International & UK Railway News Thursday 14th March 2013

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2013 Conference Videos....





PTEG Speech 5th March 2013..(transportgovuk)


Published on 14 Mar 2013

Norman Baker gave a pre-recorded recorded speech to the PTEG reception on 5th March 2013. He welcomed the contribution PTEG and its constituent authorities had made to transport over the years and explained how government is continuing to make substantial investments across all modes: on local transport, on rail and on the strategic road network.

International Railway Journal

THE SAUDI cabinet granted approval on March 11 for Jeddah's Riyals 45bn ($US 12bn) transport master plan, which includes the construction of a 108km light metro network..

SPANISH infrastructure manager Adif and Alstom have signed an agreement to develop a new dual-gauge signalling system for 1668mm-gauge and 1435mm-gauge trains operating on the same tracks.

BRITAIN's franchised passenger operators continued to defy the stagnant economic conditions during the third quarter of the 2012-13 financial year according to the latest figures from the Office of Rail Regulation, which reveal record ridership...

See UK Office of Rail Regulation (ORR)

Latest ORR statistics show record number of passenger journeys and revenue

14 March 2013
Rail usage statistics published by the Office of Rail Regulation (ORR) today show that over 385 million passenger journeys took place on Great Britain’s railways in Q3 2012-13 (1 October to 31 December 2012) – 14 million more than the same period last year. This is also the highest number of franchised passenger journeys in a third quarter since records began.
ORR's latest passenger usage figures highlight that:

• The number of passenger journeys grew in all sectors when compared to both the same quarter last year and Q2 2012-13. There were 262.0 million journeys on London and South East services in Q3 2012-13, a 5.1% increase on the same period last year. There were 32.6 million journeys on long distance services, a 1.8% increase. For regional services, there were 90.4 million journeys, a 1.1% increase.
• The total number of kilometres travelled by rail passengers in Q3 2012-13 was 14.6 billion kilometres, this is an increase of 2.8% compared to the same period last year.
• Total franchised passenger revenue in Q3 2012-13 reached £1.96billion, an 8.3% increase compared with the same period last year. This is the highest recorded level of revenue generated within any quarter. Non-franchised passenger revenue rose to a record high of £12.7million, this is a 16.1% increase compared to the same quarter last year.

With rail passenger usage at record levels, ORR is determined to see Britain’s railways build on its current achievements and success. The regulator is currently reviewing Network Rail’s strategic business plan for 2014-19 to make certain that the plan is in the best interest of customers and taxpayers, delivering real value for money. ORR is studying and challenging the plan to verify it is affordable and that every penny is made to count towards meeting what users and Governments’ want from the railway.
To view these statistics, visit ORR's National Rail Trends (NRT) Portal at: http://dataportal.orr.gov.uk
The NRT Portal - which now has over 2,200 subscribers - gives everyone access to a wide range of rail statistics throughout the year. The NRT Portal holds information in one place and is easy to navigate. New data is uploaded onto the Portal each month.


www.progressiverailroading.com US News

Short-line tax credit extension bill enters Senate, joins discussion at 'Day on Capitol Hill'

Progressive Railroading's free 'Derailment Prevention Strategies' webcast on tap for today

WMATA to solicit public input on FY2014 capital plan

Tunnel boring for Toronto subway extension gets under way

Seven senators, BNSF disagree on Berkshire purchase's impacts to shippers

Transportation Services Index inched up in January

Metro-North to repair bridge in southern New York

Amtrak's Vermonter to pick up speed on route to D.C.

Former CSX CEO Snow joins Lender Processing Services' board

www.railway-technology.com Updates


Stadler to deliver 17 trains for four rail companies in Western Switzerland
Thursday, March 14, 2013 Stadler Bussnang has received a contract worth a total of CHF150m ($157m) to supply 17 new trains for four Swiss rail companies, including Morges-Bière-Cossonay (MBC), Transports Vallée de... 
 
Transport for London invites bids for Crossrail operator
Thursday, March 14, 2013 Transport for London (TfL) has invited bids to operate Crossrail services, with the first phase of the project scheduled to be opened in May 2015 between Liverpool Street and... 
 
Canadian National Railway testing natural gas as locomotive fuel
Wednesday, March 13, 2013 Canadian National Railway (CN) has started a research project on the commercial and environmental benefits of using natural gas as a rail locomotive... 
 
East Coast to modernise Newcastle Central station
Wednesday, March 13, 2013 British train operator East Coast has unveiled plans to modernise Newcastle Central station to create a new gateway to the city of Newcastle upon Tyne and the wider North East region..


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