All articles by Railway Gazette International – Page 899
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NewsTrenitalia awards contract for 50 high speed trains
ITALY: Trenitalia has selected a joint bid from Bombardier Transportation and AnsaldoBreda for a contract to supply 50 high speed trainsets. The board met on August 5 to approve the order, which should see a prototype completed within 300 days and entry into service by 2013. As well as ...
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NewsManchester Metrolink Phase 3b confirmed
UK: Confirmation that Phase 3b of the Manchester Metrolink light rail expansion programme is fully funded came on July 30 when the Association of Greater Manchester Authorities met to agree a £500m contribution from the Greater Manchester Transport Fund. The £1·5bn fund was created in May 2009 by AGMA and ...
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NewsChina South signs Saudi locomotive contract
SAUDI ARABIA: CSR Qishuyan has won a 74·2m riyal order to supply Saudi Railways Organization with 10 diesel freight locomotives. CSR said the contract signed on July 20 is a 'breakthough' as its first order to export main line locomotives to the region. Acting President of SRO Hamada Bin Abdul ...
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NewsJoint management of Corridor X agreed
EUROPE: The transport ministers of Slovenia, Croatia and Serbia signed a declaration on July 30 agreeing to form a joint company by October to manage freight traffic on Pan-European Corridor X. Their aim is to provide more competitive freight services between central Europe and Turkey, cutting Istanbul - Ljubljana transit ...
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NewsWagon component joint venture agreed
USA: Amsted Rail and Faiveley Transport's US subsidiary Ellcon National have announced plans to form a joint venture in which Faiveley Transport will have a majority stake. Launching on October 1, the venture will integrate Ellcon National's braking portfolio with Amsted Rail's range of bogie and coupler components. 'This strategic ...
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NewsNorwegian licence to support north-south growth
EUROPE: TX Logistik has been certified to provide rail services in Norway, removing the need to work with a local operating partner. 'We can now link Norway directly to our own network', said board member Raimund Stüer. 'We will be able to offer end-to-end transport from Norway through to ...
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NewsVossloh to supply Libyan track components
LIBYA: General contractor China Civil Engineering Construction Corp has awarded Vossloh contracts to supply rail fastenings and turnouts for 1 300 km of the future rail network in the west of Libya. The two contracts have a total value of €115m and deliveries will run to 2012. 'These two major ...
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NewsBatu Caves by KTMB
MALAYSIA: Pilgrims and tourists wanting to visit the Batu Caves and temple complex north of Kuala Lumpur can now use the KTMB Komuter service from Sentul following the opening of Batu Caves station at the end of July. The 520m ringgit project to double-track and electrify the existing 7·5 ...
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NewsToronto airport rail link negotiations collapse
CANADA: Toronto regional transport agency Metrolinx has taken over the project to provide a 'premium express rail shuttle' to Pearson International Airport, following the failure to finalise a contract with the Union Pearson Air -Link Group subsidiary of SNC-Lavalin which was selected for a finance, build and operate concession in ...
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NewsNews in Brief
Mongolia's parliament has approved construction of a 1100 km railway linking the Tavan Tolgoi coal deposits with Saynshand and the existing line from Russia to Bayantumen. This 1520 mm gauge option was chosen in preference to a shorter standard gauge line to China in the hope of developing new coal ...
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NewsThe coolest ride in London
UK: London Underground’s first air-conditioned S-Stock train departed Wembley Park shortly after 10.30 on August 2 bound for Watford. Joining passengers on board the Metropolitan Line train were Mayor of London Boris Johnson, Transport Commissioner Peter Hendy and Howard Collins, Chief Operating Officer of LU. Boris Johnson described the ...
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NewsSapsan reaches Nizhny Novgorod
RUSSIA: Sapsan services were extended from Moscow to Nizhny Novgorod with a ceremonial launch on July 30. 'Now this city, with its population of over a million, will be linked to Moscow and St Petersburg by a high speed, reliable, and comfortable means of transport', said RZD President Vladimir Yakunin ...
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NewsJordan joins OTIF ahead of launching rail expansion plan
JORDAN: The kingdom of Jordan became the 46th member of the Intergovernmental Organisation for International Carriage by Rail on August 1, and the first member to accede with associate status. When planned international rail services develop the country will seek full voting membership of OTIF, which provides a legal framework ...
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NewsQR split goes ahead
AUSTRALIA: July 1 saw the formal split of Queensland’s state-owned railway QR Ltd into two business units as part of the state’s privatisation strategy which will see coal and freight operator QR National listed on the Australian Securities Exchange later this year. QR National takes over QR Ltd’s heavy haul ...
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NewsSNIT makes rail a priority
FRANCE: With the aim of producing a definitive document by the end of this year, on July 12 the government published for consultation its SNIT transport infrastructure plan that should see €170bn invested over the next 20 to 30 years. Allocated 51·9% of this total, rail is the top priority ...
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NewsDeutsche Bahn to run ICE3 to Britain this year
EUROPE: 'This autumn we will send an ICE3 test train through the tunnel beneath the English Channel as part of our preparations for possible train service to London', Deutsche Bahn Chairman & CEO Dr Rüdiger Grube said during his presentation of the German national rail company's half-year results on July ...
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NewsNS agrees to sell Strukton
NETHERLANDS: State railway holding company NS has reached an agreement to sell its civil engineering subsidiary Strukton to Oranjewoud, which is active in the infrastructure, water, safety and sports sectors in Europe and the USA. NS felt there was insufficient synergy between its other activities and Strukton, which has ...
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NewsJapanese loan for second phase of Dedicated Freight Corridor
INDIA: Japan International Co-operation Agency signed a further loan agreement for the 1 483 km Western Dedicated Freight Corridor on July 26, making the planned route between Delhi and Mumbai Japan's largest official development assistance project. The latest loan provides the Indian government with ¥1·6bn repayable over 40 years to ...
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NewsGlobal Railway Industries sells businesses to Wabtec
USA: Wabtec Corp has completed the purchase of the first of two businesses which it is buying from Canada-based Global Railway Industries Ltd under agreements reached on July 14. The acquisition of G&B Specialties Inc for $35m was completed on July 28, and Wabtec expects to close the purchase ...
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NewsVictorian investment
AUSTRALIA: On July 12 Victorian Premier John Brumby unveiled the routes for two rail links in Melbourne as part of the A$38bn Victoria Transport Plan launched in 2009. The A$4·3bn Regional Rail Link involves the development of a new commuter service from West Werribee to the city, entailing construction ...