Switzerland’s Federal Office of Transport has approved plans to build a new Albula Tunnel on the RhB network. Work is expected to start in 2015 for completion in 2020 at a cost of SFr345m. The existing 5864 m bore dating from 1903 would be retained for safety purposes.
Russia’s Freight One is to launch a subsidiary in Kazakhstan. ‘Equal and active participation in the development of the promising railway market of Kazakhstan will significantly strengthen Freight One’s position in the region, improving the quality and quantity of services to our clients’, said CEO Oleg Bukin.
On May 8 EIB signed a further €200m loan for the Marmaray project.
On May 10 Greece's national operator Trainose revived cross-border services from Thessaloniki to Sofia and Beograd
A settlement has been reached for AnsaldoBreda to pay SNCB €2·5m in compensation for the failure of the V250 Fyra train project; SNCB had initially sought €27m (RG 4.14 p29).
In early May Russian Railways began testing 7 100 tonne freight trains on the BAM route, using two 2ES5K Yermak electric locos then two 2TE25A diesels. BAM trains are typically 4800 tonnes.
