Three key stories today..... in the aftermath of the ScotRail franchise being awarded to Abellio (some are now sarcastically terming the franchise DutchRail) the Holyrood government comes in for some criticism, especially given that this was not announced before the recent referendum on independence....
The Tube in London is set to look a lot different..London Underground today revealed stunning new designs for the 'New Tube for London' - the next generation of Underground trains, which will come in to service from the mid-2020s. ..equipped to be driverless, too.
And 2 derailments in the US gets the regulator looking for more ..regulations.
Click on the links.....
Headlines
UK
Borders to Edinburgh railway really gets on track.(BBC News)
High tides prompt 11 coastal flood warnings.(BBC News)
SNP slated for awarding £6bn ScotRail franchise to Dutch service(heraldscotland)
More passengers down the ScotRail track.(BBC News)
ScotRail franchise: How will Abellio deal change Scotland's railways?(BBC News)
Factfile The ScotRail franchise.(heraldscotland)
Floods continue to affect travel in north of Scotland.(BBC News)
Penistone Line runs new leaf-fall timetable.(BBC News)
New £21m phase of rail port development gets under way in Doncaster.(Doncaster Free Press)
Could HS2's East Midlands hub be relocated to Derbyshire?(BBC News)
Derbyshire villagers insist: We don't want HS2 rail link in our midst.(Derby Telegraph)
Gillan's HS2 tunnel hope after Lichfield decision.(Bucks Free Press)
City council awarded for saving Edinburgh trams.(The Scotsman)
New Digbeth and Eastside Metro routes unveiled(Birmingham Post)
London Tube strike: crisis talks adjourned as mediators struggle to get walkout called off.(London Evening Standard)
Day two of escalator chaos at Brixton Tube as woman falls and 'breaks ankle' .(London Evening Standard)
Design for the 'New Tube for London' revealed(TfL)
250 new walk-through trains will change the face of travel on the Underground
The Mayor and London Underground (LU) today revealed stunning new designs for the 'New Tube for London' - the next generation of Underground trains, which will come in to service from the mid-2020s.
The New Tube will be introduced first on the Piccadilly line, followed by the Bakerloo, Central and Waterloo & City lines. Its innovative design will also allow for air-cooling for the first time on deep-level sections of the Tube.
The train - designs for which are part of a new public exhibition at King's Cross St Pancras Underground station - also features improved accessibility, with step free access from the platform as well as walk-through carriages and wider doors. The introduction of new trains and a better Tube service will help the Underground keep pace with London's rapidly rising population and support the city's economy.
The building of the 250 new trains, which will feature attractive internal styling that echoes the Underground's heritage, will also help to support new jobs and growth elsewhere in the UK.
Transport for London's (TfL) team has been working with transport design specialists PriestmanGoode to ensure that there was a balance between the design and function of a train that will serve London for decades to come, and respect the world-renowned and instantly recognisable design heritage of London Underground.
The Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, said: `These innovative, eye-catching and sleek new trains will be vital for the continued modernisation of London Underground. From Greenford to Gants Hill, from Alperton to Arnos Grove, they will ferry millions of people across our city, more comfortably, reliably and stylishly than ever before. The New Tube marks a significant step forward in giving Londoners and visitors the accessible and modern transport service that they expect and deserve.These beautiful, air-cooled machines represent the best of British design and innovation. They will help to keep London and its economy moving in the right direction.`
Mike Brown MVO, Managing Director of London Underground said: `The New Tube for London will change the face of travel on the Underground. The faster, more frequent and more reliable services it will enable will help us keep pace with London's growing population. The design respects the past but also looks to the future with the very latest technology; including walk-through carriages and wider doors to enable people to get on and off quickly and air-cooling for the first time on the deep level lines. `Londoners are already seeing huge improvements on the Tube network, with faster and more frequent journeys on the Jubilee and Victoria lines, the modernisation of the Northern line nearing completion this year, and new walk-through, air-cooled trains on the Circle, Hammersmith & City, Metropolitan and part of the District lines. The New Tube will take the improvements to the next level.`
The trains will serve London for more than 40 years and will be designed and built to be capable of fully automatic operation.
When the new trains first enter service they will have an operator on board. Along with modernised signal systems operating alongside them, the trains will enable faster, more frequent and reliable services with fewer delays, as well as providing greater capacity on all four lines:
- The Central line by 25 per cent (the equivalent of up to 12,000 customers per hour);
- The Bakerloo line by 25 per cent (the equivalent of up to 8,000 customers per hour);
- The Waterloo & City line by 50 per cent (the equivalent of up to 9,000 customers per hour);and,
- The Piccadilly line by 60 per cent (the equivalent of up to 19,000 customers per hour).
The New Tube for London exhibition is at King's Cross St Pancras Underground station, Northern ticket hall, from Thursday 9 October until Sunday 16 November.
The exhibition features images of the New Tube design, including a fly-through film, giving Londoners a glimpse into the future.
A formal Invitation to tender is expected to be issued in early 2015 and a contract to build the new trains to be awarded in 2016. The first train is expected to come into service on the Piccadilly line in 2022.
Earlier this year London Underground placed a notice in the Official Journal of the European Union (OJEU) seeking expressions of interest to build the new trains, we have now shortlisted those bidders, who are as follows:
- Alstom
- Siemens
- Hitachi
- CAF
- Bombardier
The New Tube for London programme will see approximately:
- 100 trains for the Piccadilly line;
- 100 trains for the Central line
- 40 trains for the Bakerloo line
New Tube for London (Transport for London on YouTube)
Published on 9 Oct 2014
We are creating a blueprint for a single train design that will be rolled out across the Piccadilly, Central, Bakerloo and Waterloo & City lines, allowing us to create more efficient procurement and long-term maintenance procedures.
As part of our ongoing investment in the Underground network and to meet the needs of London's rapidly growing population, we are continuing to invest in and improve our services.
By introducing new modern signalling systems and new trains on the Bakerloo, Central, Piccadilly and Waterloo & City lines, delays due to signal and train failures will be reduced.
Additionally, over the course of time we will also be introducing platform edge doors where possible (as used on the Jubilee line), helping to ensure customer safety and reducing delays due to litter and other obstructions on the tracks.
London's population is set to increase from 8.4 million today to around 10 million by 2030. The new modern signalling systems and new trains we're introducing will increase capacity to help us meet this challenge.
We are making sure our trains will be future-proof as they'll start to be rolled out by the mid 2020s and will last for at least 40 years. Because of this, new trains will have:
We are committed to having a fully-staffed Tube network, on hand to assist customers and ensure safe operations. Given our existing train fleets, all drivers currently working at London Underground will be able to continue to drive trains for the remainder of their careers.
The New Tube for London train design will feature air-cooled carriages as part of a more energy-efficient system to manage tunnel temperatures.
For more information go to www.tfl.gov.uk/newtube
As part of our ongoing investment in the Underground network and to meet the needs of London's rapidly growing population, we are continuing to invest in and improve our services.
By introducing new modern signalling systems and new trains on the Bakerloo, Central, Piccadilly and Waterloo & City lines, delays due to signal and train failures will be reduced.
Additionally, over the course of time we will also be introducing platform edge doors where possible (as used on the Jubilee line), helping to ensure customer safety and reducing delays due to litter and other obstructions on the tracks.
London's population is set to increase from 8.4 million today to around 10 million by 2030. The new modern signalling systems and new trains we're introducing will increase capacity to help us meet this challenge.
We are making sure our trains will be future-proof as they'll start to be rolled out by the mid 2020s and will last for at least 40 years. Because of this, new trains will have:
We are committed to having a fully-staffed Tube network, on hand to assist customers and ensure safe operations. Given our existing train fleets, all drivers currently working at London Underground will be able to continue to drive trains for the remainder of their careers.
The New Tube for London train design will feature air-cooled carriages as part of a more energy-efficient system to manage tunnel temperatures.
For more information go to www.tfl.gov.uk/newtube
International
Australia
Light rail 'best option' for coast Brisbane Times)
Sunshine Coast Light Rail website
Canada
Canadian Pacific Railway Limited: A Long-Term Stable Growth Investment.(Seeking Alpha)
India
Indian Railway earnings gain pace.(Times of India)
SC Railway freight revenue up.(The Hindu)
Russia
Transmashholding.
6 October 2014 y.
NEVZ Delivered the First Two 2ES5 Electric Locomotives to its Customer
Novocherkassk Electric Locomotive Plant (NEVZ, a part of JSC Transmashholding) has delivered to JSC Russian Railways the first two 2ES5 freight electric locomotives `Scythian`.
The locomotives were forwarded to depot Vikhorevka of East-Siberian Railway. The new locomotives have a fundamental role in Russian Railway Transport Development Strategy, especially in terms of heavy transportation and freight traffic growth on Baikal-Amur and Trans- Siberian Railways.
200 such electric locomotives will be sent to Russian Railway, JSC until 2020 as per the executed agreement.
2ES5 `Scythian` is the first Russian mainline freight ac electric locomotive with asynchronous traction motors. Output totals 8400 kW. The new locomotive fulfills all requirements of technical design assignment and railway safety regulations.
The loco incorporates state-of-the-art technical solutions. Time between repairs is increased many times versus series models, thus maintenance man-hours are decreased. 2ES5 service will significantly cut loco maintenance and repair costs, as well as repair idle time. These advanced freight locomotives will enable to haul heavy trains on complex profile routes, enhance tonnage rating and highly improve railway traffic capacity.
A distinguishing feature of new generation locomotives is control system for detailed diagnostics of board systems and equipment. Besides, fundamentally new automatic train operation with navigation satellite systems GLONASS and GPS guarantees safety and power-saving mode of train performance.
Great efforts were made creating good working conditions for loco team. The design includes modular driver’s cab with air conditioning, which satisfies all up-to-date sanitary, ergonomics and safety standards. The loco is equipped with antiskid system
The electric locomotive is the second project of Transmashholding and Alstom Transport common Engineering Center, company TRTrans. As a part of the first project, the Center has designed EP20dual-voltage passenger electric locomotive `Olympus`, 44 of which are already running on Russian Railways.
A Transmashholding Press Picture
Great railways for a great country(Russian Railways on Youtube)
US
USA
Risky Train Derailments Come as Regulators Push for New Rules.(Bloomberg Businessweek)
www.progressiverailroading.com
Rail supplier news from Brookville, Bombardier, RailComm and AIG (Oct. 9)
Other Railway Press
International Railway Journal
Accelerated development: European regional high-speed
IRJ editors look at the development of regional high-speed in three European countries and consider the prospects for growth.
1.Britain: Javelin stretches the London commuter belt
2.Spain: from regional trains to regional seats
3.Germany: increasing capacity in Bavaria
Read these reports HERE
More from IRJ...
CSR and CNR secure huge domestic high-speed orders Full Article
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Think Railways
Other Railway Press
International Railway Journal
Accelerated development: European regional high-speed
IRJ editors look at the development of regional high-speed in three European countries and consider the prospects for growth.
1.Britain: Javelin stretches the London commuter belt
2.Spain: from regional trains to regional seats
3.Germany: increasing capacity in Bavaria
Read these reports HERE
More from IRJ...
CSR and CNR secure huge domestic high-speed orders Full Article
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Think Railways
EU in search of partners for joint rail research
The European Commission has published a call for expressions of interest to become an associated member of the Shift2Rail Joint Undertaking, the new public-private partnership that will invest just under €1 billion in research and innovation (2014-2020), to get more passengers and freight onto Europe’s railways. More
UNIFE & Romanian Rail Industry Association urge investment of EU Structural Funds in Rail
UNIFE, in support of its Associated Member, the Romanian Railway Industry Association, AIF, (Asociatia Industriei Feroviare din Romania), would like to bring attention to the challenging situation and outlook of the Romanian Rail system with regard to the draft General Transport Master Plan outlined by the current Romanian Government which proposes a drastic reduction in the existing railway lines in the country. More
Railway Freight
PKP CARGO enhances presence in the Czech Republic and Slovakia
At the end of September 2014, the Czech regulator issued a test certificate for ST44 series PKP CARGO diesel locomotives. The Polish carrier can now enter the Czech Republic using six different locomotive types. It can also use them in Slovakia. These engines will be a reserve pool for electric multi-system Siemens locomotives. More
Touax Rail produces innovative rail wagon for Volkswagen Group LogisticsIn order to optimise the European-wide transportation between factories, in the summer of 2013 Volkswagen Logistics has opened a tender for the development and lease of 300 large capacity sliding-wall wagons with side covers and with an inner height of minimum of 3 meters for loading of special mesh box pallets. After the technical and commercial evaluation, Touax Rail has been awarded in October 2013 the delivery of the wagons, based that the construction and fabrication will be fulfilled by Wagony Swidnica /Greenbrier Europe. More
More from Think Railways.... HERE
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www.railway-technology.com
Bombardier to supply signalling solution for Ethiopian Railways
Bombardier Transportation has been awarded a €36m contract from Turkish construction company Yapi Merkezi to supply mainline signalling solution for Ethiopia's new 400km-long Awash-Weldia line.
Abellio wins new ten-year ScotRail franchise
Dutch passenger transport group Abellio has been awarded the new ten-year franchise from Transport Scotland to operate most of the country's trains from April 2015.
Construction work starts on Coventry-Nuneaton line in UK
The UK Department for Transport (DfT) has officially started construction on the new Bermuda Park station in the West Midlands, which will provide an additional connection on the Coventry-Nuneaton railway line.
Etihad Rail and National Quarries sign MoU for transport solution in UAE
UAE's national railway network operator Etihad Rail has entered into a new partnership with construction materials supplier National Quarries for a low-cost, reliable transport solution.
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