Archive for February, 2010
Spanish Firm CAF Confirms Interest in Replacing Montreal Subway Cars
February 26th, 2010Senior representatives from the Spanish firm Construcciones y Auxiliar de Ferrocarriles, S.A. (CAF) formally submitted to the Société de transport de Montréal (STM) their expression of interest to supply the new MR-08 subway cars, in accordance with the terms and conditions described in the International Public Notice of Jan. 22, 2010, for the replacement of the Montreal subway cars.
This expression of interest is supported by a large package of information establishing that CAF has the required expertise of rubber-tired subway technology as well as the technical, organizational and financial capacity to successfully complete the STM’s subway cars project according to the established technical specifications and requirements.
On the question of the Canadian content requirement, CAF insists that this will not cause any difficulties. The information submitted to the STM contains letters of support from experienced suppliers that are already established in Quebec or that have committed to make technology transfers to Quebec.
CAF’s establishment in Quebec would be a long-term commitment. Several other projects are being planned in Canada, including projects in Ottawa and in Toronto.
CAF has eight production centers around the world, including one in the State of New York. Its order book as of Dec. 31, 2009, stood at 6.58 billions CAN$.
Alstom To Supply Trains to Germany’s HLB
February 26th, 2010
Germany’s Hessische Landesbahn GmbH (HLB) has placed an order with Alstom Transport for 23 of the builder’s Coradia Lint diesel multiple unit trains for service in the state of Hesse. The €65 million order will enable HLB to expand its fleet, which already includes some Coradia Lint trains.
The new two-car trains, which will be designed and produced at Alstom’s Salzgitter location, can accommodate up to 116 passengers at speeds of up to 120 kph. The trains will include on-board surveillance cameras as well as a special access ramp and two wheelchair spaces. Alstom said the trains are also 95% recyclable.
AECOM Wins Design Services Contract for Hong Kong Rail Network Expansion
February 26th, 2010MTR Corporation Limited, the owner-operator of the Hong Kong MTR metro system, has awarded AECOM a design-services contract as part of the Hong Kong Shatin to Central Link rail project, which will provide a new rail link between Hong Kong’s New Territories and its central business district.
The contract with AECOM includes designs for a new interchange station called “Diamond Hill”, which is expected to become one of the busiest interchange stations in the city, accommodating nearly 47,000 people daily during the peak hour of the morning commute. It will be located on the rail link’s East West Corridor, which will join two already operational railways to form a 34-mile metro rail line.
In addition, the contract includes designs for a new interchange station, a semi-underground train-stabling facility, the upgrade of an existing rail depot and an extensive footbridge network.
AECOM is a global provider of professional technical and management support services to a broad range of markets, including transportation, facilities, environmental, energy, water and government.
Decline in Coal Loadings Leads to Drop in Rail Freight Volume
February 26th, 2010The Association of American Railroads reported that for the week ending Feb. 20, 2010, freight traffic on U.S. railroads was down 1.6 percent compared with 2009 and 15.3 percent compared with 2008, largely caused by a 16,828-carload drop in coal loadings. Intermodal traffic, however, was up slightly from last year but still down from 2008.
Twelve of the 19 carload freight commodity groups were up in comparison with the same week last year. Double-digit increases were reported in loadings of metals (44.6 percent), motor vehicles and equipment (30.5 percent), grain (21.9 percent), metallic ores (17.6 percent), grain mill products (14.4 percent) and chemicals (13.7 percent).
Volume of 200,204 trailers and containers was up 19 percent from last year, but down 11.1 percent compared with 2008. Compared with the same week in 2009, container volume increased 24.9 percent and trailer volume fell 5.6 percent. Compared with the same week in 2008, container volume decreased 4.3 percent and trailer volume dropped 36.1 percent. The comparison week from last year was affected by the Chinese New Year, which has a significant impact on container volume.
Total volume on U.S. railroads for the week ending Feb. 20, 2010 was estimated at 29.8 billion ton-miles, down 0.7 percent from the same week last year and down 12.6 percent from 2008.
Canadian railroads reported volume of 70,455 cars for the week, up 9.6 percent from last year, and 43,605 trailers or containers, up 12.5 percent from 2009. Mexican railroads reported originated volume of 14,099 cars, up 25.3 percent from the same week last year, and 6,364 trailers or containers, up 12.7 percent.
Combined North American rail volume for the first 7 weeks of 2010 on 13 reporting U.S., Canadian and Mexican railroads totaled 2,442,733 carloads, up 1.8 percent from last year, and 1,745,653 trailers and containers, up 5.1 percent from last year.
For further details, consult the AAR’s weekly rail traffic charts.
John J. Haley Joins SFMTA as Director of Transit
February 26th, 2010The San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA), which oversees the Municipal Railway (Muni), has appointed John J. Haley as director of transit. Haley, who has more than 30 years of public and private-sector experience in the transportation industry, will be responsible for the overall direction, management and operations of Muni service for San Francisco.
Haley was previously vice-president of infrastructure and service development at the Metropolitan Transit Authority (Metro) in Houston, where he implemented new bus rapid transit and commuter rail services that significantly contributed to improved service reliability and ridership gains. He also directed internal accountability initiatives to improve operational efficiency and advanced Authority-wide plans to improve system safety.
Prior to his work in Houston, Haley served as deputy executive director of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, general manager of the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA), and deputy general manager of the San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit District (BART), and as a strategic advisor to major transportation agencies nationwide.
Haley took over from David Hill, who served as interim director of transit before resuming his role as deputy director of bus operations. Hill oversaw the implementation of Muni’s December 2009 service modifications, the largest service changes to the transit system in a generation.
Norfolk Southern To Build Corridor Hubs
February 26th, 2010Norfolk Southern Railway hopes to begin construction by July on new intermodal terminals in Memphis, Tenn., and Birmingham, Ala., now that it has a large stimulus grant to help pay for them.
“We want to start turning dirt this summer,” said NS spokesman Rudy Husband. Both facilities are projected to open for traffic in 2012.
The two terminals are part of the NS Crescent Corridor development plan, which aims to remake an old rail route from the Mississippi Delta to the Northeast into a refurbished, high-speed route for double-stacked intermodal trains. Part of the plan is to build road-train connecting hubs along the way to load and unload containers.
On Feb. 17, the Department of Transportation awarded the largest of its discretionary surface transportation grants from last year’s stimulus law — worth $105 million out of a total nationwide grant fund of $1.5 billion — to NS for those two terminals on the Crescent Corridor.
While that will help NS with the projected $112 million cost of building each facility, the grant was still much less than the railroad requested. It is splitting the grant in half to apply $52.5 million to each terminal, and will have to find funding for the rest or scale back its site plans. NS is in talks with the states about their potential contributions.
Husband said both terminal projects are going through steps to meet environmental requirements, which could be done this spring. That would clear the way for NS to put the grant money to work on construction soon after.
- John D. Boyd, The Journal of Commerce.
Bombardier Wins Tender for French Regional Double-Deck Train
February 25th, 2010
Bombardier Transportation has won a tender for new regional double-deck trains organized by the French Railways (SNCF) on behalf of the French Regions. The framework contract contemplates the design and manufacturing of 860 double-deck electrical multiple units (EMU), for a total amount of approximately 8 billion euros (US$11 billion), subject to exercising some technical options. SNCF also signed a first firm order for 80 trains, valued at approximately 800 million euros (US$1.1 billion), financed by the regions.
So far, six regions have placed orders, which they will finance: Aquitaine, Bretagne, Centre, Nord-Pas de Calais, Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur and Rhône-Alpes. Bombardier said that the first deliveries on this firm order are scheduled to take place in June 2013, and they will continue until December 2015.
Bombardier teams in Crespin, in northern France, developed a new double-deck train platform especially for this tender. It includes the following characteristics:
- modularity, to meet the regions’ differing needs in terms of suburban, regional and intercity services;
- wide-body cars;
- an articulated structure and wide connectors.
“We thank the Regions and SNCF for their trust in this large-scale project for which Bombardier Crespin teams have demonstrated their creativity and engineering excellence. These teams are now on the starting blocks to implement this important project,” said Jean Bergé, president of Bombardier Transportation France. “The solution created by our engineers is a train which stands out by its width, capacity, comfort and polyvalence. It will become a reference product, and will support the regional rail transport development in our country.”
UP, CSX Team Up On Domestic Intermodal
February 25th, 2010CSX Transportation in the eastern United States and Union Pacific Railroad in the West will soon be jointly marketing a domestic intermodal service in jumbo-sized containers.
Dubbed UMAX, the service will give customers single-bill interline routing on more than 600 traffic lanes, and the railroads are backing it up with 20,000 of the big 53-foot boxes.
The carriers said UMAX begins operating March 29, with door-to-door service that will be competitive with trucks by combining short-haul trucking with long-distance rail.
“In a word, UMAX offers customers more,” said James Hertwig, president of CSX Intermodal. “We will jointly offer more containers and more lanes to more customers with more competitive schedules than ever.”
John Kaiser, UP vice president and general manager for intermodal, said the service “will offer extensive market access and expanded capacity across a nationwide intermodal network.”
This is the latest in a series of high-profile intermodal moves among the railroads, as carriers vie to boost their service times, partner with each other or intermodal shipment consolidators and try to build market share.
UP last year renegotiated a long-term space and pricing contract with Pacer International that allowed the railroad to directly take over more domestic business. Before that it lured Hub Group to shift much of its western-U.S. traffic onto UP from rival BNSF Railway.
In the East, intermodal trucker J.B. Hunt selected Norfolk Southern Railway as its regional partner. And both NS and CSX are trying to improve higher-capacity, long-distance doublestack corridors to pull more box shipments onto their trains and off the highways.
- John D. Boyd, The Journal of Commerce.
Alstom To Provide 23 Trainsets to Amsterdam
February 24th, 2010
The municipality of Amsterdam, the Netherlands, has placed an order with Alstom Transport for 23 trainsets, for a total amount of around €200 million. They are meant for Amsterdam’s existing metro lines, with commercial service starting at the end of 2012. The contract includes an option for additional trainsets for the north/south line that is under construction.
The 6-coach metro trainsets, part of Alstom’s Metropolis range, will be produced at its Valenciennes, France, and Katowice, Poland, sites. The first trainset is to be delivered in spring 2012.
The trainsets will feature large doors, a continuous low floor, and extra wide chairs and gangways between the coaches. Dynamic travel information, communication connections and transparent interiors are intended to improve passengers’ safety and comfort. Total capacity is 960 passengers per train.
“Alstom is proud to be the supplier of this new generation metro’s for the city of Amsterdam. A metro that, thanks to its unique features, will strengthen the bond of the Amsterdam people with their transportation system,” said Andreas Knitter, North Europe general manager for Alstom Transport.
The order is part of the implementation of a public transport policy adopted by the municipality of Amsterdam, the city region, and the operator, GVB. In addition to the new north/south line, plans include the renovation of the east line and the rebuilding of the Amstelveen line.
Steel Dynamics Begins Commercial Production of “Standard Strength” Rail
February 23rd, 2010On Feb. 22, Steel Dynamics, Inc. (SDI), announced that the company had begun commercial production of Standard Strength rails that meet all current AREMA (American Railway Engineering and Maintenance-of-Way Association) specifications at its Structural & Rail Division in Columbia City, Indiana. To secure this certification, samples of the rail underwent evaluations by independent testing laboratories to certify adherence to the AREMA specifications.
The company also announced that the rail had been tested and qualified by the first of the North American Class I railroads that are potential customers. Shipments are expected to begin in the second quarter. Steel Dynamics said evaluations by other Class I railroads are underway, with approvals expected soon.
The company manufactures this rail in lengths up to 240 feet, and its Columbia City-based unit is capable of producing 300,000 tons of rail per year.An on-site rail welding plant can weld rails together into continuously welded rail (CWR) strings 1,600 feet long, and the company said it has seen a substantial increase in orders for welded rail. This winter, Steel Dynamics completed major modifications to the rail-welding plant to allow year-around operation.
“We believe the renewed emphasis on both freight and passenger rail transportation in North America provides a unique growth opportunity for Steel Dynamics,” said Dick Teets, president and COO of SDI’s Steel Operations. The company hopes to grow quickly and become a major rail supplier.
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