The Railway Chronicle: International & UK Railway News Wednesday 11th December 2013

International Railway Journal

China to finance Belgrade - Budapest upgrade?

ProRail trials intelligent station lighting.

Germany to fund Strasburg cross border LRT.

First Great Western awards onboard WiFi contract

www.progressiverailroading.com US News..

NTSB wraps up on-site investigation of Metro-North derailment, cites need for PTC

FTA commits $75 million to commuter-rail extension in Southern California

Rail moved second-most freight by weight in 2012, BTS survey shows

BNSF opens new Missouri River bridge

Georgia ports pumped up cargo, container volumes in November

Gold Line Bridge project honored for engineering, construction

ODOT readying new trains for service in Amtrak Cascades corridor

Ehlinger retains seat as NIT League's chairman

USDOT Federal Railroad Administration

Federal Railroad Administration Issues Industry-wide Safety Advisory to Ensure Compliance with Speed Restrictions

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) today issued an industry-wide Safety Advisory to help ensure railroads adhere to federal regulations regarding maximum authorized train speed limits. The advisory contains four recommendations to ensure railroads comply with speed restrictions through appropriate operating policies, procedures and effective implementation.

“Safety is our highest priority, and the Metro-North crash illustrates how important it is for railroads to follow speed limits,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx. “This Safety Advisory, along with the other enforcement measures we’ve taken, will remind all employees of the need to follow speed limits and will help improve safety across all rail lines.”

Today’s Safety Advisory provides guidance on four recommended measures FRA expects railroads to take action on immediately. Among them are:

Review the circumstances of the Dec. 1, 2013, Spuyten Duyvil derailment with their operating employees.
Provide instruction to employees during training classes and safety briefings on the importance of compliance with maximum authorized train speed limits and other speed restrictions.
Evaluate results of operational data regarding speed testing.
Reinforce the importance of communication between train crewmembers located in the controlling locomotive, particularly during safety-critical periods when multiple tasks are occurring and during extended periods of inactivity.

“Although the industry’s overall safety record is good, the Metro-North accident is a stark reminder of the need to remain vigilant in ensuring compliance with operational speed limits,” said Federal Railroad Administrator Joseph C. Szabo. “Over the last decade, train accidents have declined by 43 percent nationally, a result of our rigorous safety regime, but we must always do better as we drive continuous safety improvement.”

Last week, the FRA issued Emergency Order 29 (EO 29) to Metro-North Commuter Railroad (MNCW) directing it to take specific, immediate steps to ensure its train crews do not exceed speed limits. EO 29 requires Metro-North to modify its existing signal system to ensure that operators obey speed limits, and to provide two qualified railroad employees to operate trains where major speed restrictions are in place until its signal system is modified. The FRA also issued a letter calling on Metro-North to launch a safety stand-down with all employees and to fully implement the confidential close-call reporting system, which has helped improve rail safety on other lines. Metro-North has written the FRA to outline its plans to comply with the directives, and the FRA will continue working directly with Metro-North staff as they implement the provisions.

The FRA had already increased its oversight and enforcement of Metro-North’s rail lines following the May 2013 crash, including additional inspections of its lines and audits of Metro-North’s operations and compliance with federal regulations. FRA is also planning to conduct an extensive investigation of the carrier’s safety compliance with all regulated railroad safety disciplines.

BTS Releases Freight Transportation Services Index (TSI);
Freight Shipments Fell 0.7% in October from September

Analysis: The 0.7 percent decrease in October freight transportation was driven by decreases in air freight, rail carloads and particularly in trucking. The decrease follows three months of increases during the July through September quarter. During the quarter, Revised Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth of 3.6 percent was heavily driven by an increase in private inventories – which may have accounted for much of the TSI growth. The Census Bureau’s report on manufacturers shows that increase in inventories of manufacturers continued in October.

www.railway-technology.com Latest Updates...

Vauxhall Tube station renovation to begin in January
Transport for London (TfL) has said that renovation work at Vauxhall Tube station will begin in January 2014 with an investment of £36m

Hitachi Rail Europe contracts Dellner to deliver gangways for IEP trains
Hitachi Rail Europe has contracted Dellner for the supply of carriage gangways for its new Class 800 series trains, as part of the Intercity Express Programme (IEP).

New concrete railway sleeper manufacturing facility opens in Doncaster
A new concrete railway sleeper manufacturing facility has been opened in Doncaster to supply around 400,000 concrete sleepers per year for Network Rail.

Network Rail to invest £19m for renovation of Gravesend station
Network Rail is set to renovate Gravesend station from 22 December to 6 January 2014 with an investment of £19m from the UK government's Access for All programme.

Transport Committee to publish High speed rail: on track? report.

Report: High speed rail: on track?

The Committee has agreed to publish its Ninth Report of Session 2013–14, High speed rail: on track? (HC 851), at 00.01 am on Friday 13 December 2013.
Embargoed advance PDF copies of the Report will be sent out by email on Thursday 12 December 2013 to those who gave oral evidence. Media representatives wishing to receive an embargoed copy of the document should contact Hannah Pearce pearcehm@parliament.uk.
The report will be available on the Transport Committee’s website shortly after the publication hour has passed.

Shedmaster Railway News

Goiânia light rail concessionaire selected - Railway Gazette

Brussels interregional tram lines approved - Railway Gazette

World Heritage & Railway News

GWR - Gloucestershire's mainline heritage railway - Bridges to Broadway: HALF WAY THERE! (2)