The Railway Chronicle: International & UK Railway News Friday 22nd November 2013

Latest news on the High Speed Rail (Preparation) Act 2013

Following agreement by both Houses on the text of the Bill it received Royal Assent on 21 November. The Bill is now an Act of Parliament (law).

Summary of the High Speed Rail (Preparation) Act 2013

A Bill To make provision authorising expenditure in preparation for a high speed railway transport network.

Siemens

Siemens to automate the two busiest commuter lines in the USA

Munich, 2013-Nov-20

New PTC train control system will increase the safety of passenger service
Upgrading of both lines will boost the annual transport capacity for around 80 million passengers

Siemens Rail Automation, in a consortium with Bombardier Transportation, is to upgrade the train control systems on the two largest commuter lines in the USA under the terms of a corresponding contract awarded by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA). Siemens and Bombardier will develop, test and commission the new Positive Train Control (PTC) system for the North Railroad and the Long Island Rail Road commuter lines in the state of New York in phases by 2019. The new control system will monitor and control train movements on both lines. In future, excessive train speed or the overrunning of stop signals will be prevented by emergency braking.It is also expected to ensure more efficient service on the more than 1,100 track kilometers of track and to increase the transport capacity of these lines. Siemens' share of the contract in the first project phase is worth around 90 million US-dollars.

"Siemens is a leading provider of rail automation technologies worldwide, and we are excited to bring this global expertise to advance rail efficiency on these highly traveled commuter lines," said John Paljug, President of Siemens Rail Automation in the U.S. The North Railroad and the Long Island Rail Road commuter lines in the state of New York are the busiest commuter rail routes in North America and carry around 80 million passengers every year. With a total of 124 stations and about 1,100 kilometers of track, they connect the suburban communities to the north and east of New York City with downtown Manhattan.

The project will be delivered in phases on approximately 1,100 km (about 700 miles) of track and 1,500 vehicles across the two railroads. Siemens' work scope for this project includes development, modification, design, delivery and supervision of testing and commissioning of the new Positive Train Control (PTC) carborne system. This scope also includes upgrading of the existing wayside signaling for the two commuter lines.

Siemens has developed PTC specifically for the North American market and in accordance with the U.S. Congress' Rail Safety Improvement Act of 2008. The act mandates widespread installation of PTC systems by December 2015 on rail lines where intercity passenger rail and commuter service is regularly operated.

International Railway Journal

GERMAN Rail (DB) subsidiary DB Regio has reached an agreement with Poland's Regional Railways (PR) to continue operating the cross-border RE 100 Dresden Wroclaw Express service.

NOMAD Digital has established a joint venture with EMEF, the maintenance subsidiary of Portuguese Trains (CP) to market onboard condition-based monitoring (CBM) technologies for the rail sector.

SWISS Federal Railways (SBB) has agreed to sell all of its shares in the Voralpen Express joint venture to its partner South Eastern Railway (SOB) in a deal worth around SFr 4.2m ($US 4.6m).

THE board of Bay Area Rapid Transit (Bart) announced on November 21 it has exercised an option worth $US 638.9m for an additional 365 metro cars from Bombardier ..

www.progressiverailroading.com US News

Sen. Rockefeller, AAR disagree on freight-rail implications associated with updated commerce committee report

BART's board OKs purchase of 365 rail cars, objects to family-leave provision in labor contract

Virginia port breaks monthly cargo record; Florida port installs first female director

All Aboard Florida chooses station location in downtown Fort Lauderdale

U.S. rail traffic logged more gains last week

Cost to halt project could run $125 million, Cincinnati Streetcar says

Alabama manufacturing property a 'Select Site,' CSX says

Rail supplier news from Knoxville Locomotive, Nomad Digital, Bombardier, URS, Parsons Brinckerhoff and Bridgefarmer (Nov. 22)

www.railway-technology.com Updates Eversholt Rail contracts Bombardier for Class 365 train fleet upgrade
Bombardier Transportation has been contracted by Eversholt Rail to upgrade and deliver maintenance services for its Class 365 train fleet, which are currently leased to First Capital Connect (FCC), over the next two years.

UK's HS2 rail project paving act receives Royal Assent
The high speed rail preparation (paving) act has received royal assent following its passage through the UK Parliament with cross-party support, marking a major milestone in the High-Speed 2 (HS2) rail project.

London Underground to launch 24-hour Night Tube service
The London Underground is launching a new 24-hour 'Night Tube' service at weekends.

Queensland close to selecting Bombardier consortium for NGR project
The Queensland Government Department of Transport and Main Roads is a step closer to awarding Bombardier NGR consortium the New Generation Rollingstock (NGR) project.

Shedmaster Railway News

Colas Rail orders 10 GE Transportation PowerHaul locomotives - Railway Gazette

High Speed 2 could have been a maglev, but isn't, and that's OK

Electrification in the North - Network Rail

World Heritage & Railway News