International & UK Railway News Tuesday 13th May 2014

 Total Railway News




One of the key stories from earlier today involves the aftermath of last year's horrendous accident at Lac-Megantic...."Thomas Harding,(the engineer) Jean Demaitre and Richard Labrie, and the Montreal, Maine and Atlantic Railway will be prosecuted....
47 people died in the resulting fireball inferno....


In the UK, ORR reports on "Scrutinising delivery of Network Rail’s plan for a better railway between 2014 and 2019"....


Luke Upton at Smartrail World asks the question of experts.."What does the future of rail look like?"


And in the US, CTAA's Rail Magazine(No 34) takes a close look at "Streetcars"...


Click on the links to read the full stories..




Headlines...

 

UK


LU invites Thales to tender for new signalling system.(eurotransportmagazine)

 

Westbahn quits CER - Railway Gazette

 

UK Office of Rail Regulation (ORR)

 

 

Scrutinising delivery of Network Rail’s plan for a better railway between 2014 and 2019

13 May 2014

Network Rail will be open to greater public scrutiny as it delivers the multi-billion pound plan for a better railway between 2014 and 2019, the Office of Rail Regulation (ORR) outlined today.

In April this year, Network Rail embarked on a significant programme to deliver plans for a safer, higher performing and more efficient railway between 2014 and 2019 (known as 'control period 5'/ 'CP5'). As part of ORR's approach to scrutinising and supporting CP5, Network Rail will report on its progress more openly than ever before so that funders, including governments, taxpayers and rail users can understand better how money is being spent and monitor progress. Network Rail will for the first time publish disaggregated information on key aspects of asset management, route and train operator performance statistics, and its detailed plans to improve performance on the rail network.

ORR's Chief Executive, Richard Price said:

Network Rail, working with the rail industry, has now embarked on plans to improve the safety, performance and efficiency of Britain's railways between 2014 and 2019. Billions of pounds of funding for these plans have come from governments, taxpayers and customers - as ORR scrutinises delivery of plans, it is right that the public can monitor progress too.

Network Rail will operate more transparently in key areas, including:

• Rail performance – New and more disaggregated data on train services will be made publicly available by Network Rail, including right time punctuality, cancelled trains and average lateness. Data will also be available on rail replacement buses, delays due to overrunning engineering work and temporary speed restrictions.  Data will also be updated each quarter on ORR's data portal to highlight areas of good performance and any emerging problems.
• Value for money – More detailed information will be made available on the major investment programme to improve Britain's railways worth more than £12bn, in relation to completion dates, costs, and when passenger journeys will be disrupted. Updates will be published on Network Rail's website. ORR will scrutinise Network Rail's performance throughout the year, reporting on progress throughout CP5 in bi-annual 'Monitor' reports to be published in June and November.
• Asset management – The performance of Network Rail's assets is critical to improving rail punctuality and safety in CP5. Regulatory targets have been introduced for the company's overall competence in asset management as well as the quality of data it gathers. Network Rail will publish new regional asset information, including volumes of work taking place and the condition of assets such as track, bridges, buildings, earthworks, signalling and telecoms equipment. Network Rail will publish updates each year, with statistics also available on ORR's data portal.
• Safety – ORR will report annually on all areas of Network Rail's work to improve safety, including progress in delivering £250m worth of new equipment and safer working practices for track workers, and £99m of ring-fenced funding to close and upgrade over 500 levels crossings.
• Climate change and resilience – As part of its CP5 obligations, Network Rail will publish plans for all routes by September 2014 listing specific and critical works required to improve resilience to climate change and extreme weather. The company will also publish a more detailed range of environmental indicators, including waste totals (landfill, waste to energy, recycled), carbon and CO2 emissions, and the condition of Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI).

Network Rail will also periodically publish a wide range of new statistics to provide a broader picture of the company's performance, such as route based track geometry and failures data. While these are not regulated targets, getting timely and accurate information on the company's progress will expose emerging problems and help ORR intervene at an early stage.

 

Notes:

1. ORR is the independent safety and economic regulator for Great Britain's railways. Follow ORR on Twitter @railregulation.
2. ORR has published a letter to Network Rail, setting out its position on the company's CP5 Delivery Plan and Enhancements Delivery Plan (the 'delivery plan'). This is available at: http://orr.gov.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0011/12125/cp5-delivery-plan-and-enhancements.pdfpdf icon PDF, 121 Kb
3. Network Rail's delivery plan, published at the start of a new funding period running from April 2014 to March 2019, sets out how the company will meet commitments to improve Britain's railways.
4. Network Rail's performance will be assessed against around 58 regulated targets set by ORR to cover all areas of performance between 2014 and 2019.
5. ORR will publish a bi-annual review of Network Rail's progress and provide detailed analysis and commentary on the company's delivery against targets, focussing on key areas where evidence shows improvement is required. The report at year-end will also include a scorecard presenting ORR's assessment of Network Rail's performance in the context of the whole rail industry, alongside detailed analysis of the company's financial and efficiency performance.
6. ORR publishes a range of statistics on railway performance, rail usage and safety – to support performance evaluation, analysis and decision-making. For further information on our statistical releases and  the ORR data portal, please visit: http://orr.gov.uk/statistics
7. The objectives and criteria ORR will use to evaluate the success of PR13, the multi-billion pound plan for improving Britain's railways between 2014 and 2019 are available at: http://orr.gov.uk/what-and-how-we-regulate/regulation-of-network-rail/how-we-regulate-network-rail/periodic-review-2013/success-criteria
8. To read ORR's Final Determination and summary overviews, visit: http://orr.gov.uk/what-and-how-we-regulate/regulation-of-network-rail/how-we-regulate-network-rail/periodic-review-2013/pr13-publications/final-determination
9. ORR's final determination is a key phase in the Periodic Review 2013. ORR sets Network Rail's funding and what the company is required to deliver based on what English, Welsh and Scottish governments want from the railways and how much money they have available to spend. For more information about PR13, visit: http://orr.gov.uk/what-and-how-we-regulate/regulation-of-network-rail/how-we-regulate-network-rail/periodic-review-2013/pr13-guide

Data on the rail network's resilience to climate change and extreme weather will be published from September 2014.

 

 

 

 

Dingle tunnel collapse families anger at repair costs.(BBC News)

 

Edwina Hart announces £15.4m capital boost for transport in Wales.(WalesOnline)

 

Why Manchester needs the same transport powers as London.(The Guardian)

 

Rare artefacts unearthed as Thameslink transformation of north-south travel through London continues with rebuilding of city’s oldest station.(Network Rail)

 

HS2 Curzon: A regeneration wave - cursory cosmetics won't do.(Birmingham Post)

 

Concerns for communities affected by HS2 raised by Northamptonshire County Council.(Daventry Express)

 

Chiltern Railways works with Eastside Projects on Moor Street Station art project.(Birmingham Post)

 

Hands off our trains, MP tells southerners.(The Bolton News)






Bradford Low Moor station gets planners approval.(Telegraph & Argus)






District Line trains smashed into one another on 'notorious' section of track.(London Evening Standards)

 

Londoners back Tube strike rule change, poll reveals.(London Evening Standards)

 

Ipswich/Suffolk: Rail ownership questions fuel new political row.(EADT24)

 

Light-weight high-speed train concept developed.(Global Rail News)

 

Jacques Gounon: Imaginative, clever guy. (Rail Staff)




Americas


Lac-Megantic train explosion: Three charged in Quebec.(BBC News)

 

US Transportation Research Board.

A Potential Strategic Plan and Research Agenda for The National Cooperative Rail Research Program

TRB’s National Cooperative Rail Research Program (NCRRP) Research Results Digest 1: A Potential Strategic Plan and Research Agenda for The National Cooperative Rail Research Program define a strategic plan and research agenda for the program should additional funding be provided to the program in the future.

Project: Project Information

Project Number: 12-02

E-Newsletter Type: Recently Released TRB Publications    

TRB Publication Type: NCRRP Research Results Digest

• www.progressiverailroading.com 

Senate committee unveils text of six-year MAP-21 reauthorization bill
 
Jacksonville port breaks ground for CSX-served intermodal facility
 
Rangeland Energy begins to build crude-by-rail facilities in Delaware Basin
 
ATA report: Trucks increased share of domestic freight tonnage in 2013
 
Sound Transit seeks comments on proposed rail maintenance facility site
 
Metra hires Perez as police chief to modernize department
 
Wyoming public-private coalition commissions LNG study
 
Ridge Development launches BNSF-operated TransCold Express
 

Rail supplier news from Trinity, Alstom, Thales, AXION, Transplace and Hatch Mott MacDonald (May 13)

 

Far East, China

 

China to build new East Africa railway line(BBC News)

 

No fail-safe solution to high-speed railroad glitches: operator.(Focus Taiwan)

 

KL-Spore HSR project: SPAD plans on govt-to-govt engagement & agreement.(New Straits Times)

 

 

Other Railway Press

 

SmartRail World

 

Ask the experts: What does the future of rail look like? (Part 1).

By Luke Upton Today SmartRail World asks a panel of experts what they think are the future trends and developments they see emerging within rail and metro from automation, data and integration to drones and the decline of the car. Part two will be published on Thursday but today we welcome Lloyd's Register Rail, HP Enterprise Services, RFS, EURAILTEST, the Community of European Railway and Infrastructure Companies (CER), Berwin Leighton Paisner LLP and Aporta Digital to offer their expert insights. Read on... Werner Dorfmeister, Chief Technologist, HP Enterprise Services “I love this industry, and I really believe it’s got the brightest future of many industries. Two main reasons I see for such potential, firstly the industry hasn’t changed much over the course of its 150 year history until its recent, rapidly developing digital aspect. It’s a revolution! And secondly society is changing and becoming more urban and as such requires a completely new way of thinking about public transport. In big cities people are moving away from the car and into public transport. I think in many ways a car in the near future will be like a motorbike is now. Fifty years ago it was deemed an essential mode of transport, now for many it’s used purely for sport and hobby. People say the era of rail was the 19th Century, but I think it’s actually now!” (For more: "We are urging the railways to have higher expectations," how a famous old name is offering creative new solutions in rail.) Read more » What we're talking about this week:   Why is Ed Miliband under increasing pressure to nationalise British rail? Network Rail's 'flawed' design jeopardises 'oldest train station in the world' Guest post: Why more rail competition should be the priority for both Ed and Dave?  China plan the world's largest underwater train in a bid to reach America Top ten rail marketing campaigns  www.totalrail.org Infrarail 2014 is taking place from 20th to 22nd May at Earls Court 2 in London Thousands of industry professionals will gather at Infrarail, to hear the latest news from the industry, see the latest products for the industry and meet the people in the industry - make sure that you join them. At Infrarail you can meet, learn, discuss, network and experience the latest technology, projects, legislation, plans and products in the UK rail market. The exhibition is free to attend if you register in advance. Register now for free (saving £20 on the door)  For more information on Infrarail including a floorplan and exhibitor list visit www.infrarail.com Rail 34: Streetcars. As one American city after another takes a closer look at bringing streetcars back to their downtown streets - often where they once ran 60 years ago! - this revival bears explanation. From Portland to Kansas City, Atlanta to Cincinnati, San Antonio to Washington, D.C., the American streetcar renaissance continues unabated. To help tell the current story of the ongoing streetcar renaissance, we've assembled a collection of profiles of streetcar systems and projects in varying stages of implementation from planning and funding to construction and operation. Download Download Rail in full or choose from the articles featured below. Rail 34: Streetcars (PDF)(10 MB)     www.railway-technology.com Sensys to equip Finnish rail network with pantograph monitoring systems Swedish traffic safety and informatics developer Sensys Traffic has secured a contract from Finnish Transport Agency for the supply of train pantograph monitoring systems.          Azerbaijan Railways selects Alstom KZ8A electric freight trains Azerbaijan Railways (ADDY) has selected French train maker Alstom to deliver 50 KZ8A 8,800kW electric freight trains in a deal worth €300m.          Canada charges MM&A in Lac-Mégantic train derailment case Canadian prosecutors have charged Montreal, Maine and Atlantic Railway (MM&A) and three employees with criminal negligence causing death, in connection with the Lac-Mégantic train derailment case in July 2013.          SBB to operate Stadler's multiple-unit trains on Gotthard tunnel Swiss Federal Railways (SBB) is procuring 29 new multiple-unit trains for its North-South services from Stadler Rail, in a deal worth CHF1bn ($1.14bn).   Tomorrow's Engineers.... There are around 8.3 million people living in London and half of those people travel on London Underground every day. With the population of the city estimated to grow to 10 million by 2030, it’s a much-needed new addition to London’s underground train network. It’s engineers making sure London’s transport remains comfortable, safe and not over-crowded. Regina’s an apprentice, which means she earns and learns while working. Tomorrow’s Engineers went deep down under London to find out more about how she’s helping Londoners travel to and from work, as well as to dinner parties.