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May 9, 2008
Brussels tunnel contract awarded

BELGIAN infrastructure manager Infrabel has awarded a consortium of Royal BAM Group, Netherlands and Belgian companies Jan De Nul and Franki Geotechnics, a Euros 210 million contract to build a 1.5km tunnel under Brussels. The double-track link from Brussels-Schuman to Josaphat is a key element of the Euros 1.8 billion Brussels RER project, and will connect the Brussels – Namur and Hal – Vilvoorde lines from 2015. The project also involves rebuilding the metro station at Schuman.

May 8, 2008
RZD to sell wagon repair depots

RUSSIAN Railways (RZD) has invited expressions of interest for the privatisation of 22 wagon repair and maintenance depots. Last year the depots repaired a total of 18,540 RZD wagons and more than 20,000 privately-owned wagons.
The privatisation of the workshops is part of Phase 3 of the reform of RZD, one of the aims of which is to develop competition in the rolling stock maintenance and repair sector.
RZD expects to raise at least Roubles 2.6 billion ($US 109.2 million) from the sale.

May 7, 2008
Alstom signs British tilting train agreement

BRITAIN’S Department for Transport (DfT) and Alstom have signed a long-awaited agreement to supply additional coaches for the fleet of 200km/h Pendolino trains used on the West Coast Main Line. The notice to proceed will be followed by a £1.5 billion contract in August to supply four complete 11-car trains, and lengthen 31 existing trains from nine to 11 cars by December 2012. The agreement includes an option to lengthen the remaining 21 trains, which must be exercised by August 2010.
The notice to proceed also includes a 10-year extension of Alstom’s existing contract to maintain the Pendolino fleet, beginning at the end of the current contract term in April 2012.
The Pendolinos are currently used by Virgin West Coast on services from London to Brimingham, Manchester, Liverpool and Glasgow. Virgin’s franchise ends in 2012.

May 6, 2008
NZ returns Toll to state ownership

AFTER months of negotiations, the government of New Zealand has announced it will return the country’s largest rail operator, Australian-owned Toll NZ, to state ownership. The government will pay Toll $NZ 665 million ($US 523.6 million) for Toll’s rail assets, including 180 passenger coaches, 4200 freight wagons, and one ferry.
Toll Holding’s managing director Mr Paul Little said on Monday that the company did not want to sell and from Toll’s point of view, the deal was a compromise.
New Zealand Rail Limited was sold by the government for $NZ 400 million in 1993 to the Tranz Rail consortium, which was headed by Wisconsin Central, United States. When Tranz Rail was sold to Toll a decade later the government bought back the rail infrastructure, which is now the responsibility of Ontrack. The government has been attempting to reach an agreement on track access charges with Toll ever since.
Ironically, Toll will now be the railway’s largest customer, spending around $NZ 60 million a year. It will also be a customer with a unique knowledge of its supplier’s operations and with trucking operations still bringing in $NZ 200 million in revenue, Toll could potentially be a very competitive rival for the new rail company.

May 2, 2008
Thailand approves budget for $US 11.6 billion rail plan

THE THAI government’s transport mega-project committee has approved a Baht 367.3 billion ($US 11.6 billion) budget for the construction of five double-track lines with a total length of 2644km.
The government plans to invite private companies to invest in the new lines under concession agreements, and it says rolling stock manufacturers will be given priority in the bidding process if they agree to set up manufacturing sites in Thailand.
The new lines are intended to increase rail’s share of the freight market from 2.8% to 10%.

April 30, 2008
Transtec consortium wins Gotthard tunnel contract

ALPTRANSIT Gotthard has awarded an SFr 1.69 billion (Euros 1.05 billion) contract to build the railway infrastructure of the Gotthard Base Tunnel to the Transtec consortium, which includes Balfour Beatty, Alcatel-Lucent, and Thales. The contract involves laying track in the two 57km single-bore tunnels and on their approaches, together with signalling and communications, electrification, cabling, lighting, and power supplies.
Once approved by the Swiss Federal Office of Transport, work will begin on the infrastructure installation base. Installation will begin at the southern portal in 2009, and the northern portal in 2012, and is expected to take seven years to complete. The tunnel will be the longest in the world when it opens in 2017.

April 29, 2008
Administrator called in to solve UIC conflict

FRANCE’s Court of First Instance in Paris has appointed Mrs Béatrice Dunogué-Gaffié as provisional administrator of the International Union of Railways (UIC) at the behest of the UIC’s CEO Mr Luc Aliadière. The appointment is for six months, but can be extended if necessary.
The provisional administrator will perform three functions: to manage the UIC in liaison with the CEO, to initiate a financial audit, and finally to convene a general assembly to approve the audited accounts and restore normal operation of the UIC.
The problems at the UIC stem from the adoption of new statutes in 2006 designed to turn the UIC into a truly global organisation. This quickly led to a power struggle between the older European, Japanese and Korean members and the newcomers from Southeast Asia and Africa, who believed too much power resided with the older members. The UIC executive board has 21 members representing all areas of the world, and with only four European members. By contrast, the UIC’s General Assembly is dominated by Europeans who represent 80% of the members.
The first concrete result of the dispute is the retirement of the UIC’s secretary general Mr André Michel.

April 29, 2008
Dubai light rail contract awarded

DUBAI Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) has awarded a contract worth Euros500 million to build the city’s first light rail line. The ABS consortium comprising Alstom, Belgium’s largest construction company Besix and Serco, Britain, will build the first phase of the Al Safooh tramway, Parsons will carry out detailed design work on the project, while Systra will act as consultants to RTA.
The 10km line will open in 2011 and will run along Al Safooh Road from Madinat Jumeirah and Mall of the Emirates to Dubai Marina and Jumeirah Beach Residence. The line will be elevated around Dubai Marina, and interchanges will be built with the Metro Red Line in Shaikh Zayed Road.
Alstom will supply 11 Citadis 402 LRVs, which will be equipped to operate from an APS ground power supply system, obviating the need for catenary.
The 13 stations will be the first light rail stations in the world to be equipped with platform screen doors, which will allow platforms to be air-conditioned.
The contract includes an option to build phase 2 of the line, which will be a 4km extension with six stations. A further 14 LRVs would be required to operate the extended line.

April 28, 2008
Chinese collision kills 70

AT least 70 people have been killed and 400 injured in a collision between two trains in the eastern Chinese province of Shandong. The accident occurred near Zibo just after dawn when a Beijing – Qingdao train derailed, hitting a Yantai – Xuzhou service travelling in the opposite direction.
Within hours of the incident, two senior officials of the Jinan Railway Bureau had been sacked as the Ministry of Railways began its investigation into the derailment.
The accident is the worst on China’s railways since 1997.

April 24, 2008
Russia and North Korea to restore rail link

NORTH KOREAN railways minister Mr Kim Yong-Sam and Russian Railways CEO Mr Vladamir Yakunin have signed a deal to rebuild the rail connection between the two countries. Reconstruction of the 54km line from Hasan, Russia, to the North Korean port of Rajin was agreed at a meeting between the leaders of the two counties in 2001, but breaks in negotiations have meant progress towards a formal agreement has been slow.
“We have been moving towards this moment for seven years,” Yakunin said. “I am convinced the agreement signed today will serve to strengthen economic ties between Russia and North Korea, and between North Korea and South Korea.”
A Russian-North Korean joint venture will build a new container terminal at Rajin as part of the project. Russian Railways officials refused to be drawn on the cost of the project, or when it will be completed. News managed by NewsPro.

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