News
NS to order Traxx locomotives to replace V250 N
Quintus Vosman Regional editor
ETHERLANDS Railways (NS) has confirmed that it will order Bombardier Traxx locomotives to replace the abandoned V250 high-speed trains manufactured by AnsaldoBreda for Fyra services between Amsterdam and Brussels (IRJ July p4). Traxx locomotives are
already operating temporary Dutch Fyra services with NS ICRm ‘Prio’ coaches at a
maximum speed of 160km/h between Amsterdam and Breda after the V250 sets were withdrawn from service in January following a number of technical failures. NS and Belgian National Railways (SNCB) subsequently cancelled orders for the trains in May.
SNCB has previously
rejected the temporary Traxx option for the complete service between Amsterdam and Brussels, but the impending order indicates it has now changed its view.
NS was exempted from the obligation of going out to tender for the locomotives due to the pressing circumstances surrounding the Fyra service. However, the number of locomotives that will be ordered will only be confirmed after a new operating model for Fyra is developed and accepted by Dutch secretary of state for infrastructure, Ms Wilma Mansveld, which is expected in October.
In the meantime, Thalys has announced plans to
Thalys has witnessed a
surge in ridership since Fyra was suspended, and the two additional services will increase seating capacity by 17% between the two cities.
introduce two additional weekday Amsterdam - Brussels services from October 7 in an effort to fill the void in the timetable. Services will be increased from nine to 11 trains per day in each direction, except on Fridays when there will be 13 Amsterdam - Brussels services.
Thalys to become stand-alone company T
HE boards of French National Railways (SNCF) and Belgian National Railways (SNCB) have decided to make Thalys a stand-alone company in 2015, subject to European Commission approval. The objective is to enable Thalys to react more swiftly should competitors emerge on the high-speed corridor linking Paris, Brussels, Amsterdam, Cologne, and Düsseldorf, where Thalys currently operates.
Thalys was set up in 1995 by SNCF, SNCB, Netherlands Railways (NS) and German Rail (DB), and the first services
8
were launched in 1996. NS has only been a partner in Thalys and will continue in this role, while DB, which has a 10% stake in Thalys, announced its decision to pull out earlier this year.
In 2015, SNCF will have a 60% shareholding in the new Thalys company compared with 62% currently, while SNCB’s stake will increase from 28% to 40%.
Four of the seven members of the new Thalys board will come from SNCF including the CEO, while SNCB will have the remaining three members.
Kenya funds standard-gauge project
it will release an initial $US 252.8m towards the construction of a double-track standard-gauge line from the port of Mombasa to the Kenya/Uganda border town of Malaba, with a branch to Kisumu on Lake Victoria. National Treasury Cabinet
K
secretary Mr Henry Rotich said the new $US 4.7bn network will improve transit times and reduce the cost of transporting freight from Mombasa to Kisumu by as much as 79%.
This is the first time the
ENYA’s Ministry of Finance has announced
government has allocated funds for the construction of the line, which will be built by China Roads and Bridges Company.
Phase one of the project will involve constructing the 479km section between Mombasa and the capital Nairobi, while phase two encompasses the 470km Nairobi - Malaba stretch and the 165km branch from Malaba to Kisumu. The new line will largely follow the route of the existing metre-gauge railway, which is in desperate need of upgrading.
IRJ August 2013
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