Railway to Eilat now in the works

The track will connect to the existing line that leads from Beersheba to Dimona and include eight new stations along the way.
The Transportation Ministry published a Request For Information (RFI) on Monday to gauge the private sector’s interest in building a railroad to Eilat.
The publication of the RFI is the first step toward finding a company to take on the role of building the 170-kilometer track from Dimona to Eilat.
According to the Transportation Ministry, the new railway will include 63 bridges and five tunnels.
The track will connect to the existing line that leads from Beersheba to Dimona and include eight new stations along the way, including a station at the as-yet-unbuilt airport in Timna.
Travel time from Tel Aviv to Eilat is expected to take two-and-a-half hours by rail, and it is estimated that the line will cater to 3.5 million passengers per year.
According to the ministry, the track will also carry freight containers from the port of Eilat to the rest of the country and assist in reducing truck transport across the country, freeing up the roads, reducing pollution and reducing accidents.
Transportation Minister Yisrael Katz said the Eilat rail project also held social significance and that its construction would bring residents of the periphery closer to the heart of the country.
“This is a plan that will significantly reduce travel times from the Center to Eilat and create a significant change in Israel’s transportation map,” said Katz.
The railroad to Eilat is part of the government’s transportation reform plan, in which NIS 2.5 billion has been earmarked for planning new roads and railways.
According to the Transportation Ministry, the new railway will include 63 bridges and five tunnels.
The track will connect to the existing line that leads from Beersheba to Dimona and include eight new stations along the way, including a station at the as-yet-unbuilt airport in Timna.
Travel time from Tel Aviv to Eilat is expected to take two-and-a-half hours by rail, and it is estimated that the line will cater to 3.5 million passengers per year.
According to the ministry, the track will also carry freight containers from the port of Eilat to the rest of the country and assist in reducing truck transport across the country, freeing up the roads, reducing pollution and reducing accidents.
Transportation Minister Yisrael Katz said the Eilat rail project also held social significance and that its construction would bring residents of the periphery closer to the heart of the country.
“This is a plan that will significantly reduce travel times from the Center to Eilat and create a significant change in Israel’s transportation map,” said Katz.
The railroad to Eilat is part of the government’s transportation reform plan, in which NIS 2.5 billion has been earmarked for planning new roads and railways.

source: Jerusalem Post

PR invites South Korean railways to operate its five trains

Pakistan Railways has invited South Korean Railways to operate its five trains on various routes that are running in deficit, General Manager Operations, Ishfaq Khataq told media here at the PR Headquarters on Monday.
He said South Korean Railway experts have agreed to train Pakistan railway staff and help restore infrastructure of the under-utilised railway network.
Earlier, South Korean railway delegation met with PR officials at the Railways headquarters and discussed various proposals to bring improvement in Pakistan Railways. Khataq said that Pakistan Railways needs at least 200 locomotives as early as possible to resume its normal operations and play its vital role in the economic development of the nation.
South Korea has offered us six locomotives of 3000 horsepower capacity, which is quiet insufficient, he added. After checking their performance we will precede further to upgrade our system GM further added. He said Pakistan railways has offered the South Korean Railways to run its trains on five routes with open access policy. South Korean trains will operate on Lahore-Faisalabad, Lahore-Gujarat-Gujranwala, Lahore-Kasur and Wagha routes. He said that delegation would soon send feasibility report regarding trains operation.

source: Business Recorder

Sapsans will run to Kiev, Yekaterinburg and Irkutsk at 300 km /h

High-speed railway for Sapsan trains will connect Moscow with Yekaterinburg and further, with Irkutsk. The trains will travel along it at 300 km/h and more. Most probably they will be Sapsan trains, which are supposed to be constructed in Russia, in co-operation with Siemens.

This route, Moscow - Nizhniy Novgorod - Yekaterinbug will have diverging branch lines to big cities of the Urals like Perm, Ufa, Chelyabinsk, Tyumen and Nizhniy Tagil. This project includes construction thousands kilometers of new special railtracks, stations, other engineering structures and of course, trains. It will take time, moreover, it costs 2 trillions rubles, but it seems to be worth it. 

It was also reportes, that Sapsans will run between Moscow and Kiev, and maybe in the nearest future.

source: Russia Info Centre

China plans SE Asia rail links

 

 

China is planning high-speed rail links with its Southeast Asian neighbors, namely, Myanmar, Cambodia, Thailand and Laos, and further expand its economic and strategic regional influence.

China's national rail network, which is already the world's biggest, will reach 120,000 km by 2020. Sixty percent of the railway lines will be located in the western regions, which have historically lagged the coastal east on most development indicators.
In two months, work will begin on a 1,920-km high-speed rail line connecting south-western Yunnan province with Yangon in Myanmar, with trains running at over 200 km/h, the official China Daily reported on Monday.
Studies were also under way to link Yunnan's capital Kunming with Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam, the daily quoted Wang Mengshu, one of China's leading railway consultants, as saying.
In August, China's Ministry of Railways also sent a team to Thailand to explore investing in a $25.6 billion, 240-km high-speed railway and rail network.
Wang had earlier said that the Southeast Asian network could be completed as early as 2020.
Authorities in Beijing hope the investment in Southeast Asia will also ease anxieties among its ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) neighbors over the impact of China's rising economic influence.

source: Press tv

JR Tokai vies for Florida rail system

NAGOYA (Kyodo) Central Japan Railway Co. (JR Tokai) plans to apply for prebidding screening to build a high-speed railway system in Florida, company officials said Monday.

The railway will join forces with 11 other Japanese firms so it can gain an advantage over its European and Asian rivals in pitching its shinkansen system, they said. The application is likely to be submitted this month.

The company wants the contract in Florida to act as a springboard for expanding the shinkansen system globally. Florida plans to construct a 130-km rail line between Tampa and Orlando at a cost of more than $2 billion, or about ¥160 billion. The project is getting federal funding.

Florida is expected to start prebidding screening this month to appraise the technical capabilities and finances of the bidders, which are expected to include companies from Germany, France, South Korea and China. It will likely narrow down the field to four groupings by February, before formally accepting bids around next summer.

source: Japan Times

Earlier London-Cologne rail link

Passengers taking the early train to Cologne via Brussels will soon be able to reach the Rhineland city an hour earlier.

London agent European Rail told Business Traveller that a passenger taking Eurostar’s 0619 departure from St Pancras will, from the start of the winter schedules on December 13, be able to reach Cologne at the earlier time of 1215. 

Passengers change at Brussels Midi between Eurostar and a new and earlier ICE (see note 1 below) train service. Overall journey time (including the connection) is 4 hrs and 56 mins.

If not stopping in Cologne, European Rail can provide onward tickets on to various cities including Frankfurt, Hanover, Munich and Berlin.

At present the first rail link of the day between London and Cologne  involves taking the 0730 Eurostar from St Pancras and changing to Thalys (see note 2 below) which provides an arrival into Cologne at 1315.

Another new ICE service provides a 1545 departure from Cologne which, following a change to Eurostar in Brussels, gets you back to London at 2003. Overall journey time (including the connection) is 5 hrs 18 mins.

One-way fares lead-in at €99 for first and €49 for standard class tickets according to demand. Return fares are double. Passengers can mix and match tickets.

It must be noted that tickets for the above-mentioned Eurostar/ICE London-Cologne train connection cannot at present be booked through eurostar.com. But the special fares are offered by train agents such as European Rail or from German Rail’s UK office or website.

Train timings cannot compete with air if you require a day trip. But they are feasible for anyone stopping over and who requires more reliable travel arrangements during the winter.

German Rail hopes to receive permission to operate its ICE into London from the end of 2013 (see online news October 19) which would considerably speed up journey times in the future.

The rail operator’s UK marketing executive Stefan Heulle told Business Traveller that the plan is to operate three trains a day from St Pancras from December 2013. “Two ICE trains, each of eight coaches, would run together as far as Brussels Midi. There the 16-coach train would be split with one section heading to Amsterdam via Rotterdam and the other bound for Frankfurt via Cologne.”

For more information visit europeanrail.com, bahn.co.uk.

Notes:

1. ICE is German Rail’s high-speed train
2. Thalys is based around the design of France’s high-speed TGV train.  Thalys is jointly owned by the national railways of France, Holland, Belgium and Germany.

source: Business Traveller

Serbia: Russian loan for Serbian railways to be activated in March

Minister of Infrastructure Milutin Mrkonjic stated on Monday that projects on the Serbian railway network funded from the Russian loan could start in March next year.

In a statement, the Ministry of Infrastructure said that Mrkonjic discussed the construction of the Belgrade railway junction, Prokop railway station and the Valjevo-Loznica railway line with a delegation of the Russian state railways, which is on a three-day visit to Serbia.

The aim of the visit is to examine the status of these projects and coordinate conceptual projects so that work could start as soon as possible.

Vice President of the Russian state railways Avtandil Gorgiladze underlined that the projects on the Serbian railway network are of great importance for Russia and that the intention is to reach an agreement with Serbia by the end of this year.

The projects on the Serbian railway network should be financed from a €800 million Russian loan for infrastructure in Serbia.

A general agreement on this loan was made during the visit of Russian President Dmitry Medvedev to Belgrade in October 2009, it is added in the statement.

source: Balkans

Shosholoza back on track

Long-distance rail operator Shosholoza Meyl will be back on track by the end of November after a three-month dispute with the state-owned Transnet saw its services suspended.

The Passenger Rail Agency of SA announced the re-instatement of its train service in a statement yesterday.

Bookings for December and January for the chartered train service were already open.

Prasa suspended the Shosholoza Meyl service on August 13. While Transnet accused Prasa of owing it around R1.3-billion, Prasa's CEO, Lucky Montana, in turn accused Transnet of charging too much and doing a poor job in maintaining its locomotives.

Shosholoza Meyl was transferred from Transnet to Prasa early last year.

In its annual financial report, Prasa said it had "inherited from Transnet a business that was poorly managed, neglected and whose financial management systems and internal controls were non-existent and certainly did not meet acceptable record- keeping principles".

source: Times Live

National Express keen to operate US high-speed trains

National Express is engaged in discussions in the US about becoming the operator of a high-speed train route across Florida. The subject of the talks is a link between Orlando and Tampa, the first high-speed rail link to be built on this scale in the US. If National Express does become the route’s operator it is highly likely it will also be in charge of line maintenance.

Rail division Managing Director at National Express, Andrew Chivers, confirmed that the company had been talking to a number of consortia about joining them to operate the service. Chivers added that because the scheme had already been granted most of the $2.5 billion needed through a stimulus fund, there was probably no need for any additional equity investment in the project.

Any of the remaining money would probably be debt funded, Chivers went on to say. Of all the high-speed projects being mooted in the US, the Florida link is currently the most likely to get the green light. There are currently plans to build a rail link between Los Angeles and San Francisco in California. However, the state’s current financial problems will probably mean further development will be postponed for a while.

A motorway joining Tampa with Orlando will provide much of the land needed for the high-speed link. Built in the 1990s, a central reservation was included which will be able to accommodate the train line.

A second phase to link Orlando with Miami is still in the planning stage but has received $8 million worth of funding for a feasibility study.

source: Comparecarhire

First Private Train Debuts in Northern Italy

Italy's first private train connecting the northern cities of Turin and Milan debuted on Monday, also offering on-board shopping and dry cleaning services.
The red-yellow train, which belongs to privately-owned " Arenaways," reached Milan with its first passengers on board, including the founder and CEO of the company, Giuseppe Arena.
"Today is a historic day, being the first time that privately- owned cars are running on the tracks of our railways," Arena told Xinhua.
The first company to challenge the monopoly of Trenitalia, a part of state-controlled Ferrovie dello Stato, Arenaways was not allowed to make intermediate stops between Turin and Milan.
"We are to appeal to the Transport Ministry, the anti-trust panel and the European Commission for the right to pick up passengers between the two cities," Arena noted.
In order to promote the so-called "no stress" traveling concept, passengers were offered a number of services on board, from shoe cleaning to shopping.
"We thought of on-board shopping after a survey showed that most of our commuters are single," said service coordinator Patrizia De Bernardi.
"Customers can choose from a variety of first quality goods in a minimarket, or leave their laundry and pick it up either on the train or at different pick-up points around the city," she added.

source: CRI

Beijing-Shanghai high-speed railway may open next October

Track construction for the Beijing-Shanghai high-speed railway in Jiangsu Province and Shanghai has been finished ahead of schedule, drastically shortening the planned construction time, which means it is possible for the high-speed railway to open by the National Day on Oct. 1, 2011, according to sources from the Ministry of Transportation.
The construction of the 1,318-kilometer-long Beijing-Shanghai high-Speed railway began in March 2008. The railway adopts ballast-less tracks that are already used on the Shanghai-Nanjiing Intercity Railway. The 500-meter-long tracks are welded together so there will be no gaps on the 1,318-kilometer-long track. This guarantees a smooth and comfortable ride for passengers.
After open to traffic, a ride from Beijing to Shanghai will take just four hours, 10 hours less than the current time. It will transport more than 80 million passengers on the one-way railway one year.
The high-speed Railway is compatible with the 200-kilometer-long existing railway, which allows trains running at 200 kilometers per hour or above use the high-speed railway too.
Sources said a new-generation bullet train that will travel up to 380 kilometers per hour is now under development for the high-speed rail link.
The high-speed railway between China's two most important metropolises is part of China's ambitious high-speed railway program. Ministry of Railways Vice-Minister Wang Zhiguo said China will complete an 110,000-kilometer railway network by 2012, including 13,000 kilometers of high-speed rail.
Ultimately, China plans to construct a 120,000-kilometer railway network, including 50,000-kilometers of high-speed rail track, by 2020.

source: People Daily

Pak to purchase railway engines from Spain

Islamabad—Pakistan has accepted the offer of Spanish government to purchase its used railway engines and an agreement would be signed after railway officials visited each others countries.
Well-placed sources in the Ministry of Railways said that Spanish ambassador during his meeting with Railways Minister Ghulam Ahmad Bilour had offered his government’s assistance restoration of railways.
He had also offered him to provide used railway engines to support railway system of the country.
Sources said that it was decided that Pakistan would take six used engine to use it for 90 days to check its ability.
They said that both the countries would sign an agreement about provision of railway engines if the test was passed.
In this regard, a team of Pakistani railways experts would visit Spain to inspect the used engines while a Spanish team would tour Pakistan to review the scope of investment in Pakistan Railways.
Sources said General Manager Operation of Pakistan Railways Ishfaq Khattak had explained it to Spanish ambassador that they would proceed the affair further if six engines passed the test.
Pakistan Railways has badly affected due to shortage of engines and it has only 160 engines and needs 400 engines to activate the whole system.

source: Pakistan Observer

Hopefully the railways are facing a stable and fast development in Estonia

When speaking at the event celebrating the 140th anniversary of the Estonian Railways, President Toomas Hendrik stated he hoped that the time for great changes are behind the railways, writes Postimees Online/LETA.
The head of State remarked that hopefully, Estonian Railways is facing a stable and fast development.

“Estonian Railways have a secure future if the State and the society understand the varied opportunities for railways as a link between different areas,” said Ilves, adding that in order to realise the potential, the infrastructure of the railroad needs to be modernised and new connections need to be established – towards Europe as well as within Estonia.

source: Baltic Course

Russian Railways to build high-speed Moscow – St Petersburg line

"By harmonizing European standards in the construction of a high-speed rail line between Moscow and St Petersburg, and by using modern financial instruments including contract lifecycle management, we will be able to reduce the cost of construction by 20-40%", according to Denis Muratov,

general director of Russian Railways subsidiary Skorostnye Magistrali, who was speaking at the High Speed Rail World 2010 international conference in Madrid.

Skorostnye Magistrali is currently preparing a study on the socio-economic significance of the Moscow - St Petersburg high-speed rail project. The project proposals will be submitted to the Russian government, which will make a final decision on the feasibility of creating the first national high-speed line (VSZhM-1), considering the cost and benefits of its construction.

"The draft project is being drawn up with the involvement of international financial, technical, and traffic consultants with extensive international experience in high-speed rail projects", Denis Muratov said.

Research carried out for Skorostnye Magistrali has shown that the substantial increase in population mobility brought by the launch of a high-speed rail line will ultimately help intensify the economic development of both St Petersburg and Moscow, as well as the regions between the two cities. The possible inclusion in the high-speed line of airports in Moscow and St Petersburg will boost the development of multi-modal transport links throughout northwest Russia.

Raising the speed of passenger train services will create more attractive conditions for passengers, improve the comfort and safety of passenger transport, and cut journey times, which will help attract additional passenger flows to the railway from air and car transport, thereby reducing the negative environmental impact of transport.

Denis Muratov said that recommendations are currently being prepared for setting out functional requirements to assess the cost of the entire project lifecycle. This work will be completed by the start of 2011.

The main technical specifications of the high-speed rail line project are already known. The journey time between the cities will be 2.5 hours, covering 660 km. Due to the difficult terrain and large number of water obstacles on the route, 256 engineering structures will be built (covering 72 km). The track will be able to carry 42 pairs of trains travelling at up to 400 km/h, with a passenger count of up to 14 million per year.

The total socio-economic benefit of the construction of a high-speed rail line between Moscow and St Petersburg could reach 1.8 trillion rubles.

According to the investment feasibility study, the project cost will be 1.2 trillion rubles (in line with Russian accounting standards). However, after the project plan is drawn up and tenders for construction are held, this figure is expected to decline by 20-40%.

Looking at international experience, a contract lifecycle management tender brought a 40% reduction in the cost of the Lisbon-Madrid high-speed line project.

source: Focus on Travel News

South Caucasus railways and Georgian railways company to install unified ticket sales and reservation system

YEREVAN, November 10, /ARKA/. The South Caucasus Railways company operating Armenia’s railroads and the Georgian Railways Company will install a unified ticket sales and reservation system, the press office of the South Caucasus Railways company said.
It said an agreement to that end was signed November 5. The unified system was developed jointly by programmers of both companies on the basis of Orion information platform. The unified ticket reservation and sale system will be installed within seven months since the signing of the relating agreement,
The South Caucasus Railways is run by Russian Railways. The concessional agreement was concluded in 2008 for 30 years, with a right of extension for another 20 years after the first 20 years of operation.

source: Arka

Brazilians inject new life into Kenya-Uganda railway

The coming of Brazil’s main construction firm, America Latina Logistica, presents Rift Valley Railways with the most practical solution, so far, in its efforts to rebuild the Kenya-Uganda railway line.

America Latina Logistica (ALL) has signed an agreement with Rift Valley Railways Investment (Pty) – the consortium in charge of the railway line - to offer technical support by bringing on board staff with a track record of undertaking even bigger assignments.

In signing up ALL, RVR has revived hopes of a possible return of train services to the country’s oil wells in the western region.

The rail lines from Kampala- Kasese and Kampala to Northern Uganda that had been removed from the concession have since been reinstated with the discovery of oil in those areas.

Brown Odengo, the Executive Chairman of RVR, said that in ALL, they have partnered with the best. “I can think of no better partner with whom to embark on this important and ambitious programme than ALL,” he said in a company statement.

ALL are not strangers in the region. The Brazilians earlier helped draw up a five-year investment plan for RVR, although that plan has now been largely changed.

ALL will be responsible for ensuring the efficiency and safety of the railway line by applying its technical knowhow as the largest independent provider of logistics services in South America, and managers of railway services in Brazil and Argentina.

The deal is expected to boost the private sector’s confidence in RVR. Constrained by limited operational funds, the future of RVR was the subject of intense criticism from Uganda and Kenya when the company failed to take off after close to five years since winning the bid.

However, with the coming on board of Citadel Capital, a private equity firm listed on the Egyptian Stock Exchange, RVR underwent a complete overhaul.

At first, Sheltam, the South African company that won the 21-year concession to manage the railway line, was forced to sell some of its stake to Citadel early this year before completely exiting the consortium a few months later.

With Citadel now controlling 51% of RVR, Citadel is working on a $287 million expenditure programme for the railway line.

RVR appeared to have covered any risks that would have come out of the partnership with ALL, by pegging any compensation that the Brazilians might ask for to their work on the rails. According to the statement, “the agreement is structured so that ALL’s compensation is directly linked to specific operational and financial goals at RVRI.”

According to plans, RVR is expected to execute its strategy in a three-prong approach. First, RVR will replace the worn out rails on the 2,352 kilometre track. RVR is said to be finalizing its purchase orders of the rails.

After that, RVR will shift to refurbishing the locomotives. And third, the company will integrate an information technology network to ease the operation and cut down on costs.

Jim Mugunga, the spokesman of the Privatisation Unit, the body in charge of divesting government entities, said RVR’s strategy to turn around the railway line is satisfactory.

The company recently announced that after the completion of the railway line, transport costs in East Africa, presumed to be one of the highest in the world, could fall by about 35%. According to Citadel, transport to Uganda from Kenya presently costs more than $0.13 per ton/kilometre due, in large part, to heavy reliance on roads.

source: Observer

Via Rail's investment in stations

Via Rail’s Vancouver terminal to get $5-million upgrade

Mayor Gregor Robertson welcomes funding, but says expanded and faster train service between city and U.S. is essential

Via Rail’s heritage rail terminal at Main and Terminal is getting a $5.1-million makeover, courtesy of the federal government.
“This renovation not only preserves its history, but enhances its functionality,” Transport Minister Rob Merrifield said in making the announcement Monday. “This will put a new shine on this facility.”
The money, part of a $923-million capital investment by the federal government since 2007 to improve comfort, service and safety for passengers, will be used to complete major renovations to the station’s masonry, roof and windows in 2011, with a focus on preserving features that make the building — built in 1919 — as a heritage site.
VIA will issue a tender and intends to award the contract by the end of the year, with most funding coming from Canada’s Economic Action Plan.
Merrifield, who said the work will help capitalize on tourism opportunities, was joined by Vancouver Mayor Gregor Robertson at the announcement of the rail station’s facelift.
Robertson said the station is important to the city’s transportation hub and that the announced upgrades are good news to the city.
However, Merrifield refused to commit to an expansion of train service south from Vancouver to the U.S., including a permanent second Amtrak train to Seattle.
“All things are optional right now [and] we’ve only go so many dollars,” Merrifield said after Monday’s announcement. “We’re not ruling it out.
“We’ll deal with that in due course.”
The government announced in October that Amtrak will continue to run a second train between Vancouver and Seattle for another year without a proposed fee being imposed to pay for Canada Border Services Agency customs service.
The second Amtrak Cascades train was part of a pilot project for the 2010 Winter Olympics and was supported by millions of dollars from both the Washington state and B.C. governments.
But the CBSA, after agreeing to extend the service beyond its original March deadline, told Amtrak it planned to begin charging the company $1,500 a day starting Nov. 1.
The fee, to recover the cost of processing passengers on the second train, was expected to add $20 to a ticket, making the service uncompetitive.
Robertson said more and quicker train service to the U.S. is critical for the city’s economy.
“We need a long-term investment in train travel,” Robertson said after the announcement. “We need better connectivity to Seattle and California. I’d like to see more and faster trains, [but] that relies on the provincial and federal governments stepping up. There’s a cost to not doing it.
“It’s about investing in higher speeds. We need to catch up with Asia and Europe.”
Merrifield said: “Higher-speed rail is definitely where we’re going. It’s ‘How fast can we get there?’”
Hoff said that since 1992, the station has offered full intermodal service, allowing bus and SkyTrain connections for train travellers.
He also noted that Monday’s announcement came a day after the 125th anniversary of the last spike being driven into the ground in Craigellachie that connected Canada’s west with its east.

Plans for $6.3M Windsor Via station unveiled

WINDSOR, Ont. — Windsor's new train station will boast more parking, more seats -- and a striking similarity to the downtown bus terminal.
There's no denying the resemblance. Whether it's the long, curved roof or the airy main floor, there's something familiar about the plans unveiled by Via Rail Canada and the federal government on Monday.
But the two buildings have different designers. The bus station was designed in 2006 by Glos Associates, while the new train station is the work of London architect Myk Wasylko.
"I'm not sure where he got his inspiration from, but it does look similar to the bus station," agreed Christian LeFave, president of Loaring Construction, the Windsorbased firm contracted to build the train station.
According to LeFave, construction of the $6.3 million facility will begin next week -- just next door to the old train station at Walker Road off Riverside Drive East.
About 12,000 square feet in size, the new building will feature in-floor geothermal heating, solar panels, a translucent roof and a "living wall."
There will be a passenger lounge with seating for 125 people and uninterrupted views of arriving and departing trains.
Outside the building, the site will have 110 parking spots, including long-term parking and an area reserved for taxis.
There will be a 12-metre tall Via sign and room for a future parkette.
Yves Desjardins-Siciliano, general counsel and secretary of Via Rail, noted that Windsor's old station dates back to the 1960s -- "and it shows," he said.
"The current station is just too small, too awkward, and does not represent the potential of the city of Windsor and the region as a whole."
Windsor's train station is the sixth busiest across the country in terms of passengers. An estimated 210,000 people boarded or disembarked at the Windsor station in 2009.
"I think it's probably safe to say that it's about time we did something," said Dave Van Kesteren, MP for Chatham-Kent-Essex.
When the project was announced in March, construction was hoped to begin by June.
But Desjardins-Siciliano said he's not aware of any delay. "I'm not sure what the expectation was," he said.
"Projects of this magnitude, if there is a delay of three or four months -- it's not that significant, it seems to me."
Mayor Eddie Francis said he's glad that Via Rail and the federal government took the extra time. "I'm very pleased," he said. "We will now have a facility that is not just a normal facility. This is a facility that goes above and beyond the standard that you'd expect to see in stations across the Via network."
Asked how the new station figures into the city's plan for rail consolidation -- given that the location of the station won't change -- Francis replied that rail consolidation is a "long-term vision" that will take time to bring to fruition. "Until then, we certainly welcome investments of this nature in our community."

Chiltern Railways praised for efforts to reduce overcrowding

The Chiltern Railways service between Birmingham and London should be used as a model for the rest of the country to reduce overcrowding on trains, according to MPs.

Every new rail franchise should be based on the agreement between Chiltern Railways and the Government, which makes the rail company responsible for adding extra carriages, a Commons inquiry said.

By contrast, most rail companies currently have no obligation to tackle overcrowding - and fail to provide new carriages.

The Commons Public Accounts Committee calls for reforms today as it warned that the rail network was failing to meet targets to increase capacity on the network.

A Department for Transport strategy published in 2007 was supposed to provide an extra 38,000 places during the three-hour peak period on trains in Britain’s major cities.

But the rail companies were on course to provide only two thirds of the extra places required.

MPs said: “An underlying problem is the lack of incentives for the industry to supply extra capacity without additional taxpayer support.”

They added: “The Chiltern Trains franchise is an exception as it requires the operator to bear the costs of providing enough capacity, in terms of both carriages and platform lengths, to meet demand during peak hours without exceeding maximum loads.”

Chiltern runs services between Birmingham Snow Hill and London Marylebone.

The MPs said: “All but one of the 15 English rail franchises have no requirements for the operator to meet demand without excessive overcrowding, and so the taxpayer usually has to provide additional funding for extra carriages

“For future rail franchises the department should impose clear obligations on operators to avoid overcrowding, and to bear the costs of meeting that obligation themselves.”

Margaret Hodge, chairman of the Committee of Public Accounts, said: “The Department for Transport’s latest plans show that all the relevant targets for increasing the number of passenger places on trains during the morning peak by 2014 will be missed. This committee is concerned that, for commuters, the already unacceptable levels of overcrowding will simply get worse and ever more intolerable.”

Rail companies expected the taxpayer to bail them out when they needed to increase capacity, she said - but they needed to change their attitude.

“At present there is no incentive for the rail industry to supply extra capacity without additional public subsidy. The department should for future franchises require operators to take measures themselves to avoid overcrowding and to meet the costs of doing so.”

source: Birmingham Post

Brazil offers to lend $11.8 bln for high-speed train

* State bank BNDES to fund 60 pct of total investment
* Winner of bid could pay 7 pct annually for loan
* Bullet train to link Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro

Brazil's national development bank offered on Mondayto lend up to 19.98 billion reais ($11.8 billion) to build a high-speed passenger railway linking the country's two biggest cities, underscoring the need for massive government guarantees for the project.

The 30-year loan will pay interest of 6 percent plus another percentage point in fees related to credit risk, state lender BNDES said in a statement. Borrowers will only start paying the loan six months after the expected start of the train service between Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro by 2016.

The BNDES funding is equivalent to 60 percent of the estimated 33 billion reais cost of the project. The consortium that will build the railway will be picked in an auction scheduled for Dec. 16, the statement added.

By increasing loan guarantees and money available for bidders, the government is seeking to lower underlying risks and speed up execution and completion of the project, which it hopes will be ready for the Rio Olympic Games in 2016.

Some economists have said that the government is forcing the BNDES to shoulder too many risks to accelerate growth in Latin America's largest economy.

The package is the latest in a series of efforts by the BNDES to provide financing for more than $1 trillion in public works that President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who stands down in December after eight years in office, wants the next administration to undertake.

Such projects, including the "bullet" train, are key to avert bottlenecks that could slow Brazil's economic growth in coming years by adding to costs for exporters and discouraging investment.

The sleek, streamlined bullet train thundering its way between the cities at 280 kilometers per hour (174 miles per hour) is the image of a modern and thriving Brazil that Lula and his successor, President-elect Dilma Rousseff, want to project.

The bank said that the train will transport 32 million passengers a year and generate revenues of up to 2 billion reais a year.

Consumers will pay up to 199 reais ($117) for a one-way trip. Currently, the cost of a one-way plane ticket could be as much as three times the expected cost of a bullet-train pass.

source: Reuters

GCC railway significant for mega common projects in region

Kuwait - A ranking official underlined significance of the GCC railway project saying if executed it would greatly enhance inter-Gulf commerce and transport and travel.
Abdul Mohsen Al-Mazidi, the communication undersecretary, called during a meeting of the committee of transport undersecretaries of the GCC, held here, for completing studies regarding the mega venture for sake of launching it by 2017.
He indicated that the GCC states would ensure that the trains to be employed would be of international specifications in terms of safety and speed.
People of the GCC countries are pinning high hopes on such major projects for they would greatly contribute to service and development schemes, he pointed out.
The GCC that groups Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Qatar, Bahrain and Oman have been coordinating closely in various fields since the body was set up in the early 80s. The railway project is one of a series of joint ventures aimed at achieving integration, ultimately.

source: Global Arab Network

UK Government sells right to operate its first High Speed Railway for £2.1bn

The successful bidder in a sale of the concession to run Britain's first high speed railway, 'High Speed 1', was announced today by Transport Secretary Philip Hammond as a consortium comprising Borealis Infrastructure and Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan. The consortium will pay the Government a total concession value of £2.1bn to operate the line for the next 30 years in a sale which will help reduce the UK's record debt and provide opportunities for new services on the line.
The consortium will take on the management of the 68 mile line which links London to the Channel Tunnel following completion later this month. The consortium will be responsible for running the line as well as stations such as St Pancras International, and the international stations at Stratford, Ashford and Ebbsfleet.

Philip Hammond said:
"This is great news for taxpayers and rail passengers alike. It is a big vote of confidence in UK plc and a big vote of market confidence in the future of high speed rail. It also shows that the decisive action this Government has taken to reduce the deficit is already paying dividends and that investors believe once again that Britain is open for business.
"The £2.1bn receipt exceeds the highest expectations for the sale and will make a welcome contribution to reducing the deficit.
"I look forward to working with the new concessionaire and to the benefits passengers will see as High Speed 1 seeks to attract new services to the line, allowing British passengers to travel by high speed train to even more destinations across Europe.
"This is an exciting time for rail travel and an important step in our plans to develop a truly national and international high speed network for British travellers."
The successful sale was managed for the Government by London and Continental Railways Ltd. Commenting on today's announcement, LCR Chief Executive Mark Bayley said:
"High Speed 1 is a unique, high quality infrastructure asset which speeds tens of thousands of people between London, Kent and continental Europe every day. I am very proud to have been associated with the business and its excellent management, and believe that we have achieved an extremely good price for HS1 through a very competitive process."
High Speed 1 is currently used by international Eurostar services between London and European destinations as well as domestic high speed services between London and Kent. The performance of the new operator of the line will be independently policed by the Office of Rail Regulation to ensure that rail passengers' interests are effectively safeguarded. The Government began a competition for rights to run the line in June 2010.
UBS acted as financial adviser to LCR on the sale of HS1. Citi advised DfT in relation to the sale.

source: Fresh Business Thinking

Outgoing Wis. gov. suspends high-speed train work

Outgoing Wisconsin Gov. Jim Doyle's administration has asked contractors to suspend work on a high-speed rail line from Madison to Milwaukee while it studies the potential impact of stopping the project.

Department of Transportation Secretary Frank Busalacchi (boos-uh-LAH'-kee) said the suspension would last while the agency studies "the real world consequences, including the immediate impacts to people and their livelihoods, if this project were to be stopped."

The statement comes two days after Republican Scott Walker was elected governor to replace Doyle, a Democrat.

Walker has vowed to follow through on his campaign promise to kill the $810 million project, which is to be funded by federal stimulus dollars.

Busalacchi says the suspension will last "a few days."

source: Business Week

DART Underground oral hearing to begin later this month

An Bord Pleanala is to begin an oral hearing into the DART Underground on Monday, 22nd November. The ambitious Irish Rail project is designed to join Dublin's various existing rail lines with a 7.6km tunnel under the heart of the city.

The project will connect via tunnel the Spencer Dock, Pearse Street (interchange with existing DART lines), St. Stephens Green (interchange with Metro North), Christchurch, Heuston Station, and a new surface station at Inchicore. It will allow Iarnród Éireann to run two interconnecting DART lines, from Balbriggan to Kildare and from Greystones to Maynooth.   

Dart Underground is expected to cost about E2.5bn but is likely to employ 7,000 people over a six-year period.

The oral hearing into the project will take place in the Plaza Hotel in Tallaght. There have been close to 250 submissions made to an Bord Pleanala regarding the project, with a large number from residents in the East Wall area which is close to where one end of the two tunnels will finish.  

"I have no idea how long the hearing will last - it could be three weeks or three months," said one transport industry source. "There has been a lot of criticism of an Bord Pleanala over how they handled the Metro hearing, including a lash from the Minister for Transport Noel Dempsey, so they may want to get this one done faster."

source: Business and Finance

Train times speed up between Algarve and Lisbon

Journeys on the Alfa Pendular high speed train between the Algarve and Lisbon will now be ten minutes shorter thanks to the construction of 29 kilometres of new railway tracks by national rail company Refer.

The journey, which previously took 3h04, will now be reduced to 2h54, while direct journeys between Faro and Oporto will also be reduced.

This time reduction has been made possible by the construction of the new Alcácer bypass railway, reducing the distance by seven kilometres and allowing for greater travelling speeds. Regional and intercity trains will not benefit from shorter journey times as train company Comboios de Portugal (CP) has decided to include Alcácer station, which means that the old rail lines will be used.

A total of €159 million was invested in the rail improvements for the Alfa Pendular.

source: The Portugal News

$65m rail investment

 

QR NATIONAL will be investing in excess of $65 million in its operations to bring iron ore from Cliffs Natural Resources’ mine at Koolyanobbing to the port at Esperance.

QR National, through its subsidiary ARG (Australian Railroad Group), has ordered six new locomotives worth $35 million and 227 rail wagons worth another $30 million from United Group (UGL).

QR National currently carries iron ore from Cliffs Natural Resources' Koolyanobbing mine 575 kilometres to Esperance Ports Sea and Land (EPSL).

A QR National spokesperson said there would be no change to the number or frequency of train movements previously approved, since longer trains will be used - 159 wagons, rather than 126 wagons currently.

The longer trains will carry nominally 11,500 tonnes as opposed to the current 9,000 tonnes.

QR National managing director and chief executive officer, Lance Hockridge said iron ore was a strong growth area for the company as customers in Western Australia expanded or opened mines.

“We are well placed to grow, as we supply iron ore export markets that are benefiting from strong Asian demand, particularly from China and India.”

The new locomotives are scheduled to be delivered in the second half of 2011.

Cliffs’ spokesperson, Michelle de Souza said, “With the assistance of EPSL and other key stakeholders, Cliffs Asia Pacific Iron Ore is now proceeding with the execution phase of its $320 million proposal to increase its iron ore production from its Koolyanobbing mining operations from 8.8 Mtpa.

“There will be no significant changes to the existing infrastructure and no new infrastructure required at the Port, since sufficient capacity and capability exists to cope with the increased throughput.”

Ms de Souza also said there would be no change to the total number of vessels previously approved to export from the Port, as larger vessels would be used.

“The increased export of iron ore provides an economic return to Cliffs, EPSL and the broader community, including that of Esperance,” she said.

“Works to upgrade rail infrastructure at Esperance will create employment opportunities for the construction period and train maintenance, thereafter.

“Continued use of the Esperance Port for the export of iron ore also provides longer-term security of local employment in the Yilgarn and Esperance regions during the life of the Koolyanobbing mining operations.”

source: The Esperance Express

East Coast rail firm makes £1.2m profit for Government

The state-owned East Coast rail company today reported a £1.2 million profit in its first year since being nationalised.

Directly Operated Railways, which runs the London to Scotland rail route for the Government, said turnover for the nine months to March 31 was £233.8 million. Passenger numbers were up 3%.

DOR said its turnaround of the business was under way but warned that it was still fixing problems inherited when it took over the franchise from National Express East Coast.

The firm said that when it took the business in November last year staff morale was low, investment had ceased and key engineering skills had been “allowed to evaporate”.

It intends to hand back the company to private ownership by the end of 2012.

source: This is London

Cuellar announces $5.6 Million for Planning New Passenger Rail Line in South Texas

Congressman Henry Cuellar (TX-28), along with the Texas Democratic delegation, announced that the Department of Transportation has awarded Texas and Oklahoma a $5,600,000.00-grant as part of the High-Speed Intercity Passenger Rail Grant Program.
These funds will be used to complete necessary, preliminary corridor service planning studies for new and improved high-speed intercity passenger rail along an approximate 850-mile corridor, which mirrors the route of Interstate 35 between South Texas and Oklahoma City. The $5.6 million in planning funds will be shared with the State of Oklahoma, with Texas acting as the lead State.
Congressman Cuellar authored an amendment in H.R. 6003, the "Passenger Rail Investment and Improvement Act of 2008, to ensure that the South Texas community was included in the study. Now, initial planning will look at Laredo and McAllen/Brownsville as potential sites for a rail station. Prior to Congressman Cuellar’s amendment, the study would have only included areas north of San Antonio.
"Geographically, Texas is ideally suited for rail transportation and that’s why I fought hard to ensure that South Texas and the border community was included in this study," said Congressman Henry Cuellar. "A new passenger rail line would garner sizeable benefits for travelers as well as those in the trade community. This grant marks the kind of developments that will serve as the foundation for travel and commerce of the future."
Members of the Texas Democratic delegation, Reps. Eddie Johnson, Lloyd Doggett, Ciro Rodriguez, Solomon Ortiz, Ruben Hinojosa, Charles Gonzalez and Chet Edwards, welcomed news as well.
"With our highway system reaching capacity I’m glad to see Texas moving forward in developing a High Speed Rail infrastructure. These planning funds will allow the Texas Department of Transportation to begin planning for an intercity high speed corridor that would provide service from Laredo and Brownsville, to San Antonio and through Austin, Dallas, Fort Worth and onto Oklahoma City," said Congresswoman Eddie Johnson, the senior Texan on the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure.

source: Politicalnews

Rail firm cuts unprofitable services

TRAIN operator Wrexham & Shropshire, which links Banbury with London, Shrewsbury and Wales, is reducing the number of services it runs from next month.

The firm, which operates without a Government subsidy and relies on fares paid by passengers to cover all its costs, says the trains affected are too lightly-used to be profitable.

Two off-peak services in each direction on weekdays and Saturdays will be combined into one.

Managing director Andy Hamilton said: “Our position as a train operator working without subsidy means that our viability is directly affected by passenger numbers. We have several trains that are not being used sufficiently to justify continuing to run them.

"The change will not affect travel for over 70 per cent of our passengers and will allow us to focus our resources on growing our business where demand is greatest. We know that some customers will be inconvenienced, and for that we apologise."

For full details, see the company’s website.

source: Oxfordmail

China rides bullet train to Poland

Chinese railway firms are laying tracks straight to Poland, looking to sell high-speed train technology to the European nation.

A delegation of eight major companies from the high-speed rail industry are slated to visit Warsaw in mid November, the Ministry of Railways said.

Together the companies boast they have the technology needed to build a high-speed railway, including train design, train production, railway building and signal services.

Ye Juan, a member of the ministry's China-Poland Coordination Group, told the Global Times that the Warsaw delegation includes high-ranking officials from the respective companies.

"Therefore, during the promotional (meetings), it is possible that agreements could be reached," Ye said.

In a move that will likely sweeten the political atmosphere for the delegation's arrival, Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping arrived in Poland Tuesday to boost economic ties.

"Though our program is held separately, I think his visit could be favorable for our program," Ye said.

Demand for Chinese railway technology is growing in Eastern Europe, as the technology is reasonably priced when compared with German and Japanese rivals.

"China's economy is very strong now, and the technology is good quality and competitively priced," said Witold Prandota, minister counselor of the Polish embassy in Beijing.

Prandota, speaking to the Global Times yesterday on the sidelines of the China-Poland Investment Seminar in Beijing, put it simply, saying, "China's offer, from a professional point of view, is the best."

The eight company delegation heading to Poland includes the China Academy of Railway Sciences, the Third Railway Survey and Design Institute, CSR Corporation Ltd, China CNR Corporation Ltd, Huawei Technologies, the China Railway Construction Corporation, the China Railway Signal and Communication Corporation and the China Railway Group.

Earlier this year, CSR Corp went to the US state of California and bid on a high-speed railway project.

source: Globaltimes

Turkish, Italian Railways sign deal

The parties also agreed to act together in feasibility works, project designs, management and maintenance.

An agreement was signed between Turkish State Railways (TCDD) and the Italian Railways (FS).
The agreement signed by TCDD Director-General Suleyman Karaman and FS director-General Mauro Moretti in Rome envisages cooperation in high speed train, safety, signalization, training and infrastructure.
The parties also agreed to act together in feasibility works, project designs, management and maintenance.
TCDD and FS signed another agreement in December 11, 2009.

source: World Bulletin

MÁV reissues tender for supply and maintenance of vehicle fleet

State-owned Hungarian railway company MÁV reissued a tender to supply and maintain its fleet of 350 passenger and 615 light-commercial vehicles for a period of five years with a possible one-year extension, the business daily Napi Gazdaság reported on Wednesday.
Hungary's Public Procurement Arbitration Board in April fined MÁV HUF 45 million for unilaterally extending the contract of the company currently providing maintenance for its vehicle fleet, LeasePlan Hungaria, after MÁV in February annulled a previous tender to supply and maintain its vehicle fleet because all of the bids exceeded the estimated HUF 800 million value of the contract.
The deadline for submission of a letter of intent to participate in the current tender is November 29, while that for submission of bids will be in late December.
MÁV will award the contract to the lowest bidder.

source: Budapest Business Journal

Inquiry: New rail link promises Oxford to Marylebone in 66 minutes

AN INQUIRY into a new £250m Rail service linking Oxford and London opened yesterday with the promise of an extra two trains to the capital every hour.

At the moment trains only run from Oxford to London Paddington.

But Chiltern Railways hopes by upgrading the existing route between Oxford and Bicester Town, a new additional service can be opened up connecting Oxford and London Marylebone, with trains running at speeds of up to 100mph.

If given the go ahead, it will mean a new commuter station at Water Eaton, near Kidlington and significant improvements at Oxford, Bicester and Islip stations.

But fears have been raised about the scheme and more than 300 objections have been submitted.

There are also worries about noise pollution for homes near the route and whether park-and-ride sites can cope with the increased volume of cars.

The public inquiry at the Oxford Conference Centre, in Park End Street, is expected to last nine weeks.

Timothy Straker QC, who opened the inquiry for Chiltern Railways, said the line would mean that for the first time in more than 40 years there will be a rail link between Oxford and High Wycombe.

He said: “The economic benefits march hand in hand with social benefits.

“A multitude of examples can be given of opportunities which will present themselves when there is a new means of travelling along a route which takes people for example from Oxford to Bicester to Wycombe to Beaconsfield to Marylebone.”

The scheme will also include work requested by the Department for Transport to lower the track through Wolvercote tunnel and raise bridge heights to allow international height shipping containers to be carried along the Bicester to Oxford route.

The DfT has ploughed £18m into this part of the scheme.

Graham Cross, business development director of Chiltern Railways, said the rest will be paid for out of fares.

Mr Cross said the route would offer two extra trains to and from London every hour and an attractive alternative to the often congested M40 and A34.

He said: “I would say this greatly improves public transport to London from Oxford, which will benefit everyone.”

Objections to the scheme aare to be heard from next Tuesday.

The Secretary of State will then take a decision on the scheme in early 2011, and if it is given the go ahead, the line could be in operation by 2013.

Projected journey times to Marylebone would be about 66 minutes from Oxford. The Oxford to Bicester journey would take 14 minutes.

source: Herald Series