Freight news – Page 172
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NewsThree locos replace five on 13 000 tonne coal haul
AUSTRALIA: The first three of 23 Class 7100 25 kV electric locomotives being built for Pacific National by Siemens Mobility's München-Allach plant have entered service in Queensland. The 1 067 mm gauge locomotives were ordered in 2007, and deliveries will run to mid-2010. Three Class 7100s will replace five ...
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NewsAlabama Warrior Railway launched
USA: Short line company Watco Transportation Services launched Alabama Warrior Railway on August 7. The 24 km railway in Birmingham, Alabama, connects with BNSF, Norfolk Southern and CSX. The main traffic is coal for Walter Coke Inc, with other customers including LaFarge, US Pipe, Cemex, Harrison Gypsum and Performance Minerals. ...
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NewsRZD approves Finnish freight joint venture
EUROPE: The Russian Railways board has given the go -ahead for a planned joint venture between its First Freight Company subsidiary and Finnish national railway VR. An equally-owned joint-stock company is to be incorporated under Finnish law, and will be responsible for marketing and organising rail freight services between ...
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NewsLocomotives get less hungry
EFFICIENCY: More than 2·3 billion litres of fuel a year would be saved if every train in North America were to be fitted with GE Transportation's Trip Optimizer, the supplier believes. The launch customer for the energy management package is Canadian Pacific, which is to fit it to 200 locomotives ...
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NewsFar north heavy haul study
EUROPE: The development of iron ore mines around Pajala in Sweden and Kolari in Finland has spurred the re-evaluation of proposals for the Ishavsbanen, a 312 km line linking Kolari to Skibotn on the Norwegian Sea. A feasibility study by Sweco was presented by a grouping of local authorities in ...
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NewsDB completes PCC Logistics purchase
POLAND: Deutsche Bahn completed its acquisition of PCC Logistics with effect from July 21. An agreement for the purchase of Poland's largest private rail freight operator for an undisclosed price was signed in Warszawa on January 30, and the European Commission approved the deal on June 12. Launched in ...
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NewsPartners sign locomotive development agreement
EUROPE: A further step in the formation of a joint venture to produce locomotives for Russian Railways was taken on July 16, when RZD Chief Executive Vladimir Yakunin, Sinara Group CEO Dmitry Pumpyansky and Siemens board member Siegfried Russwurm signed an agreement in München in the presence of German Chancellor ...
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NewsFreightliner PowerHaul locomotives ready for testing
UK: GE Transportation is about to begin dynamic testing the first two of 30 PowerHaul locomotives it is building for Freightliner. Locomotives 70001 and 70002 will be subjected to more than 170 tests including ride quality, gauging and electromagnetic compatibility using the 6 km test track at GE Transportation's plant ...
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NewsCatalan cargo shuttle
SPAIN: Cargometro launched a swap body shuttle carrying car parts between the Port of Barcelona and the SEAT plant in Martorell on June 4, using the 17·5 km dual-gauge freight route between Can Tunis and Castellbisbal built under the Madrid – Barcelona high speed programme. This is expected to remove ...
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NewsEurotunnel looking at High Speed 1 bid
EUROPE: Eurotunnel Chairman & Chief Executive Jacques Gounon has revealed that the company is 'looking carefully' at submitting a bid for High Speed 1 when the UK government puts it on the market following the break-up of London & Continental Railways. Eurotunnel believes it will be in a strong ...
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NewsFreightliner Australia begins with cotton contract
AUSTRALIA: Freightliner Australia ran its first train on June 30, using leased locomotives to haul containerised processed cotton in New South Wales under a contract with Namoi Cotton Co-operative. 'Freightliner have been exploring a number of overseas opportunities, and we are delighted to have commenced a long-term partnership with ...
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NewsCarajás Railway to use biofuel
BRAZIL: Mining group Vale has announced plans to become self-sufficient in the production of B20 biodiesel for its locomotives, which since 2007 have run on a B20 mix of 20% palm oil and 80% ordinary diesel. On June 24 Vale announced details of a consortium with Biopalma da ...
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NewsGovernment agrees to take over Tasmanian railways
AUSTRALIA: Agreement has been reached for Tasmania's state government to acquire Pacific National Tasmania's operations from Asciano 'as a going concern'. The transfer will be completed by November 30, subject to agreement by the Asciano board and the state cabinet which is expected by June 30. Financial details have not ...
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NewsInnovation in the development of heavy haul
CHINA: The Ninth IHHA Conference on June 22-25 offers an exceptional opportunity to exchange technical information and knowledge about heavy haul railways.
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NewsHuron Central Railway to close
CANADA: Genesee & Wyoming is to close its Huron Central Railway Inc subsidiary, the short line operator announced on June 15. The economic downturn has brought a substantial decline in traffic over the last 12 months, 'to the point that the railroad is not economically viable to operate for the ...
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NewsHigh-performance diesels start to enter service
CHINA: Following the successful completion of cold weather trials, the first HXn3 diesel locos are entering service with Chinese Railways.
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NewsPilbara miners to combine heavy haul assets
AUSTRALIA: Rio Tinto and BHP Billiton have signed a non-binding agreement to combine their mining, heavy haul rail, port and other iron ore production assets in Western Australia. The June 5 agreement sets out plans to establish an equally-owned joint venture to manage the assets, with 'substantial synergies' expected ...
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NewsDB Schenker to review British Piggyback freight options
UK: DB Schenker Rail (UK) Ltd announced a review of options for Piggyback rail freight services in Britain in June 8, following independent enquiries from a number of freight customers seeing to cut distribution costs. The freight operator said ongoing work to increase clearances is opening up more rail ...
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NewsMRS launches CBTC operation
BRAZIL: The pilot section of MRS Logística's broad-gauge network equipped with SIACO communications-based train control was officially released for full commercial operation on June 1, two months later than planned following a period of intensive field testing. The 35 km section of the busy Pombal - Guaíba branch, together ...
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NewsFreight crisis is biting hard
EUROPE: Just how seriously the economic downturn is hurting Europe’s rail freight emerges from a Declaration issued at a joint CER-UIC High-Level Freight Meeting in Wien on April 24. That the 20 or so chief executives attending the event felt the need to send out a formal cry for help ...