rail Express takes DB Schenker beyond the Arctic Circle
NORWAY: On January 4 DB Schenker launched North Rail Express, a freight service linking Oslo's Alnabru terminal with Narvik in the north. There are five return trips a week, taking a competitive 28 h to cover the 1 960 km route via Sweden. The operator is expecting to carry 25 ...
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NewsSaving one tonne per wagon
BRAZIL: Following 18 months of trials on Vale's metre-gauge heavy freight lines, V&M do Brasil is seeking type approval for its tubular axle design, which the company claims could allow operators to increase payloads by up to 1 tonne per wagon. The machined tubular axle was developed to fit 1000 ...
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NewsSiemens wins first Vectron order
EUROPE: Siemens Mobility announced on December 22 that it had signed the first contract for supply of new locomotives from its modular Vectron family. München-based leasing company Railpool GmbH has ordered six locos for use on passenger and freight services in Germany and Austria. The contracts were signed at the ...
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NewsHigh hoppers delivered
UK: WH Davis has supplied DB Schenker Rail with 12 hopper wagons to a new design which will enable aggregates to be delivered for Tarmac to terminals where unloading space is limited. The 75 tonne capacity stainless steel bodies are higher above rail level than is normal for hoppers designed ...
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NewsGas turbine in heavy haul tests
RUSSIA: The GT1-001 gas turbine-electric locomotive prototype being developed by RZD achieved a further milestone on December 20, when it hauled a 12 000-tonne freight train on the Moscow Railway’s Bekovka – Bekasovo line. The tests were conducted to demonstrate the locomotive’s ability to haul longer and heavier trains than ...
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NewsBroad gauge to Wien is feasible, says study
EUROPE: The proposed 450 km broad-gauge railway from Košice in eastern Slovakia to the Wien-Bratislava region offers the potential to create jobs and provide economic benefits to four countries, according to a pre-feasibility study undertaken by Roland Berger Strategy Consultants. The study was commissioned in April by project promoter Breitspur ...
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NewsMulti-mode wagon body
EUROPE: A further type of body has been developed for the Flex Freight System multi-purpose wagons which were launched last year by leasing firm Wascosa. The 20 ft Type R swap body was developed by Wascosa in conjunction with ExTe, which specialises in transport locks for transporting timber. The profile ...
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NewsHammond puts reform back on the agenda
UK: Efficiency savings worth between £600m and £1bn are achievable by 2018-19 without reducing service quality or network size, according to an interim report examining the cost of operating and maintaining Britain’s railways. Its author, Sir Roy McNulty, is expected to submit his completed Value for Money Review to government ...
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NewsBelgrano Railway upgrade
ARGENTINA: The federal government's US$408m programme to upgrade 1645 km of the metre-gauge Belgrano network is to be funded by a US$326m loan from the Andean Development Corporation. Work is already underway to upgrade routes between Joaquín V González in the northwestern province of Salta and the river ports ...
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NewsCaptrain completes ITL acquisition
GERMANY: French rail freight and logistics group SNCF Geodis confirmed on November 29 that it would complete its acquisition of ITL Eisenbahngesellschaft mbH with effect from December 1. Having acquired a 75% stake in the family-owned business in 2008, SNCF Geodis is now acquiring the remaining 25% held by ITL ...
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NewsTransContainer IPO
RUSSIA: Trading in shares in Russian Railways’ intermodal subsidiary TransContainer began in London and Moscow on November 12, following an initial public offering which raised US$400m through the sale of 35% minus 2 shares. Allowing for debt this implied an enterprise value of US$1·32bn. ‘We are very pleased that the ...
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NewsModernised locomotives handed over to Green Cargo
SWEDEN: The first two of 42 Class Rc electric locomotives being refurbished by Bombardier Transportation's Västerås plant were handed back to Green Cargo on November 22. Driver training is set to begin by the start of December, with the modernised locomotives initially deployed on Göteborgs - Nässjö container trains. Green ...
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NewsRZD and VR seek to increase Helsinki - Moscow market share
EUROPE: Russian Railways and Finnish operator VR signed a memorandum of intent on November 23 under which they will increase their co-operation in the provision of Helsinki - Moscow container trains. Their aim is to attract additional freight flows to rail by developing a competitive product through increased technical and ...