SAUDI Railways Organisation (SRO) and Indra, Spain, have chosen Kapsch CarrierCom to install GSM-R on the 450km Haramain high-speed line under construction between Mecca, Jeddah, and Medina.
TRANSPORT for London (TfL) has announced the shortlist of bidders for the concession to operate the 118km Crossrail east-west link across London, which is due to open in 2018.
RHINE-Main Transport Association (RMV) has published a tender notice in the Official Journal of the European Union for a contract to operate part of the Main-Neckar-Reid network in southern Hesse and Baden-Württemberg.
RSI organizes committee to support passenger-rail suppliers, systems
RTA on May's tie market: Purchases skyrocketed, production inched up
Union Pacific to upgrade line in Wyoming, add siding in Oregon
FRA's Szabo, Sound Transit officials kick off Tukwila station project
Savage opens rail operation in Utica Shale; Crestwood acquires gas-gathering stake in Niobrara Shale
Canadian Pacific restores flood-impacted mainline near Calgary
Metra CEO Clifford steps down
Alstom to deliver eight X'trapolis trains for Melbourne suburban network
Alstom has secured an €85m contract from Public Transport Victoria (PTV) in Australia for the delivery of eight X'trapolis trainsets for Melbourne's suburban train network.
Alstom has secured an €85m contract from Public Transport Victoria (PTV) in Australia for the delivery of eight X'trapolis trainsets for Melbourne's suburban train network.
UK infrastructure manager Network Rail has revealed plans for a series of projects worth £40m to improve the reliability of the infrastructure and punctuality of train services on the West Coast Main Line (WCML).
Tognum and Transmashholding form JV for diesel rail engine plant in Russia
German propulsion and power solution provider Tognum and Russian rolling stock manufacturer Transmashholding have agreed to establish a new joint venture (JV) company in Kolomna near Moscow to manufacture diesel engines for rail vehicles.
Tutor Perini wins San Francisco Central Subway Project
Tutor Perini has won an $840m contract to carry out the second phase of the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency's (SFMTA) Third Street light rail project, including central subway stations, surface, track and systems.
Spotlight on Germany: rail projects
Network Rail urged to speed up £7bn enhancement projects
Inside New York’s subway construction
7 ways to improve the rail passenger experience
Official Press Release
TfL announces shortlist of bidders to run Crossrail services
Transport for London (TfL) today announced the names of the companies shortlisted to bid to run Crossrail services.
The successful train operator will start running the first services from May 2015 between Liverpool Street and Shenfield, taking over the stopping services currently operated by Greater Anglia. The route through Canary Wharf, the City and the West End will open in late 2018, with the full route running in 2019. Howard Smith, Crossrail Director of Operations, said: 'We are a step closer to appointing an operator for Crossrail. As our population grows faster than forecast, the case for stable and sustained investment in London's transport network has never been stronger. 'Crossrail will help cut journey times across the city and will achieve internationally recognised high standards of reliability, train frequency and customer service. Crossrail will make it easier for people travelling across the capital, helping create jobs and supporting growth and regeneration along the route.' When the Crossrail services are fully operational they will increase rail based transport in the capital by 10 per cent and along with the Tube upgrade ensure we can continue to move people efficiently around London. Crossrail will set the benchmark for passenger experience for European metro services. It will be integrated as part of the TfL network providing a fast, frequent service linking the east and west and relieving congestion on some of the busiest Tube lines. Passengers using Crossrail will see reduced journey times and the new stations will be integrated with existing London Underground, DLR and National Rail stations making it easy for passengers to change between services. Notes:
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Railway Engineering News
Christian Wolmar -Britain’s leading transport commentator
The answer is a simpler railway
At the root of the problem over Network Rail’s profligate tendencies, is the legacy of a rapid and radical privatisation that resulted in a structure which has still not settled down two decades later.
Two events in the aftermath of privatisation still colour the behaviour of today’s railway managers: the series of rail accidents, particulary the derailment of a train because of a broken rail at Hatfield in 2000 and the subsequent collapse of Railtrack the privatised infrastructure company and its replacement by Network Rail.
The railway suffered a ‘collective nervous breakdown’ in the words of the man who built the Channel Tunnel, the late Sir Alisair Morton, after Hatfield which resulted in a safety first method of working that has proved immensely costly. Everything piece of work was carried out to the highest standard, which meant branch lines ended up with the same type of kit as main lines used by 50 times more trains per day.
The collapse of Railtrack left the industry for a year in the hands of administrators who spent money as if there were an unlimited supply, a legacy that Network Rail has found hard to overcome in the decade since it took over.
Network Rail is a bureaucratic organisation that requires every project to go through the infamous and aptly name GRIP process that involves eight separate stages. People carrying out projects frequently relate that the managers commisioning the work are completely out of touch with the realities of working on site. Projects costs are inflated by an insanely complex compensation scheme which means that Network Rail is effectively penalised for improving the railwasy for the trian operators who run their trains on it. It is rather like charging the man fitting you with a new kitchen for the fact you cannot cook while the work is carrie out.
There are numerous such perverse incentives highlighted in the report by Sir Roy McNulty which tried to get to the bottom of why the railway cost more than its European counterparts. However, two years after the publication of the report, the Rail Delivery Group of senior rail managers charged with implementing improvements has little to show for its efforts.
There have been several reorganisations since Network Rail was created in 2002 but it is its very structure that is the problem. Network Rail is allocated money through a complex negotiation process involving government, the rest of the industry and the Office of Rail Regulation which is set out in a five year plan. This Soviet style arrangement has an inherent flaw. Just as with any organisation, it will try to ensure the money is spent by the end of the five year period to ensure that it can beg for more next time. And so on.
This is very different from the days of British Rail when the organisation was given a one year budget which could change raidcally from year to year. This, too, had inefficiencies built in since it was very difficult to accommodate such differences year to year, but it had the advantage of ensuring British Rail was run pretty cheaply.
There, are, though signs of progress, at least in Scotland. Last year, a £28m scheme to electrify 5 miles on the Paisley Canal Line was completed on time and at less than half the original cost estimate, thanks to a much more co-operative relationship between Network Rail and the contractors, and better use of technology. Indeed, the rail industry has been slow to adopt efficient technology, one of the reasons for its high cost base.
Moreover, beware of warnings that Britain’s railways are far more expensive than their foreign counterparts. Their systems, too, are riven with inefficiencies and poor working practices but their managements are cleverer at disguising them in the statistics which are often, in any case, lacking in detail making simple comparisions hard. Yes, our railways could be far more efficient if we had a simpler system, but we should take lessons from the past rather than Johnny Foreigner.
Britain’s rail privatisation has been one of the greatest political failures of recent history. A well-functioning industry was torn apart to satisfy political dogma and privatised in a way that not only compromised safety and wrecked performance but also resulted in financial melt-down. In this new Kindle edition, read a new preface and a never-before-published statement written by Sir John Major on the privatisation of the railways; a subject he never mentions once in his autobiography. Read more >>
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