News
In brief
Dutch railway network. ILT says the restrictions have been introduced because of problems with the locomotives activating track circuits.
Poland
RADO Logistics has signed two agreements that will support the expansion of its intermodal freight business in Brazil and Argentina.
Brado expands as Brazilian intermodal market flourishes B
in volumes on the route through the partnership. Intermodal is still a
The joint venture between Latin American Logistics (ALL) and Standard Logistics has concluded a partnership with Santos Brasil, one of South America’s largest port infrastructure and logistics service providers, for the movement of nearly 8000 containers per year from São Paulo state to Santos Brasil’s maritime terminal in the port of Santos. Brado already operates one service per week on this route, and this will increase to three per week. Meanwhile Brado has signed an agreement with LTI to cooperate on the Mercosur corridor between Brazil and Argentina. Under the deal Brado will serve LTI Zárate terminal near Buenos Aires. LTI anticipates a 40% increase
APAN’s minister of transport Mr Yuichiro Hata has approved construction
relatively small sector of the Brazilian railfreight market, where bulk mineral and agricultural flows still dominate, but it is growing rapidly as railways invest in new facilities and rolling stock. Currently Brado has a 2%
share of Brazil’s inland container market, and operates 1327 wagons, 27 locomotives, and 20 terminals. However, the company achieved year- on-year volume growth of 16.7% in the first quarter, and is planning to expand its market share to 12% with the aid of a Reais 1.2 billion ($US 594m) investment. This includes Reais 700m for 5000 new and refurbished wagons, Reais 400m for 69 new diesel locomotives, Reais 100m for seven terminals, and Reais 5m for IT. In May it placed an order with AmstedMaxion for 145 Spine Car 80 wagons.
of three extensions to the Shinkansen network. The project will cost an estimated Yen 3.04 trillion ($US 38.1bn) and will be mainly funded by national and municipal governments. However, JR Group railways will pay fees of Yen 1bn towards the cost through access charges on existing Shinkansen lines. These are the first new high- speed lines to be approved in four years. Hata said he was
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confident the public will approve of the decision, even though the government is considering increasing the sales tax to help pay for the work, because the projects will move ahead in “an efficient and effective manner.” Hata described the Shinkansen as being “key to a sustainable and vibrant nation.” On Hokkaido, a 211km extension north from Hakodate to Sapporo will be completed in 2035. The Shinkansen is currently being extended from Shin-Aomori to Hakodate
This programme is entirely funded by equity and debt in Brado’s balance sheet and risk, with no cash being provided through the rail operations of ALL, which owns 80% of the shares in Brado.
MRS Logistics is also eager to exploit opportunities in the intermodal market, and has formed a joint venture with Estação da Luz Participações (EDLP) called Contrail. Under the stewardship of CEO and UIC Latin America chairman Mr Guilherme Quintella, Contrail is investing in a new terminal at Cubatão, which will serve the port of Santos from next year.
Contrail expects to carry 1.2 million containers per year, and increase rail’s share of intermodal hinterland traffic from the port of Santos from 4% to 25% by 2017. MRS Logistics has ordered double-stack wagons from AmstedMaxion and Randon to support the project.
Japan approves three Shinkansen extensions J
using the Seikan tunnel, and this is due to be completed in 2015. A 5-hour Tokyo - Sapporo journey time is envisaged. On Honshu, the Nagano - Kanazawa extension, which is currently under construction and is due to open in 2014, will be extended 113km further west to Tsuruga by 2025. Tsuruga will then be 3h 8min from Tokyo. Finally, a 21km isolated section of Shinkansen is to be constructed on Kyushu from Isahaya to Nagasaki. This is due to open in 2022.
Pomeranian Metropolitan Railway (PKM) has invited bids for the contract to design and build a 17km double-track line that will link Gdansk and Gdynia with Gdansk Lech Walesa Airport. The eight- station line will branch off the Gdansk - Gdynia line west of Gdansk Wrzeszcz station, serving Bretowo and the airport before joining the existing Koscierzyna - Gdynia line at a triangular junction south of Osowa station. The line is due to open in 2015.
South Africa
DCD Rolling Stock (formerly RSD) has unveiled a new design of bolsterless fabricated coach bogie developed specifically for the South African market. Independent prototype testing by Transnet Freight Rail has confirmed that the new bogie has better safety and ride qualities than Commonwealth bogies and complies with the UIC Code 518 standard as well as Transnet specifications.
Spain
Renfe launched a the first direct high-speed service between Valencia and Seville on June 17. The daily service, which offers a journey time of 3h 50min, uses the new Torrejón de Velasco line to bypass Madrid.
Switzerland
Following the successful introduction of a scheduled intermodal shuttle between Zürich Dietikon and Lausanne Renen at the beginning of this year, SBB Cargo has
announced plans to develop a national network of intermodal shuttles with terminals at strategic locations. SBB Cargo already operates eight intermodal terminals, and has recently invested in new facilities at Rothenburg and Cadenezzo. The operator also plans to upgrade terminals to accommodate 750m-long trains. IRJ
IRJ August 2012
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