Whilst the clean up operation continues on parts of the west coast(UK), MPs debate inter-city rail investment, some people in East Yorkshire lament the likelihood of a line not reopening any time soon, HS2 draws comments and opinions both negative and positive... and China offers HS2 funding...which may well see old lines reinstated...Thailand's Constitution Court, (well, one judge)deems high speed rail not needed.... and Bakken oil trains continue to give cause for concern.
Behind the headlines (below) come the full stories.....HERE
A reader laments that the United States is lagging behind other countries (NY Times)
Saudi Gazette - High-speed rail link between two holy cities well on track
MPs debate inter-city rail investment - News from Parliament
News & Star | News | Engineers working round clock to reopen Cumbria coastal rail line
Rail line decision 'short-sighted'
Last Chance to Comment on HS2 | News North West
Graham Stuart: HS2 will be value for money
China backs bid to reopen old rail line after 100 years
China offers to finance and build rail links to HS2
Branching out: London overground to get 25 new stations
George Osborne snubs Boris Johnson's plea for millions of pounds to limit rise in rail fares
Constitution Court Judge: High speed rail not necessary for Thailand
Preparing for Bakken oil trains
International Railway Journal
LEASING company Alpha trains has acquired 202 rolling stock assets from the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) through its Alpha Trains Luxembourg No 2 subsidiary in a mixed asset and shares transaction,
THE total number of fatalities on Europe's railways declined from 1095 in 2011 to 1011 in 2012 according to the International Union of Railways' (UIC) annual Railway Accidents in Europe report..
WASHINGTON Area Metropolitan Transit Authority (WMATA) formally launched trial operation of the first Kawasaki 7000 series metro train at Greenbelt station on January 6.
THE German state of Saxony-Anhalt has published a contract notice in the Official Journal of the European Union (OJEU) for the direct award of a contract to operate Halle – Nuremberg regional services to German Rail (DB) subsidiary DB Regio Nordostbayern.
CCR, the build-and-operate concessionaire constructing the second phase of the metro network in the Brazilian city of Salvador, has awarded Egis Rail a contract to provide systems engineering services for the project.
US Department of Transportation
BTS Releases Freight Transportation Services Index (TSI);
Freight Shipments Rose 1.2% in November from October
The amount of freight carried by the for-hire transportation industry rose 1.2 percent in November from October, rebounding from a one-month decline to reach its highest all-time level, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Bureau of Transportation Statistics’ (BTS) Freight Transportation Services Index (TSI) released today. The November 2013 index level (116.5) was 22.8 percent above the April 2009 low during the most recent recession (Tables 1, 2, and 2A).
BTS, a part of the Research and Innovative Technology Administration, reported that the level of freight shipments in November measured by the Freight TSI (116.5) reached an all-time high, exceeding the previous high of 115.4 in September 2013 (Table 2A). BTS’ TSI records begin in 2000. See historical TSI data.
The October index was revised to 115.1 from 114.3 in last month’s release. Monthly numbers for May through September were also revised up from last month’s release.
Beginning with the April release, BTS improved procedures and refined the TSI methodology. As a result there have been minor changes in monthly numbers released previously. Documentation will be made available in the near future.
The Freight TSI measures the month-to-month changes in freight shipments by mode of transportation in tons and ton-miles, which are combined into one index. The index measures the output of the for-hire freight transportation industry and consists of data from for-hire trucking, rail, inland waterways, pipelines and air freight.
Analysis: The 1.2 percent increase in November freight transportation after a small dip in October was a return to the growth that has characterized the second half of 2013. The November rise was a result of increases in all modes except pipeline. Growth in tonnage intensive industries such as heavy construction and oil and gas fracking produced an increase in truck tonnage. Both trucking and rail benefitted from growing auto production.
Trend: The Freight TSI remained above its 2012 range for the 11th month in a row. Beginning with January, every month in 2013 has exceeded the high point of 2012, 112.2 reached in December. The November 2013 level was the highest all-time level for the index. After dipping to 94.9 in April 2009, the index rose 22.8 percent in the succeeding 55 months. For additional historical data, go to TSI data.
Index highs and lows: Freight shipments in November 2013 (116.5) were 22.8 percent higher than the recent low in April 2009 during the recession (94.9). The November 2013 level is an all-time high (116.5).
Year to date: Freight shipments measured by the index were up 3.8 percent in November compared to the end of 2012 (Table 3).
Long-term trend: Freight shipments are up 11.3 percent in the five years from the recession level of November 2008 and are up 9.6 percent in the 10 years from November 2003 (Table 5).
Same month of previous year: November 2013 freight shipments were up 5.2 percent from November 2012 (Tables 4, 5).
The TSI has three seasonally adjusted indexes that measures changes from the monthly average of the base year of 2000. The three indexes are freight shipments, passenger travel and a combined measure that merges the freight and passenger indexes. TSI includes data from 2000 to the present. Release of the December index is scheduled for Feb. 12.
Passenger Index: The TSI for passengers rose 0.01 percent in November from its October level (Table 6). The Passenger TSI November 2013 level of 117.7 was 2.4 percent above the November 2012 level (Table 7). The index is up 6.1 percent in five years and up 18.9 percent in 10 years (Table 5). The passenger TSI measures the month-to-month changes in travel that involves the services of the for-hire passenger transportation sector. The seasonally adjusted index consists of data from air, local transit and intercity rail.
The monthly number for the Passenger TSI was revised down slightly. The Passenger TSI index otherwise remained unchanged during May through October 2013 from the last release.
Combined Index: The combined freight and passenger TSI rose 0.9 percent in November from its October level (Table 8). The combined TSI November 2013 level of 116.9 was 4.4 percent above the November 2012 level (Table 9). The combined index is up 9.7 percent in five years and up 12.0 percent in 10 years (Table 5). The combined TSI merges the freight and passenger indexes into a single index.
Revisions: Monthly data has changed from previous releases due to the use of concurrent seasonal analysis, which results in seasonal analysis factors changing as each months data are added.
Chicago Transit to renovate Blue Line's Illinois Medical District CTA station
The Chicago Transit Board has approved a $23m plan to renovate the Blue Line's Illinois Medical District CTA station.
The Chicago Transit Board has approved a $23m plan to renovate the Blue Line's Illinois Medical District CTA station.
Tata Steel has won a two-year contract to supply over 200,000t of 108m-long rail tracks to the French state-owned rail operator SNCF.
Thales to design CBTC system for Tokyo's Joban Line
The East Japan Railway Company (JR East) has awarded a contract to Thales to design a communications-based train control system (CBTC) for Tokyo's 30km-long Joban suburban line.
Alstom and Satee win €75m new traction system contract in China
French transport group Alstom and its Chinese joint venture Shanghai Alstom Transport Electrical Equipment (Satee) have won two contracts worth €75m to supply new traction system.
Other News:
NetworkRail_New - News Releases - Major investment to improve West Coast rail performance
STEAMFEST TASMANIAN RAILWAYS TOUR 2014
STEAMFEST TASMANIAN RAILWAYS TOUR 2014
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