International & UK Railway News Wednesday 21st May 2014

 Total Railway News

 

Embarrassment for HS2? Well, if a court call for HS2 data to be released is successful....and then a York consultant proposes a "greener, cheaper" alternative to HS2


Red faces for SNCF..new trains are too wide for the stations! Some very expensive readjustment of platform edges is to come...


International Level Crossing Awareness Day (ILCAD) is on 3rd June 2014...adhering to level crossing rules would certainly save an embarrassing, or even fatal, mishap..


Click on the links for the full stories....
Headlines

Railfreight still has a long way to go? (Lloyd's Loading List)

York railway consultant proposes 'greener, cheaper' alternative to HS2.(The York Press)




Court call for HS2 data to be released.(Bucks Free Press)


French red faces over trains that are 'too wide' .(BBC News)


EIB to fund double-track Beskyd rail tunnel.(Global Rail News)


West Somerset Railway sell-off plans shelved by council.(BBC News)


Threatened Padstow railway building future secured.(BBC News)


Glasgow to Oban rail service to double.(heraldscotland)


London Midland meets rail unions over jobs threat as summer of strikes looms (Birmingham Mail)







Network Rail
We've released a video to help passengers understand the impact heat has on the track
Africa
Railways Africa
ALSTOM X’TRAPOLIS MEGA FOR PRASA
ABOUT ALSTOM
SHOSHOLOZA MEYL BEDS ARE BACK
REEFSTEAMERS ANNUAL WINTER PHOTO SHOOT
UMGENI STEAM RAILWAY
SOME GAUTRAIN PEAK FARES INCREASE 16%
AFRICA RAIL CONFERENCE JULY 2014


Americas


Canada:Calgary to Banff high-speed rail service proposed(cbc news)

www.progressiverailroading.com



Federal officials to announce $1.25 billion grant for L.A. subway project

BNSF, Ferromex to offer intermodal service between Chicago and Silao, Mexico

Caltrain issues RFQ for electrification project

AAR names 2013 hazmat safety award winners

S&P: New York transportation infrastructure did well in Sandy storm credit test

UP to upgrade Missouri line

Federal grant funds transferred to Cincinnati Streetcar project




Russian Railways

Russian Railways and Chinese Railways agree on strategic cooperation to develop infrastructure and operations

Russian Railways and Chinese Railways have signed an agreement on strategic cooperation. The document was signed by Vladimir Yakunin, President of Russian Railways, and Sheng Guangzu, CEO of Chinese Railways, in Shanghai on 20 May 2014.
According to the agreement, the parties intend to develop rail border crossings between Russia and China and railway infrastructure on the approaches to these border crossings in order to increase the through and carrying capacity of the railways and increase the volume of international passenger and freight rail transport between Russia and China and transit traffic through their territories.
The two sides will also improve the process of organising transport and optimising border crossings.
In addition, the parties intend to optimise the conditions and technology of container shipments, including by organising regular container trains according to timetables and to promote the development of competitive tariff conditions for China - Russia - Europe rail transit routes.
Russian and Chinese Railways also plan to conduct the work necessary to reduce the delivery times of goods in transit across the territories of their states, improve security and expand the terminal and storage facilities along the main routes of transportation.
The parties further agreed to develop passenger services by improving passenger comfort, reducing the time spent in transit trains, developing joint fare plans and marketing campaigns and improving the ticket sales system.


Other Railway Press

“The passengers have made their own decision” - UK Transport Minister delivers bullish view of the UK rail industry.

"Our ambition is to build a railway and a rail industry that leads the world, not trails it" “We should have done HS2 15 years ago. “Need a railway that is truly passenger focussed.” Baroness Kramer, UK Minister of State at the Department of Transport delivered a strongly positive view of rail promising a commitment to continued funding into what she sees as a resurgent industry. Delivering an opening keynote at Infrarail 2014 in London, she did though urge that rail seek inspiration from other industries and tackle the challenge of a skills gap.

Read more » 2000 new French trains "too wide" for their stations in €50m blunder Red faces in Paris where French National Railways (SNCF) has discovered that 2,000 new trains it ordered at a cost of 15bn euros ($20.5bn) are too wide for many regional platforms. The blunder has so far cost the rail operator over 50m euros ($68.4m) and costs are likely to rise even further with some tipping the figure to be over 80m euros ($109m). Construction work has already started to reconfigure station platforms which will allow the new trains room to pass through. But with 1,000 platforms still to be adjusted this is set to be a lengthy as well as expensive process. www.railway-technology.com Russian and Bulgarian transport systems sign agreement to develop rail transport Russian Railways subsidiary RZD International has signed a memorandum of understanding with Bulgaria's National Railway Infrastructure Company to jointly develop a rail transport network between the two countries. Eltek to install power modules for Nottingham tram network Norwegian company Eltek has been selected to supply a range of power conversion products for phase II of the Nottingham Express Transit project (NET2) in UK. Siemens to install ETCS Level 2 on Hungarian railway network Siemens has secured three contracts from Hungary's state infrastructure development company Nemezeti Infrastruktúra Fejlesztő Zrt to supply signalling and control technology for railway in the country. United Wagon begins work on new tank car plant in Russia United Wagon Company (UWC) has started construction of its new tank car production facility in Tikhvin, Russia. ILCAD 2014 Saving Lives at Level Crossings – A price too... by f100002252234782 Summary of the film: There are millions of near misses and thousands deaths estimated on level crossings around the world every year. But because the numbers are relatively low compared to accidents on the roads, not enough priority is given by policy makers to improving safety. The International Union of Railways (UIC), road sector organisations, European Institutions and the UN-ECE are committed to raising awareness about the risks, improving technology and changing behavior. This film has been co-financed by UNECE, the Federal Office of Transport of the Swiss Confederation (FOT) and the International Union of Railways (UIC). This film is a documentary aimed at making the public and decision makers aware of the dangers at level crossings to better tackle this particular safety issue and risky interface to decrease the number of accidents and casualties around the world. Video of a near miss between a lorry and a train at a level crossing in the Czech Republic http://video.idnes.cz/?idvideo=V121... Since 2009 the International Level Crossing Awareness Day (ILCAD) campaign has been spearheaded by the International Union of Railways (UIC) with the support of the railway community around the world. A growing number of road sector organizations, the European Commission and the United Nations - Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) are also involved in raising awareness of the risks at level crossings in order to change road users’ and pedestrians’ behaviour to “act safely at level crossings”. This campaign proceeds from an uncomfortable statistic: too many people die or are injured in accidents at level crossings. Even if according to European statistics level crossing accidents account for only 1% of road deaths they comprise 28% of all rail fatalities. Statistics show also that the majority of these are due to misuse by motorists and pedestrians but the popular misconception is that these incidents are a railway problem. Conferences on the issue show that the only really effective way to decrease the number of accidents, short of closing all level crossings, is Educating people, highlighting the risks and making them aware of the potential consequences if they do not follow the simple rules of the road. Finally when Education fails or is not sufficient the next step is to take Enforcement measures.   The 5th edition of ILCAD was held on 7 May 2013 and was one of the events hosted by UNECE in Geneva as part of the second UN Global Road Safety Week. It was commemorated in 45 countries. The key focus was on young people and distraction from mobile phones and iPods, visit: http://www.unece.org/trans/roadsafe... The 6th edition of ILCAD will take place on 3 June 2014 again in many countries with bigger or smaller campaigns. The 2014 press conference together with a round table on level crossing safety with experts from different sectors, side events will be hosted by REFER, the railway infrastructure manager in Lisbon, Portugal. The public targeted in 2014 will be professional drivers (of school buses, coaches, taxis, minivans, tractors, trucks, heavy haul trucks, emergency vehicles...). You may join free of charge as all activity is on a purely collaborative basis and help the railway community to reduce this level of operational risk that we face at the interface with the road sector. Save the date: ILCAD 3 June 2014 Christian Wolmar - Britain's leading transport commentator. To the edge of the world Tue 27 May 2014 at 10:00 Hay Literary Festival  Elmley Foundation Stage Hay on Wye