Safety figures in Canada

The Railway Association of Canada reported 1,282 rail-related accidents in 2007, a decrease of 6.9 per cent compared to 2006 and down 7.8 per cent from an annual average of 1,391 during the past five years. The number of fatalities reduced to 86 in 2007 from 95 the year before, and the number of serious injuries declined to 54 last year from 70 in 2006. Accidents per million train-miles dropped by 8.9 per cent to 13.78 in 2007, from 15.1 on average over the past five years. The figure for accidents involving dangerous goods also dropped to 182 last year from a five-year average of 210.

(Source: The Railway Association of Canada, http://www.railcan.ca/)

Railway links in South –East Asia

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has granted a US$42 million loan for rehabilitation and reconstruction of railways between Thailand and Cambodia. The joint venture between the Cambodian government and ADB will be responsible for repairing 600 km of tracks and rebuilding another 48 km towards the Thai border. The railway rehabilitation project, due for completion in 2010, is part of the Greater Mekong corridor, linking Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam.

ADB will also provide technical assistance to Cambodia by appointing an international railway operator to operate, maintain and invest in the railway over the next 30 years.
Cambodia's railway is at present in a poor condition following the war and years of neglect.

The Board of Investment of Thailand quoted Mr. Chaisawat, Thailand's permanent secretary for transport as saying that the State Railway of Thailand (SRT) plans to begin its rail services to Laos late this April. Rail lines between Thailand and neighbouring Laos were connected on the Thai-Lao Friendship Bridge on 20 February 2008.

(Sources: Asian Development Bank, http://www.adb.org/; Board of Investment of Thailand, http://www.boi.go.th/)

Government to buy back rail in New Zealand

The New Zealand government could return rail and ferry operations to state ownership following a long-disputed disagreement on track access charges. The government has reportedly offered the country’s largest rail operator, Australian-owned Toll NZ, more than NZ$500 million (US$395 million). As Toll NZ refused to sell for less than NZ$700 million, according to a report cited by the United Press International, the government is expected to demand the company full payment of NZ$57 million access fees.

In 1993, the government sold New Zealand Rail Limited to the Tranz Rail consortium, lead by the US-based Wisconsin Central. A decade later when Tranz Rail was sold to Toll, the government bought back the rail infrastructure, which is now the responsibility of Ontrack.

(Source: United Press International, http://www.upi.com/)

RZD to manage Armenian Railways

Russian Railways (RZD) has been awarded the concession to manage Armenian Railways for 30 years. Under the terms of the agreement, expected to start in the second half of 2008, the specially created South Caucasus Railways, a wholly-owned subsidiary of RZD, will acquire Armenia’s entire rolling stock and will take charge of operations. RZD will pay the Armenian government an initial contribution of US$5 million and 2% of its annual revenues (excluding revenues from passenger transport), and will invest in railway infrastructure and renewal of Armenian rolling stock.

(Source: Russian Railways, http://www.eng.rzd.ru/)

Record profit for Indian Railways

India's railway is on track for £3billion in profits this year, according to a report published in The Times newspaper. The railway minister, Mr Lalu Prasad, was quoted as saying that “railways are poised to create history”, although freight rates and passenger fares were cut by up to 7 per cent.

The main railway stations in New Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai and Kolkata, followed by those in the other 18 state capitals, will be modernised during the next four years. The US$1.5 billion programme will be implemented as public private partnership (PPP) projects.

State-owned Indian Railways (IR) employs more than 1.5 million workers and provides services for 14 million passengers travelling between 8,000 stations every day. High speed passenger train corridors and high speed dedicated freight corridors are among the priorities of Indian Railways.

(Source: The Times, http://business.timesonline.co.uk/)

Romanian CFR Marfa sell-off

The Romanian government plans to sell state-owned CFR Marfa, the national rail freight company, for 1 billion euros, but has yet to decide whether the privatisation process will be by public tender. International Transport Journal reports that German state-owned Deutsche Bahn AG and two European investment funds have expressed their interest in the company, which accounts for 90 per cent of the Romanian rail freight market in terms of mass loads.

CFR Marfa was founded in October 1998, following the reorganisation of the Romanian Railways National Company. Last year, CFR Marfa reported 8.21 million euros net profit for 530.6 million euros revenue. The company has 19,000 employees and transported 5.2 million tons of freight, of which 1.5 million tons represented international transport.

(Sources: CFR Marfa, http://www.cfrmarfa.cfr.ro/; International Transport Journal, http://www.transportjournal.com/)

Angola and Zambia to be connected by rail

Reuters Africa cited the Zambian state-owned news agency Zanis reporting that Zambia and Angola have agreed plans to link the two countries via railways and to construct a road network to boost trade. Investors from South Africa, Great Britain and the United States are reported to provide US$250 million funding for the 245 km railway between the mining town of Solwezi and Chingola.

This is the first section of the new project that would link Zambia with the former Benguela line that used to cross Angola, of which less than 450 kilometres are fully operational. The Indian government has granted a US$40 million credit to help Angola rebuild its railway network.

(Source: Reuters Africa, http://africa.reuters.com/)

Train fire in Bulgaria

Nine people died in a fire that started in a sleeping carriage of an overnight train traveling from Sofia to Kardam on 28 February 2008. The incident was the deadliest in a train operated by Bulgarian State Railways (BDZ) since 1992, the company's chief executive Oleg Petkov said, according to Sofia Echo news agency. In March, Mr Petkov and five other top BDZ managers were fired for not ensuring that passenger safety standards were observed properly.

(Source: The Sophia Echo, http://www.sofiaecho.com/)

Crossing crash in Argentina

An express train slammed into a double-decker bus at a rural rail crossing in Argentina, killing 18 people and injuring at least 47, according to authorities, The Associated Press reported. The accident happened on 9 March 2008, near Dolores, about 125 miles south of Buenos Aires. One of the 61 bus passengers told Noticias Argentinas that the vehicle “tried to beat the train” to the crossing, despite the train sounding its horn repeatedly. Investigators said the train’s drivers confirmed that the bus unexpectedly tried to cross the tracks although the crossing barriers were down.

(Source: The Associated Press, http://www.ap.org/)

Train derails in Greece

On 8 March 2008, 23 people were injured, after five carriages of an intercity train came off the track near Larissa, about 340 km north of Athens. Six people suffered serious injuries and have been taken to hospital, according to BBC citing Reuters news agency reports. The Greek rail authority (OSE) launched an investigation of the accident, which might have caused by a human error or by a malfunction in the track switching mechanism.

(Source: BBC News, http://news.bbc.co.uk/)


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