International Railway Journal - July 2008 - (Page 4)

News France to build 4500km of new lines Portugal invites highspeed bids HE Portuguese government has launched its ƒ9.5 billion 10-year highspeed construction programme by inviting public tenders to build the first section of the Lisbon - Madrid line. The 206km Portuguese section of the line will be built and operated as a 40-year public-private partnership (PPP) concession. It will be implemented in two portions: ƒ1.7 billion Caia - Poceirão section, and the ƒ1.6 billion Poceirão - Lisbon section, including a 13km bridge over the River Tagus, bids for which will be invited in December. The line will open in 2013 and will be constructed for 350km/h operation to allow a Lisbon - Madrid journey time of 2 hours 45 minutes when the Spanish section is completed. Further tenders will be published in the first half of 2009 covering the Lisbon Pombal and Pombal - Oporto sections, which are estimated to cost ƒ2.1 billion and ƒ1.7 billion respectively. The 290km line will be built for 300km/h operation line and journey times will be cut from 2h 44min to 1h 15min when it opens in 2015. Both lines are Trans European Network - Transport priority projects and therefore qualify for European Union funding. T French high-speed projects Line Nîmes - Montpellier (PPP) Le Mans - Rennes Baudrecourt - Strasbourg (TGV Est Phase 2) Tours - Bordeaux (PPP) Belfort - Lutterbach (TGV Rhine-Rhône) Montbard - Genlis (TGV Rhine-Rhône) Marseille - Nice TGV Interconnection (Paris South) Montpellier - Perpignan Dijon - Lyon Bordeaux - Hendaye Bordeaux - Toulouse length completion (km) 80 2013 200 2013 106 340 36 70 20 200 180 230 250 2015 2016 - F RANCE is to build up to 4500km of new lines in the coming years after the cabinet has adopted the so-called Grenelle Environment bill. This has three main objectives to be achieved by 2020: to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by at least 20%, improve energy efficiency by 20%, and increase the proportion of energy produced from renewable sources by 20%. For rail transport, this means building 2000km of high-speed lines by 2020 and expanding public transport in the main cities to encourage more people to travel by rail. A further 2500km of new lines are planned beyond 2020. The bill will now go before the French parliament later this year. The 2009 Finance Act will include measures and taxes to complement the environmental initiatives. Bombardier and Transmashholding joint venture B OMBARDIER Transportation and Transmashholding, Russia, are establishing a new joint venture to build locomotives using asynchronous propulsion technology. The joint venture will be located in Russia, and will see a new range of diesel and electric locomotives developed in anticipation of strong demand in the Russian market. Russian Railways (RZD) expects to need 11,675 new locomotives between 2008 and 2015, with a further 11,722 units between 2016 and 2030. Angel Trains sold to Australianled consortium for £3.6 billion B RITAIN’S Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) has agreed to sell its Angel Trains rolling stock leasing company (Rosco) to a consortium of global infrastructure investment funds led by Babcock & Brown, Australia, for £3.6 billion. The consortium includes Babcock & Brown European Infrastructure Fund, AMP Capital Investors, Deutsche Bank and funds advised by Access Capital Advisers. The deal is expected to be finalised this year. Angel Trains was set up in 1994 as one of three Roscos formed as part of the privatisation of British Rail. Angel Trains was sold the following year for £627.5 million to GRS Holding Company, a consortium of Prideaux & Associates, Babcock & Brown, and Nomura International. The company was acquired by RBS in 1997 for £395 million. Angel Trains now operates throughout Europe with offices in Britain, Belgium, Germany, Italy and Spain, and has a fleet of more than 5000 passenger trains and freight locomotives. The current sale will boost the rail assets of Babcock & Brown and its managed funds to more than $A 9 billion ($US 8.65 billion) including 26,000 rail cars and locomotives worldwide. Freightliner UK is sold B R Kang Kyung-Ho has taken over as president and CEO of Korail from Mr Park Kwang Suk. Kang joins Korail from Seoul Metro, where he was president. M RITISH freight operator Freightliner has been bought by international investment company Arcapita for an undisclosed sum. The former state-owned operator was privatised in 1996, and owned by 3i, Electra Private Equity, and management and staff. The company operates intermodal and bulk trains in Britain, and began operating coal trains in Poland last September. 4 IRJ July 2008

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International Railway Journal - July 2008 Contents This Month News Transit News Market News/Technology News News Analysis Conference Report Korean Railways Face a Bright Future Korean Exports Surge Ahead Ready to Roll in China Velaro Shows Eastern Promise Are You Sitting Comfortably? Compin Meets New Challenges The Fabric of Society Grinding Out a Result Rendezvous Full Contact List The Last Word

International Railway Journal - July 2008

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