Freight news – Page 177
-
NewsHurdles ahead in the race to rescue European freight
PARIS: A high-level conference on October 29 sought to assess progress towards a European freight-oriented network, but numerous obstacles lie ahead. Murray Hughes reports.
-
NewsNo freight on Perpignan - Figueres?
SNCF’s Director, Freight, Luc Nadal, said on October 29 that the Perpignan – Figueres line now being built by concessionaire TP Ferro was not suitable for freight traffic - despite the fact that it was expressly designed as a mixed-traffic railway. Asked to explain why, Nadal cited three problems. First, ...
-
NewsPerishables back on the rails
USA: On October 6 CSX and Union Pacific launched a perishable produce service with trains of 55 refrigerated cars taking 128 h between California and New York. 'What is exciting about this new service is that we’re carrying produce such as peppers, grapes and celery that we haven’t ...
-
NewsLiefkenshoek PPP reaches financial close
BELGIUM: Work is to start on November 12 on construction of the Liefkenshoek Connection serving the port of Antwerpen, following the signing of a PPP concession for the project. Infrastructure manager Infrabel confirmed on November 5 that it had reached financial close on the deal, under which LocoRail NV will ...
-
NewsThe great train drought
SOUTH AFRICA: A derailment near Overvaal on September 4 of 42 laden coal wagons forming part of a 200-vehicle train blocked the busy Richards Bay line for at least two days. The latest in a series of problems, the blockage sparked further concern among the country’s coal mining companies, who ...
-
NewsGE diesels will revitalise KTZ fleet
KAZAKHSTAN: GE Transportation is working with Kazakhstan Temir Zholy to modernise the locomotive fleet, reports Murray Hughes.
-
NewsCP completes Dakota, Minnesota & Eastern takeover
USA: Canadian Pacific Railway marked its first day of operational control of Dakota, Minnesota & Eastern Railroad Corp and its subsidiaries Iowa, Chicago & Eastern Railroad and Cedar American Rail Holdings on October 30. This followed the end of a 30-day regulatory standstill after the Surface Transport Board finally ...
-
NewsGreen Cargo orders Traxx locos for steel contract
SWEDEN: Green Cargo has placed a €51m order with Bombardier for 16 Traxx F140AC electric locomotives. To be delivered between February and July 2010, they will be used on freight trains to be operated under a 10-year contract with steel sheet and plate producer SSAB. Green Cargo's SKr2·5bn transport ...
-
NewsLG takes up option on 10 Eurorunners
LITHUANIA: State railway Lietuvos Geležinkeliai has exercised an option for a further 10 Siemens ER20CF freight locomotives, which will be delivered between May and September 2010 in a deal worth more than €35m including maintenance. The 120 km/h locomotives are an option on a €123m order for 34 placed ...
-
NewsPilbara open access from November 20
AUSTRALIA: Three heavy haul iron ore railways in West Australia are to be 'declared' permitting third parties to negotiate open access with effect from November 19, Commonwealth Treasurer Wayne Swan announced on October 27. Swan will 'declare' BHP Billiton's Goldsworthy railway and Rio Tinto's Robe River and Hamersley lines ...
-
NewsSBB Cargo pulls potential partners
SWITZERLAND: Strong interest in SBB Cargo was evident when bids to work in partnership with the freight operator closed. As many as 25 organisations had submitted expressions of interest by September 22, and 14 of these had handed in firm offers by the October 15 deadline. Head of SBB ...
-
NewsCourt decision favours heavy haul access
AUSTRALIA: A unanimous decision of the high court has ruled that BHP Billiton Iron Ore's Mount Newman and Goldsworthy railways are 'services', rather than part of the 'production process', and so the miner is obliged to negotiate third party access with competitor Fortescue Metals on a commercial basis. ...
-
News
Every little counts in fuel-efficiency fight
AUSTRALIA: Pacific National has introduced the Freightmiser route-optimisation software to help its drivers conserve fuel and maintain schedules on its long-haul intermodal services. The tool's developers now believe the concept is ripe for export, as Nick Kingsley explains.
-
NewsTrans-Korean reconstruction begins
NORTH KOREA: Ceremonies were held at the border station of Tumangan on October 4 to mark the start of reconstruction work on the first section of the Trans-Korean Main Line between the Russian border and the port of Rajin, where a new container terminal is to be built. Intended to ...
-
NewsTrans-Eurasia Express to launch next year
GERMANY: Welcoming the arrival in Hamburg of a container train from China on October 6, DB Chairman Harmut Mehdorn confirmed that DB Schenker planned to launch a regular scheduled service following the Chinese new year in February 2009. Operating under the Trans-Eurasia Express branding, the dedicated container trains will initially ...
-
NewsMarket reforms revitalise European rail freight
FREIGHT: Does competition between operators improve efficiency and is the separation of infrastructure from operations necessary to develop viable competition? Jeremy Drew compares the impact on customers of railway reforms in three European countries.
-
NewsSBB seeks freight partner
SWITZERLAND: Swiss Federal Railways plans to team up with a partner to ensure its survival in the competitive European freight market.
-
News
Melbourne port project launched
AUSTRALIA: A A$50m project to improve the efficiency of rail services around the Port of Melbourne was formally launched last month. The state of Victoria is contributing A$23·5m to the project, the national government A$10m and ARTC the remainder. Work is expected to begin in early 2009 for completion in ...
-
News
Air freight takes to the rails
EUROPE: The Eurocarex consortium has unveiled plans to order a fleet of dedicated trainsets in time to launch high speed freight trains in 2012. The prospect of high speed rail freight services linking some of Europe’s major airports is moving closer, after the partners in the Eurocarex project signed a ...
-
NewsModular shunter launch
INNOTRANS: Making its debut at InnoTrans, the G6 diesel-hydraulic shunting loco is the first model in a new range of modular designs being developed by Vossloh Locomotives. Powered by a 650 kW engine, the three-axle centre-cab G6 has a tractive effort of around 194 kN, making it one of ...