In brief
250km/h tracks on a 17km section between Bashaide and Rastatt South as part of a scheme to quadruple the Karlsruhe - Basle main line. A large groundwater basin will be built to enable the line to pass beneath the A5 highway as well as a 4.27km tunnel. The new tracks should open
at the end of 2022. The first of 770 Intercity coaches being refurbished by
German Rail (DB) at a cost of ƒ250m have been put back into service. DB has also completed the refurbishment
Amtrak Cities Sprinter on test at Pueblo: Amtrak president Mr Joe Boardman, Federal Railroad Administrator Mr Joseph Szabo and Siemens Rail Systems USA president Mr Michael Cahill visited the Transportation Technology Center (TTCI) at Pueblo on July 29 to see the ACS-64 Cities Sprinter electric locomotive being put through its paces. Two pre-series ACS- 64s are at Pueblo for trials, including running at up to 200km/h, acceleration and braking tests, and operation with Amtrak coaches. Amtrak says engineers are also validating the performance of onboard computer systems and software as well as ride quality.
Karol Wojtyla Airport was inaugurated on July 19, when the mayors of seven municipalities served by the Bari - Barletta line attended the opening of the 7km electrified connection. The project, which was
funded by the European Union and the Italian government, involved
F
OLLOWING an international tender, Saudi
Railway Company (SAR) has awarded Italferr, the engineering subsidiary of
Italian State Railways (FS), a ƒ28m contract to design the Landbridge, Saudi Arabia’s first rail link between the Red Sea and the Persian Gulf. The 14-month contract covers
both the preliminary and detailed design phases, and includes track and structures, stations, freight facilities, signalling (ETCS Level 2) and telecommunications, and an environmental impact study. It also encompasses studies on noise mitigation and managing the impact of the
IRJ September 2013
Bari airport rail link inaugurated A
NEW ƒ77m rail link from the Italian city of Bari to
constructing a double-track loop off the Bari - Barletta line between Fesca San Girolamo and Bitonto, with an underground station serving the airport terminal. Construction began in May 2009. Services are operated by
Ferrotramviaria using Stadler Flirt emus, with a 14-minute journey time between the airport and Bari Central.
Saudi Landbridge design contract awarded
harsh desert environment on the railway. The contract was signed by
the Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF), the Ministry of Finance, and SAR. Italferr will be assisted by Arabian Consulting Engineering Centre (ACEC), a Saudi engineering company established in 1979. The Landbridge will consist
of a 950km line from Jeddah to As Suq and Riyadh, with a 115km link between the Gulf ports of Dammam and Jubail. Trains will use the existing Saudi Railways Organisation (SRO) line between Riyadh and Dammam, which will be upgraded to accommodate increased levels of traffic.
Work begins on Vienna terminal
August 2 to mark the start of construction on a new ƒ300m intermodal terminal at Inzersdorf south of Vienna. Planning for the project
A
began as long ago as 1999 but the environmental impact assessment was not approved until last year. The 55 hectare site is situated on the Inzersdorf - Wampersdorf - Wiener Neustadt line just south of Vienna Blumenthal station and close to the S1 highway. In addition to the two intermodal terminals for containers and swapbodies, there will be a loading area for wagonload traffic and a warehousing and distribution centre. At present Vienna has two intermodal terminals: Freudenau has recently been expanded but is operating close to capacity, while Vienna Northwest, which is situated in an urban area near Praterstern station, has insufficient capacity and track length, and will therefore close when Inzersdorf opens. The first intermodal terminal and other facilities at Inzersdorf will be completed in 2017, while the second terminal will be constructed at a later date depending on demand.
GROUNDBREAKING ceremony was held on
of its ICE 2 fleet. DB Regio introduced new Bombardier class 442 emus built for the mid-German S-Bahn network around Leipzig on August 18, four months ahead of schedule. The 36 three-car and 15 four- car emus were ordered in November 2010 and will be used on the new S-Bahn network radiating from Leipzig which is due to open in December.
Hungary
To partly compensate for the introduction of supplementary fares for travel on fast services, the Ministry of Transport has cut fares by 15% for travel on 89 daily regional services operating on 15 lines, 10 of which have reopened since 2010. Passengers are being offered a 3% discount to buy tickets online and print them out themselves.
Indonesia
Indonesian Railways (PT Kai) has introduced a daily service called the KrakatauExpress from Madiun in eastern Java via Surakarta, Cirebon, and Jakarta to the port of Merak where passengers can connect with ferries to Sumatra. Two rakes of 10 coaches supplied by PT Inka operate the 828km trip.
International
Iranian Islamic Republic Railways (RAI) has started construction of a new line from Khoramshahr to the Iraqi border. The intention is to extend it to Basra in southern Iraq by 2016, but Iraq is yet to
arrange funding. The national railways of Greece and Macedonia have
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