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| Subject: March 11, 2004 | |
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Author: Alstom To Maintain Melbourne Network |
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Date Posted: Friday, March 12, 03:29:30am Bombs Wreak Havoc In Madrid SPAIN's prime minister, Mr Jose Maria Aznar, has blamed the Basque separatist group Eta for planting 13 bombs on railway installations in the Madrid area this morning. At least 180 people were killed and more than 900 injured in explosions on four commuter trains during the morning peak period. Three bombs exploded at Atocha, Madrid's busiest station, four bombs went off near Atocha, and three more at two suburban stations. Three other bombs were detonated by security personnel in controlled explosions. Spanish National Railways (Renfe) has closed Atocha station, which has badly disrupted both commuter services in southern Madrid and long-distance rail services in southern Spain. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- March 11, 2004 Alstom To Maintain Melbourne Network CONNEX, which will take over responsibility for the entire Melbourne commuter rail network on April 18, has awarded a Euros 330 million contract to Alstom to maintain its entire emu fleet, 830km of tracks and overhead electrification, and 208 stations. The contract will run until April 2009 with an option to extend it to May 2010. Alstom has maintained the trains and infrastructure for Connex in Melbourne since 1999, under Connex's previous franchise for half the network. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- March 11, 2004 Korea To Install ERTMS A CONSORTIUM led by Taejung Electric Construction has awarded a Won 48.3 billion ($US 41.2 million) contract to Bombardier Transportation to provide a European Rail Traffic Management System (ERTMS) Level 1 system for Korean National Railroad (KNR) for installation on the Seoul–Daejon–Busan and Daejon–Mokpo main lines, totalling 760km. "This order is of strategic importance for us as it marks the entrance of our Inteflo ERTMS solutions to the Asian markets," said Mr Javier Rión, president of Bombardier Transportation's Rail Control Solutions. Bombardier will supply its Interflo 250 version of ERTMS. This will consist of EBI Cab 2000 on-board automatic train protection (ATP) equipment to be installed in 414 train cabs, and EBI Link wayside ATP equipment comprising lineside electronic units and balises. Final delivery is scheduled for December 2006. The Korea consortium includes Gyungin, a signalling engineering company, Yookyong, a signalling equipment manufacturer, and LG CNS, a project integration specialist. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- March 11, 2004 Alstom Faces More Financial Problems ALSTOM, which manufactures trains, ships, and power turbines, might have to renegotiate the bank loans that it negotiated last year as part of a rescue package agreed with the French government. Although orders booked in the year to March 31 could exceed Alstom's forecast of Euros 15 billion, Alstom's operating margin could be below the 2 to 2.5% forecast in November. Restructuring costs for the current financial year are likely to be Euros 650 million, compared with a forecast of Euros 450 million to 500 million. As a result, cash flow is expected to be below forecast. In addition, the European Commission is expected to rule next month on whether the rescue package breaks its rules for state aid to companies. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- March 8, 2004 Toronto Transit To Get Extra $C 1 Billion THE Canadian government has approved an extra $C 1 billion ($US 759 million) for Toronto Transit Corporation (TTC), spread over five years. However, TTC says this is not sufficient to keep the metro, tram, and bus in good repair, let alone build new lines. TTC says that by 2014, it will need to purchase 232 metro cars, 196 LRVs, 16 cars for the Scarborough light metro, and 1380 buses. "For the next 10 years, we need $C 3.8 billion, just for state of good repair," said councillor Joe Mihevc, TTC's vice-chair. "That does not include building the York University subway, which is another $C 1 billion-plus, nor the Sheppard Line, adding another $C 1 billion-plus." -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- March 8, 2004 Heads Roll At Via Rail CANADA's transport minister, Mr Tony Valeri, has dismissed the president of Via Rail, Mr Marc LeFrançois. This follows the dismissal a few days earlier of Via Rail's chairman, Mr Jean Pelletier. Mr Paul Côté is interim president and CEO. Valeri says that LeFrançois was dismissed because he failed to convince the minister that he had nothing to do with a government sponsorship scandal unearthed by Canada's auditor general, Ms Sheila Fraser. Officials are accused of using various means to funnel money into communications firms friendly to the Liberal government. Pelletier lost his job following unacceptable comments about Ms Myriam Bédard, a former Via Rail employee and Olympic gold medallist. Bédard claims she was forced out of Via Rail because she questioned Via Rail's sponsorship and advertising activities. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- March 5, 2004 Renfe Orders More High-Speed Trains SPANISH National Railways (Renfe) has awarded a follow-on contract worth Euros 240 million to Siemens for another 10 class S103 Valero E trains. Siemens will also maintain the trains for 14 years under a Euros 190 million contract. Siemens is already supplying 14 class S103 trains to Renfe. The S103 is based on ICE3, but has a maximum speed of 350km/h, compared with only 300km/h for ICE3. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- March 5, 2004 SNCF Conducts Huge Security Search FRENCH National Railways (SNCF) has conducted a massive search of its network involving thousands of staff and called on all operating staff to report anything suspicious following threats from AZF, a little-known group. AZF has already threatened on three occasions to detonate bombs on the railway if SNCF refused to meet ransom demands of up to $US 4 million. A bomb was discovered on February 21 beneath track near Limoges. Following the latest threat, SNCF initiated a five-point security plan on March 3. This included inspections by foot of all lines used by passenger trains and trains carrying dangerous goods. All train drivers were asked to report immediately anything suspicious, and all railway staff were told to be vigilant. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- February 27, 2004 Cisalpino To Expand Services TRENITALIA and Swiss Federal Railways (SBB) have decided to increase their financial participation in Cisalpino, their joint subsidiary which operates passenger services on two routes (Florence—Zurich—Basle/Stuttgart and Venice—Geneva) using a fleet of nine multi-system Pendolino trains. As a result, Cisalpino will purchase 14 more Pendolino trains from Alstom at a cost of more than Euros 300 million. The trains will enter service in 2007 to coincide with the opening of the Lötschberg base tunnel, which will permit a substantial reduction in journey times. The Gotthard base tunnel will open in the middle of the next decade. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- February 26, 2004 Hong Kong Wants Railways To Merge THE Hong Kong government has asked Mass Transit Railway Corporation (MTRC) to start merger negotiations with Kowloon Canton Railway Corporation (KCRC). The government, which owns 76% of MTRC and 100% of KCRC, wants the negotiations to be finished by August with a view to completing the merger next year. The government believes the merger will result in cost reductions that could be passed on to passengers through lower fares. MTRC operates the metro and Airport Railway, and KCRC the East Rail and West Rail commuter lines, plus the Tuen Mun light rail network. The government says the next phase of new line construction will blur the differences between the two railways. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- February 25, 2004 Renfe Awards Euros 1.4 Billion Train Contracts SPANISH National Railways (Renfe) has awarded three contracts worth Euros 1.4 billion for 101 250km/h trains and 10 overnight trains. Alstom and CAF, Spain, will supply 30 class S 104 standard-gauge shuttle trains, and 45 variable-gauge regional trains at a cost of Euros 937 million. They will also maintain the trains for 14 years under a Euros 840 million contract. Talgo, Spain, and Bombardier Transportation will supply 26 variable-gauge long-distance trains at a cost of Euros 370 million. The two companies will also maintain the trains for 14 years. Bombardier and Talgo have also won a Euros 258 million contract to maintain the 16 class S 102 trains they are building for Renfe. Talgo will supply the 10 variable-gauge 220km/h overnight trains for Euros 143 million. News managed by NewsPro. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- For older news, visit the Latest News Archive For Rail Industry News In North America, visit Railway Age and Railway Track & Structures. [ Next Thread | Previous Thread | Next Message | Previous Message ] |
| Subject | Author | Date |
| Toronto Transit To Get Extra $C 1 Billion (NT) | March 8, 2004 | Friday, March 12, 03:30:52am |