Argentina: The Entre Ríos provincial government has signed an agreement with ALL Mesopot? mica that will see the Concepción del Uruguay - Paran? route re-opened to freight traffic with new terminals at Estación Parera and Nogoy? . A daily Basavilbaso - Villaguay passenger service is also planned.
ALL Central has re-opened the 87 km branch to Monte de los Gauchos in the province of Córdoba. Work was funded by a shipper which expects to dispatch 100 000 tonnes of grain for export each year.
Armenia: Transport Minister Andranik Manukyan has said that preparatory work for reopening the railway link from Giumri to Kars in Turkey is complete. A political decision by Turkey to reopen the route is still required.
Bangladesh: The World Bank has recommended that BR should be established as a corporate entity separate from the government. It should contract out services and establish joint ventures, place more emphasis on freight, and restructure tariffs with market pricing.
Bosnia-Herzegovina: Reconstruction of the Zenica - Bosanski Samac line has been completed, using €8m of EU funding.
Europe: On July 15 ICA and Bertani introduced a daily rolling motorway service between München and Sopron, using Bertani-owned wagons. ÖBB and GySEV are providing the locomotives and coaches for the lorry drivers.
Connex subsidiary Bayerische CargoBahn GmbH has been certified to operate freight trains on ÖBB tracks between the German border, Kufstein and Salzburg until July 2008.
India: DS Constructions Ltd has reached financial close for a BOT project to convert the metre gauge Viramgam - Mahesana line to broad gauge. The route will link the port of Kandla with the northwestern states. A guaranteed access charge of 24 equal instalments of around Rs79m will be paid to DSCL by IR every six months.
Iraq: Train services from Syria to Mosul resumed on July 30. The first train from Turkey since February arrived in Iraq on August 3, and an agreement between the Turkish government and the Iraqi authorities is being formulated to regularise cross-border services.
Kenya: Services were on the Nairobi - Nanyuki line resumed at the end of July, as scheduled (RG 7.03 p415). KRC plans to use Nanyuki as a railhead for traffic to and from Ethiopia.
Poland: PLK has commissioned Parsons Brinckerhoff to carry out a feasibility study co-financed by the EU's ISPA programme into upgrading the 350 km Warszawa - Gdynia E65 section of TEN Corridor VI. Options to be reviewed include 160 km/h operation and allowance for 200 km/h tilting trains.
Russia: The Ministry of Railway Transport expects the Severomuysk tunnel on the Baikal - Amur line to open in November.
Spain: Ubicar has opened a €9m rail-served automotive distribution centre at Zuera with space for up to 12000 cars.
Sudan: Iran is to help repair Sudanese infrastructure and rolling stock and provide staff training under an agreement signed in Tehran in July. Spoornet has supplied a further six diesel-electric locomotives to SR, joining the 10 sent previously. The lease is worth US$4m per year, including maintenance. Spoornet is also to refurbish 35 Sudanese locos.
United Kingdom: An application has been submitted to the Department for Transport for a Transport & Works Order covering a planned railfreight terminal in Telford.
USA: A train control pilot programme is to be carried out on BNSF's 216 km Centralia - Beardstown route, using 50 locos fitted with Wabtec Corp's Electronic Train Management System.
Zimbabwe: SGI Holdings subsidiary Freight Forwarders Zimbabwe has launched a rail freight service between Beira and Harare, and expects to carry 52000 tonnes/month.
