International & UK Railway News 11th December 2012

International Railway Journal


TENDERS have been invited by PKP Intercity, Poland, to conduct what is termed a Level 4 revision to 271 passenger coaches of 23 types.

LARSEN & Toubro, the Indian contractor responsible for construction of the initial phase of the Hyderabad metro has awarded Thales a contract worth around Rs 7.4bn ($US 134.3m) to provide CBTC and integrated communications ..

BRITISH West Coast Main Line operator Virgin Trains has extended its contract with Bombardier until March 2016 to maintain its fleet of Super Voyager diesel trains.

THE German state of Bavaria, through its transport authority Bavarian Railways (BEG), has called for bids for the operation of passenger rail services on the Weissenhorn – Senden – Ulm line




www.progressiverailroading.com US Railroad News

Transit ridership increased 2.6 percent during the first three quarters of 2012 compared with the same 2011 period, the American Public Transportation Association (APTA) announced yesterday. More than 7.9 billion trips were taken on U.S. public transportation systems during the year's first nine months.

In addition, a third-quarter gain marked the seventh consecutive quarter of ridership increases, APTA officials said in a prepared statement
New York DOT to construction manage, Amtrak to operate Rochester intermodal center

Seattle port pursues new 25-year plan

UP to display Genset switcher at Chicago yard

BART to give hiring preference to job-seeking veterans

Amtrak set ridership, ticket revenue records in Thanksgiving period

Kansas City Southern moves wind towers from Colorado to Mexico

Rail supplier updates from Bombardier, RailComm, Greenbrier, Thales and Trinity (Dec. 11)



www.railway-technology.com Updates

The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) in Boston, US, has awarded a $32.5m contract to Consigli Construction Company to build a new train station and parking garage in the city of Salem.
Bombardier Transportation and Shanghai Shentong Metro Group have established a new joint venture (JV) company to serve the Chinese urban rail market.

A consortium led by the French power company Alstom has been  selected as preferred bidder by Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (Prasa) to supply 3,600 new passenger coaches worth R51bn ($5.9bn) under the first phase of a 20-year fleet renewal programme.

Amtrak is seeking $336m in emergency federal funding to upgrade infrastructure and help recover losses in New York following Superstorm Sandy, which hit the US East Coast in October 2012.

Council reaches agreement on reform of public procurement policy

On 10 December, the Competitiveness Council reached an agreement on a general approach on the three proposals of the public procurement package aiming at modernizing EU public procurement rules. The agreements are all based on the compromise texts put forward by the Cyprus Presidency. The Community of European Railway and Infrastructure Companies (CER) is concerned by the general approach on the European Commission’s proposal on procurement by entities operating in the water, energy, transport and postal services (replacing Directive 2004/17/EC – the so-called “Utilities” Directive). Representing the rail sector, CER is convinced that the issues at stake have not been properly tackled. Yesterday’s agreement does not adequately respond the specific needs of the network industries which are covered by the “Utilities” Directive. Neither the European Commission proposal presented on 20 December 2011 nor yesterday’s agreement will bring new rules to cut red tape and necessary clarity. CER Executive Director Libor Lochman said: “It is hard to believe that the current proposal as well as the Council’s general approach will bring simplification and flexibility of the current procedural regime, as aimed by the Commission and welcomed by all Utilities. To the contrary, it is obvious that there is a lack of understanding of the specificities the Utilities undertakings, providing essential public services to the citizens in the EU, need to cope with. For example, excessively limiting the possibilities to amend an ongoing publicly procured contract by setting too low thresholds or by relying on unclear generic rules will imply for both Utilities undertakings and their providers to run their activities without any possibility to amend the contract in case of unforeseen events/situations triggering a modification of the initial tender. It can end up in a situation where all changes needed in the course of a contract process will trigger the launch of a new public procurement procedure.” In terms of better access to the market for SMEs, this situation will certainly be counter-productive. CER hopes that the EU Presidency will evaluate again the general approach in the light of the latest elements brought forward by all the utilities stakeholders before the start of the trialogue meetings. In addition, CER asks the Presidency to approach the European Parliament with a clear commitment to improve its general approach by removing the incoherencies and inapplicable measures the general approach contains today. Important changes to this agreed general approach will help Europe to achieve the completion of the single market and to increase confidence and to stimulate the growth and jobs creation Europe deserves. Shedmaster Railway News Includes news from Network Rail re: Milverton Viaduct, Leamington Spa. World Heritage & Railway News From nymr.co.uk - The North Yorkshire Moors Railway has announced details of the official logo chosen for the NYMR 40th Anniversary in 2013. Railway Engineering News Siemens' videos on steelmaking, iron making and continuous casting....... Network Rail Historic viaduct to be waterproofed at Christmas Milverton Viaduct, which carries the railway line from Coventry through Leamington Spa town centre, is to be refurbished during the Christmas holidays. Built in 1844, the 16-span masonry and brick arch viaduct takes the railway over the River Leam, across public footpaths and it straddles a roundabout at the junction of Princes Drive and Park Drive. As part of the £1.5m project, Network Rail will remove the track and install pre-cast concrete sections to construct a saddle over the arches for the entire length of the viaduct. This will then be waterproofed to prevent any further damage caused by water seeping into the brickwork. At the same time, new drainage channels and down pipes will take the surface water away from the viaduct. Work will start at 8 pm on Christmas Eve and continue until 9 am on Sunday 30 December. During the work, train services will be diverted away from the viaduct and replacement road transport will operate between Leamington Spa, Coventry and Birmingham International. Passengers are advised to check their travel plans with their train operator or online at www.nationalrail.co.uk The work will not affect roads in and around the viaduct. In the run up to the Christmas work, Network Rail will remove any vegetation growing on and around the structure, and carry out brick and stonework repairs before re-pointing the joints. Pattress plates, which are the large metal plates seen on the outside of the viaduct, will also be repainted and missing plates will be replaced. The plates are effectively the washers on the ends of strengthening rods that keep the viaduct in shape.