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November 21, 2012

International & UK Railway News... 21st November 2012

The Railway Chronicle International Railway News from respected sources..


Network Rail

Network Rail’s plans for faster, more frequent rail services across the North.

Councillors and business leaders from across Manchester and Salford last night viewed Network Rail’s plans for improved rail travel in the North. At an event in the Museum of Science and Industry, the new Ordsall Chord, a scheme to connect Manchester’s Piccadilly, Oxford Road and Victoria stations, was unveiled to stakeholders ahead of this week’s public consultation.
 
The first part of the Northern Hub programme will help ease a rail bottleneck to the south of Piccadilly station and enable more trains to travel through Manchester Victoria. This will help free up space on the network to deliver faster, more frequent services, including:
 
- Two new fast trains per hour between Manchester Victoria and Liverpool
- Six fast trains, instead of four, an hour between Leeds and Manchester
- Faster journeys between Manchester, Leeds and Liverpool
- A new direct service through Manchester city centre to Manchester Airport
- Faster journey times to Hull, Newcastle and the North East
 
Network Rail has appointed a team of experts to progress the design of the Ordsall Chord. Two potential bridge options have been unveiled for consultation, including a bow string railway arch and an alternative flat bridge. The feedback from the public will be passed onto to the design panel and used to inform the plans.
 
Dyan Crowther, Network Rail’s route managing director, said: “Britain relies on rail and with demand for rail travel increasing it’s essential we invest in the railway to provide a better service for passengers with more trains, additional seats and fewer delays.
“We thank those who have already made a valuable contribution to the development of this vital project. Feedback from last year’s consultation suggests that the overwhelming majority of people support our plans to deliver faster, more frequent services across the North and helping stimulate low carbon economic growth
 
The plans were first released for consultation last year and feedback showed around 84% of respondents felt is was important to connect Manchester’s key railway stations. Network Rail has now developed more detailed plans and is asking for feedback before submitting an application to the Planning Inspectorate next summer.
 
The plans are available to view on www.networkrail.co.uk/ordsall. If the scheme is approved, work will start in late 2014 and is expected to be completed in late 2016.
 
 
BRITISH leasing company Eversholt Rail Group has completed a prototype installation of a Brecknell-Willis Duplex pantograph on one of its 225km/h class 91 locomotives in a project which aims to improve the reliability of the fleet of 31 locomotives used by long-distance passenger operator East Coast.
Class 91 at York.
 
ROTTERDAM Electric Tram (RET) has sold 44 redundant type T metro sets built by Düwag in 1980-84 to the Turkish city of Bursa, where they will be used on the growing Bursaray light metro network.
 
A GROUNDBREAKING ceremony was held in Sofia on November 21 to mark the start of construction on the eastern extension of metro Line 1 from Tsarigradsko Shose to Sofia Airport Terminal 2.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
FTA approves $1.55bn funding grant to HART Honolulu rail project The US Federal Transit Administration (FTA) has agreed to sign a full funding grant agreement (FFGA) with the Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transportation (HART) to provide $1.55bn in federal funds for the $5.2bn elevated-rail project in Hawaii. 
       
QR National completes $125m rail upgrade in Western Australia
Australian rail operator QR National has completed a $125m rail upgrade of its depot and rolling stock in Esperance, Western Australia. 
      
Nippon Sharyo to build 130 passenger railcars for US clients
Nippon Sharyo has won a $352m contract from the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) to build 130 passenger railcars. 
      
Siemens JV to supply 675 locomotives to Russian Railways
Siemens has signed a €2.5bn letter of intent with Russian Railways (RZD) to supply 675 locomotives to modernise the country's rail network.
 
 
CER | The Voice of European Railways
CER urges Member States to support growth and jobs
 
The Community of European Railway and Infrastructure Companies (CER) urges EU Member States and the European Parliament to safeguard the 32 billion EUR budget for transport infrastructure in the 2014-2020 EU budget. Member States should resist the temptation to protect traditional redistributive policies at the expense of budget areas that generate growth and jobs.
Meeting in Brussels on 22-23 November, EU Heads of State will continue their intense negotiations on the new on the Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) which will define the EU’s budget for the years 2014-2020.
Overall, the railway sector supports the European Commission’s proposal on the Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF), which emphasises policies with a high European added value, such as the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF), which is to finance infrastructure projects in transport, energy and ICT. In such programmes, investments at the European level are particularly useful due to their synergy effects. Bottlenecks and missing links in the transport system can be more effectively addressed if investments are coordinated at EU level.
The budget of EUR 32 billion (or about 3% of the overall MFF) proposed by the Commission for transport under CEF is realistic and necessary in order to reach the targets the EU has set itself in the area of transport. As a minimum, the compromise proposal presented by Council President Herman van Rompuy, which secures EUR 29.660 billion for transport, should be supported.
CER Executive Director Libor Lochman said:“Achieving a sustainable, integrated and multi-modal transport network, covering and interconnecting all Member States and regions must be seen as an essential investment in growth and jobs.”
Notes :
  • CER is one of more than 1000 stakeholders who have signed thedeclaration supporting CEF.
  • The transport sector also issued a joint statement calling upon Member States and the European Parliament to safeguard the EUR 32bn budget in April 2012.The statement is available at the CER website.
 
 
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