News
HILE welcoming the release of the annual National Infrastructure Plan by federal government advisory body, Infrastructure Australia (IA), the Australasian Railway Association (ARA) is asking for greater recognition of rail’s larger, long-term projects. The National Infrastructure
Planis a continuous process that outlines the major infrastructure reforms and projects that are required for a more productive Australia over the next 50 years. Over $A 30bn ($US 27.52bn) of rail-related projects have been nominated for consideration and possible federal funding, with projects
Australia proposes $A 30bn investment in rail W
rated from “early stages” through to “ready to proceed.” The list is dependent on submissions received from all levels of government and the private sector. Major rail projects included
in this year’s priority list are: Sydney light rail - $A 1. 6bn Perth Airport rail line -
$A 2bn Perth rapid transit -
$A 1.88bn Mount Isa to Townsville
corridor upgrade - $A 575m NSW Automatic Train
Protection system - $A 1.2bn,
and Melbourne Metro $A 9-11bn. While supporting the report,
ARA feels it needs to provide greater recognition of key
future national projects such as inland and high-speed rail, neither of which has yet made it onto the priority list. It also believes that there needs to be less of a focus on the funding of roads. At present only the Brisbane
Cross River Rail suburban project, which is estimated to cost around $A 4.4bn, is classed as “ready to proceed.” However, tight fiscal conditions along with statements earlier this year by federal opposition leader Mr Tony Abbott that his government, should it win September’s election, is not interested in funding urban rail schemes, means there is unlikely to be an early start for
many of these projects. ARA CEO Bryan Nye
stressed the need for all sides of parliament to support the role IA plays in the country’s infrastructure development. “ARA has long argued for
greater quality and efficiency of infrastructure spending and encouraging public transparency, which will help with the planning and delivery of our infrastructure over the next 50 years,” Nye says.
“The ARA has also advocated greater innovation in infrastructure funding in order to create an environment where private investments, such as Superannuation Funds, are welcomed.”
Network Rail invites bids for Scottish electrification
B
SNCF expands double-deck TGV fleet F
RENCH National Railways (SNCF) has exercised an option for an additional 40 TGV Euroduplex trains from Alstom which will be delivered between 2015 and 2019. So far, 21 of the 55 trains
from the original 2007 order are in service. They currently operate on high-speed lines radiating from Paris to Luxembourg, the German
10
cities of Frankfurt, Stuttgart and Munich, as well as between Frankfurt and Marseille. TGV Euroduplex will soon be introduced on the Paris - Zurich route and the new service from Paris to Barcelona which is due to be launched by the end of the year.
Each TGV Euroduplex is 200m long and has seats for
560 passengers. The 9.4MW train has a maximum speed of 320km/h and is capable of operating on lines electrified at 25kV ac, 15kV 16.7Hz, and 1.5kV dc, as well as different signalling systems. Euroduplex is the third generation of double-deck TGV, following the original Duplex and later Dasye versions.
RITAIN’s infrastructure manager, Network Rail (NR), has invited bids by September for the £400m project to electrify the Edinburgh - Falkirk High - Glasgow main line, which is part of the Scottish government’s £650m Edinburgh-Glasgow Improvement Programme. NR plans to award contracts early next year to enable work to start by mid-2014. The scheme involves electrifying 156 single-track km, and remodelling and platform extensions at Edinburgh Waverley, Falkirk High, Glasgow Queen Street and three other intermediate stations. In addition, a new Edinburgh Gateway station will be built along with a new depot at Millerhill, Edinburgh. Electrification is due to be completed in 2016 allowing journey times to be cut from 51 to 42 minutes for the 76km trip and capacity increased along what is the primary rail connection between Scotland’s two largest cities. This will be the third route between the two cities to be electrified, after the southerly route via Carstairs and the reopened Airdrie - Bathgate line.
IRJ August 2013
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52