All articles by Railway Gazette International – Page 905
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NewsArriva shareholders back sale
UK: Shareholders of Sunderland-based international bus and rail operator Arriva voted overwhelmingly at a special General Meeting on June 17 to support the proposed takeover of the company by Deutsche Bahn. The Arriva board had recommended acceptance of DB's cash bid announced on April 22, under which the state-owned ...
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NewsAsian locomotive rejuvenation
THAILAND: Five Alstom locomotives operated by State Railway of Thailand have been fitted with MTU 16V 4000 R41 R engines to cut their fuel consumption and increase availability. MTU said repowering will prolong the life of a locomotive by up to one complete life-cycle at 60% of the price ...
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NewsPreferred bidder chosen for Denver commuter rail PPP
USA: Denver Regional Transportation District selected Denver Transit Partners as preferred bidder for the Eagle P3 commuter rail public-private partnership on June 15. The 46-year design build, finance, operate and maintain contract is expected to be finalised by the end of the year, with the $2·085bn price coming in $300m ...
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NewsGE signalling for Tvärbanan expansion
SWEDEN: Stockholm Transport authority Storstockholms Lokaltrafik has awarded GE Transportation a €36m contract for signalling work as part of the expansion of the Tvärbanan orbital light rail line in the southern suburbs of the capital. The contract announced on June 8 covers the provision of a traffic control centre, lineside ...
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NewsAECOM acquires high speed rail expertise with Inocsa
SPAIN: AECOM Technology Corp has acquired transport and environmental consultancy Inocsa Ingeniería, in a deal which AECOM President & CEO John M Dionisio said would benefit both companies and increase the US firm's expertise in the high speed rail sector. 'Inocsa gains access to the depth and breadth AECOM can ...
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NewsKiel - Lübeck upgrade
GERMANY: DB Regio launched an enhanced service between Kiel and Lübeck on June 13, following a €32m programme of investment in the 81 km route which included infrastructure modernisation, more accessible platforms and a new station at Kiel-Elmschenhagen. The federal government provided two-thirds of the cost with the rest coming ...
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NewsSingapore metro depot design contract awarded
SINGAPORE: Parsons Brinckerhoff has been awarded a contract to provide architectural and engineering design services for a new depot at Tuas, as part of the 7·5 km western extension of the East -West metro line which is under construction for opening in 2015. The depot will have the capacity to ...
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NewsNS wary of 'schizophrenia' in Washington
USA: 'The economic recovery in our business is well underway', reported Norfolk Southern Chairman, President & CEO Wick Moorman on May 13, addressing the company's Annual Meeting in Williamsburg. Noting that traffic volumes were growing back steadily, he said NS had been able to report financial results for 2009 which ...
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NewsMetrolinx exercises option for 182 light rail vehicles
CANADA: Greater Toronto transport agency Metrolinx awarded Bombardier Transportation a C$770m order for a 182 Flexity light rail vehicles in June 14, immediately after the provincial government announced approval of Metrolinx's C$8·1bn '5 in 10' revised programme to complete five major transport projects in 10 years rather than eight ...
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NewsWorld infrastructure market June 2010
Australia: John Holland and Aecom are to undertake the A$650m extension of Melbourne’s Epping commuter line by 3·5 km to South Morang. Austria: ÖBB Infrastruktur has appointed Frequentis to undertake outsourced systems integration for its ETCS Level 2 programme, with roll-out on several major routes scheduled for December ...
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NewsPointers June 2010
Argentina's Transport Secretary Juan Pablo Schiavi has signed an agreement with Vice-Minister of Commerce Jiang Yaoping that would see Chinese banks provide at least 85% of the funding for a US$18bn programme to electrify the Belgrano Norte and Belgrano Sur commuter networks in Buenos Aires. This ...
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NewsNews in Brief
Last month the European Commission formally warned Bulgaria that it must implement First Railway Package legislation on track access charges. Operations have resumed on Tanzania’s Central line after US$11m of emergency repairs to flood damage caused by heavy rain in December. Reviving electric traction on the 300 km Dabuka ...
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NewsRail welding plant opened in Libya
LIBYA: Russian Railways President Vladimir Yakunin took part in the ceremonial opening of a rail welding plant in Ras Lanuf on June 11. It was built on a turnkey basis by welding equipment specialist Pskovelectrosvar, and will support RZD's €2·2bn four-year contract signed in April 2008 for construction ...
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NewsWabtec awarded Tyne & Wear Metro refurbishment contract
UK: Tyne & Wear Metro operating contractor DB Regio has awarded Wabtec Rail a £25m contract to overhaul the network's 90 two-car trainsets on behalf of local transport authority Nexus. The 'three-quarter life refurbishment' will be undertaken at Doncaster and will run to 2015. It includes corrosion rectification, an ...
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NewsJapanese industry in export overdrive
JAPAN: Having been selected as preferred supplier for the next generation of trains on the Washington DC metro, with up to 748 vehicles potentially worth US$1·48bn, Kawasaki has now picked up an order to supply more cars for New York. And Hitachi has set itself the task of doubling exports ...
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NewsInterfleet buys Die Ingenieurwerkstatt
GERMANY: UK-based international rail consultancy Interfleet Technology has expanded its European operations with the acquisition of Die Ingenieurwerkstatt GmbH for an undisclosed sum. The Wiesbaden-based firm was established in 1996 and now has more than 30 staff providing consultancy services in the areas of safety engineering, maintenance optimisation and rail ...
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NewsFrance to Portugal high speed co-operation agreement
EUROPE: During a two-day conference of ministers and stakeholders held in the Spanish city of Zaragoza to discuss the Trans-European Transport Network programme, on June 8 French Secretary of State for Transport Dominique Bussereau, Spanish Development Minister José Blanco and Portuguese Minister of Public Works, Transport & Communications António Mendonça ...
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NewsTren Urbano operating contract awarded
PUERTO RICO: Alternate Concepts Inc is to take sole responsibility for operation and maintenance of the Tren Urbano metro in San Juan under a five -year contract worth US$250m. The deal runs to June 2015, replacing the initial five-year contract with the Siemens Transit Team consortium which designed and built ...
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NewsTram-train on test at Crécy-la-Chapelle
FRANCE: A Siemens Avanto tram-train vehicle from the Bondy - Aulnay route T4 in Paris was tested by SNCF on the 10 km single-track Esbly - Crécy-la-Chapelle line east of the capital on June 2-4. The lack of a passing loop on the branch means it is not possible to ...
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NewsCutting track life-cycle costs
EUROPE: With the four-year Innotrack research project now approaching completion, the project partners now estimate that the life-cycle cost of track could be cut by 25% in the coming years. ‘That’s a lot of savings when you consider the extent of the rail network’, said UIC Director General Jean-Pierre Loubinoux, ...