International Railway Journal

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Articles in April, 2008 issue of International Railway Journal

• Singapore to double metro network by 2020: Singapore is adopting a three-pronged strategy to develop its metro network over the next 12 years: massive expansion, acceleration of existing projects, and reducing headways
  by David Briginshaw
• Pilbara Iron has ordered 30 General Electric Evolution series locomotives at a cost of $A 150 million
• Barcelona finds the key to gridlock: Spain's second-largest city has one of the most ambitious metro expansion plans in Europe, and as Keith Barrow reports, it intends to double the size of its existing network by 2020
  by Keith Barrow
• Thales has been awarded a 12.3 million [pounds sterling] contract to supply the entire telecommunications infrastructure for Phase 1 of the East London Line
• HSH Nordbank, Germany, has provided finance for three luxury trains to be operated in China by independent operator, Railpartners
• Major Belgian station project approved
• The Cordoba—Malaga and Madrid—Valladolid high-speed lines recorded punctuality of 99.9% and 98.9% respectively after their first month in service
• Construction will begin later this year on a SFr 104 million project to extend light rail Line 8 across the Swiss-German border to Weil-am-Rhein town centre and railway station
• Argentine government seizes control of railways
• The project to reopen part of the Edinburgh—Carlisle railway as far as Galashiels, 56km from Edinburgh, has been approved
• Student Agency, the Czech Republic air ticket agency, says it plans to launch open-access passenger operations by 2011 between the capital, Prague, and Ostrava
• Coal line set for $US 734 million upgrade
• New Jersey Transit has awarded Bombardier a $US 229 million contract to supply 27 ALP-46A electric locomotives for commuter rail services, with options for up to an additional 33
• The Victorian government is to provide $A 20 million
• BDZ boss sacked after fatal blaze
• The long-planned Kolkata to Dhaka passenger service was due to start operating on April 14
• Has privatisation come full circle?
  by David Briginshaw
• Rio Tinto has awarded a $A 65 million contract to extend its Robe River heavy-haul railway in the Pilbara region of Western Australia
• California at a crossroads: with passenger numbers soaring and plans for a high-speed network rarely out of the headlines, California is spearheading the revival of intercity rail in the United States. Keith Barrow looks at how the state hopes to build on
  by Keith Barrow
• Public transport operator DVB has ordered 11 additional Flexity Classic LRVs from Bombardier at a cost of 30 million [euro]
• Mechel, Russia, has won a 20-year contract from Russian Railways to supply 400,000 tonnes of rail per year—half of the national operator's requirements
• Plans to build a $US 400 million line to link the Kansanshi and Lumwana copper mines could be abandoned unless mine operators commit to using it
• Veolia Cargo to buy Rail4Chem
• German Rail is closing the 285km Berlin—Hamburg main line between March and June next year to replace thousands of defective sleepers supplied in the mid-1990s
• Rail.One
• British operator breaches franchise
• The Brazilian capital is planning to spend Reais 1 billion in the run-up to the 2014 Soccer World Cup extending its metro network and building a 42km light rail network
• Wabtec, United States, has been awarded a 100 million [euro] contract to supply components for a fleet of 620 R-160 metro cars being built by Kawasaki and Alstom
• German Rail and Nokia Siemens Networks have signed a framework agreement to expand Germany's GSM-R network along 7000km of track
• Corus and Eurotunnel study rails
• New York's transport is in rude health: ridership levels on New York's commuter rail and metro networks are soaring. Metropolitan Transportation Authority CEO Elliot Sander sets out his ambitious vision for the future
  by Elliot Sander
• Eurotunnel has completed the issue of 800,000 subordinated deferred equity securities for 800 million [euro]
• The heart of the matter: gauge enhancement on the Heartland Corridor in the United States means double-stack container trains will have shorter and faster journeys, as Norfolk Southern's Robin Chapman explains
  by Robin Chapman
• Downer EDI Rail, Australia, has awarded EKE Electronics, Finland, a 15 million [euro] contract to supply IP-based electronic train information systems for the fleet of 78 eight-car emus being built for the city's suburban network
• Tunneling has begun on the 12.5km Central Secretariat—Qutub section of Delhi Metro Line 2 using a tunnel boring machine
• Mildura promotes new railway
• Dubai metro contracts to be awarded soon
• Stadler has unveiled the first Flirt emu to be assembled at its new Polish plant in Siedlce
• Sao Paulo to invite bids for Airport Express
• A new carriage factory is to be built in Kerala to cope with growing demand for metro vehicles
• Pepy to be next SNCF president
• Passenger services on the Ebbw Vale line started in February
• Britain plans tram-train trial
• 400 jobs to go in SBB Cargo restructuring
• A Russian delegation visited North Korea last month to discuss reconstruction of the 55km line from Rajin to the border with Russia at Khasan
• Faiveley Transport USA is to supply door systems for 160 passenger coaches for AMT, Montreal
• Ostgotatrafiken, the regional public transport operator, has ordered five Coradia Nordic regional trains from Alstom in a contract worth 27.5 million [euro]
• The 14.4km metro Orange Line from Sun Yat-sen University to Taliao is set to open in August, according to City Mayor Mr Chen Chu
• The Thai Finance Ministry has agreed terms for a Baht 31 billion loan to part-finance construction of the Baht 54.8 billion Metro Purple Line
• Belgium bridges the ETCS gap: migrating from conventional signalling to ETCS is a daunting prospect for even the most advanced railways, but a little lateral thinking by Siemens and Infrabel has generated an elegant solution, as Siemens' ETCS project mana
  by Nathalie George
• Telent, Britain, has completed the delivery of 2000 GSM-R handsets to Network Rail
• Saudi Rail Organisation will issue tenders for the Mecca—Medina rail link through public procurement rather than the planned build-operate-transfer process
• US transit ridership hits 50-year high
• The ministry of transport says that a 49.6 million [euro] integrated ticketing system will be launched on Luas and buses next year
• The 13km branch from Zwolle to Kampen could be converted into an electrified light rail line once the new Hanze line opens between Zwolle and Lelystad with a station at Kampen South
• All investment reaches record level
• Three Bombardier Traxx electric locomotives have been handed to High Speed Alliance by Angel Trains Cargo for operation on the HSL South high-speed line
• Rwanda—Tanzania line planned
• Westinghouse's Westlock interlockings installed at Leamington Spa have passed their trial and have been accepted as a permanent replacement for the solid state interlocking previously in operation
• Infrarail sees 34% rise in visitor numbers
• Rendezvous
• The first of five Alstom Citadis LRVs leased from Mulhouse, France, has arrived in Melbourne
• French National Railways launched a new energy-saving programme in Paris last month
• Zambian operator rapped over "shameful" performance
• Taiwan High Speed Rail Corporation says more than 20 million passengers have now used the Taipei—Kaohsiung high-speed line
• Birmingham Jefferson County Transit Authority says a 4km light rail line through the centre of the Alabaman state capital could be built for $US 33 million.
• China share issue raises $US 5.5 bn
• France's national airline, Air France, says it may have to cut 25% of jobs on its domestic network by 2016 because of competition from high-speed rail
• German freight at 18-year high
• Two new technologies ready to roll: two technologies—electronically-controlled pneumatic braking and positive train control —that have been in development for the better part of two decades are finally poised to dramatically change the characte
  by William Vantuono
• Russian Railways is seeking suppliers for a strategic partner to build double-deck passenger coaches, with the aim of localising production in the Russian Federation
• Commuter operator Southern has ordered 11 dual-voltage Electrostar emus from Bombardier in a deal worth 70 million [euro]
• The Irish government has admitted the planned light metro from the city centre to the airport will be delayed by at least a year, with completion now scheduled for 2013
• Mayor of London Mr Ken Livingston has unveiled the first of 55 new driverless trains for the Docklands Light Railway being supplied by Bombardier
• British freight operator First GBRf has won a major expansion of its mail contract with the country's national mail company, Royal Mail, and new rolling stock will soon arrive following the award of three coal haulage contracts
• Network Rail fined for engineering overruns
• The first stage of work on the reopening of the Navan line is due to start soon after winning approval
• Network Rail's trial of GSM-R equipment has reached the halfway point, and proved successful to date
• Record profit empowers IR to boost investment
• Sleeper anchors enhance track stiffness

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