04 July 2012, 16:23:00
Uijeongbu inaugurates U Line light metro
04 July 2012,
16:23:00
SOUTH KOREA: An 11·1 km elevated light metro
serving the city of Uijeongbu was officially opened for traffic on July 1,
providing an east-west route connecting with north-south services on Seoul metro
Line 1. With almost 500 000 inhabitants, Uijeongbu lies 20 km north of the South
Korean capital. When support for an extension of Line 1 was not forthcoming, the
city council launched a Special Purpose Company in 2005 to develop its own light
metro. The city holds a 45% stake in Uijeongbu Light Rail Ltd, with another 50%
owned by the G S Construction Consortium responsible for the structural works.
URLL selected Siemens France to provide the electrical and mechanical systems,
automatic train control, depot equipment and rolling stock. VAL rubber-tyred
technology was chosen because the elevated line would involve the demolition of
fewer properties, would be 50% cheaper than a conventional railway, and could be
built above river courses and flood channels for much of the route. Linking the
eastern part of the city with the commercial and civic centres, the so-called U
Line serves 15 stations, including one at City Hall; one close to the Gyeonggi
Government Buildings; one in the main retail area, and one providing interchange
with Line 1 at Hoeiryong. The line is worked by a fleet of 15 two-car VAL 208 NG
trainsets built by Siemens in Wien with Alstom traction motors. The 26 m long
air-conditioned trainsets take power at 750 V DC and operate under full
automatic control. Only 12 sets will initially be required to provide a 205 sec
headway service at peak hours, but a further five sets will be needed by 2016
when the peak headway is to be reduced to 145 sec. Each train has a nominal
capacity of 236 passengers, of which 38 are seated. The line has been designed
for full accessibility, with lifts at all stations and escalators at the busiest
locations. Services operate between 05.00 and 00.30 each day.
Sound Transit sets budget and timescale for North Link project
04 July 2012,
15:00:00
USA: Seattle's Sound Transit board approved
project scheduling and a $2·1bn budget for the North Link light rail extension
from the University of Washington to Northgate on June 28. North Link will be a
continuation of the 5·1 km Westlake - Capitol Hill - University of Washington
extension, which is scheduled to open in 2016. Groundbreaking for North Link is
planned for this summer, for opening in 2021. The 6·9 km mostly underground
North Link will have stops at Brooklyn in the University District, Roosevelt and
Northgate Mall. North Link is expected to carry more than 62 000 daily weekday
riders by 2030. A further 13·6 km extension from Northgate to Lynnwood is
planned for opening in 2023.
Three-year investment programme approved
04 July 2012,
09:34:00
VIETNAM: An investment programme worth
US$9·5bn over the next three years has been approved by parliament, paving the
way for state railway DSVN to undertake significant modernisation works on key
north-south corridors. Due for completion by 2015, the package focuses on
raising line speeds to 120 km/h on large sections of the largely metre-gauge
network, including the 1 500 route-km main line between Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh
City. Resignalling work is already underway on this corridor, and further
funding will be made available to support the redevelopment of Hanoi’s main
station. This is expected to become the country’s largest transport hub, served
by both domestic and international long-distance services as well as several
suburban and urban rail lines. The investment package supports DSVN’s plans to
work with Chinese partners to increase traffic between the two countries. The
routes linking Hanoi with border crossings at Lao Cai and Dong Dang would be
dual-gauge and double tracked throughout, and DSVN would also like to see both
electrified. The programme also envisages new line construction to serve ports,
major industrial complexes and some tourist attractions. DSVN hopes to increase
freight volumes from 7 million tonnes in 2011 to 13·7 million tonnes by 2015,
whilst growing passenger ridership from 12 million passenger-journeys to
17·7 million.
Opening in sight?
04 July 2012,
05:00:00
BRAZIL: Federal railway construction company
Valec expects the first section of the North-South Railway, running from Palmas
to Gurupi in Tocantins state, to be operational in September this year. This
would be followed by Gurupi – Uruaçu in April 2013 and Uruaçu – Anápolis in
September of that year, completing the 855 km between Anápolis and Palmas.
Following his appointment as President of Valec, José Eduardo Castello has
discovered that some R$400m of additional expenditure will be required to
complete Anápolis – Palmas, including drainage and other rectification work on
210 km and the construction of nine freight terminals along the route. ‘Although
the whole line would be ready, there would be nowhere to stop trains to load or
unload freight’, Castello told Valor Econômico. First launched in 1987, work on
the North-South project resumed in 2007 when Vale was awarded a R$14bn
concession to build the 719 km northern section between Palmas and the Carajás
Railway at Açailândia. As part of what has been described as the seventh-largest
transport project in the world with an estimated cost of US$67bn, work is also
underway on five sections of the 680 km extension to Estrela d’Oeste in São
Paulo state, due for completion by July 2014.
DB Schenker to serve London Gateway
03 July 2012,
14:09:00
UK: DB Schenker expects to operate four
intermodal trains per day from the London Gateway deep-water port when it opens
in the fourth quarter of next year. Representing total investment of £1·5bn,
London Gateway is being developed by DP World on the site of the former
Shellhaven refinery near Stanford-le-Hope in Essex. In addition to accommodating
ships up to five times larger than existing vessels in six deepwater berths,
London Gateway will include a 227 ha logistics park as well as 176 ha of
container handling space. An initial intermodal terminal comprising six loading
sidings and two reception roads is due to be constructed by May 2013; this will
be linked to Network Rail’s 7 km branch to Thames Haven Junction on the Tilbury
Loop. DP World is funding track renewal, double-tracking and W10 gauge
enhancement work on the branch, which is being undertaken by Balfour Beatty.
Passive provision for electrification is included in the upgrading. A second
container transhipment facility and a general-purpose rail freight terminal may
also be added as traffic volumes grow; all three rail-connected terminals will
be open to rail operators on a non-discriminatory basis. DP World expects around
33% of all containers landed at the site will be transported on by rail. Carsten
Hinne, Managing Director, Logistics, at DB Schenker Rail (UK) Ltd, noted that
this was a higher proportion than is achieved at competing ports such as
Antwerpen or Rotterdam. According to DP World, capacity exists for up to 35
trains per day to serve the port. As Network Rail makes progress in gauge
clearance and upgrading on the Felixstowe – Nuneaton corridor, DP World expects
Gateway traffic to take over existing paths around London to reach the West
Coast Main Line via Barking and Gospel Oak. ‘We are delighted to be involved
with the UK’s biggest logistics project as we look to expand our intermodal
business’, Hinne said, adding that whilst the service pattern to and from London
Gateway was still to be finalised, destinations would be ‘similar’ to DB's
existing network of inland terminals. Hinne also suggested that in the longer
term, the Gateway could serve as a railhead for non-imported freight for onward
distribution by rail either in Britain or in Europe via HS1 and the Channel
Tunnel.
SBB to replace maintenance fleet
03 July 2012,
11:00:00
SWITZERLAND: The Swiss Federal Railways
board has approved a SFr606m programme to procure 1750 new infrastructure
maintenance vehicles. These will replace the current fleet of 2240 vehicles,
which have an average age of 33 years and no longer meet current technical,
environmental and safety standards. SBB expects that the replacement of its
ballast train fleet, shunters, overhead line maintenance and other vehicles by
2018 will increase productivity and reduce CO2 emissions by 20%. Detailed plans
are now being developed with the aim of calling tenders in 2013. The project is
to be financed by a combination of federal loans and SBB’s own
resources.
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