Bologna tunnel boosts speed and capacity
21 June 2012,
17:19:00
ITALY: A 17·8 km link connecting the Bologna
- Firenze and Bologna - Milano high speed lines was brought into service in
June. It includes a tunnel under Bologna which allows high speed services which
do not stop in the city to run through at speed. The link has been built to
separate high speed trains from local services, with the aim of cutting journey
times and improving service reliability. It will also free capacity on the
surface lines to enable the development of a network of commuter services
operating at 15 or 30 min headways within a 30 km radius of the city and serving
13 new stations. The southern section of the link includes 10 km of tunnel,
emerging at Prati di Caprara onto the 7·8 km western section which has 5·9 km of
bridges and viaducts, including a crossing of the River Reno. Alstom supplied
Atlas 200 ETCS signalling for the route. A 650 m long station cavern has been
built below Bologna Centrale station. This has three levels. The lowest at 23 m
below the surface contains two tracks for non-stop services, and two tracks with
platforms for high speed trains which call at Bologna. The platforms will be
brought into use in December, but until then stopping trains will use surface
platforms. The intermediate level at -15 m will contain retail and other
passenger facilities which are expected to open in 2013, while the shallowest of
the three subterranean levels at -7 m will have kiss and ride facilities and
access to car parks. Testing was carried out using RFI's Dia.Man.Te.
(Diagnostica e Manutenzione Tecnologica) trainset, which is equiped to measure
up to 200 parameters at speeds up top 300 km/h.
Port of Le Havre awards signalling contract
21 June 2012,
11:01:00
FRANCE: Le Havre port authority GPMH has
awarded Thales a €2·1m turnkey contract to equip the rail network at its Port
2000 intermodal terminal with PIVOS computer-based interlocking based on the
supplier's proprietary PIPC technology. Commissioning is planned for July 2013.
Announcing the contract on June 21, Thales said this would be the first
installation of a new signalling system on a French port railway since ownership
was transferred from national rail infrastructure manager RFF to the port
authorities. The Port of Le Havre's 200 track-km rail network includes 350
signals and five control centres. 'To support the growth in traffic volumes,
we're making a concerted effort to upgrade the infrastructure at the Port 2000
terminal', said Christian Feuvre, Director of Land Transport at GPMH. 'We have
chosen Thales as our trusted industry partner for this project, based on its
record of success since the installation of the port's first computer-based
interlocking systems in 2008, and its ability to provide solutions that have
been thoroughly proven on major rail networks.'
Use Rabbit, get Carrots
21 June 2012,
07:00:00
THAILAND: Bangkok Smartcard System Co has
launched the 'Rabbit' smart card as a common ticketing platform for the city's
public transport systems. It is also a stored-value electronic purse that can be
used at more than 20 retail outlets. BSS is part of BTS Group Holdings, with
Bangkok Bank as financial partner. Rabbit cards are currently being sold through
BTS Skytrain ticket offices, but validity is to be extended to MRT metro
services by the end of the year. Rabbit cardholders can join a Carrot Rewards
loyalty programme, offering users points which can be redeemed for gifts and
privileges. A senior citizen version of Rabbit is to be introduced on July 1,
offering Thai citizens over 60 half-price off-peak travel.
EMD to develop natural gas locomotive
20 June 2012,
05:00:00
ENGINE: An agreement to develop natural
gas-powered locomotives has been signed by gas specialist Westport Innovations
and Caterpillar, which will fund the programme. The locomotive technology is to
be developed by Caterpillar's Electro-Motive Diesel business, using Westport's
high-pressure direct injection technology. In December 2011 the companies had
announced plans to use a Canadian National locomotive as a demonstrator.
Commercial production is expected in around five years. 'This is a significant
opportunity that has the potential to transform important segments of the global
off-road equipment industries', said Westport CEO David Demers on June 5. 'The
substantial price difference between natural gas and diesel fuel is resulting in
a strong financial incentive to enable off-road applications to take advantage
of low natural gas energy costs without sacrificing operational performance.
There is also a clear environmental incentive because of the reduced carbon
emissions.'
Berlin S-Bahn split to go ahead
19 June 2012,
15:29:00
GERMANY: Meeting on June 19, the Berlin
Senate voted to push ahead with controversial proposals to split the city’s
S-Bahn network into three separate businesses in order to introduce competition
when tendering the next round of operating concessions. Bids are expected to be
called later this month for a 15-year concession, which will start when DB
Regio’s current contract ends in 2017. The Senate backed the proposal put
forward by Michael Müller, the SDP Senator responsible for Urban Development,
even though the city’s parliament had favoured awarding a single €3bn concession
to run the 331 km S-Bahn network. The decision to split the business was
welcomed by the Green party and the private operators’ association Mofair, but
criticised by the anti-privatisation ‘S-Bahn Round Table’. Under the Senate’s
proposals, one service group would take over the North-South S-Bahn routes, and
another the East-West routes using the elevated cross-city Stadtbahn. The third
would operate the Ring line and its feeder branches. The first to be
concessioned will be the ‘Ring & Branches’ group, which is expected to
require a subsidy of around €1·2bn, including €600m for the acquisition of 190
two-car EMUs. The Senate decided earlier this year to include the purchase of
new rolling stock in the operating concessions, having failed to agree terms
with DB Regio to purchase its current fleet of 541 two-car sets.
Diesel-battery hybrid shunting locomotives leased
19 June 2012,
05:00:00
GERMANY: DB Schenker Rail subsidiary
Mitteldeutsche Eisenbahn has leased five Alstom diesel-battery hybrid
locomotives, which it will use for shunting at Dow Olefinverbund's Schkopau
plant. The locomotives use a 250 kW Deutz six-cylinder diesel engine to charge a
NiCd battery, giving a maximum output of 650 kW when required. 'This vehicle is
less noisy compared to conventional diesel shunting locomotives and saves about
40% on fuel and 60% on emissions', said DB Schenker Rail CEO Alexander
Hedderich. The lease agreement with Alstom announced on June 18 runs to 2018,
with an option to purchase the locomotives. Alstom launched its prototype hybrid
shunting locomotive at InnoTrans 2006, and MEG began a long-term test programme
in 2010. The current fleet are remanufactured V100 locomotives, but new build is
planned for the future.
Ankara - Izmir high speed line contract signed
18 June 2012,
14:43:00
TURKEY: A contract for the construction of
the first stage of a planned Ankara - Izmir line suitable for 250 km/h running
was signed by Minister of Transport Binali Yildirim and a consortium of Sigma,
Burkay, Makimsan and YDA on June 11. The YTL700m contract covers 167 km of new
line between Afyonkarahisa and a junction with the existing Ankara - Konya line
at Kocahaccili. This segment forms the first phase of a three-stage YTL4bn
project to complete a 624 km fast line linking Ankara with Izmir via Usak. On
completion this will cut journey times between the cities from an uncompetitive
14 h by the existing 825 km rail route or more than 8 h by road to 3 h 30 min by
fast train.
Alstom awarded Stockholm train contract
18 June 2012,
13:46:00
SWEDEN: Greater Stockholm transport
authority Storstockholms Lokaltrafik has placed a €440m order for Alstom to
supply a further 46 Coradia Nordic electric multiple-units. The contract
announced on June 15 means SL has now ordered 129 Coradia Nordic EMUs under a
framework agreement signed in 2002. Alstom has sold a total of 239 of the units
across Sweden. The six-car 160 km/h EMUs will be produced at Alstom's Salzgitter
plant. They are to be delivered from 2016, allowing SL to replace older stock
and expand its services.
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