Latest news – Page 1364
-
News
Kummant wants Amtrak to expand
PLANS TO develop inter-city rail corridors in the USA will only succeed if steps are taken to buy new rolling stock, warned Amtrak President & CEO Alexander Kummant when he appeared before the House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee in Congress on June 12. He said the railway had enough ...
-
News
Franco-German joint venture Alleo formed
AS PART of the preparations for the launch of commercial services on TGV Est on June 10, SNCF and DB AG signed a joint venture agreement on May 25 setting up a new subsidiary to manage the international services between France and Germany. Known as Alleo, the company will have ...
-
News
Separation is here to stay
A CLEAR indication of the European Union's commitment to the separation of infrastructure management from train operations came on June 5, when the European Parliament's Transport Committee voted 37:1 to adopt the Cramer Report on the implementation of the First Railway Package. After considering 163 amendments, the committee endorsed the ...
-
News
Variotrams to stay in Helsinki
HELSINKI Transport operator HKL confirmed in May that it had signed an agreement with Bombardier Transport-ation under which the supplier will take over responsibility for maintenance of the city's 40-strong fleet of low-floor Variotrams over the next 10 years. HKL says this means the vehicles will continue to operate in ...
-
News
RDC goes to court
ON JUNE 14 Railroad Development Corp and its affiliate Ferrovias Guatemala filed a claim for arbitration against the Republic of Guatemala with the International Centre for the Settlement of Investment Disputes in Washington DC, as provided for under the Central America - US Free Trade Agreement (Cafta). FVG is in ...
-
News
Argentina plans new rail strategy
THE FEDERAL congress has begun considering a government bill to create two new public bodies, in order to 'definitively restructure the railway industry in Argentina' in the words of Planning Minister Julio De Vido. An infrastructure authority known as AIF would be responsible for the operation and maintenance of ...
-
News
Bidders line up for Uruguay's PPPs
FOUR BIDDERS are seeking to prequalify for the contest to acquire a majority stake in a new freight operating joint venture with Uruguayan state operator AFE (RG 1.07 p7). To be selected within three months according to AFE President Antonio Galicchio, the preferred bidder would provide some US$50m for investment ...
-
News
Bids in for São Paulo airport express
TWO consortia have submitted proposals for construction of the Guarulhos airport rail link in São Paulo. CPTM's Planning & Management Co-ordinator Renato Viegas confirmed that two bids of 'a high standard' had been submitted by the Novo Metropole and Expresso Guarulhos groups. CPTM will now study the two submissions ...
-
News
Metro goes light in Madrid
SPAIN: Madrid’s first ‘light metro’ route opened to traffic after two months of trials on May 24, when LRVs began operating over the 5·5 km line between Pinar de Chamartín and Las Tablas in the city’s northern suburbs. By June 20 the Madrid regional government was able to report that ...
-
News
City News in Brief
Tenerife's Tranvía tramway opened on June 2 with a day of celebrations in Santa Cruz. Passengers were given free rides along the 12·4 km route between Intercambiador, Santa Cruz's bus and tram interchange, and La Trinidad. The route serves 21 stops, with a flat fare of €1·25 for all journeys. ...
-
News
China backs Cambodian link
A FEASIBILITY study into the construction of a 128 km line costing US$438m between Ho Chi Minh City and the Cambodian border was submitted last month to Vietnam's transport ministry by China's Railway Construction Corp and the China Machinery Import & Export Corp. Starting from the southern edge of the ...
-
News
MTR Laing wins London Overground
MAYOR of London Ken Livingstone announced on June 19 that 50:50 joint venture MTR Laing had been selected to operate a 107 km network of inner suburban lines under a contract to be signed on July 2. The contract will last for seven years from November 11 2007, with an ...
-
News
Repairs start on Luzon main line
THE AWARD of a US$50m contract on June 1 should see the section of Philippine National Railways' north - south main line on the island of Luzon rehabilitated, and 21 air-conditioned DMU cars placed in service. A Korean consortium comprising Daewoo, Hanjin Engineering & Construction and train builder Rotem won ...
-
News
Turkish LRT turnkey award
ANTALYA Metropolitan Municipality has awarded Alarco and CAF a €110m contract to design, build and commission an 11·1 km light rail route for the Turkish city. The contract includes the construction of 16 stops and a rolling stock maintenance depot. CAF will be responsible for electrification at 750 V DC, ...
-
News
UK franchise remapping bears fruit
NEW OPERATORS have been named to take over two of the three franchises in central England which are to start on November 11 (RG 11.05 p666). The Department for Transport announced on June 21 that Govia will run the re-mapped West Midlands network, and the following day confirmed that ...
-
News
News in Brief
CAPTION: The prototype for 27 MPXpress locos ordered from MotivePower Industries was unveiled by Toronto transport authority GO Transit on June 14. The 3 600 hp diesels have a higher top speed than the existing fleet, and will allow trains to be lengthened from 10 to 12 cars. GO has ...
-
News
News in Brief
On June 15 a ceremony took place at Frutigen to mark the opening of the 34·6 km Lötschberg base tunnel. A long stretch of single track remains at the northern end, and tunnel operator BLS stipulates that any train running more than 6 min late will forfeit its path and ...
-
News
Channel Tunnel freight deal follows crucial vote
EUROTUNNEL confirmed on June 1 that shareholders holding 87·3% of the 2·55 billion twinned shares in Eurotunnel SA and Eurotunnel plc had voted to accept the Exchange Tender Offer which forms the next step in the company's complex financial restructuring process. Eurotunnel Chairman & Chief Executive Jacques Gounon said ...
-
News
Hong Kong merger bill approved
THE PLANNED merger of Hong Kong’s metro operator MTR Corp and the Kowloon-Canton Railway Corp moved a step closer on June 8, when the Rail Merger Bill was approved by the region’s Legislative Council. The bill puts in place the legal framework needed to implement the merger of the state-owned ...
-
News
Cabinet authorises Bangkok Red Line
ON MAY 22 the Thai cabinet authorised State Railway of Thailand to call tenders for construction for the 14·7 km Taling Chan to Bang Sue first phase of the planned Red Line in the suburbs of Bangkok. Tenders will be called in the next few weeks, a contractor will be ...