World Railway News... 29th October 2012

News sourced from the following........

International Railway Journal

THE transport ministers of the European Union, meeting in Luxembourg today, approved the text agreed with the European Parliament for the recast of the First Railway Package which will establish a single European railway area....(Full report below...)

ARGENTINA's Ministry of Interior and Transport has taken over for 90 days the freight operations of Belgrano Cargas from Soesa in order to improve operations..

IN preparation for the arrival of Hurricane Sandy in Atlantic City this evening, rail services have been suspended along the eastern seaboard of the United States.
 

www.progressiverailroading.com US Railroad News

East Coast passenger railroads prep for high winds, flooding from 'super storm'

BART marks completion of Warm Springs tunnel project

Wlotko to retire from Patriot Rail Jan. 1

FTA to fund $400,000 for Hudson-Bergen light-rail study

Denton County Transportation Authority approves fare changes, posts annual ridership gain

Vermont Rail Action Network honors RailAmerica's Hunter, Amtrak's Kujula

Record-setting-size container ship calls on Port Everglades

J.B. Hunt, Schneider National and Hub Group win 'core carrier' awards



www.railway-technology.com Updates...

New York rail services close as Hurricane Sandy approaches The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) in New York, US, has suspended rail services in the region to prepare for the arrival of Hurricane Sandy, a tropical cyclone that has passed through the Caribbean and is about to hit the US East Coast. 
      
Colas Rail wins Algiers metro rail extension
European provider of rail infrastructure services Colas Rail, in a consortium with KOU GC, has won an €85m contract for the extension of Line 1 on the Algiers Metro. 
      
Crossrail moves forward with east London tunnel construction
Crossrail has moved forward in the construction of its tunnel between Royal Oak and Farringdon by lowering a 550t tunnel boring machine (TBM), dubbed Elizabeth, into a 40m shaft in the Limmo Peninsula near Canning Town station in east London, UK. 
      
EIB to finance Polish rail upgrades
The European Investment Bank (EIB) is providing two loans worth €165m to Polish rail operator PKP to support the upgrade of key rail corridors across the country.



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gwsr.com - Turkey's Ambassador to London, Ahmet Ünal Çeviköz and his wife Emel, enjoyed Sunday lunch on the Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway's 'Elegant Excursions' dining train on Sunday 28 October,

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News in Depth

Press Release

Brussels, 29 October 2012

European Transport Ministers give green light to Recast of the First Railway Package

Today, European Transport Ministers at the Council meeting in Luxembourg put the official seal on the text agreed with the European Parliament regarding the proposal for a Directive establishing the Single European Railway Area – the Recast of the First Railway Package. “We are glad that this has come to an end and expect that a smooth and quick implementation process will take place in each member state”,commented CER Executive Director Libor Lochman. The European Commission, the Member states and of course the railway companies will now devote their efforts to the implementation of the Directive. Within 30 months, the Member States will have to transpose the Directive into their national legislation. Several details will also be defined and specified either via comitology procedure or directly by national governments. At the same time, CER is looking forward to the publication of the so-called Fourth Railway Package which will substantially revise the Recast of the First Railway Package. “It could well be the case that an article is being changed via the Fourth Railway Package by the European Parliament or by the Council while it is implemented by the Member States via the Recast of the First Railway Package at the same time!” said Libor Lochman. “Today, I have a twofold hope. My first hope is that the proposal will take into account our suggestions and concerns. My second hope is that once the Fourth Railway Package will be voted, all institutions, associations, national governments and companies will work together to fully implement the rail acquis and to fully consolidate its rule into the market. This will then be the time for a period of legal and political stability and certainty for rail.” ========  The Community of European Railway and Infrastructure Companies (CER) brings together 80 European railway undertakings and infrastructure companies. CER represents the interests of its members towards the European institutions as well as other policy makers and transport actors. CER’s main focus is promoting the strengthening of rail as essential to the creation of a sustainable transport system which is efficient, effective and environmentally sound. For more information, see www.cer.be   For further information, please contact: Eva Böckle Press and Communications Manager phone +32 2 213 08 90 mobile +32 473 32 20 94 e-mail eva.boeckle@cer.be           CAF signs a new contract to supply Rome Metro Units CAF has signed a new contract with the Rome City Council – ROMA CAPITALE – for the supply of 15 ROME METRO Units, with 6 cars each, including the maintenance of the Units for a period of five years. The deal is worth €113 million. These new units will run on the Metropolitan Line B of the Immortal City between Laurentina and Rebibbia, as well as on the Northern extension of this line, B1, the first section of which was opened this summer with three stations, with plans to eventually reach Ionio with the commissioning of the new units. These units are added to the 53 units already supplied by CAF for the ROME METRO since the signing of the initial contract in 2002, which are already providing passenger services on lines A, B and Rome-Lido, with the highest reliability and availability standards in the market. The new Rome Metro trains supplied by CAF will be made of aluminium, 6 car consists with 4 being motor cars and cabbed cars on both ends. They will also feature an unobstructed corridor enabling passengers to walk all along the train. These units have the most advanced technology and are designed for massive passenger transit under the most stringent quality and safety standards. This is a confirmation of the Company’s determination to play a greater role in the Italian market, where, in addition to the various successive contracts executed for the Rome Metro in the last few years, the Company is also supplying 8 Civity EMUs for Trieste and the Sardinia DMUs, and signed a contract late last year for the supply of 250 bogies for the Milan Metro.