Metrorail fleet renewal begins
23 April 2012,
15:55:00
SOUTH AFRICA: Bid documents are now being
made available by Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa as it seeks to let two
10-year contracts for the design, manufacture and maintenance of
electric-multiple-units. PRASA expects to order an estimated 7 224 cars over the
next 20 years to replace the aging Metrorail fleet. ‘Today we formally invite
manufacturers of rolling stock in South Africa and all over the world to submit
their bids to build metro coaches estimated at R123bn’, said Transport Minister
Dr Sibusiso Ndebele, speaking at Metrorail’s Braamfontein depot on April 19.
‘Government has opened the bid to private-sector companies to encourage growth
and job creation in our country, this is a milestone in passenger rail
investment which will see a significant change in the quality of public
transport as a whole’. Bidders will be required to attend a compulsory briefing
session on May 9, with bid proposals to be submitted by September 10. Deliveries
of the new EMUs are expected to commence in 2015. According to PRASA Group CEO
Lucky Montana, the government has set a ‘65% localisation target’ as part of the
bid conditions. ‘We have already started preparing for the new trains not only
to complement government’s contribution, but also to improve our stations and
customer experience as a whole’, said Montana. ‘We have set aside R25·9bn of our
own money over the next three years to invest in infrastructure development at
station level’.
Tenders called for US passenger cars
23 April 2012,
11:47:00
USA: US Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood
announced on April 20 that manufacturers had been invited to bid for a contract
worth $551m to supply 130 double-deck cars for Amtrak services, under ‘a
groundbreaking multi-state effort to jointly purchase standardised rail
equipment’. With funding from the Federal Railroad Administration’s High Speed
and Intercity Passenger Rail Program, the new cars are to be deployed on Amtrak
routes in California, Illinois, Michigan, Indiana, Missouri ‘and potentially
Iowa’. The preferred bidder is due to be selected this autumn for deliveries to
start in 2015. According to the US Department of Transportation, the Buy America
provisions of the Request for Proposals issued to potential suppliers require
that ‘all components’ of the new cars ‘are built by American workers’ and ‘with
American-produced steel, iron and manufactured goods’. USDoT has been working
with the Department of Commerce to connect major rolling stock manufacturers
with more than 34 000 domestic suppliers ‘and help them retool their production
capabilities’. USDoT says that new uniform standards ‘will drive down lifecycle
costs and allow more manufacturers and suppliers to compete, fostering a healthy
competition while helping re-establish the US domestic supply chain for
passenger rail equipment’. The common design should also simplify rolling stock
maintenance, including staff training and spares inventories, reducing costs and
increasing fleet reliability. ‘President Obama has called on us to invest in
transportation systems that are built to last’, said LaHood. ‘This important
opportunity represents a win-win scenario for both workers and the traveling
public by helping to create manufacturing jobs and support passenger
rail’.
Chinese locos prepare for service
23 April 2012,
10:58:00
AUSTRALIA: Following successful testing that
has included operation at up to 130 km/h and hauling ‘one of the biggest iron
ore trains’ between Port Augusta and Adelaide last month, SCT Logistics expects
its full fleet of CSR Ziyang diesel locomotives to be ‘up and running’ by June.
SCT says that it has been ‘humbled’ by the performance of its new Chinese
locomotives, in particular during noise, ride and speed tests. Powered by a
4 200 hp MTU engine, the new design meets EU Stage IIIA emissions standards as
well as Australian EPA requirements. ‘One of the issues we now face is that the
average age of the fleets that operate across Australia is nearly 30 years old
with most not conforming to current standards, especially 21st century emission
standards’, said SCT Logistics Managing Director Geoff Smith. SCT says that its
new CSR locomotives ‘emit less carbon than any other locomotives in Australia
and will set a new benchmark for the Australian rail industry moving forward’.
SCT has ordered a total of 10 locomotives from CSR Ziyang, also featuring AC
traction, isolated driving cabs and ‘a proven bogie configuration’. A batch of
six units was shipped from Shanghai to Adelaide on January 1 2012.
Railway could tap Québec's northern wealth
23 April 2012,
05:00:00
CANADA: Proposals for an 800 km railway to
enable the exploitation of natural resources in the Labrador Trough are being
drawn up by Canadian National and pension fund manager Caisse de Dépôt et
Placement du Québec. A railway north from the port of Sept-Îles forms part of
the government of Québec's Plan Nord economic development strategy. The
province's 2012 budget states that railway 'is essential in order to tap into
this territory's vast potential for wealth', and predicts that mining projects
could attract more than C$20bn in private investment and generate substantial
royalties. The estimated C$5bn cost of the railway would be met by the private
sector and the pension fund. Initial discussions are now underway to assess the
transport needs of mining companies, with a view to reaching preliminary usage
agreements before a detailed feasibility study is carried out.
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