Freight news – Page 179
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NewsOre line capacity upgrade
SOUTH AFRICA: Mining group Kumba Resources and Transnet Freight Rail have jointly announced a R4m project to increase the capacity of the Sishen - Saldanha iron ore line from 47 million to 60 million tonnes a year. Kumba is to be allocated 9 million of the additional 13 ...
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NewsManagement changes in the Rift Valley
EAST AFRICA: Following persistent criticism from the Ugandan and Kenyan governments over the performance of the 2 350 km Kenya - Uganda rail network following the launch of a 25-year operating concession last year, the Rift Valley Railways consortium announced on August 4 that it was changing its senior management. ...
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Genesee & Wyoming to buy Ohio Central
USA: Genesee & Wyoming Inc announced on August 4 that it had signed an agreement to purchase the Coshocton-based Ohio Central Railroad System, which operates nine short lines in Ohio and Pennsylvania. GWI has agreed to pay US$219m in cash, and a contingent consideration worth approximately $25m. GWI currently owns ...
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NewsPilbara access battle continues
AUSTRALIA: Fortescue Metals is a step closer to gaining access to the Pilbara railway networks owned by rival mining groups BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto. In mid-June the National Competition Council recommended that the Robe River, Hamersley and Goldsworthy rail lines should be opened up, in order to boost competition ...
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NewsDon't re-regulate rail freight
REGULATION: Rail has a major role to play in reducing energy use and addressing environmental concerns in North America, but proposals being debated in the US Congress to increase regulation of the sector could halt much-needed investment in additional capacity, argues Ed Hamberger.
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NewsSpanish freight to stand alone
SPAIN: Unveiling a package of measures aimed at reviving the national economy, Prime Minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero announced on June 23 that RENFE’s freight business would be established as a stand-alone company within three months. Although 100% state-owned to start with, it is expected that the new venture would ...
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NewsBetuwe Route is properly open
NETHERLANDS: More than a year after Queen Beatrix inaugurated the purpose-built Betuwe Route freight corridor, capacity restrictions are coming off and revenue operation is starting to ramp up. Eight paths an hour each way will be available from August 1.
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NewsVTG buys wagon manufacturer
GERMANY: Leasing firm VTG announced an agreement to acquire the wagon manufacturing assets of Graaff Group on July 29. Graaff had filed for insolvency in March, owing to 'difficulties in handling a large order and the tight liquidity situation.' Graaff's wagon plant at Elze near Hannover has an annual ...
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NewsSharing tracks in Sydney
AUSTRALIA: High-profile passenger operators battle for train paths with other urban, regional and national passenger and freight carriers. Sydney provides a case study of issues that confront rail operators across the globe.
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NewsArcapita now owns Freightliner
UK: Clearance from the European Commission has enabled investment bank Arcapita to acquire the entire issued share capital of Freightliner Group Ltd. Completion of the deal took place on July 24, and Arcapita now has outright ownership of Freightliner Group and its subsidiaries. The shares were previously held by 3i, ...
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NewsCoal loco commissioning underway
AUSTRALIA: The first two of 45 Class 3800 locomotives being supplied to QR by Siemens will enter service on coal trains in the Goonyella region next month. The 1067 mm gauge 25 kV AC electric locos are being commissioned at QR's Jilalan depot, having arrived in Brisbane on June 23 ...
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NewsHeavy haul in the high north
CANADA: Within a few years, Baffin Island in the Arctic archipelago will see construction of the world's most northerly railway, currently being designed by Canarail. The harsh environment poses daunting challenges in terms of design, construction and operation.
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NewsBoosting operational efficiency in Urumqi
CHINA: Trials with Lean Production techniques at Chinese Railways' Urumqi Railway Bureau demonstrated significant improvements in productivity and the efficiency of railway operations, allowing CR to handle increased traffic with fewer resources.
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NewsGlobaltrans to establish Ukrainian subsidiary
UKRAINE: On July 15 the board of Russian private freight operator Globaltrans approved the creation of a Ukrainian subsidiary. 'In line with the growth strategy we presented during our recent IPO, we believe that Ukraine provides significant current and future opportunities', said Globaltrans CEO Sergey Maltsev. 'We intend ...
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NewsFortescue opens the world's heaviest haul railway
AUSTRALIA: A remarkable iron ore railway has been built across the Pilbara region in record time. John Kirk reports.
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Court rules against TCI
USA: A district court judge in New York has ruled that two hedge funds seeking greater influence over CSX policy 'deliberately violated' US securities law. The court denied the railroad's request for an injunction to prevent the funds from voting their shares at the CSX annual meeting on June 25, ...
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NewsGE wins US$60m signalling contract
BRAZIL: Mining company Vale has awarded GE Transportation a US$60m contract to overhaul signalling and communication systems on the EFVM network. To be completed by 2010, the project covers the port of Tubarão and 600 km of metre-gauge double track between Vitória and iron ore mines in the state ...
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NewsKiwiRail launch marks end of 'failed' privatisation
NEW ZEALAND: Prime Minister Helen Clark unveiled KiwiRail as the name for the rail and ferry operations which were transferred from Toll New Zealand into government ownership on July 1. Services will initially be unchanged, with KiwiRail controlled by an establishment board chaired by former Prime Minister Jim Bolger; ...
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NewsDB Schenker increases BLS Cargo stake
EUROPE: Swiss railway group BLS has sold a 25% stake in BLS Cargo to DB Schenker, which now holds 45% of the freight operator. The deal was an option on the 2002 agreement between DB and BLS to co-operate on north-south trans-Alpine freight traffic. The contracts were concluded on ...
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NewsSympathetic operator wanted
AUSTRALIA: Tasmania's Premier David Bartlett said on June 17 that the state government is keen to find a new train operator to secure the future of the island's rail network. The previous week, Infrastructure Minister Graeme Sturgess confirmed that Pacific National was looking to sell its local rail freight ...