Railway Newsletter

The US Congress has recently passed legislation on rail safety and funding. The national rail passenger company Amtrak will benefit from US$13 billion subsidies over the next five years, whilst Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority will receive US$1.5 billion for a renewal programme. The money will go towards essential infrastructure renewals, especially in the Washington - New York - Boston Northeast Corridor, and the repair of rolling stock.

Amtrak President and CEO Alex Kummant was quoted by Engineering News-Record as saying: "Apart from safety enhancements, the bill creates for the first time a state and federal funding partnership which places rail passenger service on a more equal footing with other modes, and encourages rail corridor development."

The safety bill will see passenger trains equipped by 2015 with train control systems that will prevent collisions. All major rail companies are required to develop risk-based safety programmes to help prevent deaths and injuries. Freight train crews will work a maximum 276 hours per month (compared to 400 hours at present), in shifts of up to 12 hours.

(Source: Engineering News-Record)

ERS Railways has announced plans to start a weekly shuttle service between Shenzhen in southern China and Pardubice in the Czech Republic. The distance of 12,000 km will be covered by 104 TEU trains in 17 days. Carrying freight via sea takes approximately 30 days. Rail Cargo Information Netherlands cited Alan Gibson, managing director of ERS Railways, who said that this new service would improve the manufacturers' supply chains by offering a viable alternative to sea shipping.

European Rail Shuttle B.V. (ERS Railways), established in 1994 by Royal Nedlloyd, Sealand Service and P&O Containers, with the aim to transport containers throughout Europe, has became a fully owned subsidiary of AP Möller - Maersk Group since 2006.

(Sources: ERS Railways; Rail Cargo Information Netherlands)

The new rail leasing company, Railpool, has ordered from Bombardier 45 double-deck coaches, valued at €75 million, that will be operated by Danish State Railways (DSB), and 58 locomotives estimated at €192 million.

The Munich-based rail asset manager Railpool was established in July 2008 as a joint venture by two German financial organisations, HSH Nordbank AG and KfW IPEX-Bank GmbH. Its main business is to provide leasing of locomotives and operating leasing solutions for train passengers in the European rail market.

(Source: Railpool)

The Greek transport minister Costis Hatzidakis said that Hellenic Railways Organisation (OSE) should be reformed in order to tackle corruption, inefficiency and bad management, according to International Railway Journal. OSE is losing €2 million daily, and its debts have soared to €7.5 billion. Its workforce might have to be cut by 3,000, said the minister. The government intends to reduce OSE losses and to create an environmentally friendly and effective rail transport system.

(Source: International Railway Journal)

Trans Eurasia Express completed its first 10,000 km journey from Xiangtang (China) to Hamburg (Germany) in just 17 days. DB Schenker, the global transportation and logistics service provider of German Deutsche Bahn Group, will offer weekly regular rail freight services to China from February 2009.

"With the introduction of the regular timetable and fixed departure times, this new link in our global network will enable us to offer a new level of quality in the trans-continental exchange of goods", said Norbert Bensel, head of DB Schenker.

(Source: Deutsche Bahn Group)

The government of Mozambique has announced that the US$475 million rehabilitation of the Sena railway will be completed by 2010, according to Bulk Materials International. The 665 km railway connects Mozambique's main port city, Beira, with the Moatize coal mines in Tete. It was completely destroyed during the country's long civil war and declared free of land mines in 2006. A consortium of Indian firms Rites and Ircon and Mozambique's state owned transport utility Portos E Caminhos De Ferro De Mocambique (CFM), with financial support from the World Bank, started the railway rehabilitation in 2005.

(Source: Bulk Materials International)

Nuovo Trasporto Viaggiatori (NTV), the first Italian private company that will operate passenger transportation service on high-speed railway lines, has selected Société Nationale des Chemins de Fer Français (SNCF) as its industrial partner in Italy and in Europe. The French railway operator has become the sole industrial shareholder for NTV, after acquiring a 20 per cent stake in the NTV share capital.

Mr Luca di Montezemolo, Chairman of NTV, commented: "This important partnership with the world's main high-speed service operator allows NTV to benefit from the great experience of SNCF, particularly in the commercial sector." NTV and SNCF may study cooperation in the international passenger transportation sector.

(Source: NTV)

From 1 October 2008, the New Zealand Railways Corporation has become the single entity responsible for both rail and ferry services and rail infrastructure. The state-owned enterprise will acquire KiwiRail Holdings, which purchased the assets of Toll Holdings for NZ$690 million on 1 July 2008. The re-nationalisation included 180 locomotives, 4200 wagons, two railway workshops, and one rail ferry.

The re-nationalised operator KiwiRail and ONTRACK will be separate operating units reporting to the New Zealand Railways Corporation Board, chaired by the country's Prime Minister Jim Bulger. Having already allocated NZ$400 million for the upgrade of rail infrastructure, the government has pledged an additional NZ$121 million funding for rail.

(Sources: KiwiRail; ONTRACK)

People in California will have the opportunity to vote in the forthcoming elections on a US$9.95 billion state bond for a high speed rail project. Travelling at speeds up to 220 miles per hour, the proposed system will span more than 800 miles, connecting all major cities in California, according to Railway Technology.

The federal government would provide US$14.4 billion over five years. The California High-Speed Rail Authority's financial plan is a public-private partnership with one third private, one third federal and one third state investment.

(Source: Railway Technology)

Tanzania Railway Corporation (TRC) has been granted a US$33 million loan from the World Bank to buy new wagons from India and to repair its own rolling stock and locomotives, according to International Transport Journal.

The International Finance Corporation, a member of the World Bank Group, has an investment project of up to $44 million to rehabilitate, develop and operate the approximately 2,700 route-km Tanzanian Railway Corporation (TRC) network, under a 25-year concession. The concessionaire, Tanzania Railways Limited (TRL), is a consortium comprising Rail India Technical and Economic Services (51 per cent) and the Tanzanian state (49 per cent).

(Source: International Transport Journal; The International Finance Corporation>