China: The Minstry of Railways has approved two new routes in Fujian province. The 277 km Wenfu Railway into Zhejiang province is to be completed in 2002 at a cost of 6·2bn yuan, and the 325 km Ganglong Railway into Jiangxi by 2004 at a cost of 8bn yuan.
Electric operation of the Chengdu - Kunming route starts on September 30.
Tracklaying on the Zhanjiang - Hai’an route was completed on July 30. The line is due to open next year when a train ferry will be introduced between Hai’an and Haikou on the island of Hainan.
Czech Republic: The government has agreed to guarantee funding for seven Class 680 tri-voltage 230 km/h tilting trains for CD (RG 7.99 p457), to be built by Fiat Ferroviaria in Savigliano for delivery from 2003. The KC4·37bn project is being financed by a consortium of banks led by CSOB.
Germany: Freiberger Eisenbahngesellschaft has won a 20-year concession to operate the 31 km branch from Freiberg, on the Chemnitz - Dresden main line, to Holzhau. Now being rehabilitated, the line will reopen on November 5.
DB is extending its depot at Berlin-Rummelsburg to handle second-generation ICE trainsets. A DM60m extension will add three 250m tracks, allowing the facility to process 60 trains in 24h.
Great Britain: As part of the station remodelling programme, Railtrack took Euston signalbox out of use on August 14. Relay-based equipment dating from 1965 has been replaced by a solid-state interlocking at the Wembley control centre, installed by Westinghouse Signals.
Romania: Under an 18-month contract worth US$1·5m, Seneca Group of the USA has been appointed to provide technical assistance to the Ministry of Transport on a railway restructuring programme.
Russia: RZD’s Krasnoyarsk Railway opened a new marshalling yard at Krasnoyarsk Vostochny on August 4.
Spain: The Ministry of Development has begun public consultation on two possible high-speed alignments across the centre of Barcelona between the airport and La Sagrera, including a 9 km tunnel from Sants under the Carrer de Mallorca. The city council favours the route via Morrot and Estació de França with a 1·5 km tunnel under the harbour.
A consortium of Ineco and Sener has been awarded a Pts196m contract to study route options for a branch from the proposed Madrid - Valencia high speed line to Murcia and Cartagena.
USA: Metro-North Railroad has extended its Upper Harlem line service by 11·2 km from Dover Plains to Wassaic, New York.
Amtrak conditionally accepted for revenue service on August 1 the first of 15 HHP-8 electric locos built by Alstom and Bombardier (RG 11.99 p694).
The 4·8 km Sheffield Junction flyover in Kansas City was opened on July 26, carrying the double-track Kansas City Terminal Railway (BNSF) over Kansas City Southern and Union Pacific main lines. Replacing flat crossings, the US$74m flyover should increase train speeds from 24 km/h to 80 km/h.
Providence & Worcester Railroad has begun construction of a 19 km route from Middletown to Hartford, Connecticut, to be completed by July 1 2001.
