In brief
Bids to be invited soon for Thai upgrade S
TATE Railway of Thailand (SRT) is preparing to invite bids for the initial phase of its national track-doubling programme, which will provide much-needed additional capacity on the metre-gauge network. According to The Nation newspaper, Mr Soithip Trissuddh, deputy permanent secretary of the transport ministry, says that work on doubling the 106km Chachoengsao - Kaeng Khoi line east of Bangkok would
begin by the end of the year, and that after several years of delay SRT is certain construction can finally begin. The Thai cabinet has already
approved the project and an environmental impact assessment has been completed. SRT is currently drafting tender documents and expects construction to begin immediately after the contract is signed. SRT has identified five other lines totalling 767km for track doubling, including:
Map Kabao - Jira Junction
(132km) Nakhon Pathom - Hua Hin
(165km) Lop Buri - Pak Nampo
(118km) Nakhon Ratchasima - Khon
Kaen (185km), and Prachuap Khiri Khan - Chumphon (167km). SRT expects tenders for all
five projects to be issued next year, although funding is subject to parliamentary approval of the cabinet’s borrowing bill.
Chingford, which are currently part of the Greater Anglia franchise. TfL will also assume responsibility for 23 stations, which will be refurbished.
Colombia
Iowa Pacific Holdings, United States and British track and mining equipment supplier Holdtrade have formed a new company Holdtrade Atlantico, which will apply for licenses to operate freight railways in Colombia.
France
GSM-R digital train radio was commissioned on 308km of lines in eastern France on July 6-7, when coverage was extended to the Dijon - Montbéliard, Besançon - Mouchard, and Saint-Pierre- d’Albigny - Bourg-Saint- Maurice/Modane routes. The projects were carried out as part of the the national GSM-R programme being carried out by the Synerail PPP consortium, which includes Vinci, SFR, AXA and TDF.
Germany
German Rail (DB) CEO Dr Rüdiger Grube and Saxony’s state minister for economic affairs, labour, and transport Mr Sven Morlok signed an agreement on the
electrification and upgrading of the 81km Leipzig - Bad Lausick - Chemnitz line on July 16. Under the deal, around ƒ2.5m will be invested in planning and preliminary design, including full costing
Trenitalia previews new regional trains T
RENITALIA and Alstom hosted an event at
Alstom’s Savigliano plant in northern Italy on June 25 to give the press, passenger associations, and representatives of the government of Piedmont a first glimpse of the new Coradia Meridian regional emu for Trenitalia.
Alstom was selected last October for the ƒ450m contract to supply an initial tranche of 70 single-deck trains for the regions of Abruzzo, Calabria, Marche, Umbria, Lazio and Veneto. In
IRJ August 2013
Lazio the trains will be used on shuttle services between Fiumicino Airport and Rome Termini. The contract includes options for an additional 20 sets.
The 82.2m-long five-car sets will be capable of operating at up to 160km/h and the trains will seat 288 passengers with two wheelchair spaces, although interior configuration will vary according to the trains’ intended use. For example, the Fiumicino Airport sets will have fewer seats and more luggage space. Alstom has taken on 300
additional staff on fixed-term contracts at Savigliano in order to honour the delivery date of January 2014 for the first train. Trenitalia has specified deliveries at a rate of four trains per month from June 2014, and a night shift will be introduced at the plant to ensure the schedule is met. Alstom says that because the design is a development of the Minuetto already in service with Trenitalia, it expects certification to be completed quickly, with the trains due to be approved in November 2013.
for the project. DB Regio has been awarded a 15-year contract to operate the Lower Saxony Southeast regional concession, covering 3.7 million train-km per year on seven routes around Braunschweig and Göttingen from December 2015.
India
Following the retirement of Mr Vinay Mittal on July 1, current member, mechanical, Mr Arunendra Kumar has temporarily assumed the position of chairman of Indian Railways’ board. The Railway Ministry has decided not to appoint a full-time chairman due to the furore surrounding railway management
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