International Railway Journal - August 2007 - (Page 5)

In brief Argentina The Argentine government has approved the reorganisation of the country’s railways (IRJ July p10). Within two years, all property of Argentine State Railways (FA) will be handed over to the proposed new track authority. Both the track authority and the new operating company will be under state control. Operations on the existing Brenner line are hampered by congestion, sharp curves, severe gradients, and different power supplies either side of the border. Photo: Philip Wormald Brazil The government has provided Valec, the company building the North-South railway, with Reais 300 million ($US 161 million) to build a further 210km as far as Guarai, just 152km from the state capital of Palmas, the initial destination of the project. Bids will again be sought for operating the concession on the line, but the government wants at least Reais 1.4 billion from the winner. Italy commits to Alpine projects T HE ITALIAN government has signed an agreement with Austria on funding for the construction of the 56km Brenner base tunnel while reaffirming its commitment to build the Lyon - Turin line. Transport minister Mr Antonio Di Pietro and his Austrian counterpart Mr Werner Faymann signed the memorandum, which requires the two countries each to contribute a third of the total €6 billion cost. The remaining €2 billion is expected to come from the European Union (EU). Exploratory tunnels have already been excavated, although construction is unlikely to start before 2010 with completion expected in 2022. Meanwhile Italy’s prime minister Mr Romano Prodi says he will honour the decision to build the €20 billion Lyon - Turin line. Italy was due to present the project to the EU by July 23 in order to obtain partial financing from Brussels. Up to €2 billion could be financed by the EU if the application is successful. Bulgaria Bulgarian State Railways (BDZ) says it will invest Lev 1.35 billion ($US 952.7 million) over the next decade. A loan of €120 million will be taken to buy new equipment, but revenue growth in passenger and freight businesses is expected to be less than 3% per year. BDZ says it needs at least Lev 260 million for infrastructure development, which the government is unwilling to provide. First India Bangladesh train T Germany and Denmark ink Fehmarn bridge agreement P LANS to construct a 19km road and rail bridge across the Fehmarn Strait have received a significant boost after the transport ministers of Germany and Denmark signed an agreement to build the €5.6 billion link. The bridge, which will connect Puttgarden on the German island of Fehmarn with Rødby in Denmark, will replace the existing train ferry and will significantly reduce the 4h 40min journey time on the 353km Hamburg Puttgarden - Copenhagen route. Signing the agreement with his Danish counterpart Mr Flemming Hansen, German transport minister Mr Wolfgang Tiefensee said the bridge was “a purely Danish project” as it will be entirely owned and financed by Denmark. Construction of the bridge will begin in 2011 and will be completed by 2018. HE FIRST scheduled passenger services between India and Bangladesh for 42 years could begin this month following a successful test run between Kolkata and the Bangladeshi capital Dhaka. The Indian Railways train ran via the Darshana border crossing and carried 30 government officials. The Bangladeshi government says it hopes to restart regular services on the 375km Kolkata - Dhaka route by mid-August. Passenger services between the two countries were suspended following the 1965 war between India and Pakistan, but never resumed after Bangladesh’s independence from Pakistan in 1971. Canada The province of Quebec and the national government are to spend $C 63 million ($US 60.3 million) on supporting nine short-line railways and the Lower St Lawrence Ports. Short-lines operate 2300km (around 38%) of Quebec’s rail network, and are set to upgrade tracks to North American Class 1 standards, as well as expand capacity. The railways will invest $C 25 million to support the project. Astaldi to build Algerian line I TALIAN engineering company Astaldi is to build a 120km line from Saida to Moulay Slissen in Algeria at a cost of €616 million. Construction will start in November and will take almost four years to complete. Colombia Following a lengthy dispute between North Colombia Railway (Fenoco) and major coal shippers regarding a new concession, a deal has been reached in which the coal IRJ August 2007 5

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of International Railway Journal - August 2007

Contents This month News Market News Transit News News Analysis Voith Goes For Maxima Impact First Gauge-Changeable Loco Under Test Power Surge China Feels the Need For Speed A Firm Foundation For Chinese High-Speed Testing Times on the Betuwe Route Tough Tests For Mass Transit Software A Measure of Success Rendezvous Full Contact List Advertisers Index The Last Word

International Railway Journal - August 2007

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