News
RZD rebuffs reports of high-speed demise Belarus steps up electrification
Kevin Smith Features editor
USSIAN Railways (RZD) has strongly denied claims in the Russian press that its high-speed construction programme has been cancelled.
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Referring to the article “RZD losing the 2018 World Cup” which appeared in Russia’s Vedomosti newspaper on August 23, which has since been widely cited and distributed, RZD said in a statement issued on August 29 that “the article used unofficial sources resulting in the author making conclusions on the high-speed project’s cancellation.” In an effort to clarify the situation, RZD says that the Russian government is currently considering the final offer for construction of the high-speed programme submitted by RZD in the second quarter of 2012, and that no decision has yet been made.
The foundations for the high-speed development plan were laid in the Russian Federation Railroad Transport Development Strategy 2030 which outlines plans to develop 6500km of high-speed rail infrastructure by 2030. This was followed by a feasibility study of a proposed link between Moscow and St Petersburg, and the inclusion of high-speed infrastructure in The Railway Infrastructure Development for the 2018 World Football Cup Traffic Service Concept document. This was submitted by RZD to the Russian Federation Ministry of Transport in the first half of 2011.
RZD says that launching the high-speed construction programme requires the passage of a series of government bills and decrees along with amendments to Russian law. Budget allocations for the project will be made through a special bill: The Decree on Construction Auction Budget. But with no
such document currently in place, no funds can yet be allocated from the
government’s budget, a point that was missed in the article. As IRJ reported in July (p4), the government’s failure to back the plan led to the postponement of the proposed tender for the 658km Moscow - St Petersburg line which was due to be issued on September 1. RZD confirmed in October 2011 that four international consortia were in the running for the tender to build the estimated Roubles 696m ($US 21.6bn) line, and RZD president Mr Vladimir Yakunin told IRJ in June that he was hopeful that a decision might be forthcoming before the end of the year.
But with the government yet to make any decisions, positive or negative, the official line from RZD is that “it’s too early to make any statements, or even make them part of the public domain without any government decision.”
programme B
ELARUS Railways (BC) says it is on course to complete electrification of the 107km section of the Minsk - Gomel line between Osipovichi, Babrujsk and Zhlobin by December. Next year BC will turn its attention to electrifying the Zhlobin - Gomel (86km) and Zhlobin to Kalinkovichi (101km) lines, extending the wires closer to the Ukrainian and Russian borders in the southeast of the country. BC says it aims to cut operating costs on these lines by 26% while increasing average speeds by 25%. Overall, BC will electrify
387 route-km in its 2011-2015 electrification programme, which also includes the line from Molodechno to the Lithuanian border, closing most of the gap in the wires between Minsk and Vilnius. At present, only 878km of
Belarus’s 5537km network is electrified.
Strong start for HKX: German open-access passenger operator Hamburg-Köln- Express (HKX), which launched a daily service between Hamburg and Cologne on July 23, says the first month of operation has been positive. HKX has carried about 25,000 passengers with train occupancy averaging between 70 and 80% after the first few days of operation. HKX says it has bookings into November. HKX is currently operating one train per day between Monday and Wednesday, and up to three trains per day between Thursday and Sunday. It says 98% of trains have arrived within 15 minutes of schedule and it has run all scheduled services.
Virgin Trains takes legal action over West Coast T
HE dispute over the award of the InterCity West Coast passenger franchise to First Group (IRJ Sep p8) has intensified after Virgin Trains, the current operator of the London - Glasgow route, launched legal proceedings against the Department for Transport (DfT). Virgin Trains says the DfT has failed to answer key questions regarding its decision to award the 13-year four-month franchise for West Coast to First Group. “We are left with no choice but to commence court proceedings as we believe the procurement process has ignored the substantial risks to taxpayers and customers of delivering First Group’s bid over the course of the franchise,” says Virgin Trains in a statement. “We question
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whether First Group’s bid has been correctly risk-adjusted by the Department given that all of its supposed incremental value is delivered after 2022.” Virgin is seeking an independent audit of the bids. Virgin/Stagecoach offered a
premium of £4.8bn over the lifetime of the new franchise, compared with the £5.5bn (net present value) offered by First Group, which would start at £26m in the year ending March 2014 and rise to £739m in the year ending March 2026. First Group CEO Mr Tim O’Toole is dismissive of the action being taken by Virgin and says that First is confident it can meet the growth targets required to pay the premium offered in its bid.
IRJ October 2012
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