London King's Cross.(C) P.S. Lewis
As expected, the UK's Network Rail comes in for some flack from the press following Mark Carne and Robin Gisby's appearing before the Transport Select Committee to answer questions relating to the overrunning engineering works over the Christmas period which resulted in severe congestion issues at Finsbury Park...
And Network Rail and Southern issue a joint statement on performance related issues that they are addressing..
Japan continues to expand its high speed railway....Mexico reveals fresh bid terms for its high speed line..
And Rail Staff magazine takes a professional look at the key UK news stories....
Click on the links....
Headlines
UK
Network Rail defends Christmas chaos despite using ‘unsuitable’ station.(The Guardian)
Network Rail bosses blasted for Christmas travel 'farce' .....(Daily Mail)
Christmas rail disruption: Finsbury Park was 'unsuitable'(BBC News)
Network Rail bosses could get more than £100,000 in bonuses despite Christmas chaos.(The Telegraph)
Train travellers face another two years of chaos because of over-running projects.(Daily Mirror)
Chuka Umunna in Twitter row with rail bosses over 'consistently late' trains. (London Evening Standard)
Network Rail
Press Release
Joint statement on performance from Network Rail and Southern
Southern and Network Rail accept that performance on the Brighton Main Line and routes into London Bridge has not been good enough and we understand passengers' frustration when things go wrong.
Transport for London to review train fare hike.(This Is Local London)
Crossrail 2 recognised by business as top of London's list for next major infrastructure project - European Railway Review
pteg - The Voice of Urban Rail
Jon Lamonte, Chief Executive of Transport for Greater Manchester
***************************************************
International
India
Railways starts first train that chugs on CNG.(Times of India)
Italy
Italy's Salini wins $720m high-speed rail contract (Global Construction Review)
Japan
Japan to accelerate Shinkansen extensions.(IRJ)
Mexico
Mexico reveals fresh bid terms for high-speed train (Shanghai Daily - subscription)
Spain
World's longest railway stalled in Madrid.(The Local.es)
USA
High-speed rail board OKs $1.36B contract for second phase (Visalia Times-Delta)
2000 rally against plan to put high-speed rail in Angeles forest (Los Angeles Times)
www.progressiverailroading.com
California, Indiana ports set volume records in 2014
The T names Baulsir VP of TEX Rail; Robinson leaves All Aboard Florida
'Substantial investments' help keep network fluid in Chicago area, CN's Mongeau says
NCDOT joins project to reduce train's environmental impact
Progressive Railroading is searching for 'Rising Stars'
Transportation Services Index tallied fifth-straight monthly gain in November
DART takes lead in new partnership to combat human trafficking
Taylor-DeJongh pact will help prompt short line acquisitions, Continental Rail says
Rail supplier updates from Northeast Maglev, Thales, Bentley, Plasser & Theurer, L.B. Foster and ZTR (Jan. 16)
Other Railway Press
Think Railways
Overview – Polish rolling stock manufacturers
Poland is a country with a rich railway tradition – the country’s economy is based on coal, which has practically always been traditionally delivered by rail. Accordingly, the number of companies producing or repairing rolling stock in Poland has always been many. They were all part of the state railway until 1989, but everything changed with the advent of the free market because companies needed to find ways to adapt to new market realities. Most did not succeed in doing this. More than a dozen companies that still exist today were mostly completely dependent on orders from national railway companies until recently. More
US-based passenger rail search and booking technologies provider SilverRail Technologies has acquired the Swedish rail technology firm Linkon.
GCC to invest more than $200bn on regional railway projects
Oman Transport and Communications Minister Dr Ahmed Bin Mohammed Bin Salim Al Futaisi has revealed that the governments of Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries are set to invest more than $200bn in railway projects across the region.
Smoke at Washington DC Metrorail tunnel kills one woman
A woman has died and at least two have been critically injured after smoke filled a Virginia-bound subway train on the Washington DC Metro, the second busiest mass transit system in the US.
Behind the headlines
Overrunning works at King’s Cross and serious capacity problems at London Bridge were eagerly seized upon by the press.
First IEP despatched from Japan
The first of the new Intercity Express Programme (IEP) Class 800s is on its way to Britain.
Borders Railway winter progress
Tracklaying on the Borders Railway should be completed by February allowing driver training to start this summer.
Young Rail Professionals mark five-year success
2015 marks the beginning of a new partnership between Young Rail Professionals (YRP) and Rail Media.
California high-speed rail dream becomes reality
California has finally broken ground on the USA’s very first high-speed railway following several years of political and legal wrangling.
Read the whole magazine online
See the full digital edition here - now downloadable.
As expected, the UK's Network Rail comes in for some flack from the press following Mark Carne and Robin Gisby's appearing before the Transport Select Committee to answer questions relating to the overrunning engineering works over the Christmas period which resulted in severe congestion issues at Finsbury Park...
And Network Rail and Southern issue a joint statement on performance related issues that they are addressing..
Japan continues to expand its high speed railway....Mexico reveals fresh bid terms for its high speed line..
And Rail Staff magazine takes a professional look at the key UK news stories....
Click on the links....
Headlines
UK
Network Rail defends Christmas chaos despite using ‘unsuitable’ station.(The Guardian)
Network Rail bosses blasted for Christmas travel 'farce' .....(Daily Mail)
Christmas rail disruption: Finsbury Park was 'unsuitable'(BBC News)
Network Rail bosses could get more than £100,000 in bonuses despite Christmas chaos.(The Telegraph)
Train travellers face another two years of chaos because of over-running projects.(Daily Mirror)
Chuka Umunna in Twitter row with rail bosses over 'consistently late' trains. (London Evening Standard)
Network Rail
Press Release
Joint statement on performance from Network Rail and Southern
Southern and Network Rail accept that performance on the Brighton Main Line and routes into London Bridge has not been good enough and we understand passengers' frustration when things go wrong.
Both companies are working hard together to improve reliability and investing heavily in improving the reliability of trains and infrastructure.
Network Rail's area director Steve Knight said: "Trains to Victoria and London Bridge travel over the most congested part of the whole of Britain's railway network and we are constantly pushing against the boundaries of what is physically possible on the infrastructure.
“We are striking a balance between running as many trains as we can when people want them - which is overwhelmingly in peak times - and improving punctuality. The sheer number of trains also means that knock-on delays are magnified: for example a delay of one minute to one train in peak times will quickly delay more than 25 other services.
"To make things better we are rebuilding the railway around Bermondsey and London Bridge, which will make a huge difference to reliability. While the work is going on we are operating with reduced capacity, but we are doing all we can to continue to run as many trains as possible."
David Scorey, Southern Deputy Managing Director said: “We understand our passengers’ frustration and apologise for the levels of performance they are currently experiencing.
“We and Network Rail are creating a joint improvement plan for the railway to improve the reliability of the infrastructure and are working on timetable improvements to certain trains in peak times - including around London Bridge.”
ENDS
******************************************************************************Network Rail's area director Steve Knight said: "Trains to Victoria and London Bridge travel over the most congested part of the whole of Britain's railway network and we are constantly pushing against the boundaries of what is physically possible on the infrastructure.
“We are striking a balance between running as many trains as we can when people want them - which is overwhelmingly in peak times - and improving punctuality. The sheer number of trains also means that knock-on delays are magnified: for example a delay of one minute to one train in peak times will quickly delay more than 25 other services.
"To make things better we are rebuilding the railway around Bermondsey and London Bridge, which will make a huge difference to reliability. While the work is going on we are operating with reduced capacity, but we are doing all we can to continue to run as many trains as possible."
David Scorey, Southern Deputy Managing Director said: “We understand our passengers’ frustration and apologise for the levels of performance they are currently experiencing.
“We and Network Rail are creating a joint improvement plan for the railway to improve the reliability of the infrastructure and are working on timetable improvements to certain trains in peak times - including around London Bridge.”
ENDS
Transport for London to review train fare hike.(This Is Local London)
Crossrail 2 recognised by business as top of London's list for next major infrastructure project - European Railway Review
pteg - The Voice of Urban Rail
Following on from the end of outgoing Chair’s David Brown two year term, TfGM Chief Executive, Dr Jon Lamonte is the new Chair of pteg.
pteg networks and represents the strategic transport bodies serving the six largest city regions outside London and is a wider professional network which includes London, Strathclyde, Bristol and the West of England, and Nottingham.
Dr Jon Lamonte said:
‘I am delighted to have this opportunity to Chair the group and to work with my colleagues from across the city regions to realise some of the exciting opportunities that lie ahead for us in this new era of devolution to the city regions. There’s a firm consensus around the need for high quality, integrated urban public transport networks that can underpin the key role that our cities play in driving regional economies and promoting growth. This is now matched by an understanding of the need to improve the strategic links between our cities through initiatives around High Speed Rail, Rail North, Midlands Connect and Transport for the North. My colleagues and I are right at the heart of turning these concepts into reality through delivering investment programmes which encompass mass transit and heavy rail systems, smart and integrated ticketing, better bus services and supporting active travel. We are also playing a key role in emerging and wider strategic bodies to transform the links between the city regions. At the same time we are keenly aware the pressure that we are all under on funding, and through the pteg network we will continue to seek ways to reduce costs through co-commissioning, sharing expertise and through making an effective collective case for greater investment and support for urban transport.’
Jon Lamonte, Chief Executive of Transport for Greater Manchester
***************************************************
International
India
Railways starts first train that chugs on CNG.(Times of India)
Italy
Italy's Salini wins $720m high-speed rail contract (Global Construction Review)
Japan
Japan to accelerate Shinkansen extensions.(IRJ)
Mexico
Mexico reveals fresh bid terms for high-speed train (Shanghai Daily - subscription)
Spain
World's longest railway stalled in Madrid.(The Local.es)
USA
High-speed rail board OKs $1.36B contract for second phase (Visalia Times-Delta)
2000 rally against plan to put high-speed rail in Angeles forest (Los Angeles Times)
www.progressiverailroading.com
Other Railway Press
Think Railways
EC identifies infrastructure development needs representing EUR 700 bn of financial investment until 2030
The European Commission has published nine studies on the state of play and the development needs of the TEN-T core network corridors. The studies have identified infrastructure development needs which represent approximately €700 billion of financial investment until 2030. More
European Commission adopts improved set of specifications for ERTMS
The European Commission adopted a Decision amending Commission Decision 2012/88/EU . These new technical requirements (Technical Specifications for Interoperability – TSI) will take effect upon notification to Member States and will be applicable as of July 2015 across the whole European railway network. More
Poland is a country with a rich railway tradition – the country’s economy is based on coal, which has practically always been traditionally delivered by rail. Accordingly, the number of companies producing or repairing rolling stock in Poland has always been many. They were all part of the state railway until 1989, but everything changed with the advent of the free market because companies needed to find ways to adapt to new market realities. Most did not succeed in doing this. More than a dozen companies that still exist today were mostly completely dependent on orders from national railway companies until recently. More
PKP Cargo announces tender for multi-system locomotives
Polish rail freight operator PKP Cargo has announced a tender for the purchase of 20 multi-system locomotives, including the option for further five units. The total value of the contract may amount to PLN 400 million (EUR 100 million). More
Bulgarian Railways plans to purchase new single-car diesel units
Bulgarian State Railways (BDZ) is assessing until the 15th of February the number and technical specifications of the single-car diesel trains it needs in order to renew the rail-buses fleet dating from 1960, already taken out of service. More
UK: Prototype battery-powered train carries passengers for first time
The first battery-powered train to run on Britain’s rail network in more than half a century carries its first passengers this week. This marks an important milestone in the project to demonstrate the viability of an eco-friendly battery-powered train for the twenty-first century. More
Turkish company Tumosan to sign MoU with Patentes Talgo
Turkish tractors and diesel motors manufacturer Tumosan Motor ve Traktor Sanayi announced it will sign a memorandum of understanding with Patentes Talgo SLU on production, sales and maintenance of train equipment. More
Infrastructure
Over 800km of Ukraine’s railway network to be electrified until 2020
Ukrainian Railways (Ukrzaliznytsia, UZ) will carry out projects to electrify a number of 838 track km across the country, towards the Black Sea and the borders with Poland and Belarus. The deputy minister of infrastructure Alexander Kava insisted that priority should be given to the most cost- effective railway segments. More
Kabatas-Mecidiyeköy, new metro line project in Istanbul
Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality announced for January a tender for the construction of Kabatas-Mecidiyeköy metro line. The 6.5 km long line extension will connect eight districts (Beyoglu, Besiktas, Sisli, Kagithane, Eyüp, Gaziosmanpasa, Esenler and Bagcilar). Works are expected to early start this year and to be completed by end of 2018. More
ITS
Transport for Athens and Masabi launch mobile ticketing city-wide across all transport modes
Transport for Athens (OASA Group) and Masabi announced that they have deployed mobile ticketing in the city across all modes of public transport. The deployment, which soft launched as a pilot in late December, represents the city’s first implementation of a digital ticketing system that supplements its co-existing paper ticket cash-based operation. More
Indra signs biggest ticketing contract in the world in Riyadh (Saudi Arabia) for EUR 266 m
Indra has signed a EUR 266 M contract to implement the entire ticketing and access control technology in the new public transportation system currently under construction in the capital of Saudi Arabia, Riyadh. More
Rail Freight
Rail-Air, new multimodal transport solution on the route China-Kazakhstan-Europe
Multimodal operator KTZ Express, subsidiary of Kazakhstan Railways, with the assistance of DB Schenker and air operator KLM, tested a pilot shipment of Hewlett Packard electronic equipment from China to Europe through Kazakhstan via rail and air transportation modes. More
Estonian rail freight operator EVR Cargo hauled 15.8 million tons in 2014
Estonian state-owned rail freight operator EVR Cargo hauled 15.76 million tons in 2014, remaining just 0.85 per cent or 135 thousand tons short of the 2013 freight volume. EVR Cargo’s chairman of the management board Ahto Altjõe said that last year was a stable year for the company and was on a par with expectations. More
Rail Operators
Belarusian Railways to install GSM-R terminals on 34 locomotives
Belarusian Railways received EUR 160,000 EU funding for International technical assistance project “Improvement of express passenger service between Vilnius and Minsk”, included in the Cross Border Cooperation Programme “Lithuania-Latvia-Belarus” (European Neighbourhood and Partnership Instrument 2007 – 2013). More
Slovenian Railways ends 2014 with EUR 30 million operating profit
Slovenske železnice (Slovenian Railways SZ) finished 2014 above plans in terms of profit, while both profit and revenue increased compared to 2013, general manager Dušan Mes has told an interview with the STA. SZ’s operating profit reached approximately EUR 30 million, according to preliminary results, while the target was EUR 22 million. More
UK's first battery-powered train enters revenue service
Network Rail has launched UK's first battery-powered train, a modified Class 379 Electrostar known as an independently powered electric multiple unit (IPEMU), in timetabled service this week.
SilverRail Technologies acquires Swedish rail technology firm Linkon Network Rail has launched UK's first battery-powered train, a modified Class 379 Electrostar known as an independently powered electric multiple unit (IPEMU), in timetabled service this week.
US-based passenger rail search and booking technologies provider SilverRail Technologies has acquired the Swedish rail technology firm Linkon.
GCC to invest more than $200bn on regional railway projects
Oman Transport and Communications Minister Dr Ahmed Bin Mohammed Bin Salim Al Futaisi has revealed that the governments of Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries are set to invest more than $200bn in railway projects across the region.
Smoke at Washington DC Metrorail tunnel kills one woman
A woman has died and at least two have been critically injured after smoke filled a Virginia-bound subway train on the Washington DC Metro, the second busiest mass transit system in the US.
Behind the headlines
Overrunning works at King’s Cross and serious capacity problems at London Bridge were eagerly seized upon by the press.
First IEP despatched from Japan
The first of the new Intercity Express Programme (IEP) Class 800s is on its way to Britain.
Borders Railway winter progress
Tracklaying on the Borders Railway should be completed by February allowing driver training to start this summer.
Young Rail Professionals mark five-year success
2015 marks the beginning of a new partnership between Young Rail Professionals (YRP) and Rail Media.
California high-speed rail dream becomes reality
California has finally broken ground on the USA’s very first high-speed railway following several years of political and legal wrangling.
Read the whole magazine online
See the full digital edition here - now downloadable.
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