SNCF buys ITL

The French National Railway Company SNCF (Société Nationale des Chemins de fer Français) strengthened its position in the European freight market by announcing the acquisition of 75 per cent of shares of the private German rail freight and logistics company Import Transport Logistik (ITL), which has subsidiaries in The Netherlands, Poland and The Czech Republic. ITL was set up in 1998 by Uwe Wegat in Dresden (Germany) and employs 160 staff. Last year it generated an operating profit of €3.7 million on a turnover of €45 million.

Fret SNCF, part of the SNCF group’s Freight Division, is the second largest rail-freight carrier in Europe, with revenues of €23.7 billion in 2007. SNCF intends to expand its freight business to the east and develop services as far as Ukraine and Russia.

(Source: SNCF Participations )

Crossrail AG operating in the European market

Swiss-based Crossrail AG merged last year with Belgian DLC (Dillen & Le Jeune Cargo) to create one of the leading independent pan-European rail traction operators. Crossrail AG , owned by the investment advisory firm Babcock & Brown since 2006, employs 164 people who are engine drivers, trainee engine drivers, administrative and managerial staff. It has licences to operate in Switzerland, Italy, Germany, Belgium and The Netherlands, but focuses on the transalpine corridor, the Lötschberg-Simplon and Gotthard routes.

(Source: Crossrail AG )

New railways in Libya

The state-owned Russian Railways (RZD) and the Department for the Implementation of Railway Projects of the Great Socialist People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya signed a contract for the construction of a 554 km railway line between Surt and Benghazi, according to RZD Partner.

Russian specialists will be in charge of the €2.2 billion new line that will connect several major Libyan cities along the Mediterranean coast, as part of a huge project to link Tunisia with Egypt. Libyan companies will take part in the construction of the railway line, which is expected take four years.

Earlier this year, China Daily reported that China Railway Construction Corporation (CRCC) won two bids, estimated at US$2.6 billion, to build two major railways in Libya, the coastal railway from Khums to Sirt and a south-to-west railway for iron ore transportation and passenger services.

(Sources: RZD Partner ; China Daily )

Partial privatisation of DB AG to go ahead

The two main political parties in Germany, the Social Democrats (SDP) and Christian Democratic Union (CDU), have agreed to sell up to 24.9 per cent of shares in the state-owned Deutsche Bahn AG (DB AG). The federal government expects to raise between five and six billion euros from the partial privatisation, although the real value is reported to be around €14 billion.

According to International Railway Journal, the political deal will see the creation of a 100 per cent state-owned holding company with two subsidiaries: infrastructure and operations. Under the current terms of the agreement, DB Netz AG (the infrastructure division) and DB Station & Service AG (operating the stations) would remain under state control, whilst shares in the DB AG's public transportation and logistic business will be sold to private investors before the end of the year. An intermediate holding company will be in charge of rail operations, including regional and long-distance passenger traffic as well as DB Railion.

Politicians rejected the initial plan tabled by DB, which would have envisaged selling off up to 49 per cent of the company, as they feared DB would become a monopoly in which private investors might have a significant influence.

DB is Germany's largest remaining state-owned employer, reporting a turnover of around  €31 billion last year and with more than 220,000 staff. Railnews reports that will be no lay-offs for the next 15 years, following an agreement between DB’s management and the trade unions.

(Sources: International Transport Journal ; Railnews )

RVR revival plan

The Rift Valley Railways Consortium (RVR) is reported to be ready to implement an upgrade master plan. Several sections of line in Kenya severely vandalised during civil violence following the elections at the end of 2007 have added to the poor condition of the railway networks in Kenya and Uganda.

Track rehabilitation to improve railway safety, upgrading and modernisation of the rolling stock, IT systems and modernisation of buildings and depots, as well as purchase of new locomotives and wagons, are RVR’s priorities. Mr Roy Puffett, Chief Executive of the Rift Valley Railways, was quoted by Business Daily Africa in Nairobi as saying: "We at RVR are committed and up to the task of turning around the Kenya-Uganda rail service.”   

Last year, the South Africa-led RVRC, which is in charge of operating both Uganda and Kenya Railways Corporations for 25 years, announced its plans to invest US$17.5 million in rail rehabilitation.

(Source: Business Daily Africa )

Upgrade projects for Dutch railways

The Dutch government is to invest €4.5 billion into rail projects over the next four years to promote an annual 5 per cent growth in passenger rail traffic. Transport minister Mr Camiel Eurlings invited infrastructure manager ProRail and the country’s principal passenger operator Netherlands Railways (NS) to submit proposals to be put before parliament. According to International Transport Journal, the ministry expects a detailed plan to be ready for implementation from early 2009.

(Source: International Railway Journal )

Israeli high speed rail

The final 6 km section of the new high speed railway between Tel Aviv and Modi'in, via Ben-Gurion Airport has been completed and new trains started services in April 2008. This is part of the future rail line to link Jerusalem and Tel Aviv, estimated to cost several billion US dollars and expected to be ready for operation in 2012.

(Source: Railway Gazette International )

Train crash in Bangladesh

At least 17 people have been killed and more than 20 seriously hurt in a train crash in central Bangladesh, on 16 April 2008. BBC News reported that an express train slammed into a crowded local bus at an unmanned railway crossing in Tangail district, 80km north of the capital, Dhaka. Authorities ordered an investigation into the accident. Railway officials have recently blamed faulty signal equipment for increasing numbers of accidents involving trains and other vehicles, according to Timeturk news.

(Source: BBC News ; Timeturk )

Speeding train collision

The worst train accident in a decade in China happened on 28 April 2008, when a passenger train travelling at 81 miles per hour in a section with a speed limit of 50 mph derailed and collided with an oncoming train on another track, killing at least 70 people and injuring more than 400.

MNSBC reported that the government has already sacked two railway officials after the investigation panel blamed the excessive speed for the crash. More than 24 hours earlier, another two trains collided in eastern China, in Shadong province.

(Source: MSNBC )


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