The Railway Chronicle: International & UK Railway News Friday 30th August 2013

Siemens

Siemens and Swiss Federal Railways establish partnership in control systems field.

Siemens and SBB (Swiss Federal Railways) have concluded a cooperation agreement relating to the automation and centralization of rail traffic control in Switzerland. In this connection, Siemens will continue the development of the Iltis control and information system, which permits the largely automated operational handling of rail traffic. The contract will run until the end of 2025, and will encompass goods and services worth some 260 million euros.

The Iltis control system has been in service in Switzerland for some fifteen years now, ensuring the safe, convenient and economical handling of rail traffic. Iltis controls and monitors train operations in their entirety. This includes the remote control for interlocking and the monitoring of operations at stations. Until now, control has been carried out from more than 25 regional locations. In the next few years these activities will be brought together in four operations centers in Lausanne, Olten, Zurich Airport and Pollegio. Concentrating these facilities is intended to improve communication and coordination in the event of disruption, so that corrective measures can be more rapidly coordinated and the provision of travel information speeded up.

Within the framework of the collaboration, Siemens will be handling the necessary modifications to facilities, and the further development of the system. In concluding the partnership contract, Siemens and the SBB have laid the foundations for continuous productivity improvements in the rail traffic sector.

Community Transportation Association of America

The Challenge of Growth: Public-Private Solutions

This important edition of DigitalCT focuses on the increasing use of partnerships between public agencies and private entities to improve mobility options. We take a look at a wide range of examples of public-private collaboration, including financing, taxi programs, intercity connectivity, facilities and intercity passenger rail.

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Complete Edition: The Challenge of Growth: Public-Private Solutions (PDF)(5.37 MB)
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Can Passenger Rail Operations Become Profitable and Lure Private Interest?

New rail services are demonstrating an increasingly cost-effective and perhaps even profitable operating environment for passenger rail. Over the coming years and decades, new projects -- including high-speed rail routes -- with greater private sector backing will test the long-held myth that passenger rail is an inherently money-losing proposition.

Can Passenger Rail Operations Become Profitable and Lure Private Interest? (PDF)(3.34 MB)

USDOT Federal Railroad Administration

Railroad Safety Advisory Committee Holds Emergency Meeting: Group Considers Additional Rail Safety Measures for Hazardous Materials Transport.

WASHINGTON – The Federal Railroad Administration’s (FRA) Railroad Safety Advisory Committee (RSAC) met today in an emergency session to begin consideration of additional regulatory or other safety measures following the derailment in Lac-Megantic, Quebec, Canada earlier this summer.

“Safety is our top priority,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx. “While 2012 was the safest year in rail history, we are constantly reviewing our work to ensure the public’s safety on our nation’s rails and value the important input we are receiving from industry stakeholders.”

The RSAC is a technical and policy stakeholder advisory group that makes recommendations to the FRA on rail safety issues, and includes representatives from every facet of the rail industry. The issues discussed at the meeting included the safety requirements contained in FRA Emergency Order No. 28 (EO 28) and the recommendations made in Safety Advisory 2013–06, both issued on Aug. 2.

EO 28 is a mandatory directive to railroads requiring them to undertake a number of immediate actions to ensure that trains transporting hazardous materials (hazmat) are secured and not left unattended. The directive also includes communication requirements. Failure to comply with the emergency order requirements will result in enforcement action.

The safety advisory contains recommendations issued jointly by FRA and the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) to railroads and hazmat shippers, including requiring railroads to review their crew staffing requirements for transporting hazardous material, conduct system-wide evaluations to identify hazards that may make it more difficult to secure a train or pose other safety risks, and develop procedures to reduce those risks. The advisory served as the agenda for today’s meeting. The implications as well as potential costs and benefits of new or expanded safety requirements and initiatives, including possible new RSAC tasks to implement them, were also discussed.

“Today’s meeting brings together some of the best and brightest minds our industry has to offer in order to tackle issues of paramount importance,” said FRA Administrator Joseph C. Szabo. “The dialogue will serve to build upon the comprehensive regulatory framework we already have in place, and allow us to further enhance safety by eliminating additional risk from the railroad system.”

During the meeting, RSAC members voted to accept four task statements on: appropriate train crew size; requirements for the securement of trains; operational testing for employees to ensure appropriate processes and procedures for securing trains are followed; and hazardous materials issues relating to the identification, classification, operational control and handling of such shipments in transportation. The RSAC will now establish working groups with the necessary expertise to examine each task, gather relevant facts, and develop a range of options. The recommendations of those working groups will be presented to the RSAC by April 2014.

“As greater quantities of hazmat are transported by rail and other modes, the risks increase and we have to make sure our regulations are keeping pace with market and technology forces,” said PHMSA Administrator Cynthia Quarterman. “We have to work together to identify gaps, be willing to acknowledge them and close them.”

Under current U.S. Department of Transportation regulations, freight railroads are required to undertake safety and security risk assessments and implement procedures in order to transport certain hazardous materials, including creating a plan to prevent unauthorized access to rail yards, facilities, and trains carrying hazardous materials. Railroads that carry hazardous materials are required to follow established protocols while en route, and railroad employees are subject to background checks and must complete training. Railroad training programs and operating practices are reviewed and audited by the FRA routinely and are generally designed to be progressive so that as the level of risk increases, so does the level of safety and security required. A description of past, present, and proposed FRA actions on this issue can be found here.

Eurotransport Magazine...

Just some of the articles in Issue 4 include:

A Foreword from Frédéric Cuvillier, Minister for Transport and Maritime Economy, France
Developments in Rome and Turin
Safety & Security Supplement with articles from Metrolink, UITP and BSIA
Contactless bank card ticketing on London’s buses – an interview with Shashi Verma – TfL’s Director of Customer Experience
ITS & Traffic Management Supplement with articles from SSB, ERTICO-ITS Europe, AustriaTech and Polis

You can read this issue here:
http://www.eurotransportmagazine.com/digital/et-issue-4-2013/

International Railway Journal

TRAMS are set to return to the streets of Tours tomorrow (August 31) when the city officially inaugurates its first 15km, 29-station light rail line, 64 years after its original network closed.

ESSEX Thameside franchisee, c2c, which operates services from London Fenchurch Street to Shoeburyness and the Essex Coast, is to upgrade ticketing systems at all of its stations outside of London to enable its passengers to use smart card ticketing.

JR Central has confirmed that construction of the inaugural 286km section of its Yen 5.1 trillion ($US 51.97bn) maglev line between Tokyo and Nagoya will commence as early as April next year.

www.progressiverailroading.com US News

Quebec accident fallout: FRA's Railroad Safety Advisory Committee targets four key 'tasks' at emergency meeting

Class Is' 2Q crude volume record not enough to shake U.S. carload traffic from year-long malaise

MARTA to consider major transit expansion in Georgia 400 corridor

CTA breaks ground on new station near McCormick Place

Tie purchases and production jumped in July, RTA says

Amtrak to provide free Wi-Fi on all Michigan trains, allow bikes on Blue Water route

Savannah port to help distribute Hyper bikes in Southeast

TransLink readies test of new fare-card system