PASSENGER TRAINS SCANDINAVIA ITALY

Rhein-Ruhr Express Nordic Rail Expo Ferroviaria

The first Desiro HC EMUs Record funding supports RFI invests to upgrade
to operate RRX services start Trafikverket’s 12-year north-south and east-west
test running in Germany investment plan corridors
PAGE 31 PAGE 44 PAGE 56

www.railwaygazette.com October 2017

Railway Gazette International | October 2017 3
‘‘
‘In high performance situations only the best
materials will do. And even then there is no
guarantee that these will not fail eventually’
Christopher Jackson
Editor-in-Chief, Railway Gazette Group | chris.jackson@railwaygazette.com
The cost of quality
A
few months ago, a major metro operator with a
very high reputation for reliability suffered a ma-
jor power failure which disrupted much of its net-
work for the whole of an evening rush hour, af-
fecting many thousands of passengers and other people across
the city. Eventually the fault was traced to the failure of an
electrical insulator in the power supply network.
So far, so normal. Such failures can, and do, happen to
many operators around the world. Not surprisingly, questions
were asked at very high levels as to why this failure caused so
much disruption, and why it took so long to find the fault.
Insiders suggest that the metro has been using locally-sourced
insulators which may not meet the proper quality standards.
The use of ‘non-branded’ spares has always been seen as a
way to economise as railways seek to reduce their costs and
balance their maintenance budgets. We hear reports of a light
rail operator sourcing new turnout tiebars from a local manu-
facturer at around two-thirds of the price quoted by the origi-
nal supplier. In theory, that offered a worthwhile saving. Yet
while the replacements were dimensionally identical, it turns
out that they were made of inferior materials, and were failing
at less than half the expected life. So the longer term result
was higher costs and more disruption for maintenance.
As far as we know, this was not a case of deliberate ‘pass-
ing off ’, where replacement components were being sold as if
they were the real thing, although cases of intellectual prop-
erty theft are not unknown in the rail sector as with many
other industries.
Railway operators and infrastructure managers are con-
stantly under pressure to keep their costs down and improve
efficiency, and former DB Chairman Rüdger Grube was by
no means alone in challenging the supply sector to cut their
prices. OEMs are often accused of overcharging for spare
parts and exploiting near-monopoly positions. The manufac-
turers can justifiably argue that the higher prices are needed
to recoup their investment in research and development to
optimise the products, as well as to fund continuing efforts to
further drive up performance and reliability.
In many cases, cheaper components can be deployed satis-
factorily in less demanding applications, in non safety-critical
locations or on secondary lines. But as the heavy haul operators
have found (p25), in high performance situations only the best
materials will do. And even then there is no guarantee that
these will not fail eventually, despite the very best attention to
both the quality of manufacturing and regular maintenance.
That is why there has been such an emphasis in recent years on
Chris Jackson COMMENT
continuous monitoring of asset condition and a move towards
predictive maintenance, identifying and changing failing com-
ponents before they actually break in service.
Several heavy haul operators are now deploying machine
vision systems and advanced algorithms to monitor vehicle
and track components and identify a host of possible faults
before they can impact on operations. The next step now be-
ing explored is the addition of artificial intelligence, so that
the monitoring systems can ‘learn’ more about the equipment
being supervised and the many potential failure modes.
Our latest Industry Watch survey (p70) finds that both
railways and suppliers need to do more to raise awareness of
life-cycle costs and smarter procurement. Many railway assets
— both infrastructure and rolling stock — have lives running
into decades, which means that ongoing maintenance will
typically account for a greater proportion of total cost than
the initial capital outlay. Some suppliers have developed quite
sophisticated modelling tools to demonstrate how higher in-
vestment in quality components up front can deliver signifi-
cant savings over the longer term.
A major reduction in LCC is one of the three fundamen-
tal objectives behind the European Shift2Rail research pro-
gramme, and various projects are already underway. However,
our survey respondents feel much remains to be done to in-
culcate an LCC culture into traditionally conservative railway
organisations and their political decision makers. And that in
turn requires a better understanding of all the factors involved.
A welcome development has been the adoption by the
European Union of the MEAT principle for public sector
procurement. Allowing companies to select the Most Eco-
nomically-Advantageous Tender means contracts do not have
to be awarded on the basis of lowest first cost, but can take ac-
count of other factors including life-cycle cost, maintainabil-
ity, compatibility, or even stimulating local economic activity.
However, LCC-based procurement assumes that the rail-
way or infrastructure manager has the financial headroom to
cover the higher first cost. That is better managed within a
multi-year spending plan rather than a series of annual budg-
ets which can fluctuate wildly as a result of external economic
and political factors.
Have The impact on customers and reputational damage from
your say
the premature failure of cheap substitute components is per-
email us at
haps not the most obvious element to build into an LCC
editor@
railwaygazette.
calculation. But it is certainly something that needs to be
com considered in the never-ending search for improved efficiency
and better performance.  n
4 October 2017 | Railway Gazette International

CONTENTS

Volume 173 No 10 | October 2017

49
PASSENGER TRAINS SCANDINAVIA ITALY
Rhein-Ruhr Express Nordic Rail Expo Ferroviaria
The first Desiro HC EMUs Record funding supports RFI invests to upgrade
to operate RRX services start Trafikverket’s 12-year north-south and east-west
test running in Germany investment plan corridors
PAGE 31 PAGE 44 PAGE 56

www.railwaygazette.com October 2017

Railway Gazette International October 2017

Milano-based Greenrail produces

railway sleepers using secondary raw
materials, produced from a blend of
rubber collected from used tyres and
plastic from urban waste. A start-up
spun out of Politecnico di Milano, the
company has licensed its product for
use around the world.

CONTACT US
Railway Gazette International
7th Floor, Chancery House,
St Nicholas Way, Sutton,
SM1 1JB, Great Britain

Tel +44 20 8652 5200

Fax +44 20 8652 5210
editor@railwaygazette.com

See p69 for full details

www.facebook.com/
railwaygazette

@railwaygazette

Annual subscription in USA $275.

Railway Gazette International, ISSN

Number 0373-5346, is published monthly
by DVV Media UK Ltd, 7th Floor, Chancery
House, St Nicholas Way, Sutton, SM1 1JB,
United Kingdom. Airfreight and mailing
in the USA by agent named Worldnet
Shipping Inc., 156-15, 146th Avenue, 2nd
Floor, Jamaica, NY 11434, USA.

Periodicals postage paid at Jamaica

NY 11431.

US Postmaster: Send address changes to

Railway Gazette International, Worldnet
Shipping Inc., 156-15, 146th Avenue, 2nd
Floor, Jamaica, NY 11434, USA

Subscription records are maintained

at DVV Media UK Ltd, 7th Floor, Chancery

7 62
House, St Nicholas Way, Sutton, SM1 1JB,
United Kingdom.

Worldnet is acting as our mailing agent.

Railway Gazette International | October 2017 5
22
COMMENT
3 The cost of quality
INTELLIGENCE
7 Main Line  |  Indian high speed line
launched, Smart inaugurated, ’Akko –
Karmi’el opens
15 Urban Rail  |  Wien U-Bahn buys
driverless trains, Lucknow metro opens
18 Market  |  Contracts & Tenders
21 Industry  |  Progress Rail and Seeing
Machines agree driver monitoring
partnership, CRRC opens office in
Tel Aviv
22 Innovations   |  Road-rail shunting
robot launched, DuPont develops
disposable coveralls
25 Analysis  |  DB seeks its digital
direction, Canada’s missing links,
complex relationships overshadow
Thai investment
PASSENGER ROLLING STOCK
31 RRX trains are ready to roll  |  Testing
25
of the Siemens Desiro HC high-capacity
EMUs to operate the Rhein-Ruhr-
Express is now underway. Dr Harry
Hondius reports from Wildenrath
37 Lastochka Premium takes centre
stage  |  Toma Bačić describes the
passenger vehicles on display at
this year’s Expo 1520 trade show in
Moscow
40 Scottish hotel train fleet on
test  |  Now undergoing trials at Velim
in the Czech Republic is the first
batch of cars being built to replace
rolling stock on Anglo-Scottish
overnight services
31
42 Elf2 enters the fray  |  Pesa’s first
Elf2 EMU entered service in Katowice
last month
SCANDINAVIA
44 Future-proofing Sweden’s rail
sector  |  As Trafikverket’s 12-year plan
goes out to consultation, Astoc CEO
Björn Westerberg argues that more
investment is needed
49 Learning lessons from a national
ETCS roll-out  |  Denmark’s national
Signalling Programme is yielding
CONTENTS
important experience that could
inform digital railway investment in
other countries
52 Reducing noise and optimising
maintenance  |  Nordic railway
infrastructure managers are making
more use of under-sleeper pads
54 Compact lights keep locos bright
at night  |  Harting has designed
bespoke lights for the Nordic variant
of the Siemens Vectron electric
locomotive
SPOTLIGHT ITALY
56 Upgrading the Adriatic
Corridor  |  Work is in progress to
enhance the busy 800 km railway
along Italy’s Adriatic coast
59 Southern upgrades move
ahead  |  Reconstruction of the Napoli
– Bari route to raise speeds and add
capacity is advancing steadily with
contracts let this year for work at the
western end of the line
62 Northern high speed network
nears completion  |  Work is in hand to
complete the final stages of Italy’s Alta
Velocità/Alta Capacità network
63 Pigneto interchange under
construction  |  A large main line,
metro and light rail hub is being built
in the Pigneto district of Roma
64 Intercity performance contract
signed  |  Trenitalia has a 10-year
agreement with the government
to retain and improve the existing
network of Intercity day and night
trains
FORUM
66 People  |  Ahlburg to succeed
Spuhler as Stadler CEO, Trenitalia
management reshuffle
67 Research & Skills  |  Short line
hazardous materials academy to
be established, FS and UIC discuss
cybersecurity risks
68 Sidetrack | Dieter
69 Diary & Contact
70 Industry Watch  |  Our survey
respondents suggest that more work
is needed by suppliers, operators and
independent advisors to emphasise the
importance of life-cycle cost oriented
procurement
 THREE FAIRS
ONE MEETING
PLACE
SEE TH
WHOLEE
JÖNKÖPING,
10–12
CONFE OCTOBER
PROGRRENCE
A N D RE A M M E
GIS
ONLINE TER
2017
!

HALFWAY TO THE FUTURE

You will find everything about the transport and infrastructure
of the future gathered in one place in October when the entire
industry meets at Elmia in Jönköping, Sweden.

VISIONS & TECHNOLOGY LIVE CRASH TESTS!

CONDITIONS & POLICIES OVER 350 SWEDISH AND
LOGISTICS & TRANSPORT INTERNATIONAL EXHIBITORS
DEALS AND PROJECTS

ELMIA FUTURE TRANSPORT, ELMIA NORDIC RAIL & ELMIA NORDIC ROAD

elmia.se/futuretransport
elmia.se/nordicrail
elmia.se/nordicroad
Railway Gazette International | October 2017 7

Main Line INTELLIGENCE

INDIA NEWS IN BRIEF

High speed Hamburg-Köln-Express is to suspend
its open access passenger service from

project
October 4 until the December 10
timetable change. The company said
the two-month break in the off-peak

launched
season would be used ‘to better adapt
HKX to customer needs’ and develop
an attractive product for 2018.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his
Digital ticket retailer Trainline
Japanese counterpart Shinzo Abe at- launched its Price Predictor tool on
tended a groundbreaking ceremony at Abe said Japan would co-operate with infrastructure development September 6. Intended to predict
Sabarmarti in Ahmedabad on Septem- in India at both the public and private sector levels, ‘combining the movements in the price of quota-
ber 14 to officially launch India’s first technology of Japan with the human resources of India’ in a ‘win-win controlled Advance tickets in the
co-operation’. He said high speed rail had ‘signalled the start of rapid weeks before a chosen travel date,
high speed rail project. economic growth in Japan’, and he hoped the Indian project would the tool uses historical data patterns
The planned 508  km Mumbai – ‘act as a catalyst for realising further growth in India.’ to anticipate price changes. ‘Our data
Ahmedabad line is to use Japanese scientists have used historical pricing
Shinkansen technology including 1  435  mm for limited stop services calling at Surat and Va- trends from billions of customer
gauge tracks. The alignment with a design speed dodara and 2 h 58 min for stopping services, com- journey searches to predict when
of 350 km/h and an operating speed of 320 km/h pared to a current travel time of 7 to 8 h. the price of an Advance ticket will
expire’, says Jon Moore, Chief Product
would be elevated, apart from a 21  km under- Completion is planned by December 2023, but Officer at Trainline. ‘We now share
ground section north of Mumbai including a 7 km MOR said ‘all-out efforts’ would be made to finish this information in our app to allow
undersea tunnel. the line by August 15 2022, the 75th anniversary our customers to get the best price
There would be an underground station at of independence. possible for their journey.’
Mumbai, and elevated stations at Thane, Virar, The total cost of the project is estimated at
On September 7 Ontario’s municipal
Boisar, Vapi, Bilimora, Surat, Bharuch, Vadodara, Rs1 080bn, with 81% to be financed by a Japanese pension fund Omers and Ontario
Anand, Ahmedabad and Sabarmati. soft loan at 0·1% per annum with repayment over Teachers’ Pension Plan completed
Services are to be operated using a 10-car vari- 50 years, including a 15-year grace period. the sale of the UK’s High Speed 1
ant of JR East’s Series E5 Shinkansen trainset, MOR said India was getting the loan ‘at almost operation and maintenance concession
with Indian Railways expecting to order an initial zero cost without putting any strain on existing fi- to a consortium of HICL Infrastructure,
funds managed by Equitix Investment
25 trainsets for Rs50bn. nancial resources available with the country’, which Management Ltd and third party funds
The Ministry of Railways said India would compared favourably with a loan from an agency managed by InfraRed Capital Partners.
‘leapfrog to the cutting edge of latest train de- such as the World Bank which would cost ‘about 5%
velopments’, offering a journey time of 2 h 7 min to 7% with a repayment period of 25 to 35 years’.  n At a cost of 70m pesos, Trenes
Argentinos Infraestructura has
completed the refurbishment of
González Catán and Ingeniero
SWITZERLAND Castello stations on the Belgrano Sur

St Moritz rebuilt
commuter network in Buenos Aires.

A train broke through a polystyrene barrier on Au- Tracklaying has been completed on the
343 km Harbin – Jiamusi passenger-
gust 26 to mark the completion of a SFr66m pro- dedicated line in China’s Heilongjiang
ject to rebuild Rhätische Bahn’s St Moritz station. province. Designed for trains to run at
Over 1 million passengers a year pass through 200 km/h, the line with 14 stations is
the station, which now meets the latest national expected to open in June 2018.
accessibility regulations. With five covered plat-
RZD Logistics and the Russian Export
form tracks, the station provides interchange Centre launched an intermodal service
with local bus services. There are also four spaces on September 13 linking Vorsino in
for tour coaches connecting with Bernina Express Russia with Chengdu via Mongolia.
or Glacier Express services.  n The initial outbound train of 41 40 ft
containers carried baked goods for
Obyedinennye Konditery. According
to RZD Logistics, the timetable has
been designed to ensure no empty
SOUTH AFRICA wagons are moved in either direction.

Gautrain stakes to be sold Kazakhstan’s national railway KTZ is

Engineering and construction services company
Murray & Roberts announced on August 22 that
it had signed a memorandum of understanding to
acquire the 8·5% stakes in Gautrain concession-
aire Bombela Concession Co held by Bouygues
Travaux Publics and Bombardier Transportation
in a deal worth a total of R405m. Completion was
subject to regulatory approval.
MRL originally held a 25% stake in the concession
to design, partly finance, build, operate and maintain
the Gautrain network, which it increased to 33%
in 2011. Bouygues and Bombardier Transportation
have now decided to divest their holdings.
MRL said its investment in BCC provides
‘strong returns in the short to medium term’, ex-
plaining that the acquisition formed part of a
broader capital allocation strategy.
The other Bombela shareholders are black eco-
nomic empowerment company Strategic Partners
Group, and financial services, healthcare, IT and
industrial investor J&J Group.
Bombardier told Railway Gazette it was ‘con-
stantly optimising’ its portfolio, and remained
‘committed’ to the South African rail market.  n
implementing a capacity optimisation
plan which will see the containers
from three Chinese 1 435 mm gauge
intermodal trains arriving at the
Dostyk border crossing being loaded
on two trains for the 1 520 mm gauge
leg to the Polish border. The Chinese
trains carry 41 containers, but the
ex-Soviet broad gauge network can
handle trains of 62 containers.
Launceston City Council has approved
Toll Group’s plans for a A$20m
transport hub which would increase
its use of Tasmania’s railways.
8 October 2017 | Railway Gazette International
INTELLIGENCE Main Line
EUROPE
Powered up
Completion of 25 kV 50 Hz electrification
between Minsk and Vilnius was marked
with a ceremony on September 16.
Electrification of the final 111 km
began in September 2015. Work on the
84 km Belarusian section between Mal-
adzyechna and the border was under-
taken by Belarus Railways and China
United Engineering Corp, with 85%
of the US$72m cost financed by a loan
from China EximBank.
Electric passenger services are sched-
uled to start on December 10, with the
journey time being reduced by 40 to
45  min. Belarus Railways plans to de-
ploy its Stadler Flirt EMUs, while Lith-
uania’s LG will use Škoda Transporta-
tion Class 575 double-deck EMUs.
LG plans to begin electric operation
on the Vilnius bypass in 2018, and to ex-
tend electrification to Klaipeda in 2020
and Kaliningrad in 2021.   n
Electrification is expected to increase cross-
border freight capacity by 40% to 60%.
UK
HS2 stations
The process to appoint the Construction
Partners for High Speed 2’s London
Euston and Old Oak Common stations
has been launched by project promoter
HS2 Ltd, which expects to issue invita-
tions to tender by the end of the year
and award contracts in late 2018.
The Construction Partners would work
with the station designers and the Euston
Master Development Partner which are
being appointed under a separate process.
‘We’re looking for the best the con-
struction industry has to offer’, said
HS2 Ltd Chief Executive Mark Thurs-
ton on August 29. ‘Together we will
create two iconic stations; gateways to
the capital and to the nation that local
communities and the travelling public
can be proud to call their own.’
Market engagement has begun for
the two Birmingham stations which
have shorter lead-in times. Procurement
of these is expected to begin in early
2018 for contract award in 2020.  n
ISRAEL
’Akko – Karmi’el
line opens
Revenue operation on Israel Railways’
’Akko – Karmi’el line began on Sep-
tember 20, following a ceremonial inau-
guration on September 5.
The 23  km branch was built by Is-
rael Roads Ltd at a cost of US$785m,
with General Manager Nissim Peretz
describing it as a complex engineering
The ’Akko – Karmi’el line was officially inaugurated by Prime Minister
project including a 4·7  km twin-bore Benjamin Netanyahu, Transport Minister Israel Katz and ISR General
tunnel under Mount Gilon. There is one Manager Shahar Ayalon on September 5.
intermediate station at Ahihud, provi-
sion for the future installation of 25  kV 50  Hz – Jerusalem Malkha service has been split at Beit
electrification. Shemesh, allowing the Flexliner IC3 DMUs to be
In conjunction with the start of regular opera- replaced by double-deck push-pull sets providing
tions, ISR introduced a revised national timetable additional capacity. Services on the 60 km Valley
on September 20 which provides additional ser- line will begin calling at the new Haifa Hamifratz
vices on several routes. The Herzliyya – Tel Aviv Central station when it opens in 2018.  n
EUROPE
Torino services extended into France
Trenitalia-operated regional trains reached the as well as with the MobiSavoie network of bus
French alpine town of Modane for the first time routes which are focused on local tourism.
in a decade on September 10, in what the region- SFM3 is one of eight suburban and regional
al authorities in both France and Italy hope will routes radiating from Torino that operate under
mark the start of a renaissance in cross-border the Servizio Ferroviario Metropolitana brand
rail provision. introduced in 2012 (RG 6.16 p56). Managed
Initially, regional trains on route SFM3 be- through a multilateral partnership between the
tween Torino and Bardonecchia are being ex- Piemonte region, the city of Torino, national pas-
tended through the Frejus Tunnel to Modane on senger operator Trenitalia and municipal trans-
Sundays and public holidays. Currently the only port company GTT, the SFM network is intend-
passenger service between Torino and Modane ed to deliver an intensive service with clockface
is SNCF’s three times per day TGV service be- timetabling, multimodal ticketing provision and
tween Milano and Paris. a clear brand identity which exploits substantial
According to SFM, the timetable for the Mo- infrastructure investment over the past decade,
dane trains is designed to facilitate connections notably the cross-city Passante which serves the
with SNCF regional services towards Chambery, redeveloped station at Torino Porta Susa.   n
USA NORWAY
Virginia route upgrading Bergen tunnel
moves forward A ceremony in the suburb of Fløen on
The US Federal Railroad Administration has completed a August 29 marked the breakthrough of
Tier II Draft Environmental Impact Statement for a capacity the 7·8 km Ulriken tunnel.
and speed enhancement programme on the 197 km corridor The bore will complement an existing
south from Washington DC to Richmond, Virginia. single track tunnel, and it is expected to
The railway is owned by Class I freight railroad CSX, but see its first trains in 2020. Excavation
it is also an important passenger corridor, handling Amtrak began in the town of Arna in January
trains to and from New York and Virginia Rail Express com- 2016, and the next step in the construc-
muter services. tion phase requires the boring of 16
The upgrading proposals are being developed by FRA with cross-passages to link the new align-
the Virginia Department of Rail & Public Transportation. ment with the existing tunnel.
They are provisionally costed at $5bn at 2025 prices, although The tunnel work is part of a wider
no funding mechanism has yet been agreed. The enhancement upgrading programme worth NKr22bn
is intended to reduce capacity constraints, improve speeds and on the Oslo – Bergen corridor being
punctuality, and accommodate forecast growth in the number co-ordinated by infrastructure manager
of passenger and freight trains.   n Bane NOR.  n
10 October 2017 | Railway Gazette International

INTELLIGENCE Main Line

GREECE BANGLADESH

Trainose sold Coach order and new line

Italian state railway group FS Itali-
ane completed its €45m acquisition of
Greek national operator Trainose on
September 14.
Privatisation agency Hradf named
FS as preferred bidder in July 2016.
Russian Railways and infrastructure
and mining group Gek Terna had also
expressed interest, but FS submitted
the only binding offer. A share pur-
chase agreement was signed on January
18, but completion was subject to EU
approval of financial support for the re-
structuring of Trainose and infrastruc-
ture manager OSE.
‘Today’s closing is another important
step for the international growth of the
FS Group, as anticipated in the 2017-
26 business plan’, said CEO Renato
Mazzoncini.
FS sees significant potential for devel-
oping freight traffic to central Europe.
In 2016 Trainose carried 15·6 million
passenger-journeys, of which 10·1 mil-
lion were on suburban services, and 1·1
million tonnes of freight. This generated
revenue of €120m and a profit of €3·3m,
and FS said Trainose had achieved ‘fi-
nancial equilibrium’ since 2013. The op-
erator has 672 employees, leases around
1 160 vehicles, and operates around 350
trains per day.
Mazzoncini said FS was ‘evolving
into a major European mobility player’.
It was ‘already one of the leading op-
erators in the rail passenger and freight
market as well as in local public trans-
port’, being ‘first in Italy and Greece,
second in Germany, and we also oper-
ate with subsidiaries in Great Britain,
France and the Netherlands’ (p66).
International activities account for
15% of revenues, Mazzoncini said, and
the target is for international turnover
to grow from €1bn to €4bn by 2026.  n
A contract for Indonesian company PT Inka to in 2006, 2015 and 2016.
supply Bangladesh Railways with 200 coaches Separately, on September 16 China Railway
was signed on September 14, and was followed Group, China Civil Engineering Construction
two days later by the finalisation of a joint ven- Corp and local companies Toma Construction
ture agreement for the construction of a new line. Co and MAX International signed a joint ven-
The 5·8bn taka coach contract is being financed ture agreement to build a 102 km dual-gauge line
by Indonesia Eximbank. Deliveries of the metre- from  Dohazar near Chittagong to Cox’s Bazar and
gauge stainless steel vehicles with roof-mounted Gundum on the border with Myanmar. The project
air-conditioning are scheduled to run from May is being partially funded by a loan signed by the
2019 until mid-2020. PT Inka had previously Asian Development Bank and the government in
supplied coaches to BR under contracts awarded June, and is scheduled for competion in 2022.  n
AUSTRALIA
‘Held to account’
in new contract
Metro Trains Melbourne is to con-
tinue to operate and maintain the city’s
suburban rail network under a new
contract, Victoria’s Minister for Public
Transport Jacinta Allan announced on
September 12.
The joint venture of MTR Corp
(60%), John Holland Group (20%) and The Evolution Rail consortium of Plenary, CRRC Changchun Railway
UGL Rail Services (20%) has operated Vehicles and Downer Group has unveiled a mock-up of the 65 High
Capacity EMUs that it to supply for use in Melbourne from mid-2019.
the 390 km network since 2009 under The EMUs are based on CRRC’s Type A design and are being built at
a contract which gave it the right to Downer’s Newport facility in western Melbourne.
exclusive negotiations for the next con-
tract. The new deal will not include a similar clause. spending, and MTM faces a A$10m penalty if it
The next contract runs for seven years from No- does not achieve higher maintenance standards in
vember 30 2017, with an option for up to three the first 2½ years. MTM would be penalised up to
years. It includes additional services, cleaner trains A$700 000 to compensate passengers if a network
and stations, a ‘crackdown on operational practices failure results in more than 50% of services being
such as city loop and station skipping’, ‘more timely cancelled or delayed by 30 min or more within a
and accurate’ passenger information, no ‘overbear- 2 h period.
ing and in your face advertising’ at stations and on ‘We have listened to passengers, staff and unions
trains, higher performance requirements. There so that these new contracts hold MTM to account
will be a 37% increase in maintenance and renewal in delivering’, said Allan.  n
POLAND

EGYPT
Freight reform
EBRD has invited expressions of in-
terest in a contract to assist Egyptian
National Railways with the planned
conversion of its freight business into
a stand-alone subsidiary operating
through commercial relationships with
the remainder of ENR.
Phase 1 would establish a track access
charging regime and and propose a legal
framework, structure and strategy.
Phase 2 would assist ENR in the estab-
lishment of Freightco, develop relation-
ships with the remainder of ENR and
prepare a three-year business plan.  n
Arriva secures open access paths
Polish rail regulator UTK has granted Arriva RP
paths for the operation of open access passenger
services on several routes.
Arriva RP has secured paths until December 11
2021 for its existing summer-only seasonal service
from Bydgoszcz Główna to Hel and a shuttle ser-
vice along the Hel peninsula.
The DB subsidiary has also secured seven paths
for the phased introduction of new services, start-
ing with the operation of a Szczecin Niebuszewo
– Olsztyn service between September 1 2018
and August 31 2023, and a Wejherowo – Kielce
Białogon service from December 10 2018 to De-
cember 9 2023.
Arriva RP plans to operate a Łódź Fabryczna
– Szczecin Niebuszewo service from September
1 2019 to August 31 2024, as well as a Wrocław –
Zielona Góra – Szczecin Niebuszewo service. Paths
for Wejherowo – Katowice, Łódź – Chełm and We-
jherowo – Chełm services have been secured from
December 14 2019 to December 13 2025.
However, UTK declined Arriva RP’s application
for paths from Warszawa Wschodnia to Poznań,
Kraków and Łódź, as the regulator felt these would
replicate subsidised services operated under pub-
lic service obligation contracts. An application for
Wrocław – Poznań – Szczecin Niebuszewo train
paths was rejected owing to modernisation works
limiting the available capacity on the route.
Arriva plans to appeal against the rejections, as it
believes the routes are necessary to ensure a coher-
ent network.  n
Railway Gazette International | October 2017 11

Main Line INTELLIGENCE

USA NEWS IN BRIEF

Smart opens Rhätische Bahn and Matterhorn
Gotthard Bahn have established
Celebrations on August 25 marked the Glacier Express AG as a 50:50 joint
venture to develop the service over
opening of the Sonoma-Marin Area the next few years. Additional Chur
Rail Transit District commuter line in – Brig trains are to be introduced this
the North Bay area of California. year to accommodate rising demand,
Smart runs for 69  km from So- and renewal of the panorama cars is
noma County Airport to San Rafael, envisaged from 2020.
and initially has 10 stations. The in- The UK’s replacement South
frastructure has been built by a joint Western franchise, awarded to a
venture of Stacy & Witbeck and Her- joint venture of FirstGroup and MTR
zog using a partially-disused railway Europe, was ceremonially launched on
alignment. September 4. The seven-year franchise
T-shirts and free travel were offered on the first day, followed by half- had begun on August 20, but the
There are 34 weekday and 10 week- price travel until the introduction of normal fares on September 5. formal lauch was held back until the
end trips, operated using a fleet of 11 completion of platform extension
two-car diesel multiple-units supplied by Sumi- Transit, Santa Rosa CityBus and Sonoma County works at London Waterloo.
tomo and Nippon Sharyo. The 127 km/h DMUs Transit services.
have Cummins engines, a capacity of 300 pas- In June Stacy & Witbeck and Herzog were Mazowieckie voivodship is to directly
award Koleje Mazowieckie and WKD
sengers, 2+2 seating, free wi-fi, an Americans with awarded a $36·3m contract to build a 3·5 km ex- contracts to continue to operating
Disabilities Act-compliant toilet and space for up tension from San Rafael to Larkspur, connecting Warszawa regional passenger
to 24 bicycles. with ferries to San Francisco. This is expected to services through to the end of 2019.
Other local public transport services have been open in early 2019; at present Smart passengers
adjusted to co-ordinate with the trains; passen- can use connecting bus services free of charge. Kansas City Southern and
Bulkmatic Transport Company
gers receive transfer credits when connecting with An extension north to Cloverdale is also planned, has signed a memorandum of
Golden Gate Transit, Marin Transit, Petaluma taking the route to 110 km.  n understanding to form a 50:50 joint
venture which would facilitate and
expand the export of liquid fuel from
INTERNATIONAL the USA to Mexico.

Roar into action In conjunction with Colombia’s

infrastructure agency ANI and freight
Hong Kong-based supply chain company Tigers operator Fenoco, Holdtrade Atlántico
has launched Tiger Rail, offering a 16-day tran- has operated a trial service to the
sit between Duisburg in Germany and 15 des- port of Santa Marta comprising
eight wagons carrying six containers,
tinations in China including Hefei, Chongqing bagged fertiliser and steel wire.
and Chengdu. Holdtrade hopes to begin regular
Customers can charter a train, or book full- operations to the port next year,
container-load or less-than-container-load once the 118bn pesos programme to
shipments onto weekly scheduled services. The rehabilitate the 522 km La Dorada –
Chirguaná route is completed.
company is also planning to introduce a ‘cost-
effective’ business-to-consumer parcels service. Short line group Patriot Rail has
Track and trace is offered through Tigers’ Tiger announced a ‘combination’ with
Trax platform.  n Diversified Port Holdings, which
operates eight breakbulk, bulk,
and heavy lift terminals and two
container, roll-on/roll-off and lift–on/
lift-off terminals on the US Gulf and
AUSTRALIA Atlantic coasts.

Budget backs rail growth Belgian freight operator Lineas has

The Western Australian government has allocated
A$1·4bn for rail investment as part of its 2017-18
budget announced on September 8. The bulk of the
money is destined for the Metronet programme to
expand and upgrade the Perth suburban rail net-
work over the next four years. This includes fed-
eral funding reallocated following the cancellation
of the Perth Freight Link toll road project, and
A$105m to be raised through additional land sales
and ‘a new value-capture method’.
The budget provides A$406·5m for the Forrest-
field-Airport Link which is under construction
for opening by the end of 2020. Another A$423m
has been allocated for the Thornlie – Cockburn
cross-suburbs connection, which is currently
budgeted at A$536m, and A$441m towards the
A$520m northern extension of the Joondalup line
to Yanchep.
The government is providing A$70m for level
crossing removal, and A$28·2m for relocation of
the station at Midland, paving the way for a future
extension to Bellevue. A$22·1m has been allowed
to support planning of the future Byford extension
and the Morley – Ellenbrook line.
Another A$101·3m has been committed for
new and upgraded stations.
Funding for regional passenger services is also
included in the state budget, with A$32m allocated
under the Rail Future Fund to revitalise TransWA’s
Australind route between Perth and Bunbury in
the southwest. A new build of DMU cars for the
twice-daily service is likely to be piggybacked onto
a contract for 102 suburban EMU cars to be ac-
quired as part of the Metronet programme.  n
extended its GreenXpress network
of intensive wagonload services to
include the Austrian cities of Graz and
Wels.
Amtrak has begun the refurbishment
of the Amfleet I coaches which are
widely used on its Northeast Corridor
and Midwest inter-city services. The
$16m overhaul programme to be
carried out at eight depots across
the northeastern USA covers more
than 450 vehicles, with completion
planned for mid-2018. Materials are
being sourced from ‘approximately a
dozen’ domestic suppliers in 10 states,
including new seat cushions, carpets
and toilet flooring, LED reading lights,
enhanced wainscoting and bulkhead
design, new curtains in Business Class
and redesigned galleys.
12 October 2017 | Railway Gazette International

INTELLIGENCE Main Line

PORTUGAL

Service reinstated
Portuguese national operator CP reinstated a daily return
passenger service on the 141 km Eastern Line between En-
troncamento and the Spanish city of Badajoz on August 29,
using Allan diesel railcars built in the 1950s and refurbished
by EMEF at Contumil in the early 2000s.
Passenger services on the route had been withdrawn in Jan-
uary 2012 following the publication in 2011 of the then-gov-
ernment’s Sustainable Mobility: Horizon 2011-15 transport

Photo: Andre Pires

plan which recommended replacement by buses. While the
line remained open for freight, this left the Portalegre district
without any regional passenger rail services until September
2015, when an Entroncamento – Portalegre service began op- A rebuilt Allan diesel railcar operated by CP stands at Badajoz.
erating on Fridays and Sundays under an agreement between
CP, Infraestruturas de Portugal, the municipalities of Alter do Chão, The service to Badajoz has now been reintroduced after parliament
Ponte de Sor and Portalegre and the Alentejo Regional Co-ordination backed a proposal from one of the parties that supports the current gov-
& Development Commission. ernment and seeks to reverse rail closures.   n

SPAIN AFRICA

High speed to Extremadura Good times ahead

Spain’s Ministry of Development says
that it remains on course to open in
2019 the first section of the high speed
line between Madrid and Badajoz, in
the Extremadura region close to the
border with Portugal. With tracklaying
now in progress, the first section to enter
service with diesel traction would be the
177 km between Plasencia and Badajoz.
Electrification between Plasencia and
the Portuguese border would follow in
2020, according to the ministry. Infra-
structure manager ADIF has called ten-
ders for design work.
At the eastern end of the route, the
ministry has called tenders to undertake
KAZAKHSTAN
Subsidised services launched
Private company Turan Express has be-
gun operating local passenger services
from Kapshagai and Uzynagash to
Almaty on behalf of the city authority.
Following the failure of two privately
funded attempts to introduce services
on the Almaty – Kapshagai corridor,
the local authority called tenders for
the operation of a subsidised service in
the hope that it would reduce car travel.
An estimated 200 000 cars now enter
the city from surrounding settlements
every day. The five-year contract is
worth 354m tenge for the period from
the launch on August 16 until the end
of the year, and 3·4bn tenge in 2018-21.
Turan Express operates two trains each
way per day on each route. The 72  km
route from Kapshagai to Almaty-1 is
worked by a six-car DR1A DMU with
routing studies for a high speed align-
ment between Madrid and Oropesa.
To be produced within a year, the pre-
ferred alignment would then be put out
to public consultation and submitted
to the environment ministry for its ap-
proval during the fourth quarter of 2018.
In addition to revising work under-
taken in 2008, the study is to examine
options for enabling the new line to
serve Toledo, ‘to increase potential de-
mand’, as well as Talavera de la Reina.
It will also consider the infrastructure
works necessary in the Madrid area to
enable freight trains to use the high
speed line to Extremadura.  n
a journey time of around 1½h, while the
74 km from Kazbek-bek (Uzynagash) to
Almaty-2 is operated using a locomotive
and nine coaches offering a journey time
of around 2 h. The flat fare of 80 tenge
can be paid onboard the trains using
Onay payment cards.  n
Tanzania-Zambia Railway Authority and Zambia Railways
Ltd have signed an open access agreement intended to fa-
cilitate the seamless movement of freight trains across each
other’s infrastructure. Tazara hopes to gain an additional
200 000 tonnes of freight in the first year of the agreement.
‘In the past, Tazara and ZRL have collaborated in differ-
ent ways, through business agreements that have enabled the
operators’ respective wagons to cross into each other’s ter-
ritory’, said Tazara Managing Director Bruno Ching’andu
at the signing ceremony on August 17. ‘This time around,
however, the collaboration has gone a step further, now per-
mitting each operator to run locomotives and wagons alike
onto each other’s line, thereby smoothing the services.’
Ching’andu said performance at Tazara had ‘been in de-
cline for a long time’, with the ‘paltry’ 87 000 tonnes carried
in 2014-15 being the lowest figure in its history. However
it is a ‘now on a profound recovery trajectory’, with traffic
totalling 130 000 tonnes in 2015-16 and 170 000 tonnes in
2016-17. The 2017-18 target is 350 000 tonnes.
The open access agreement ‘signals the beginning of
good times ahead’, said ZRL CEO Christopher Muson-
da. He said the government of Zambia was introducing a
transport quota system which would require all bulk cargo
exceeding a certain tonnage to move from road to rail.  n
ARGENTINA
Capacity expansion
Inter-American Development Bank announced on August
24 that it had approved a US$400m 25-year loan to part fund
25 kV 50 Hz electrification of the 76 km San Martín com-
muter route in Buenos Aires.
The US$522m programme includes track renewals, res-
ignalling, new telecoms, construction of a depot at Playa de
Alianza and refurbishment of Pilar station.
The San Martín route recorded 51 million passenger-jour-
neys in 2016. The replacement of diesel by electric traction is
expected to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by between 20%
and 25%.  n
 WE MOVE
CITIES
BOMBARDIER is a trademark of Bombardier Inc. or its subsidiaries.

Our smart mobility solutions keep people moving - safely, quickly

and comfortably. In a rapidly changing environment we are
continuously creating better ways to move the world, expanding
and connecting cities, communities and cultures.

At Bombardier we move cities - together.

#WeMoveCities
 How are you planning to move it?

www.rollon.com

Linear solutions for railway applications:

linear and telescopic guides
robust and reliable.

Milan, Italy - October 3-5, 2017

Hall 2, Stand 183
Railway Gazette International | October 2017 15
SWITZERLAND
Work begins on
Limmattalbahn
President Doris Leuthard attended
a groundbreaking ceremony for the
Limmattalbahn light rail project at
Schlieren near Zürich on August 28.
Preparatory work began on August 2
for the first phase of the route, which
runs between Altstetten in Zürich and
Geissweid in Schlieren to the west of
the city. This is due to open at the end
of 2019.
Work is planned to start on the sec-
ond phase in autumn 2019. This would
extend the Limmattalbahn to Killwan-
gen-Spreitenbach, with opening envis-
aged at the end of 2022.
The entire 13·4 km metre-gauge route
with 27 stops would run along existing
roads. Around 92% of the route would
be on reserved track, which would per-
mit speeds up to 60 km/h.
The new line is being developed by
Limmattalbahn AG, which is jointly
owned by the cantons of Zürich and
Aargau. The two cantons are financing
the project, with Zürich contributing
the larger share. Around one-third of
the SFr755m cost (excluding rolling
stock) is being covered by the federal
government. BDWM Transport will
operate the line for the first 10 years.  n
USA
Clearing house for
joint procurement
The Federal Transit Administration has
launched a Joint Procurement Clear-
inghouse where transport agencies can
share information about their rail vehi-
cle, bus and ferry requirements.
A requirement of the  Fixing Amer-
ica’s Surface Transportation Act, the
clearing house is intended to help agen-
cies find partners who are interested in
pooling resources to achieve economies
of scale through the joint purchases.
FTA believes that this will be particu-
larly useful for smaller organisations.
The forum is open to recipients who
engage with and receive assistance from
FTA, and is accessed through the TrAMS
federal grant award platform.  n
Urban Rail INTELLIGENCE
AUSTRIA
Wien automated
U-Bahn fleet
Wiener Linien has selected Siemens as
preferred bidder for a contract to sup-
ply and maintain trainsets for the future
Wien metro Line U5, which would be
the capital’s first fully automatic line.
A firm order is expected to be signed
later this year for 34 trainsets to be A ceremony on September 2 marked the opening of a 4·6 km southern
delivered from Siemens’ plant in the extension of Wien metro Line U1 to Oberlaa.
city for testing from 2020. Options
for a further 11 trainsets would take the overall driver to enable them to replace older vehicles on
value to €550m, of which around 30% would be lines U1, U2, U3 and U4.
for maintenance to be undertaken by Wiener Meanwhile, Kiepe Electric and IFE are refur-
Linien staff on behalf of, and at the risk of, the bishing 78 Bombardier Type T low-floor vehicles
manufacturer. in service on Line U6. The project is intended to
The trainsets would have walk-through and ensure another 20 years of operational service for
step-free interiors with air-conditioning and the vehicles. TÜV is providing certification servic-
CCTV. Although running in driverless mode on es for the refurbishment, which is due to be com-
U5, they would also be suitable for control by a pleted by the end of 2019.  n
TAIWAN
Ankeng signalling contract
China Steel Corp has awarded Thales a contract to Erbazi Botanical Garden. It is scheduled to
to supply signalling for the Ankeng light rail pro- open in early 2022.
ject in New Taipei City. In addition to signalling, Thales is to supply
Being developed by the New Taipei City De- communications, automatic vehicle location,
partment of Rapid Transit Systems, the 7·5 km priority management at road crossings, a public
route with nine stops will run on a mix of el- address system, a passenger information system,
evated and at-grade alignment southwest from CCTV, Scada equipment and an operations
Shisizhang station on the future Circular Line, control centre.  n
SINGAPORE
SMRT to run Thomson-East Coast line
Land Transport Authority has selected SMRT for at stations and the sale of advertising. These rights
the initial contract to operate and maintain the are to be tendered separately by LTA next year.  n
Thomson-East Coast Line.
Running from Woodlands in the north to Sun- LTA has awarded the first three civil works
gai Bedok in the east, the 43 km L-shaped route
serving 31 stations is expected to open in phases
contracts for the 4 km Circle Line 6 project, which
will close the Circle Line loop by connecting
between 2019 and 2024. HarbourFront and Marina Bay stations.
Valued at S$1·7bn, the SMRT bid is reported to be Construction is expected to commence by the end
around 30% lower than that submitted by Comfort- of 2017 for completion by 2025.
A S$314m contract for construction of the
DelGro subsidiary SBS Transit, which operates the two-level underground station located south of
North-East and Downtown lines. SMRT also scored Keppel Road next to the Keppel Terminal has
higher on the quality criteria, according to LTA. been awarded to a joint venture of China State
The TEL operating contract will start in 2019 Construction Engineering Corp and Nishimatsu
and run for nine years. It is the first to be tendered Construction Co.
by LTA with a contractual penalty and bonus re- A S$225m contract for construction of cut-and-
cover tunnels between the future CCL6 Prince
gime to incentivise the operator to improve per- Edward station and the existing CCL Marina
formance, service reliability, customer satisfaction, Bay station has been awarded to Koh Brothers
and maintenance. If the operator fails to meet the Building & Civil Engineering.
key performance indicators, its contract payments Woh Hup has been awarded a S$1·21bn
will be reduced. contract to extend Kim Chuan Depot, almost
Unlike the earlier lines, the TEL conces- doubling its capacity from 70 to 133 trains. The
integrated depot will also house 550 buses to
sion does not include the rights to raise non-fare
optimise land use.
revenue through the renting of commercial space
16 October 2017 | Railway Gazette International
INTELLIGENCE Urban Rail
NEWS IN BRIEF
Philippine National Economic &
Development Authority has approved
a 25 km metro line linking Mindanao
Avenue in Quezon City with Manila
International Airport. The 355·5bn peso
project has a target completion date of
2025 and would be financed by Japan
International Co-operation Agency.
A 2·8 km extension of São Paulo
metro Line 5 between Adolfo Pinheiro
and Brooklin opened on September 6.
A southeastern extension of Shiraz
metro Line 1 was inaugurated on
August 22. The 10·5 km extension
runs from Vali-e Asr to Shahid
Dastgheyb. Intermediate stations are
open at Fazilat and Shahid Doran,
with five more due to open later.
The UK Department for Transport
is to provide £59·8m towards the
construction of the Edgbaston
extension of the Midland Metro tram
route in Birmingham, meaning the
£149m project is now fully funded.
Bahia Governor Rui Costa opened
the latest phase of the Salvador
metro on September 11. The 7·5 km
extension of Line 2 takes the route
east from Pituaçu to Mussurunga,
adding four stations.
The Government of Québec will
contribute C$330m towards the
construction of a new depot on the
Montréal metro network, with
operator STM to provide the balance
of the C$440m cost. The underground
depot with space to stable 10 trainsets
will be built in four years at the Côte-
Vertu terminus of the Orange Line.
The first of eight Combino trams that
Siemens is lengthening returned to
Potsdam on September 7. Siemens is
producing two intermediate sections,
3 m and 7 m long, for eight trams
under a €50m project to lengthen the
five-section vehicles to 42 m.
Revenue service on a 700 m extension
of the Tallinn tram network to the
airport began on September 1. There
is an intermediate stop at Ülemiste
linnak, as well as a tunnel under the
railway and a main road. Construction
began in August 2016 and was
undertaken by Merko Ehitus and KMG
Insenerehituse, with the EU meeting
85% of the €11·5m cost.
The government has allocated HF4bn
for the construction of a 2 km tram
line to serve the Hungexpo exhibition
centre in Budapest.
Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank
is to provide US$500m towards the
estimated US$2·22bn cost of the
metro Line 4 project in Mumbai.
Incumbent RATP Dev has been
awarded a new contract to operate
and maintain the Casablanca tram
network for 12 years from December.
INDIA
Lucknow
inauguration
A ceremony marked the opening of the
Lucknow metro on September 5, with
passenger services starting the follow-
ing day. Services are operating between
06.00 and 22.00 on an initial 8·4  km
‘priority corridor’ between Transport
Nagar and Charbagh, serving eight sta-
tions. When complete, the city’s starter
Designed in Bangalore and manufactured at Sri City and Coimbatore,
line will connect Chaudhary Charan the 20 four-car Metropolis trainsets each have 186 seats arranged
Singh International Airport and Mun- longitudinally and two areas for passengers with reduced mobility.
shipulia. Three stations on a 3·4  km
section will be underground, with the remaining In 2015 Lucknow Metro Rail Corp awarded
19·4 km and 19 stations on an elevated alignment. Alstom a €150m contract to provide rolling stock
The project is being developed as a joint venture and signalling. Alstom’s factories in Bangalore
between the central government and the state of and Saint-Ouen in France are supplying Urbalis
Uttar Pradesh. CBTC signalling.  n
SOUTH KOREA
Seoul LRT opens
A ceremony on September 4 attend-
ed by Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon
marked the opening of the Ui-Sinseol
Light Rapid Transit line.
Running north from Sinseol-dong
to Ui-dong, the 11·4 km underground
line serves 13 stations. Interchanges
are provided with metro lines 1 and
2 at Sinseol-dong and with Line 4 at Sungshin two-car driverless trainsets from its Changwon
Women’s University. factory. The 28  m long trains will operate with
Hyundai Rotem has supplied a fleet of 18 staff on board for the first three years.  n
AUSTRALIA RUSSIA
Keolis Downer Moscow tramway
retains Melbourne growing again
The Victoria government has awarded
incumbent Keolis Downer the next con- A short extension of the Moscow tram network from Lesnaya
tract to operate the Yarra Trams network to the Belorusskaya railway and metro stations at Tverskaya
in Melbourne. Running for seven years Zastava square opened on September 9.
from November 30 2017. The current The 450 m extension is intended to significantly ease inter-
contract gave the operator the right to changing between surface transport and the metro. A turning
exclusive negotiations ahead of any ten- loop has been built as part of a redevelopment of the square,
dering, but the new deal will not include which is now served by 11 bus, trolleybus, tram, metro and
a similar clause. suburban rail routes. The whole project, including the rede-
The new contract includes the crea- velopment of the square, cost 74m roubles.
tion of more than 100 jobs, with an em- Around 17 000 passengers/day are expected to use the ex-
phasis on engineering and trades-based tension, increasing to 30 000 by the end of the year.
roles, as well as 70 apprenticeships and The extension is served every 3 to 4 min by tram routes 7
traineeships, growing to around 120 by and 9, which use Metrowagonmash/PK Transportnye Sys-
the end of the contract. Other improve- temy Vityaz-M 100% low-floor articulated trams. Route 7
ments cover availability, reliability, digi- offers a journey time of around 30 min between Beloruss-
tal information and accessibility, includ- kaya and the ‘three stations’ square which gives access to
ing introducing assisted boarding aids mainline trains at Leningradski, Kazanskaya and Yaroslavs-
on low-floor trams at level access stops kaya. This is slightly slower than the 20 min by metro, but
and the development of a best practice avoids the need to carry luggage up and down escalators
design guide for new stops.  n and stairs.  n
Railway Gazette International | October 2017 17

Urban Rail INTELLIGENCE

CHINA TURKEY

Chinese cities open more lines Izmir extension

Chengdu Shuangliu International Airport
gained a metro service on September 6 with the
opening of the first phase of Line 10, the city’s
first express metro line. The 10·1 km route runs
southwest from the Taipingyuan terminus of
Line 3 to the airport. The six stations include one
for each of the airport’s two terminals.
Services are operated with a fleet of six-car
Type A trainsets. Running at up to 100  km/h,
these offer an end-to-end journey time of 12 min.
The second phase would extend the line by
27 km to Xinping, with 10 stations. Opening of
this extension is scheduled for December 2020.
The fourth metro line in Kunming opened on
August 29. The 23·4  km east-west route serves
USA
20 stations between Western Hills Park and East
Coach Station via West Coach Station. Inter-
change is provided with Line 6 at East Coach
Station and with Line 2 at Dongfeng Square. In
the future, interchange with an extended Line 1
will be provided at Panjiwan.
The first domestically developed straddle mon-
orail to enter revenue service in China opened on
September 1 at the China Flower Expo Park in
Yinchuan. The 5·7 km route with eight stations
uses a fleet of seven three-car trainsets travelling
at up to 80 km/h. Each trainset has capacity for
170 passengers. The project was developed by
BYD. Yinchuan plans to build a 300 km mono-
rail network.  n
opens as Marmaray
trainset tested
Prime Minister Binali Yıldırım opened
a 17 km extension of Izmir’s Southern
Line suburban service from Tepeköy to
Selçuk on September 8.
The extension cost TL300m, of which
70% was covered by the national budg-
et, and makes use of a railway alignment
originally opened in the 1860s. There is
one intermediate station at Sağlık.
Services are operated by Izban, which
is owned 50:50 by national rail operator
TCDD Taşımacılık and Izmir Metro-
politan Municipality.
Meanwhile, on August 28 test run-
ning began with a Marmaray trainset
that has been transferred to Izmir. The

Maryland Purple Line

majority of the 440 Hyundai Rotem-
built Marmaray cars will not be re-
quired in Istanbul until work to upgrade
breaks ground suburban lines either side of the Bospo-
rus is completed, which is now expected
A groundbreaking ceremony for the at the end of 2018. If testing with the
Purple Line in Maryland took place on initial trainset is successful, six Marma-
August 28. The 25·7  km light rail line ray trainsets will be transferred to Izmir
with 21 stops is being built between to enable headways on the overcrowded
Bethesda and New Carrollton in the suburban services to be reduced from
northern suburbs of Washington DC. 10 min to 6 min.  n
The ceremony also included the sign-
ing of a $900m Full Funding Grant
Agreement from the Federal Transit
Administration’s Capital Investment
Grant Program.
In 2016 the Purple Line Transit Part-
The orbital light rail route will connect suburbs around Washington
ners consortium of Meridiam (70%), DC and provide interchange with Wmata metro services and MARC
Fluor Enterprises (15%) and Star commuter rail.
America (15%) was awarded a PPP
concession to design, build, finance, operate and consortium will provide 30 years of operations
maintain the Purple Line. and maintenance. Purple Line Transit Operators
The Purple Line Transit Constructors joint also includes Alternate Concepts and CAF USA,
venture led by Fluor Enterprises and including which is supplying a fleet of 26 five-section light
Izban services currently operate with a fleet
The Lane Construction Corp and Traylor Bros rail vehicles. Passenger service is scheduled to be- of 73 EMUs of two designs supplied by CAF
is the design-build contractor. Another Fluor-led gin in early 2022.  n (above) and Hyundai Rotem.

UICScan – innovative Data logging

and evaluation from rail vehicles
Benefits of the UICScan System • Logging of all relevant parameters
• Camera based automatic UIC • Combination with additional
number scan service systems
• Ready for immediate use, vehicles • Compatible with the Vogelsang
require no extra equipment VEBSys online real-time documen-
• Suitable for high drive-through tation system
speed
UICScan is manufactured by
Venite a trovarci a Expoferroviaria Prometheus GmbH & Co. KG,
Visit us on vogelsang.info
3-5 Ottobre Fiera Milano a subsidiary of
Pad. 2, Stand 257 Hugo Vogelsang
Maschinenbau GmbH
ENGINEERED TO WORK

RELIABLE AND ECONOMIC APPLIC ATION PL ANNING

Anz.Railway_UIC-Scan-Expo Ferroviaria_EN.indd 1 11.09.17 12:05

18 October 2017 | Railway Gazette International
INTELLIGENCE Market
ISRAEL
Electric arrival
The first of 62 Traxx AC electric
locomotives which Bombardier is
building at Kassel for Israel Railways
arrived at Kishon Port in Haifa on
August 28, and was then transported by
rail to ISR’s Kishon workshops.
ISR currently has no electrified lines,
but 25 kV 50 Hz overhead is being
installed on several routes. A section of
the A1 fast line to Jerusalem near the
Latrun monastery is due to be used for testing and the first test train comprising a Euro 4000 diesel
commissioning purposes. locomotive and a rake of loaded ballast hoppers ran
 As part of the A1 fast line construction project, from Tel Aviv to the Latrun bridge on August 20.  n
INFRASTRUCTURE
CANADA: The 4Transit joint venture
of Hatch, Parsons and WSP Canada
has been awarded a C$300m contract
to provide technical advisory services
for two packages within Metrolinx’s
Toronto RER programme.
HUNGARY: Contracts totalling
€235m have been awarded for mod-
ernisation of the northern section of
Budapest metro line M3 by 2020. Swi-
etelsky Vasúttechnika has a €156m con-
tract covering track renewals and tunnel
works, while Strabag Építőipari will
modernise six stations for €79m.
INDIA: Larsen & Toubro Construc-
tion has won a contract for trackwork
on Phase 1 of the Ahmedabad metro.
IRAN:  At the Expo 1520 fair in Mos-
cow (p37), Sinara Transport Machines
subsidiary Kalugaputmash signed a
€24m contract to supply contractor
Ferrotek Steel with 36 track machines
in 2018. Sinara also plans to establish a
servicing centre in Iran.
MALAYSIA: China Communications
Construction Corp has awarded HSS
Integrated a 16·5m ringgit design and
consultancy contract for the first 220 km
of the planned East Coast rail link.
MEXICO: Metro operator STC has
selected a consortium led by Consul-
toría Integral en Ingeniería for a 156m
pesos contract to undertake studies for
the extension of Line 9 from Tacubaya
to Observatorio. A group led by Ing-
eniería, Servicios y Sistemas Aplicados
will study the planned express rail ser-
vice to Mexico City’s new airport.
POLAND: PKP PLK has selected
Trakcja PRKiI for a 139m złoty deal to
upgrade lines from Szczecin to Gryfino,
Stargard Szczeciński and Goleniów to
carry suburban rail services.
A consortium of Siltor and KZN Rail
has begun work on a 40m złoty contract
to modernise the Gliwice Port freight
yard by the end of November 2018, in-
stalling new signalling and lengthening
sidings to 800 m.
Intercor has started work on a 62m
złoty contract to modernise Gdańsk
Główny station, raising platforms and
improving accessibility.
NDI, Balzola Polska and Construc-
ciones y Promociones Balzola are to
modernise 1·3 km of Tramwaje Śląskie
track in Sosnowiec for 20·6m złoty.
SWEDEN: TÜV Süd Danmark has
been selected to act as NoBo providing
safety management and TSI conform-
ity inspection for the Ostlänken high
speed line and Västlänken tunnel in
Göteborg.
THAILAND:  A KS Joint Venture Co/
China Railway 11th Bureau Group
consortium and the STPP joint venture
of Sino-Thai Engineering and Thai Pi-
con & Industry have been named pre-
ferred bidders for double-tracking work
on SRT’s Khiri Khan – Chumphon
line totalling 12·3bn  baht. With a bid
of 8·6bn  baht Unique Engineering &
Construction has been named preferred
bidder for double-tracking between Tha
Khae and Pak Nam Pho.
UK: Garco Rail is supplying remote
void monitoring equipment manufac-
tured by Datum Group to the ABC
Electrification joint venture of Alstom,
Babcock and Costain.
USA: Chicago Transit Authority has
awarded Walsh Construction Company
II a $31m contract to upgrade Jefferson
Park and Belmont stations on the Blue
Line.
VIETNAM:  Wegh Group is to supply
a further 150 PLD TD96/2 level cross-
ing barrier machines to DSVN.
ROLLING STOCK
BRAZIL: CRRC Sifang is to supply
eight eight-car EMUs for use on the
future Line 13 of the São Paulo sub-
urban network operated by CPTM.
The 1 600 mm gauge trainsets based on
CRRC’s Type A metro design are to be
delivered from 2019.
CHINA: Chengdu Metro Corp has
awarded Alstom a €57m contract to
supply traction equipment for 62 eight-
car trainsets to operate Line 5, which is
due to open by the end of 2019. Op-
tonix equipment will be supplied by
Shanghai Alstom Transport Electrical
Equipment Co and Chengdu Alstom
Transport Electrical Equipment, with
support from Xi’an Alstom Yongji
Electric Equipment Co.
CZECH REPUBLIC: ČD has ordered
nine Škoda Vagónka Class 650 Regio-
Panter 3 kV DC/25 kV AC two-car
EMUs for delivery by December 2018,
as an option within a KC1·2bn frame-
work contract for 11 signed in February
2015.
EUROPE: MRCE has ordered a fur-
ther 30 Siemens Vectron electric loco-
motives, including 10 multisystem locos
rated at 6·4 MW for Germany, Austria,
Italy, Switzerland and the Nether-
lands, and 20 DC locomotives rated at
5·2 MW for Italy. Deliveries are sched-
uled to begin in January 2018, and there
is an option for a further 20.
Railpool has ordered 20 Bombardier
Traxx MS electric locomotives for de-
livery between May 2018 and Decem-
ber 2019. Suitable for use in 12 coun-
tries, they are expected to be deployed
in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Italy,
the Netherlands and Belgium.
Following a successful pilot project
covering 50 vehicles, Transwaggon and
ScandFibre have installed Savvy Telem-
atic Systems equipment on 6 000 freight
wagons.
VTG and Dutch company Intermodal
Telematics have launched a programme
to develop and install continuously op-
erating load-unload sensors across the
leasing company’s entire fleet of liquid,
bulk and container wagons.
Alpha Trains has taken delivery of the
last two of 10 Siemens Vectron multi­
system locomotives ordered for FS
subsidiary TX Logistik. In addition to
financing and project management, the
leasing company is also responsible for
servicing and maintenance.
Railway Gazette International | October 2017 19
FINLAND: VR has awarded Škoda
Transportation subsidiary Transtech a
€50m order to supply a further 20 Type
Ed double-deck coaches in 2019 as an
option on a contract signed in 2015.
GERMANY: Alpha Trains has begun
taking delivery of eight five-car Flirt
multi-system EMUs which will be used
by Keolis on Netz Teutoberger Wald
route RB61 between Bielefeld and
Hengelo from the December 10 time-
table change.
Leasing company GATX Rail Germany
has awarded WBN Waggonbau Niesky
a contract to supply 50 Moltrag modu-
lar wagons for use by BASF from April
2018, with an option for a further 100.
HUNGARY: MÁV-Start has ordered
a further 11 KISS double-deck EMUs
at a cost of €16·7m, exercising an op-
tion within its framework contract for
40 sets agreed with Stadler earlier this
year (RG 5.17 p7).
INDONESIA:  The first of 10 trainsets
being built by PT Inka and Bombardier
for the 36·4 km Soekarno-Hatta airport
rail link in Jakarta was delivered to op-
erator PT KAI in August.
LATVIA:  Nordic Investment Bank and
Latvian Railways have agreed a €22·8m
12-year loan to finance an ongoing pro-
ject for LDz Ritošā Sastāva Serviss to
rebuild 14 twin-section 2M62Us loco-
motives into Type 2M62UM.
MONGOLIA: LokoTech subsidiary
Ulan-Ude LVRZ has overhauled 60
diesel locomotives for Ulanbataar Rail-
way at a cost of 19m roubles, and has
secured a 20m roubles order to repair
450 wheelsets used on freight and pas-
senger vehicles.
MOROCCO:  ONCF has awarded
SKF a contract to supply 15 000 spheri-
cal roller bearings over three years for
use on passenger and freight rolling
stock. The bearings are designed to be
highly tolerant of misalignment and
shaft deflection, as well as high tem-
peratures and a harsh climate.
NORWAY: State-owned rolling stock
company Norske Tog has invited ten-
ders for the mid-life refurbishment of
36 Class 72 EMUs used on regional
passenger services around Oslo and
Stavanger.
On September 9 NSB Gjøvikbanen of-
ficially put into service the first of 10
Stadler Flirt EMUs which will replace
older Class 69 EMUs on the Oslo –
Gjøvik route.
POLAND: Newag submitted the best
bid to overhaul 31 Class EP09 loco-
motives for PKP IC at a cost of 52·8m
złoty. PKP IC has also awarded two
contracts totalling 372m złoty to Pesa
and ZNTK for the conversion of 80
Type 1141A second class coaches into
40 composite vehicles and 40 special-
purpose coaches with catering, family
and wheelchair facilities, with options
for up to 20 more vehicles of each type.
Pesa submitted the sole bid to supply
two two-car DMUs for Wielkopolskie
voivodship, offering two Link trainsets
from a batch originally intended for
Oberpfalzbahn services in Germany.
MPK Kraków has awarded Autosan
a 2·5m złoty contract to supply 6·5  m
low-floor centre sections for six GT8S
trams, with options for 14.
Modertrans is to modernise 40 KT4Dt
bogies for Tramwaje Szczecińskie for
6·9m złoty, with options for 32 more.
ZNTK Mińsk Mazowiecki is to refur-
bish three EN57 EMUs for SKM w
Trójmieście in a 5·3m złoty project cov-
ering new seats, floors, an accessible toi-
let and a passenger information system.
RUSSIA:  PK Transportnye Systemy is
to supply three 100% low-floor three-
section trams to St Petersburg operator
Gorelektrotrans by December under a
255m rouble contract.
State Transport Leasing Co has award-
ed B-VRZ a 2·8bn rouble contract to
supply 1 000 Type 19-9950 covered
hoppers with a capacity of 105  m3 or
70·5 tonnes for low density products.
Transmash is to supply 3 000 Type 13-
9751-01 flat wagons to leasing compa-
ny Russian Container Co in 2018-20,
and has won a 500m rouble contract to
supply 200 Type 13-9744-06 container
wagons to TransContainer this year.
Uralvagonzavod submitted the best of-
fer of 5bn roubles for a contract to sup-
ply Federal Freight Co with 2 400 heavy
axleload open wagons by the end of 2017.
TMH Tver, VTB Leasing and Russian
Post have signed an agreement for 45
postal vans to be supplied by the end
of November for use on domestic and
international routes. They will be 1  m
longer than existing designs, increasing
capacity by 2 tonnes to 24 tonnes, and
will be delivered in two configurations
with or without crew compartments.
SAUDI ARABIA:  Having won a con-
tract to provide industrial shunting
Market INTELLIGENCE
services, Savage Services is taking deliv-
ery of two NREC 3GS21 Tier 3 genset
locomotives, with an option for a third.
SWEDEN:  Arriva has awarded Alstom
a €135m eight-year contract to main-
tain 99 Coradia Nordic EMUs owned
by the Skånetrafiken regional transport
authority for use under the Pågatåg op-
erating contract. Alstom is to deploy its
TrainTracer predictive maintenance sys-
tem as part of its HealthHub platform.
THAILAND: Bangkok Expressway &
Metro and CH Karnchang have se-
lected a consortium of Siemens and ST
Electronics to supply 35 three-car train-
sets from Siemens’ Wien factory as well
as railway systems for the Blue Line ex-
tension of the Bangkok metro.
UK:  London Underground has award-
ed Bombardier a contract to replace the
DC traction motors on the 85 eight-car
1992 Stock trainsets used on the Cen-
tral Line with Mitrac AC traction and
control equipment. Including ongoing
maintenance support to 2024, the con-
tract is valued at £112m.
USA: Amtrak has selected Rockwell
Collins to supply its ArincRailwayNet
onboard equipment for 310 locos, sup-
porting interoperable PTC operation
on the tracks of 19 host railroads.
Chicago South Shore & South Bend
Railroad has leased 100 covered steel
coil wagons from CIT Rail to carry
traffic for ArcelorMittal.
CONTRACTS
GERMANY: 
Transdev has been
awarded a contract to manage ticket
sales, including support for vending
machines and supplying staff handsets,
for Erfurter Bahn and Süd-Thüringen-
Bahn for 11 years from December.
Bielefeld tram operator moBiel has
started installing 100 Scheidt & Bach-
mann ticket vending machines which
offer audio support for users with im-
paired vision.
INDIA: Kolkata Metro Rail Corp
has selected Zhuzhou CRRC Times
Electric and Panasonic Manufacturing
(Beijing) Co to supply platform screen
doors for 12 stations on the east-west
Line 2.
More
PERU:  Spanish regional operator FGC Market
and Ardanuy are to supervise infra- For the latest
news go to
structure and rolling stock maintenance www.
on Line 1 of the Lima Metro under a railwaygazette.
com
€2∙1m two-year contract.
THE NEW GENERATION:
HYBRID GRINDING TECHNOLOGY

13.63 HWS Hybrid Switch Grinding Machine

• Intelligent use of energy: due to intermediate power storage in
the supercap during grindstone idling
• Precise grinding pattern: by means of low-vibration construction
and optimum view of grinding area
• Universal operation: from switch grinding to reprofiling

More on the product: www.robel.info/rg1017

Railway Gazette International | October 2017 21
SEEING MACHINES
Driver monitoring
partnership
Vision technology company Seeing
Machines has signed an extended part-
nership agreement providing Progress
Rail Services with an exclusive world-
wide licence covering rail applications.
Following an agreement announced
at InnoTrans 2014 (RG 11.14 p76), the
two companies have undertaken trials
using a dashboard-mounted infra-red
camera and artificial intelligence to
monitor the head and eye movements
of a train driver to check that they are
not distracted or affected by fatigue.
If the camera detects that movements
and blinking have ceased, or the driver
is looking in an unexpected direction,
then an alarm can be sounded.
‘We are delighted to be moving our
partnership with global leaders Pro-
gress Rail into the commercial phase’,
said Paul Angelatos, General Manager
CRRC CHANGCHUN
CRRC comes to Israel
CRRC Changchun Railway Vehicles
formally opened a regional office in Tel
Aviv on September 12. Located in the
city’s Ramat-Gan district, the new of-
fice is close to Israel Railways’ principal
station at Tel-Aviv Savidor.
On the same day, a 16-year contract
was signed for CRRC Changchun to
maintain the fleet of vehicles that it is
supplying for the Tel Aviv light metro
Red Line.
CRRC Changchun had been se-
lected in November 2015 as preferred
UNITED WAGON CO
US-bound bogie castings
United Wagon Co’s Tikhvin plant in
Russia has begun shipping Barber S-
2-HD bogie side frames and bolsters
for the North American market, after
obtaining Association of American
Railroads approval for their use on
wagons for unrestricted interchange in
Canada, Mexico and the USA.
UWC plans to supply bogies for up
to 5 000 wagons per year under a 10-
year contract with Wabtec.
‘The start of shipments to the mature
and competitive North American market
confirms the high quality of our products
and compliance with world standards’,
Fleet, Rail & Off-Road at Seeing Ma-
chines. ‘Having worked closely over the
past few years to understand and devel-
op a robust solution for the rail indus-
try through trials, it’s very pleasing that
both parties share the same vision and
see large market opportunity to enter
the commercial ramp phase, which will
deliver significant benefits in safety and
productivity across the rail sector.’  n
bidder to supply 90 articulated vehicles
to operate the 23 km Red Line, with an
option for 30 more. A long-term main-
tenance agreement was envisaged as
part of this contract, subject to govern-
ment approval and the finalising of an
industrial co-operation agreement.
The following day saw the unveiling
by Transport Minister Israel Katz of a
full-scale mock-up for the new light
metro car, which is being displayed for
public consultation close to the city’s
Culture Hall.  n
said Maxim Kuzemchenko, Deputy CEO
for Business Development. ‘We keep on
diversifying UWC’s business by using our
competitive strengths and building rela-
tions with the industry leaders.’
In order to produce castings for the
North American market, TVSZ had to
pass a quality management system au-
dit to confirm compliance with AAR
specification M-1003, and also meet
AAR’s foundry technical requirements.
Sample castings were subjected to static
and dynamic structural testing at an
AAR-approved CTLGroup materials
testing centre.  n
Industry INTELLIGENCE
NEWS IN BRIEF
IVU Traffic Technologies has acquired Zürich-based
consultancy Soft Tech Informatik as a basis for growth
in Switzerland. ‘The aim is to bundle our joint activities
under one roof in order to give our customers here even
better service and to tap into the additional potential of
the Swiss market’, said Marc Schaffert, who heads the IVU
office in Basel. IVU also reported that revenues in the first
half of 2017 were up 15% to €26m while gross profit rose by
10% to €19m. EBIT was slightly negative owing to seasonal
factors at -€592 000, but still up around €1m on the previous
year. The company said the ‘good level of orders also
highlights the positive prospects for the year as a whole.’
Hanson Professional Services Inc of Springfield, Illinois,
has acquired Engineered Rail Solutions LLC, which has six
staff and provides logistical and market analysis, engineering
design services and operational optimisation for the US rail
and material handling industries.
William Cook Rail has won an order to supply bogie parts
for the Citadis Spirit LRVs which Alstom is building for
Ottawa. The UK-based engineering company has completed
a £15m rail plant in Leeds, and said the bogie castings would
be ‘among the most complex and highly specified cast steel
components in the market’.
LocoTech’s Ulan-Ude facility has been certified to repair
Russian Railways EP1P main line passenger electric
locomotives, as well as its core business of freight
locomotives. More than 226m roubles is to be spent on
specialist tools and equipment this year.
VIA Rail has entered into a partnership with the Canadian
Council for Aboriginal Business, which aims to foster
economic opportunities for Aboriginal peoples and
businesses across Canada. The national passenger operator
plans to attain CCAB’s Progressive Aboriginal Relations
certification.
Systra announced on August 31 that it had completed the
acquisition of International Bridge Technologies. This will
enable the consultancy to establish ‘a global bridge centre
of excellence’ that will offer specialist design expertise. This
is Systra’s first acquisition in a specific engineering discipline,
marking a significant strategic move, the company says. It
added that more than 60% of bridges globally are used in
rail projects, making the specialism highly complementary to
Systra’s core business.
French notified body and independent safety assessor
Certifer has acquired the Belgian certification and
inspection specialist Belgorail. Active in France since 1997,
Certifer has branches in Italy, Turkey, Algeria, Brazil and
Australia, plus an office in Dubai.
PCM Rail.One and S:t Eriks have announced an agreement
to co-operate in the supply of concrete sleepers and slab
track for the Swedish market.
On September 11, xG Technology announced an
agreement to work with Panasonic System Solutions
Europe to supply its Vislink video communications
equipment in the rail sector. xG said its technology was
suitable for use on vehicles where it would experience
shock, vibration and challenging radio frequency conditions.
‘Together, we can solve long standing challenges that
the industry faces, such as the ability to offer latency-free
surveillance across the rail network’, said Tony O’Brien,
Managing Director of Panasonic System Solutions Europe.
Read more Innovations and Industry
news at www.railwaygazette.com
22 October 2017 | Railway Gazette International

INTELLIGENCE Innovations

STEEL LOCOMOTIVES

Coloured wheels
Russian steelmaker Evraz NTMK has
delivered a batch of 240 BA220 coach
wheels to Deutsche Bahn for the first
time, with a further 1 440 to follow this
year.
The 920  mm diameter BA220 is a
new product, manufactured with ER7
steel with a rim hardness of >235 HB.
At DB’s request the wheels have been
coated with detector paint which chang-
es colour if it reaches a temperature
which could lead to structural changes
in the steel. This alerts staff, enabling the
wheel to be sent for inspection.  n
DATA
Tank telematics
Asto Telematics has been awarded a
contract to equip Sasol Germany’s fleet
of ethylene oxide tank wagons and
tank-containers with its new aJour ATEX
Compact+Sensor telematics technology.
This is intended to allow Sasol
to monitor wagon movements,
temperature and impact forces. In
the event of potential danger, an
automated message with data on the
wagon and its load can be sent to the
appropriate authorities.  n
Road-rail shunting robot
Vollert has developed a compact battery-powered rail travel, and automatically adjust themselves to
road-rail machine for light shunting of up to counterbalance each other. The steering is hydrau-
300 tonnes at industrial sites, ports and freight lically locked in rail mode to ensure stability.
terminals. ‘With its high manoeuvrability, high traction
‘As a specialist supplier of economical shunting and intelligent drive technology with a pulling
and transport systems, we were often asked for a force of 20  kN, the road-rail robot can be em-
small road-rail machine’, explained Jürgen Schie- ployed in all shunting operations and is easily
mer, Vice-President Shunting Systems. As a result and safely operated by one person’, says Schiemer.
the company has produced the VLEX. ‘Access to all relevant components as well as for
Articulated steering with four individual wheel battery replacement is possible through large gull-
hub motors allows a turning radius of 7·2 m while wing doors at any time. This makes maintaining
being gentle to the solid tyres. The machine can the road-rail robot very easy.’  n
also turn 360° on the spot
if space is very confined.
A swing axle ensures that
all four drive wheels have
maximum contact with the
ground, enabling the ma-
chine to cross small obstacles
and unpaved ground without
any loss of traction.
The joystick remote con-
trol uses a colour-coded sys-
tem for steering, direction
and switching between rail
and road modes to mini-
mise training requirements.
The track guide rollers are
hydraulically lowered for

Quality Assured
With rail authorities facing ever increasing demands, there’s no room for
delays. That’s why we developed our Connect Road Crossing System
with Network Rail.
Its innovative design means panels can’t be dislodged, yet still allows
individual panels to be removed without dismantling the whole
crossing. It ensures the safest crossing possible, whilst significantly
reducing maintenance costs and time.
Rosehill Rail – Setting New Standards
For more information, or to enquire about training, please call the
Rosehill Rail sales team on +44 (0)1422 317 473,
or email info@rosehillrail.com

10 - 12 October 2017
Elmia Centre, Jönköping - Sweden

29 November - 1 December 2017

Makuhari Messe Chiba - Japan

Road Crossings // Road Rail Access // Pedestrian Crossings // Anti-Trespass

Railway Gazette International | October 2017 23

Innovations INTELLIGENCE

STAFF PROTECTION NEWS IN BRIEF

DuPont develops disposable coveralls
To meet an SNCF requirement for protective
workwear which combines high visibility with
chemical protection, DuPont Protection Solutions
has developed Tyvek 500 HV disposable coveralls.
These provide a barrier to low concentration, aque-
ous inorganic chemical products, as well as biologi-
cal risks encountered by staff inspecting trains fol-
lowing a collision with an animal or person.
The disposable garments can be kept in response
vehicles ready for use in the event of an accident or
when carrying out repairs.
They also help to reduce the number of items of
protective clothing required; previously each work-
er had 23 woven, washable, high visibility garments.
‘Since the coveralls are designed to be dispos-
able, they will never be washed’, said Lionel Del-
port, responsible for safety at SNCF’s equipment
TICKETING
management department. ‘This enables them to
retain their fluorescent and retroreflective prop-
erties until they are discarded, unlike woven ap-
parel which may fade when subjected to repeated
washing.’  n
ABB India is to supply solar inverters
for 750 stations in north India as
part of an Indian Railways project
to reduce dependence on electricity
generated using coal, lower energy
costs and meet greenhouse gas
emission reduction targets. Forming
part of rooftop solar installations
being set up by Azure Power, the
inverters, which convert the DC
output of photovoltaic cells to an AC
supply, will vary between 5 kW and
50 kW depending on the size of the
station where they are deployed.
DB Cargo UK has awarded Pickersgill-
Kaye a contract to supply new
cab door locks for its Class 66
locomotives.
VTG and Dutch company Intermodal
Telematics have launched a joint
engineering programme to develop
and install continuously operating
load-unload sensors across the
leasing company’s entire fleet of

TfL launches mobile ticketing app liquid, bulk and container wagons.

United Wagon Co’s bulk freight

Transport for London launched its first app for
Android and Apple smart phones and tablets on
September 7. The TfL Mobile Ticketing App al-
lows Oyster card users to top up their cards, man-
age their accounts and view journey histories.
Pay-as-you-go balance top-ups and season
tickets can be purchased through the app and
added to an Oyster card after 30 min by touching
the card on a yellow reader at a station.
The app has been developed by Cubic Trans-
portation Systems. Future updates will allow us-
ers to view journeys made with contactless bank
card payment, and will allow cards to be updated
using readers on buses.  n
transport subsidiary Unicon 1520
and Russian petrochemical exporter
Avestra Group have agreed to
develop the use of modern tank
wagons and tank containers to
transport liquefied hydrocarbon
gases, methanol and other chemicals.

RAILWAY POWER SUPPLIES

CONFERENCE ON RAILWAY EXCELLENCE

Rail: smart, automated, sustainable

30 APR – 2 MAY 2018

ICC SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA

The 11th RTSA Conference on Railway Excellence (CORE) and

Exhibition is pleased to announce our keynote speakers.
Leslie Woo, Chief Planning Officer at Metrolinx, Ontario Canada - described as The
Transit Changemaker by Spacing Toronto in 2016 and awarded Canada’s Women’s
Infrastructure Network’s 2015 Outstanding Leader. Leslie is a passionate and STAY ON TRACK.
influential strategist on urban planning issues internationally and has been leading WITH OUR INNOVATIONS.
the transformation of Canada’s largest and fastest growing metropolitan centre for
over twenty years, shaping multi-billion dollar infrastructure investments.
Visit us in O
Jean-Pierre Loubinoux, was appointed Director-General of the International Union ctober 2017
at
EXPO Ferrov
of Railways (UIC), the worldwide association representing the rail sector and iaria - Booth
Elmia Nordi 544
encompassing 240 railways across all continents, in 2009. Prior to joining UIC, he c Rail - Boot
h B05:50
was Chairman and CEO of French railways SNCF International and SNCF Director
of International Development from 2001 to 2009, having been appointed Chief NEW: Series PCMDNI300 without galvanical isolation
Executive of SNCF Freight International in 2001. • Output power: 300 W; Efficiency: ≥95 %
Come and join us in Sydney for the premier technical railway conference in Australia. • Input voltage range: 18...100,8 VDC / 28...160 VDC
• Output voltage: 12 V / 24 V
GALA DINNER
HOST SPONSOR PLATINUM SPONSORS SPONSOR • Ambient temperature: -40...+70 °C / +85 °C 10 min
• Transient protected, vaccum encapsulated
• EN 60950-1 / EN 61000-6-4 / EN 61000-6-2
• Fire protection acc. to EN 45 545-2
www.mtm-power.com
For more info visit: www.core2018.org
Railway Gazette International | October 2017 25
GERMANY
Digital
direction
Germany’s national railway was reflecting
on its role in the fourth industrial
revolution at the recent Railway Forum in
Berlin. Nick Kingsley reports.
A
s Rolf Härdi, Chief Tech-
nology Officer of Deutsche
Bahn, reached the conclud-
ing slide of his presenta-
tion to the fifth Railway Forum Berlin
on August 31, a spontaneous and un-
expected round of applause rang out
around the Estrel Congress Centre.
On the slide was written an exhorta-
tion to remember that ‘digitalisation is
not everything’, and that ‘classical’ en-
gineering challenges related to rolling
stock, permanent way and signalling
still abound. Quite why the delegates
felt compelled to applaud at this junc-
ture was not clear; perhaps it reflected
something about the demographics
and career level of those attending the
Forum. Perhaps it also served as an
unintentional signal of the scale of the
challenge facing a giant legacy railway
group like Deutsche Bahn in convinc-
ing staff, customers and policymakers
that it can emerge as the agile, digitally-
savvy entity it seeks to become.
Held on August 30-31, the Railway
Forum is a quasi-official DB event or-
ganised by Hannover-based IPM. This
year, the organisers sought to group
the sessions around four key industry
trends: automation, digitalisation, inter­
nationalisation and competitiveness,
but in reality digital and data-driven
strategy underpinned all four strands.
References to the ubiquitous ‘Industry
4.0’ were made by almost every speaker.
However, the Forum offered a im-
portant overview of the changes tak-
ing place within the DB as it seeks to
implement its Zukunft Bahn reform
programme (RG 9.16 p43). ‘This is
our response to the mobility challenge’,
said Chief Procurement Officer Uwe
Günther as he reflected on the national
railway’s encouraging first half results
(RG 9.17 p28). Insisting that ‘high vol-
umes of bundling and large framework
contracts’ were already proving to be
‘the right strategy’, Günther went on
to argue that digitalisation and supply
chain innovation would be fundamental
to DB’s future. From the first quarter of
Analysis INTELLIGENCE
Debating digital
priorities in Berlin.
DB Fernverkehr’s
Birgit Bohle (second
right) and FlixBus
CEO Jochen Engert.
2018, electronic data exchange will be
introduced between DB and many of
its largest suppliers, and he expects e-
invoicing, paperless documentation and
BIM modelling to become standard in
its procurement practices in the years to
come.
Long-distance renewal
Addressing a panel including Jochen
Engert, co-founder of long distance bus
brand FlixBus, DB Fernverkehr Chief
Executive Birgit Bohle elaborated on
what she saw as the ‘priorities’ for dig-
itisation in rail. ‘We talk a lot about
buzzwords such as driverless vehicles
or automation. But for our business, we
do not want to get rid of drivers. What
we need digital technology to do is deal
with our pressure points. Can it help us
to improve throughput at key hubs?’
She also urged faster progress in ad-
dressing ‘the cost base of long-distance
passenger transport’, which she sug-
gested was the motivation for intro-
ducing the IC2 double-deck trainsets
on some cross-country routes. On pro-
curement though, she suggested much
work remained. ‘We are still so far from
having standard products. There are 17
different production variants of the ICE
trainset in my fleet’, she argued.
More positively, she highlighted
17
‘tangible examples of small but real in-
novation’, including an app-based ‘self
check-in’ service which would reduce
the pressure on onboard staff to check
tickets. She also reported that DB’s dis-
variants tribution tools have found that ticket
sales rates fall by half ‘when people real-
OF ICE TRAINSET ise they have to change trains’, and that
IN THE DB this was a key driver for restructuring
FERNVERKEHR the IC and ICE network to give more
FLEET, INCREASING
COSTS AND
through trains between city pairs and
COMPLICATING enhanced frequencies.
DEPLOYMENT In response, Engert suggested that
while ‘DB’s planning horizon looks to
2025’ for infrastructure enhancement
and rolling stock renewal, FlixBus could
change its operating model ‘within
three months’. So he was ‘not too wor-
ried about any new inter-city offering’
from the national railway.  n
INTERNATIONAL
The future
is now
The ‘fourth industrial revolution’, driven
by data connectivity, advanced comput-
ing, artificial intelligence and machine
learning, is already starting to reshape
the rail freight industry, according to
numerous speakers at the International
Heavy Haul Association conference in
Cape Town last month.
In her keynote address, the World
Economic Forum’s Head of Industries
Dr Cheryl Martin said almost all estab-
lished industry sectors faced the pros-
pect of disruption to their established
business models. The question was ‘not
will I be disrupted, but when?’
Railways had to consider three fun-
damental questions, she suggested:
‘what will be moving in the future, how
will it be moving, and who will be mov-
ing it?’ Distributed manufacturing and
online retailing were already chang-
ing what moves, as well as where, and
Martin underlined the importance of
improving cross-border connectivity to
support global trade. Environmental
concerns were influencing the choice
of packaging and reducing demand
for raw materials, she said, but railways
should be well placed to capitalise on a
growing awareness of external impacts
such as climate change. ‘It is time to
26 October 2017 | Railway Gazette International
INTELLIGENCE Analysis
think about new business models’, she
concluded.
Industry health check
Welcoming a record attendance
of more than 900 delegates from 39
countries, newly-elected IHHA Chair-
man Brian Monakali picked up on
the conference theme of ‘Advancing
Heavy Haul Technology & Operations
in a Changing World’ (RG 8.17 p29).
He hoped that the event would take ‘a
health check’ of the industry and start
visualising the railway of the future.
Reflecting his role as General Man-
ager, Capital Projects, at Transnet
Freight Rail, Monakali said it was im-
portant to consider strategic issues,
including the lack of interconnectiv-
ity between African rail networks and
a shortage of funding for investment.
He was keen to promote the adoption
of heavy haul principles for general rail
freight operations, and wanted to em-
power the next generation.
As co-sponsor, Transnet had brought
many of its younger staff to learn more
about industry developments and meet
professionals with many years of ac-
cumulated expertise. Transnet CEO
Siyabonga Gama said young people had
an important role to play in ‘making the
world a better place’.
Benchmarking study
Over the past 35 years, IHHA has
primarily focused on the technical and
engineering aspects of heavy haul, par-
ticularly around the wheel/rail interface.
And while this again featured heavily in
Cape Town, there was more emphasis
on operational issues, such as improv-
ing performance and capacity utilisa-
tion by moving to scheduled operation,
introducing driver advisory systems and
recovering faster from disruption.
As many established industry experts
approach retirement, IHHA is keen to
ensure that its learnings are passed on.
As part of its industry health check, the
association has commissioned a bench-
marking study to determine what tech-
nical developments have contributed to
the success of its member railways, and
what innovations might do so in the
coming years.
Presenting the outline results, former
Canadian Pacific General Manager
Mike Roney noted that heavy haul rail-
ways had long ‘benefited from common
innovations and technology platforms’,
and were already working on many of
the technologies that would shape their
business over the next decade.
In terms of safety, Roney cited current
priorities as understanding the interac-
tion between wheel and rail profiles and
moving towards a better understanding
and management of longitudinal rail
stresses. In the longer term, respondents
saw much potential in machine vision
inspection systems and vehicle-mounted
condition monitoring to improve aware-
ness of asset condition, backed up by real
time data recording and ‘big data analy-
sis, above and below rail’.
Operational innovations included the
use of distributed power, AC traction
drives and improved braking systems.
More use of standard train consists
and improved yard operations would
contribute to improved average speeds.
Several railways were introducing driver
advisory systems to boost operational ef-
ficiency, which Roney described as ‘the
big one’. Communications-based train
control and moving block offer the po-
tential for autonomous train operation,
and he believed that ‘we have got to get
there’. Australian insiders confirmed
that Rio Tinto was expecting to launch
driverless operations across its Pilbara
iron ore lines by the end of 2018.
Roney said the emerging vision was
that the future railway would be shaped
by ‘network-centric information flows’
and seamless data streams to optimise
performance across the entire supply
chain. Railways were already using data
to manage their relationship with cus-
tomers, which included sharing move-
ment data and estimated delivery times.
Better communications and data
were supporting staff management,
with intranets helping to keep peo-
ple informed, while standardised work
methodologies and lean management
played a role in evolving safety man-
agement systems. Some railways were
looking to adopt computer-driven train
planning and scheduling using real time
data, while greater awareness of vehi-
cle condition would facilitate ‘on-train
repairs’, with wagon components be-
ing replaced as trains passed through
terminals, helping to reduce downtime
by keeping rolling stock out of the
workshops.
Noting that many of these systems
are already being deployed or are ex-
pected to come into widespread use
over the next decade, Roney concluded
that in reality ‘the future is now’.  n
EUROPE
Diversionary
tactics
Serious questions are being asked about
the provision and use of diversionary
routes to ensure that important rail
freight flows can keep moving in the
IHHA delegates took
a hands-on look at event of major disruption, such as that
heavy haul railway caused by the blockage to the Rhein
operations at Salkor Valley main line by the tunnel collapse
yard on Transnet’s
Sishen – Saldanha at Rastatt, south of Karlsruhe, on Au-
iron ore line. gust 12 (RG 9.17 p72).
European Union policy to improve
the competitiveness of international
rail flows has largely centred around the
development of trunk corridors linking
the member states. There are rail freight
corridors, Ertms priority corridors and
the TEN-T core network corridors,
which in many cases overlap. The result
has been to funnel more and more traf-
fic onto these trunk routes while other
lines are left with a more limited re-
gional or domestic role.
Rastatt lies on one of Europe’s busi-
est routes, the Rotterdam – Genoa Rail
Freight Corridor 1, which usually sees
around 200 freight trains per day, as well
as regional and long-distance passenger
services. So the loss of this vital artery
for almost two months has sent shock
waves through the industry.
In an open letter to European Trans-
port Commissioner Violeta Bulc and
German Federal Transport Minister
Alexander Dobrindt on September
4, more than 20 industry trade bodies
called for urgent action to prevent the
‘collapse’ of European rail freight and
the wider logistics sector as a result of
the blockage. Signed by associations
including the European Rail Freight
Association, logistics body Clecat
and the International Union of Wagon
Keepers, the letter was copied to seven
other transport ministers and Josef
Doppelbauer, Executive Director of the
EU Agency for Railways.
With DB Netz not expecting to have
the line reopened until early October,
the associations warned that the rail
logistics sector would by then have suf-
fered ‘immense damage’. Although the
infrastructure managers had suggested
that up to 150 of the 200 daily freight
trains could be diverted via other routes
 Railway Gazette International | October 2017 27
Photo: Deutsche Bahn AG
including Stuttgart – Singen, the Bren-
ner corridor in Austria and the Alsace
region of France, the associations said
that in practice only a quarter were
being successfully re-routed, while for
time-critical high-value intermodal
traffic the figure was just 15%. This
posed the risk of significant damage to
European manufacturing and supply
chains, as well as the long-term loss of
rail freight to other modes.
Capacity constraints notwithstand-
ing, one major problem in diverting
trains has been a lack of available drivers
qualified for the alternative routes. And
national rules prevent German-speaking
drivers operating trains in France, for
example. The associations proposed that
ERA should co-ordinate short-term
measures to simplify the operating pro-
cedures on these diversionary routes,
while operators needed support to re-
inforce the pool of drivers with suitable
route knowledge.
More fundamentally, Bulc and Dob­
rindt were asked to establish a task force
at ministerial and/or EU level to miti-
gate the crisis, and to set up a special
commission to review ‘the largest and
most serious freight traffic blockade
in recent decades’. This could perhaps
usefully consider whether the trans-
European corridors strategy should be
expanded to embrace the provision of
suitable diversionary routes, and if so
how they might be funded.  n
CANADA
Broken links
The Canadian government is pushing
to restore rail services along the Hud-
son Bay Railway serving Churchill in
northern Manitoba, after the line was
breached by what operator Omni­Trax
described as ‘catastrophic’ flood damage.
With trains unable to run over
the northernmost 250  km between
Analysis INTELLIGENCE
DB Netz is pushing Churchill and Amery, OmniTrax said
ahead with in June that the line connecting the re-
emergency repairs
to the Rhein Valley mote port with the Canadian National
main line at Rastatt, network near The Pas would remain out
announcing in of use ‘indefinitely’. It said communities
mid-September
that it hoped to cut along the route should plan ‘alternative
five days out of the means of transport’. OmniTrax had
expected 57-day
blockade.
previously closed the port at short no-
tice in August 2016.
However, on September 1, Minister
of Natural Resources Jim Carr pointed
out that OmniTrax had ‘legal obliga-
tions’ to repair the line, adding that the
government had ‘formally demanded
that the Hudson Bay Railway Com-
pany repair the rail line in line with the
terms of its 2008 contribution agree-
ment with the government of Canada,
which requires the company to operate,
maintain and repair the entire Hud-
son Bay Railway Line in a diligent and
timely manner until March 31 2029’.
The federal government and prov-
ince of Manitoba had agreed in 2008
to provide C$40m to upgrade the track
between The Pas and Churchill and
C$8m for port improvements, while
Omni­ Trax committed C$20m. How-
ever, the Denver-based short line group
now argues that the severe blizzards
and flooding amount to force majeure,
rendering the 2008 agreement obsolete.
According to the ministry, the gov-
ernment is ‘willing to explore the pos-
sibility of working with a new owner
toward the repair of the line’. The Missi-
68
nippi Rail consortium had previously
signed a memorandum of understand-
ing with OmniTrax for the potential
acquisition of the port and railway for a
reported C$20m.
C$m Meanwhile, the obligation to main-
tain in operational condition railways
INNVESTMENT
which have not been formally closed has
PROVIDING UNDER become a live issue in Ottawa, where the
2008 AGREEMENT privately-backed Moose Consortium is
FOR UPGRADING promoting a commuter rail network for
THE HUDSON BAY
RAILWAY BETWEEN
the National Capital Region. Services
THE PAS AND north into Québec-Gatineau would
CHURCHILL cross the Ottawa River using the Prince
of Wales Bridge, which has been out of
use since the former Canadian Pacific
line was acquired by the city in 2005 to
use part of it for its pilot O-Train diesel
shuttle, now the Trillium Line.
MooseRail is contesting the removal
of a short section of the Ottawa River
Line to make way for a new entrance
to O-Train’s Bayview station and pro-
posals to convert the bridge into a cycle
and walkway. The Canadian Transport
Agency ruled in June that the city had
acquired the line for ‘current opera-
tion’, which was still its intention, and
had not initiated a mandatory discon-
tinuance process. Last month, Ottawa
Mayor Jim Watson confirmed that the
city was keen to launch a rail service
to Gatineau across the Prince of Wales
Bridge, but told local media that it was
‘not interested’ in having a third-party
operator to run the trains.  n
AUSTRIA
Order halted
Plans to replace ÖBB’s rolling stock
used on daytime inter-city services to
Italy and to update its overnight fleet
with new trains are in doubt after Aus-
tria’s Federal Administrative Court
(Bundesverwaltungsgericht) ruled that
the tender process should be stopped.
The state-owned operator requires
new stock to replace its existing Euro­
City coaches that will not meet revised
fire safety regulations in Italy after
2021. Bids were invited for around 160
coaches to form eight daytime and 13
overnight trainsets. The tender included
a number of driving trailer coaches and
‘multi-function’ cars with a low-floor
section; the 26  m long vehicles had to
be able to run at up to 200 km/h in Aus-
tria, Germany, Switzerland and Italy.
Bombardier and Siemens are both
understood to have prepared responses
after the initial call for tenders. Siemens
is reported to have offered a derivative
of the Viaggio design used in ÖBB’s
Railjet trainsets with steel bodyshells,
while Bombardier is believed to have
proposed an aluminium vehicle.
Austrian media report that Siemens
had complained to ÖBB in August that
changes had been made to the specifica-
tion at a late stage, alleging that these
favoured its rival. The changes included
alterations to the specification for the
bodyshell, the power supply for on-
board electrical equipment and the use
of inside or outside bearings for the
wheelsets.
Tendering was suspended last month,
and following the court’s ruling ÖBB is
unable to proceed with the procurement
as originally envisaged.  n
 28 October 2017 | Railway Gazette International
INTELLIGENCE Analysis
Photo: Peter Janssen
Thailand is pushing ahead with upgrading SRT’s existing metre-gauge network while
negotiating with Chinese firms for construction of its long-planned high speed line.
THAILAND
Dual-track
diplomacy
Construction is expected to get under-
way this month on the first section of
Thailand’s long-planned high speed
line. This follows the signing of two co-
operation contracts with China at the
Brics summit in Xiamen on Septem-
ber 3-5.
Billion-dollar railway projects seem
to be all the rage in Asia at present,
fuelled in part by the signature One
Belt One Road policy of Chinese Presi-
dent Xi Jinping. However, Thai Prime
Minister Prayuth Chan-o-cha had not
been among the 30 leaders invited to
the Beijing-hosted OBOR forum in
May, which observers suggested was a
snub for his failure to kick off the long-
delayed Sino-Thai rail project.
Although Thailand is not a member
of the Brics grouping, which brings to-
gether Brazil, Russia, China and South
Africa, Prayuth was invited to Xiamen
following decisive moves this summer
(RG 9.17 p28).
On the drawing board since 2010, in
many permutations, the high speed line
has been a priority for Prayuth since he
took power in the May 2014 military
coup. Once in office, he was quick to
visit China, signing a memorandum
of understanding which envisaged that
China would finance a line between
Bangkok and Nong Khai on the Laos
border, with a connection to the 414 km
Laos-China Railway (RG 8.17 p52).
The project then ran into numerous
delays, as the Thai side baulked at the
high interest rates to be charged on
the Chinese loan and the Chinese ob-
jected to Thailand’s insistence on going
ahead with double-tracking its existing
metre-gauge line between Nakhon
Ratchasima and Nong Khai.
In the end a compromise was reached
with Thailand deciding to finance the
line itself, but build the initial section
using Chinese technology. Prayuth used
extraordinary powers under Article 44
of the interim constitution to push the
project through, sweeping aside legal
obstacles such as a prohibition on the
use of ‘unlicensed’ Chinese engineers.
Valued at US$156m, the contracts
signed in Xiamen cover design and con-
struction supervision for a 252·5 km line
linking Bangkok with Nakhon Ratch-
asima, the largest city in northeastern
Thailand where many rich Thais have
second homes. This is to be designed for
250 km/h, offering an end-to-end com-
mercial speed of around 180 km/h.
The intention is that the Department
of Highways will start construction of
the first 3·5 km in October, to Chinese
designs, with the aim of having this
short section finished before the an-
ticipated general election in late 2018,
when Prayuth is hoping to be elected.
There is no firm commitment yet to
build the second phase between Nak-
hon Ratchasima and Nong Khai, but
just days after the Brics summit Trans-
port Minister Arkhom Termpittaya-
paisith said he had instructed officials
to start looking into this section. ‘We
should eventually be connected with
Laos in 2021 or 2022’, he suggested.
Meanwhile, SRT is still going ahead
with doubling the existing line, which
makes a lot of economic sense as it will
facilitate freight transport from the im-
poverished northeastern region to the
deep-water port at Laem Chabang on
the eastern seaboard. Politically, the
double-tracking also offers the prospect
of an economical 90  km/h passenger
service for Thailand’s poorer inhabit-
ants, who may never be able to afford
high speed trains.  n
POINTERS
French senators Hervé Maurey and Louis Nègre have
put forward draft legislation to open up the domestic
passenger rail market to competition in line with the EU’s
Fourth Railway Package. The proposal envisages that PSO-
supported TER and Intercités services would be put out to
competitive tender from 2019, while ‘profitable’ TGV routes
would be awarded as a monopoly franchise in 2021, bundled
with obligations to operate unprofitable services. Any staff
transferring to a new operator would have their conditions
of employment protected.
India’s Finance Minister Arun Jaitley has confirmed
his intention to sell two of Indian Railways’ profitable
subsidiaries as part of the government’s privatisation
programme. Bids are to be called for the Indian Railway
Catering & Tourism Corp and Indian Railway Finance Corp,
valued at around Rs20bn. The plan is to offer 80% to
institutional shareholders and 20% to individuals.
The Indonesian government says it is making progress
with plans to develop a new elevated alignment between
Jakarta and Surabaya along the north coast of Java. The new
line would largely follow the route of the existing 727 km,
1 067 mm gauge northern main line used by national
operator PT KAI. The objective of the new line would be to
reduce journey times between the two cities to around 4 h
from around 9 h today, the Transport Ministry’s Director-
General for Rail Zulmafendi told local media.
On September 8, the national railways of Ukraine, Georgia
and Azerbaijan signed a memorandum of co-operation to
form a joint venture to operate train ferry services on the
Black Sea using UZ’s ships Geroi Plevni and Geroi Shipki.
Spanish infrastructure manager ADIF has awarded a €1∙96m
contract to undertake design studies over 12 months for
electrification of the 70 km Monforte de Lemos – Lugo route.
The electrification project is expected to cost a total of €83∙5m.
Currently designing the 1 700 km Sichuan – Tibet railway,
China Railway Eryuan Engineering Group has expressed
interest in undertaking an engineering survey for a rail link
to Nepal. The proposed line would connect the Tibetan
town of Kerung with Kathmandu, Pokhara and Lumbini. A
540 km extension from Xigatse to Kerung is expected to be
completed around 2020.
Greater Toronto transport agency Metrolinx has issued a
request for proposals showing how hydrogen fuel cells could
be integrated into double-deck EMUs. It plans to commission
a number of rolling stock manufacturers to prepare designs
and demonstrate the impact on performance, to support
studies of whether fuel cells could offer an alternative to
overhead electrification for the GO Regional Express Rail
programme (RG 8.17 p25)
Spanish Development Minister Íñigo de la Serna has
commissioned a study of providing a rail link to Alacant-
Elx Airport, located close to the route between Alacant
and Murcia. One of the five busiest airports in Spain, it is
expected to handle 14 million passengers this year.
Polish state railway holding group PKP SA has confirmed its
intention to transfer the ownership of railway land to PKP
PLK by the end of 2018, in exchange for a majority stake in
the infrastructure manager which since its establishment in
2001 has been owned by the government through the State
Treasury.
The Iraqi government is reported to be seeking an operator
for two proposed underground metro lines in Baghdad.
Both lines would be 23 km long. Line 1 would have 25
stations and Line 2 would have 22, with one interchange
station serving both lines. The main maintenance depot
would build be alongside Line 1, and there would also be a
depot at the southern end of Line 2.
Edinburgh council has approved the outline business case
for extending the city’s tram line to Leith and Newhaven.
 Going places with Vossloh’s infrastructure expertise

Vossloh is setting new standards for the construction and operation of modern rail infrastructure with its latest
technological developments. Reliable and cost-effective track fastening and switch systems made by Vossloh thus take
pride of place in urban transport networks. Our turnkey solutions and signalling components lead the field in urban
centres around the world: safe, eco-friendly and economical.

Visit us at
Nordic Rail, Jönköping, Sweden, EXPO Ferroviaria 2017, Milan, Italy,
10-12 October 2017, 3-5 October 2017,
Stand B06:18. Stand 100.

www.vossloh.com
SYSTEMS AND DEVICES
FOR RAIL VEHICLES
• Train Control and Monitoring System
• Passenger Information, Reservation
and Diagnostic System, CCTV
• Public Address System
• The Mobile Application Management
System
• Train Communication Network
• Energy Consumption Measurement
and Saving System
• Video Surveillance System
BENEFITS FOR CUSTOMERS
• Interoperability in accordance with
international standards
• Backup of key product components
• Operation reliability and safety
• Products suitable for demanding work
conditions
• Integration of our solutions with existing
systems
• Strong R&D department
• Taking of individual customer needs into
consideration

www.unicontrols.cz

03 – 05 OCTOBER / Milan / Italy

We would be happy to welcome
you on our stand No. 774

Smartio®
… THE SAFE, SMART REMOTE I/O SYSTEM
- Electronic connection terminal: Bus electronics and connection terminal in one
housing offers maximum installation efficiency
- SIL 2- and SIL 0-certified modules together in one system
- Flexible system architecture: More compact, less wiring
- Specially adapted for use in new vehicles and modernization projects
- Supports network standards like Ethernet TRDP, CANopen, MVB | www.selectron.ch |
 Railway Gazette International | October 2017 31

Desiro HC PASSENGER ROLLING STOCK

RRX trains
are ready to roll
Photo: Harry Hondius

The first of 82 Desiro HC high-capacity EMUs being supplied by Siemens to operate the Rhein-
Ruhr-Express network was unveiled on July 12, and testing of the first units is now underway.
Dr Harry Hondius reports from Wildenrath.

O
ver the next few months, The RRX project is the latest in a The first Desiro services operating over seven existing
seven pre-series Desiro string of initiatives to improve pub- HC for RRX on railway routes which are being up-
the T1 test ring at
HC electric multiple-units lic transport in the busy Rhein-Ruhr Wildenrath on July graded and expanded (Fig 1). The core
are set to undergo exten- conurbation. In the early 1920s, the 12, with the first of the network will be the Köln – Düs-
sive testing ready for the launch of the Rheinisch-Westfälische Städtebahn en- class section in the seldorf – Duisburg – Essen – Dort-
leading car.
Rhein-Ruhr-Express network at the visaged a separate privately-run 1·5 kV mund (– Hamm) axis. Frequencies on
end of 2018. The first of 82 four-car DC electrified railway to link Köln and most routes will be increased from the
EMUs which Siemens is supplying to Dortmund, while more recently a mag- current two trains/h to four, which to-
a consortium of local transport authori- lev link was proposed. gether with the introduction of rapidly-
ties under a €1·7bn deal announced in As finally authorised by the Land of accelerating, high-capacity trains with a
March 2015 was unveiled at the Wil- Nordrhein-Westfalen, RRX will intro- top speed of 160 km/h should generate
denrath test centre on July 12. duce a network of fast regional express a substantial increase in rail ridership.
As well as the new trains, capacity
Münster
enhancement is a vital element in the
RRX 5 RRX 7 project (Fig 2). The line between Köln-
Wesel Wanne-
Gelsenkirchen Eickel Mülheim and Düsseldorf-Benrath
Oberhausen E-Altenessen RRX 3 will be expanded from three tracks to
Wattenscheid Kamen
Hamm four, while the section from Benrath to
Duisberg
Bochum Dortmund
Bielefeld Minden Duisburg will be increased to six, with a
Mülheim/ Essen RRX 4 RRX 6 number of grade-separation projects to
Düsseldorf/ Ruhr RRX 1
Flughafen Paderborn segregate fast and slow trains. Further
Düsseldorf
Neuss
RRX 5 RRX 7
improvements are also needed between
Düsseldorf-Benrath Kassel
Duisburg and Dortmund, but as this is
Dormagen
Leverkusen Mitte
Köln-Mülheim station is not
RRX 2 one of the most densely-populated are-
Köln
Hbf
currently included in the BVWP
2030, but is under consideration? as in Germany, the work is not expected
Düren Köln/
Bonn Flughafen to be completed until 2030-35. Total
Aachen RRX 3 cost of the civil works was estimated at
RRX 1 RRX 2 Köln Messe/ Fig 1. The future
Deutz
RRX 1
RRX 2
Aachen – Köln – Düsseldorf – Essen – Dortmund
Aachen – Köln – Düsseldorf – Essen – Dortmund – Hamm – Paderborn – Kassel RRX network. The €2bn in 2014.
RRX 3 Köln/Bonn Flughafen – Neuss – Düsseldorf – Gelsenkirchen – Dortmund – Hamm
new route numbers RRX is being promoted by a joint ven-
Source: DB AG

Bonn RRX 4 Koblenz – Köln – Düsseldorf – Essen – Dortmund – Hamm – Bielefeld

Koblenz
RRX 5 Düsseldorf – Duisburg – Oberhausen – Wesel do not always ture of four local authorities: Verkehrs-
RRX 6 Koblenz – Köln – Düsseldorf – Essen – Dortmund – Hamm – Bielefeld – Minden correspond with
RRX 6 RRX 4 RRX 7 Düsseldorf – Duisburg – Essen – Gelsenkirchen – Münster
those of current RE verbund Rhein-Ruhr, NWL Zweck-
services. verband Nahverkehr Westfalen-Lippe,
 32 October 2017 | Railway Gazette International

PASSENGER ROLLING STOCK Desiro HC

Düsseldorf
Reisholz Düsseldorf Flughafen Duisburg
Köln Messe/ Köln- Leverkusen
Köln Deutz Mülheim Mitte Benrath

Köln-Kalk Düsseldorf-Lierenfeld

Essen- Essen- Watten-

Oberhausen Mülheim (Ruhr) Bottrop Essen Steele Steele Ost scheid Bochum Langendreer Dortmund
Source: DB AG

Wuppertal Hattingen Witten

Development area Long distance services Rhein-Ruhr Express Regional services S-Bahn Freight

Fig 2. Work is underway to increase the authorities decided to procure a com-

Desiro HC in numbers
Top speed km/h
Service acceleration m/s²
Service braking m/s²
Emergency braking m/s²
Platform heights mm
Minimum curve radius (depot) m
Steepest gradient %
Vehicle profile
Fire prevention
Crashworthiness
Buffing load kN
Mechanical
Axle arrangement
Automatic couplers 
Overall length over carbodies m105·252
Empty weight tonnes
Maximum axleload tonnes
Width mm
Height mm
Driving motor car
Length mm
Gangway width mm550
Door width/height mm
Seat width mm450
Spacing between facing seats mm 1 750 to 1 850
Spacing between airline seats mm
Bogie wheelbase mm
Wheel diameter new/used mm
Bogie centres mm
Double deck trailer car
Length mm
Door width/height mm
Bogie wheelbase mm
Wheel diameter new/used mm
Bogie centres mm
Electrical equipment
Power supply
Traction motors
Continuous rating kW
Motors rev/min
Transformers MVA
Inverters MVA
Seats (including folding) 400 of which 36 first class
Standees (@ 4/m2)462
Weight per seat kg495
Power to weight kW/tonne16·8
Desiro HC suppliers
BodyshellsSiemens
Bogies
Transformers
Motors
Inverters
Electronic controls, Sibas
Static inverter
CouplersVoith
DoorsBode
Air-conditioning
Exterior and interior design
Compressor
PantographsRichard
Electro-pneumatic brakes
Magnetic track brakes
number of tracks between Köln and mon fleet of 160  km/h EMUs which
Düsseldorf to four, and six from Benrath to
Duisburg. Between Leverkusen Mitte and would then be made available to the
160 Mülheim/Ruhr the 160 km/h RRX trains must contract operators. Using €60m of fund-
1·2 share tracks with ICE services. ing from the Land, tenders were called
1·0
1·2 for a combined supply and maintenance
760 / 550
Zweckverband Schienenpersonen- package, which was won by Siemens.
120 nahverkehr Rheinland-Pfalz Nord and The 82 four-car EMUs are costed at
4·0 Nordhessische Verkehrsverbund, under €800m and the 32-year maintenance
EN15273-2 DE2
EN 45545
the leadership of VRR. element valued at €900m, with Siemens
TSI + EN 15227 Most services in the Rhein-Ruhr guaranteeing ± 99% availability.
1 500 region are currently operated by DB The trains are to be maintained at
Regio, but in 2015 the local authorities a new facility being built by Siemens
Bo’B‘+2‘2‘+2‘2+’Bo’Bo’ invited competitive tenders for opera- on the site of a former shunting yard
Voith, Scharfenberg Type 10
tion of the RRX network for a 15-year at Dortmund-Eving; construction be-
< 198 period starting in December 2018. The gan in March. The 7  ha site is owned
< 18·0 five routes were offered as three lots, by VRR and will be leased to Siemens
2 820
4 640
attracting five bidders. Two lots were until at least 2050. The 163 m long main
awarded to National Express and one to building will be 63  m wide with six
26 226 Abellio NRW. tracks. There also will be a warehouse,
National Express will take over route administration building, an outdoor
1 400 / 2 050
RE5 (Koblenz – Köln – Düsseldorf – train washing plant and an underfloor
Wesel) as part of the future RRX5, and wheel lathe with an automatic wheel
800 to 850 RE6 (Köln-Bonn Flughafen – Essen profile scanning and diagnostic system.
2 600 – Hamm – Minden) as part of RRX6, In total, the depot is expected to have
920 / 840
18 576 operating 6 million train-km per year 5·5 km of track.
across the two routes. It will also pro- The new depot will be fully connected
25 200 vide 2·4 million train-km per year on into the Siemens digital train monitoring
1 800 / 2 120 route RE4 Aachen – Monchenglad- system (RG 9.16 p127). The units will be
2 500
920 / 840
bach – Hagen – Dortmund. Abellio continuously monitored to identify any
19 000 NRW will operate routes RE1 (Aachen
– Köln – Essen – Hamm) as the future
Below: The trailer bogies under the double-
15 kV 16·7 Hz RRX1 and RE11 (Düsseldorf – Essen – deck cars have one brake disc per axle and
TB221 Dortmund – Hamm – Kassel) as RRX2, magnetic track brakes.
8 x 420
2 200 totalling 6·2 million train-km per year. Below right: The motored bogies have wheel-
2 x 1·97 To operate the network, the local mounted disc brakes.
2x2
Siemens, Graz
Siemens, Nürnberg
Siemens, Nürnberg
Siemens, Nürnberg
Siemens, Nürnberg
Siemens, Nürnberg
Faiveley / Melco
Tricon AG
Atlas Copco
Faiveley
Schwarzer
Railway Gazette International | October 2017 33
1 800
19 000
25 200
potential faults, with the performance
data uploaded to the company’s Mobil-
ity Data Services Centre at München-
Allach. After analysis, any recommenda-
tions for intervention will then be passed
back to the service team at Eving.
High-performance EMUs
At present, DB operates RE1 with
its most modern regional push-pull
trainsets, a six-car double deck forma-
tion comprising a driving trailer with
low-floor entrances, three second class
coaches with high-floor entrances, one
composite and one first class vehicle,
powered by a Class 146 electric loco-
motive rated at 4·4 MW. Dating from
2002, these 208  m trainsets have seats
for 186 first class passengers in a 2+1
layout and 493 second class arranged
2+2. With a total weight of around
400  tonnes, this gives a power-to-
weight ratio of 10 kW/t.
For the RRX operations, which will
need to run in mixed traffic with ICE
services, the promoters were looking
for something with more capacity and
faster acceleration. The four-car Desiro
High Capacity EMUs combine both
single- and double-deck vehicles in one
unit. The single-deck driving cars have
wide doorways for rapid boarding and
alighting, and standing room for short
trips, while the double-deck intermedi-
ate cars offer plenty of seating for pas-
sengers travelling longer distances. The
units are intended to operate in pairs,
creating a 210  m long train with seats
for 800 passengers — 72 first and 728
second class. That is an 18% increase in
seating capacity.
Desiro HC PASSENGER ROLLING STOCK
4 640
2 500 2 600 800
18 576
26 226
2 820
1 400 © Railway Gazette 2017
A power-to-weight ratio of Above: Fig 1. The
16·8  kW/t means 60% more power Desiro HC combines
single and double-
for faster acceleration, which with the deck cars. Standard
160  km/h top speed and higher brak- toilets are fitted in
ing rates should meet the requirement the centre vehicles,
while an accessible
for mixed operation. Entrance heights toilet is provided in
of 730  mm in the driving cars and one driving car and
a small first class
800  mm for the centre cars will give section in the other.
near-level boarding from 760 mm high
platforms, substantially improving the Right: Steps inside
speed of boarding and alighting to opti- driving car 1 give
access from the
mise station dwell times. 800 mm high centre
section to the high
Aluminium bodies floor area above have been followed by further locally-
the bogies and the
The single-deck driving cars of the gangway to car 2. built sets (p37). Siemens is now supply-
Desiro HC are being manufactured at ing 156 Cityjet units to ÖBB under a
Uerdingen, while the newly-designed programme to be completed in 2019.
double-deck centre cars are being assem- These vehicles have a central ‘low-
bled in Wien. Both plants are equipped floor’ section between the doors with a
to weld long extruded aluminium pro- floor height of 800 mm above rail; two
files to create the Desiro ML carbodies. steps up at each end lead to a 1 200 mm
The crash energy-absorbing nose sec- high section over the motor bogies.
tion is made of steel and bolted to the One end car has a wheelchair accessible
aluminium bodyshell. All vehicles have toilet in the low-floor section, which is
electrically-operated sliding-plug doors.
The driving cars are essentially derived
from the Desiro ML family, which be-
gan with the 17 sets supplied to Mittel-
rheinbahn from 2008 (RG 9.08 p613).
These were followed by 305 Desiro ML
sets for SNCB in Belgium and the 54
Lastochkas supplied to Russia, which
Below right: Entrance heights are arranged
to suit a 760 mm high platform. The end car
(right) has doorways level with the 800 mm
floor area. The double-deck cars (left and
photo on right) have a 730 mm high entrance
descending to a 465 mm floor area, and three
steps leading up to the intermediate level
above the bogie. A further eight steps give
access to the upper deck. A retractable step
closes the gap, and also facilitates boarding
from 550 mm high platforms.
+760 +760
Image: Siemens
±0∙00 ±0∙00
34 October 2017 | Railway Gazette International

PASSENGER ROLLING STOCK Desiro HC

configured as a multi-service area with
tip-up seats and room for up to 18 bicy-
cles. In the other end car the low-floor
central section has conventional trans-
verse seating, while the outer high-floor
bays behind the cab in this vehicle pro-
vide the small first class section.
The Desiro HC runs on bolsterless
bogies derived from the SF  6500 de-
sign, of which four are motored and two
unpowered. All have a similar mechani-
cal configuration, although the motored
bogies have a 2  600  mm wheelbase
while that for the unpowered ones is
shorter at 2 500 mm.
The axles are guided by longitudinal
linkages, which at one end support the
bogie frame by coil springs contained in
rubber elements and are complemented
by vertical shock absorbers. Traction forc-
es are transmitted between carbody and
bogie frame by a central linkage using The driver’s desk has the roof apart from the air-compressor thermally-insulated glazing. This avoids
rubber/metal springs and bearing surfac- a similar layout to and batteries. The standard Sitrac trac- the need for any special in-train repeat-
other EMUs in the
es. The secondary air springs have a two- Desiro ML family. tion control system is fully redundant. ers to amplify mobile phone signals,
point levelling system, while a torsion Each motor car has its own pantograph while the train is reportedly ready for
stabiliser prevents the car from rolling. and oil-directed air-forced transformer the introduction of 5G technology.
The self-ventilating three-phase mo- with a four-quadrant converter feeding By the time of the presentation of
tors are fully suspended from the bogie the liquid-cooled IGBT inverter pack, the first unit to NRW representatives
frame by rubber springs and drive the which in turn powers the four motors in July, four trains had been delivered
Flender gearbox via a toothed coupling. under that vehicle. Roof-mounted HV to the Wildenrath test centre. Siemens
The gearbox is supported from the Below: Entrance area cables provide a 15 kV 16·7 Hz connec- expects to use seven sets for an inten-
frame on one side and the other side in car 2, showing tion between the two power cars, so that sive testing programme before the first
the steps up to the
rests directly on the axle, giving a half- intermediate and a unit can operate with only one panto- trains enter passenger service on route
riding suspension. Wheel-mounted thence to the upper graph raised. The electro-dynamic brak- RE11 in autumn 2018. Deliveries are
disc brakes are fitted, while the end ax- deck. ing is fully regenerative, with no brake due to be completed in 2019.
les have sanding gear for use in times of Below right: The resistances. Each car has its own roof Running at 110 km/h riding on test
poor adhesion. The unpowered bogies upper deck in car 2. mounted air-conditioning unit. ring T1 at Wildenrath, the unit exhibit-
have one brake disc per axle and are also Bottom right: The A new window coating has been ed a very low noise level, even including
equipped with magnetic track brakes. lower deck in car 2, developed to allow radio waves to pass the air-conditioning. The riding quali-
looking through to
All of the electrical equipment comes the next entrance through the double-glazed panes up to ties seemed excellent, with very smooth
from Siemens, and most is mounted on vestibule. 500 times more easily than conventional acceleration and braking.  n
 Point cloud by Grunder Ingenieure AG

Enabling inter-Europe mobility

through 3D digital realities

3.5 million passengers and 90,000

freight trains pass through the
Gotthard Base Tunnel each year

Enabling understanding
Deep under the Alps, the Gotthard Base Tunnel provides The firm used the Leica Pegasus:Two mobile mapping
an essential high-speed rail link, connecting Northern platform to capture in just a few weeks what would have
and Southern Europe. taken months to complete with traditional methods.

To enable better understanding of the tunnel, Grunder

Ingenieure AG created an immersive and accurate digital Find out more at
representation of the structure and its surroundings. leica-geosystems.com/gotthard-base-tunnel

Leica Geosystems AG
3D Mobile Mapping
leica-geosystems.com Enabling Digital Realities
© 2017 Hexagon AB and/or its subsidiaries and affiliates. Leica Geosystems is part of Hexagon. All rights reserved.
PROUD TO HELP
OUR CUSTOMERS
SUCCEED
Building close relationships and fully understanding
our customers’ needs are key to ensuring success.
As a new company with 150 years of heritage, we’ve been
developing products and providing solutions to secure a
sustainable rail industry.
FIND US AT
EXPO FERROVIARIA
We’re proud to be helping build stronger futures for high speed, IN HALL 2, STAND 264
heavy duty, mixed traffic, metro and tramway networks.

Discover how we can work with you to help you succeed:

FIND US AT
T | +44 (0)1724 404040 NORDIC RAIL
E | rail@britishsteel.co.uk ON STAND B08:29
@BrSteelRail

BRITISHSTEEL.CO.UK/RAIL
 Railway Gazette International | October 2017 37

Russia PASSENGER ROLLING STOCK

Lastochka Premium
takes centre stage
Toma Bačić describes the passenger vehicles on show at this year’s Expo 1520 trade show, which took
place at the Shcherbinka railway test centre between August 30 and September 2.

O
wned by the all-Russian
railway research institute
VNIIZhT and opened in
1932, the Shcherbinka test
centre on the edge of Moscow has been
a long-standing proving ground for
novel rolling stock destined for use in
the 1 520 mm gauge region. Every two
years, the centre is thronged with visi-
tors to the Expo 1520 trade show, and
between August 30 and September 2
this year was no different.
The centre has three test rings for dy-
namic vehicle trials at up to 140 km/h,
and the daily cavalcades of rolling stock,
both historic and modern, are an obvi-
ous crowd-pleaser for Expo 1520 visi-
tors. But at the core of the exhibition are
the products and services being devel-
oped and deployed by Russian suppliers
and their international partners, which
offer a snapshot of wider investment in
the Russian market (RG 6.17 p49).
Speaking at the opening ceremony,
RZD President Oleg Belozerov an- an increase in exports in the year to date
nounced that rolling stock fleet renewal of 9bn roubles, up 42% on the first eight
remained at the top of the national rail- months of 2016.
way’s priority list. No fewer than 450 lo-
comotives would be added to the RZD Longer-distance Lastochka
fleet this year, with a value of 58bn rou- Among passenger vehicles, three
bles. Like many of his peers around the novel electric multiple-units were high-
world, Belozerov also stressed to visi- lights of the show. Arguably taking cen-
tors the importance of digital tools in tre stage was the long-distance variant
enhancing the capacity and efficiency of of the Lastochka EMU. The Ural Loco-
the rail network. ‘The digital railway is a motives joint venture of Sinara Group
project for the very near future’, he em- and Siemens displayed a Lastochka The five-car ES2GP using standard Desiro RUS EMUs, but
phasised. Meanwhile, Deputy Trade & Premium inter-regional version of their Lastochka Premium
is 126·5 metres long
the Type ES2GP prototype which was
Industry Minister Alexander Morozov Desiro RUS electric multiple-unit fam- with 347 seats. The completed last year is a modified design
highlighted the importance of state ily. Russian Railways had previously interior is divided into
three classes; first class
intended to be better suited to longer
support in the development of the do- used the Lastochka Premium brand to features a 2+2 seating routes of up to 200 km.
mestic supply industry. He pointed out refer to some faster services operated arrangement, while The air-conditioned EMU has econ-
second and third class
have 2+3 seating. omy, tourist and business class accom-
modation with more comfortable seats
than the local variant, as well as power
sockets, wi-fi and a passenger informa-
tion system. There is a food preparation
area in an end coach, and a compart-
ment for train crew. Supporting the
policy of localising manufacturing, the
Lastochka Premium has 90% Russian-
produced content. According to RZD
Photos: Toma Bačić

Thanks to its 3 480 mm Passenger Director Dmitry Pegov,

width, the two-car there are now 128 Lastochka EMUs
EP2D trainset with 2+3
seating is still very
in revenue operation in Russia. In June,
comfortable. RZD and Ural Locomotives agreed to
38 October 2017 | Railway Gazette International
PASSENGER ROLLING STOCK Russia
develop a Type EM variant for inter-
city routes with journey times of around
4  h. Under its earlier agreements with
RZD, Ural Locomotives is contracted
to supply 240 Desiro RUS EMUs in
2017-23.
Suburban development
Transmashholding presented a full-
size mock-up of its newly-developed
EP2TV suburban EMU, which would
be produced by its Tver Carriage Works
subsidiary. The basic configuration is an
11-car trainset with a length of 246 m
and a maximum speed of 140 km/h; a
regional option with a 160 km/h maxi-
mum speed is also to be offered. Interior
layout would be in 2+2 or 3+3 arrange-
ments, and total capacity in high-den-
sity layout would be 3 300. An installed
rating of 7·2 MW would offer accelera-
tion of 0·7 m/s2. TMH Director Gen-
eral Kirill Lipa said that the EMU was
designed for use in the more populous
European and Ural regions of Russia.
Meanwhile, TMH also displayed an
EMU aimed at lightly used routes elec-
trified at 3 kV DC. The two-car EP2D
design is produced at TMH’s Demik-
hovsky Engineering Plant and is a
variant of the established EP2D electric
16 Moskva metro trainsets were brought into use
on Moscow metro line 7 in early September.
multiple-unit family. DMZ currently
produces EP2D EMUs in four-car and
11-car configurations, with a total of
257 units now in service with Russian
Railways.
The steel-bodied EP2D is 45·6  m
long and has 136 seats. It has a maxi-
mum speed of 120  km/h and, accord-
ing to TMH, offers a 20% reduction in
energy consumption compared to pre-
vious designs. It also offers lower noise
and vibration in the passenger saloons
and improved collision protection.
Among non-powered vehicles, TMH
exhibited a Type 61-4473 double deck
Top: Transmashholding restaurant car. The 160 km/h diner has
exhibited a mock-up
of an EP2TV cab,
48 seats in the restaurant and four in the
showing that it is bar.
suitable for use
with 1 100 mm high
platforms. Wide Urban rail vehicles
doorways and a Stadler presented one of six Me-
spacious interior mean
the EMU is suitable for telitsa trams that are to be delivered
busy suburban routes, to St Petersburg operating consortium
offering fast boarding
and alighting. Transportnaya Koncessionnaya Kom-
panya next month. The tram, designated
Above: Stadler
Metelitsa trams for B85600M or Chizhik by the operator,
St Petersburg have will be used on a new fast tram route
been branded Chizhik
by the operator, being developed by TKK to serve the
continuing a tradition Krasnogvardeisky district of the city.
to name railway and
tram vehicles after TKK has ordered 23 Metelitsa trams
bird species. in total; the three-section cars have a
Bo’Bo’Bo’Bo’ wheel arrangement where
two bogies are located under the central
section. The 100% low-floor design fea-
tures five double-leaf doors and seating
for 66 passengers.
Door width is 1 300  mm, which is
intended to enable fast boarding and
alighting at city centre stops. The saloon
is air-conditioned, and standing room is
provided for up to 376 passengers, as-
suming peak loading conditions of eight
passengers/m2. The bi-directional cars
are 33·4  m long and 2 500  mm wide.
Maximum power rating is 560 kW and
maximum speed 75 km/h.
TMH subsidiary Metrowagonmash
exhibited a Type 81-765 Moskva train-
set for the Moscow metro. The city
operator signed a contract in Decem-
ber 2014 for the supply of 96 eight-car
trainsets, and a prototype was delivered
to Vykhino depot in February. Each
trainset comprises two powered driving
cars, four powered trailers and two un-
powered intermediate cars.
Total passenger capacity is 2 402, and
the cars feature 1 400  mm wide doors
and wide walkthrough gangways to en-
hance passenger throughput. The trains
also feature wheelchair spaces and USB
sockets. While the Moscow metro uses
an 825 V DC third rail supply, the dem-
onstrator on show at Expo 1520 was
equipped with pantographs to run on
the test circuit during the event.  n
www.caf.net

Meet us at:
Elmia Nordic Rail 10 - 12 October 2017
Elmia, Jönköping (Sweden)
Stand B04:54
40 October 2017 | Railway Gazette International

PASSENGER ROLLING STOCK Caledonian Sleeper

Scottish hotel
remain ‘broadly as now’, with 31 seats in
each seating car.
Interior styling is by Scottish design-
er Ian Smith. Four types of accommo-

train fleet on test

dation will be on offer: reclining ‘Com-
fort’ seats with secure lockers; ‘Classic
Rooms’ with single or twin berths and
a washbasin; ‘Club Rooms’ with twin
or single berths and an ensuite toilet
Now undergoing trials at Velim in the Czech Republic is the first batch and shower; and ‘Suites’ offering a dou-
ble bed plus ensuite toilet and shower.
of cars being built to replace rolling stock on Anglo-Scottish overnight
Around 60% of the sleeping accommo-
services operated under Serco’s 15-year Caledonian Sleeper franchise. dation will have en suite facilities, Serco
Murray Hughes investigates. says, and all three types of sleeping

T
compartment will be available to pas-
he first of a fleet of 75 coach- has sections to and from Glasgow and Above: The first five sengers with reduced mobility.
es destined for Serco’s Cal- Edinburgh and the ‘Highland’ sleeper cars are currently on The lounge car in each train has been
test at Velim in the
edonian Sleeper franchise is has portions to and from Fort William, Czech Republic. designed to feature a ‘brasserie’ style,
due to arrive in the UK by Inverness and Aberdeen. with banquette seating grouped around
the end of this year. The first five cars tables and individual seats or stools on
were sent to the Velim test centre in the Formation the other side of a central gangway.
Czech Republic during August from Each set will consist of up to 16 cars,
Spanish manufacturer CAF’s Beasain with 11 vehicles available as spares. The
factory — CAF signed a €200m con- new fleet consists of 11 seating cars, 10
tract for the new fleet in 2015 (RG 3.15 lounge cars, 14 sleeping cars meeting
p8). At Velim the cars are undergoing PRM TSI requirements and 40 other
several weeks of dynamic testing before sleeping cars. Serco says that the num-
shipment to Scotland via the Channel ber of beds and seats on each train will
Tunnel.
Further deliveries will be by sea from
Right: Some cars will offer accommodation
Spain, initially via Teesport. After static with double beds and ensuite shower and
tests, the fleet will be trialled on the toilet.
West Coast Main Line over the win- Below: Computer-generated image of the
ter, and some cars may be displayed at Caledonian Sleeper lounge car.
major stations served by Caledonian
Sleeper services.
Announcing further details of the
MkV rolling stock fleet on August 30,
Caledonian Sleeper said that a phased
introduction is planned from spring
2018; April has been set as a target date
for entry into service. All the cars are
due to be operational by the autumn of
next year.
As with the current service operated
using MkIII sleeping cars dating from
1982 and MkII lounge and seating
vehicles, the new cars will be formed
into four sets and will run on Sunday
to Friday nights. Two services run in
each direction: the ‘Lowland’ sleeper
Railway Gazette International | October 2017 41

Caledonian Sleeper PASSENGER ROLLING STOCK

The fleet will have air-conditioning,
plug doors, dimmable lighting, key
cards for compartment access, wi-fi and
charging sockets for phones and other
devices. Information screens will be
provided in the vestibule area at each
end of the cars. Mattresses and other
bedding are being supplied by Glencraft
of Aberdeen.
Mounted on inside-frame bogies
with axle-mounted disc brakes, each
aluminium-bodied car is 22·2  m long
and will be able to run at 160 km/h.
CAF has a contract to supply spares,
and maintenance will be in the hands
of Alstom, which was awarded a 15-
year service contract worth €125m in
2015. Most maintenance work will be
carried out at Polmadie in Glasgow
and at the Wembley traincare centre in
London.
Serco has contracted GB Railfreight
to supply traction, with Class 92 electric
locomotives originally built for Chan-
nel Tunnel services being deployed on
the London to Edinburgh/Glasgow
legs. Rebuilt Class 73/9 electro-diesel
locomotives haul the trains to Fort
William and Aberdeen, with operation
in pairs on the Inverness service. Both
types of locomotive are being equipped
The five carriages
were transported
by road from CAF’s
Besain factory to
Hendaye in France,
from where they
were taken to the
Czech Republic by
rail.
with Dellner couplers to match the new Sleeper business as investment in new
stock. overnight stock in western Europe is
The Scottish government is contrib- rare. Only Austrian Railways is cur-
uting £60m towards the cost of the re- rently planning to acquire a new fleet of
placement fleet, with additional finance overnight trains.
from Caledonian Sleepers Rail Leasing Achieving the right balance of fares
Ltd, a subsidiary of Lombard North to attract all types of passenger will be
Central plc. Interfleet was appointed critical. A 12-month booking option is
in 2015 as project manager for design, already available, allowing passengers
construction and introduction of the to plan well ahead of their journeys.
new fleet. Caledonian Sleeper Chairman Peter
Other European operators will be Strachan said that ‘the new trains will
keeping a close eye on the Caledonian improve the service dramatically’.  n

MOVING FORWARD.
YOUR GOALS. YOUR PRODUCT LINE. YOUR PROJECT PARTNER.

t
Visit us a
EXPO
ia 2017
Ferroviarn, Italy
in Mila
2017
October
3rd–5th
4 6
Stand 5

lappkabel.com/rollingstock
42 October 2017 | Railway Gazette International
PASSENGER ROLLING STOCK Poland
Elf2 enters
the fray
Having been supplying EMUs for its home market since
2004, Pesa has established a firm presence with its Elf
family. The design has now been updated, and the first
Elf2 entered service in Śląskie in September.
Ryszard Piech reports from its inaugural run.
L
ocal dignitaries from the
Śląskie region and invited
guests joined the 10.57 train
between Katowice and Tychy
Lodowisko on a sunny September 13
to celebrate the handover of Pesa’s first
Elf2 electric-multiple unit to launch
customer Koleje Śląskie.
The regional operator is taking deliv-
ery of 19 Elf2 sets under a 288m złoty
contract supported by the voivodship’s
funding body UMWŚ. The fleet com-
prises four two-car units and three three-
car sets ordered directly by KŚ, plus 12
four-car trains financed by UMWŚ us-
ing a 70% grant from the voivodship’s
Regional Operational Programme fund.
The train used for the handover event
was one of the three-car variants. These
units are 59 m long with seats for 154
passengers. The floor height is 760 mm
above rail, which is standard for Poland,
and the maximum speed is 160 km/h.
Each train comes with a 10-year war-
ranty and all 19 sets are expected to be in
service by the end of 2018. The contract
includes a series of follow-on options, and
Invited guests KŚ is understood to be evaluating the pro-
marked the launch
of the Elf2 by joining
curement of two more three-car units.
the 10.57 service
train between Changing market needs
Katowice and Tychy
Lodowisko.
Pesa has developed the Elf2 as a re-
sponse to changing legislation, technical
standards and TSI compliance require-
ments. The Bydgoszcz-based supplier
produced its first EMU in 2004, and
to date it has delivered 133 3  kV  DC
trainsets for the domestic market. Over
the first few years the company experi-
mented with various designs and com-
ponents, but in 2010 it finalised the Elf
platform, of which 77 trains have sub-
sequently been supplied in various con-
figurations from two to six cars.
In recent years, budget pressures in
the Polish public sector spurred Pesa to
develop low-cost variants, including the
The Elf2 has been Acatus2 and Acatus Plus, while non-
developed with an standard trains were supplied to War-
interior to comply
with TSI PRM, and szawa suburban operator WKD. The
it is fitted with company says the Elf2 draws on all of
ETCS onboard these developments to combine afford-
equipment to meet
interoperability ability with quality.
requirements. As well as having ETCS onboard
equipment installed to meet TSI require-
ments, the Elf2 incorporates a number of
other features. For the convenience of on-
board staff, a glass cubicle has been fitted
where crew can leave their belongings and
the train manager can undertake duties
including making audio announcements
and monitoring CCTV. On the techni-
cal side, the ceiling has been redesigned
to improve air flow and ambient condi-
tions. Pesa has also updated its remote
condition monitoring suite to improve
the response time in case of failure.
Following consultation with local rail
users, KŚ requested an increase in the
provision of handrails on its trains, as
well as seats with armrests, tables and
power sockets. A more advanced pas-
senger information system can now de-
liver real time information about con-
necting services.
More orders in prospect
Pesa has already won a further three
contracts for the Elf2, including a
125m  złoty order for five three-car and
two four-car trains from Podkarpackie
voivodship, which are due to be delivered
before the end of this year. A further four
two-car trains are destined for national
regional operator PolRegio within a
budget of 58m  złoty, while Wielkopol-
skie voivodship has placed orders worth
238m złoty for 10 five-car trains.
The provision of GSM-R and ETCS
also raises the prospect of ‘a truly interop-
erable train that could one day run into
neighbouring Slovakia and the Czech
Republic’, suggested KŚ President Wo-
jciech Dinges at the handover ceremony.
Pesa CEO Robert Świechowicz noted
that the delivery marked ‘a history of co-
operation swinging around’, recalling that
the first Elf EMU had also been ordered
by Śląskie voivodship. He emphasised the
importance of support of the regional and
national governments, which continues
to underpin investment in ‘modern, safe,
European-standard rolling stock’.  n
 CATENARY SPECIALIST
MAINTENANCE
INSTALLATION
DIAGNOSTICS

TRANSFER CAPABILITY AS PASSENGER TRAIN ON RAILWAY INFRASTRUCTURES

www.tesmec.com

N
ATIO S !
GE
NE
R
L ES
NEW
W IRE
G O
New Bluetooth generation
BT
• Wireless full contact measurement
• Compact soft edge design
D I G I TA L P R O F I L E M E A S U R I N G • Brand new modern-age software

Full contact - Your way to valid and reliable data

www.miniprof.dk
44 October 2017 | Railway Gazette International
SCANDINAVIA Investment
Future-proofing
Sweden’s rail sector
A substantial increase in rail investment is envisaged in Trafikverket’s 2018-29 National Plan, with the
government anticipating significant modal shift. However, Astoc CEO Björn Westerberg argues that
more needs to be done to ‘future-proof’ the Swedish rail network.
C
onsultation is now underway
on the priorities for trans-
port infrastructure spending
in Sweden over the next 12
years, following the launch by Trafikver-
ket of its draft 2018-29 National Plan
on August 31. The proposals have been
BJÖRN submitted to the government, and —
WESTERBERG subject to any modifications following
CEO, Association the three-month public consultation —
of Swedish Train the plan is expected to be adopted in the
Operators spring of 2018.
According to Trafikverket Director
General Lena Erixon, the national plan
responds to the government’s ambition
for ‘a modern, efficient and sustainable
transport system’. It covers state-owned
infrastructure for all modes, includ-
ing road, rail, maritime transport and
Top: In its
objectives shaping aviation. The state has already agreed a
Trafikverket’s funding envelope of SKr622·5bn, an in-
national plan, crease of SKr100bn on the current plan
the government
wants to encourage period, while Trafikverket anticipates
modal shift from that an additional SKr90bn will be
road to rail in raised through road congestion charges,
order to reduce
the environmental track access fees and co-financing.
impact of transport. Around SKr280bn has been allocated
for rail investment, of which SKr125bn
is intended for operations, maintenance
and renewal of existing infrastructure
compared to SKr164bn for the national
road network. There is to be a 47% in-
crease in maintenance and reinvestment
spending, which Erixon says will ‘restore
the functionality of the railways’. Much
of the investment is to be targeted at the
busiest corridors used by commuter and
freight traffic.
Sustainability agenda
The National Plan is Trafikver-
ket’s response to the infrastructure bill
adopted by the government in Decem-
ber 2016, which was followed by a series
of directives in March 2017 clarifying
its strategic objectives. The package has
also been informed by a dialogue with
many different stakeholders at both na-
tional and regional level.
The starting point is the increas-
ing demand for transport by all modes,
which has been putting pressure on net-
work capacity. This also means addition-
al maintenance is required to cope with
Photo: SJ / Stefan Nilsson
the increased wear and tear. And that in
turn has shaped the spending priorities.
The government’s primary objec-
tive is to ensure that Sweden remains
a strong and sustainable country, and
that its industries and businesses are
competitive in the global economy. This
is reflected in its five national develop-
ment priorities which underpin the
long-term transport policy:
• transitioning to a fossil fuel-free
economy;
• ensuring good connectivity between
all parts of the country;
• increasing the provision of housing to
accommodate a growing population;
• improving conditions for doing busi-
ness in a competitive global market;
• achieving the lowest rate of unem-
ployment in the EU.
In terms of climate change, there is
an explicit objective — now enshrined
in law — requiring a 70% reduction in
greenhouse gas emissions from domes-
tic transport by 2030. Although the
development of electric road vehicles
is moving forward rapidly and there is
Railway Gazette International | October 2017 45
increased use of renewable fuels, these
will not be enough, and the government
wants to encourage modal shift from
road to rail. To improve the competi-
tiveness of Swedish industry, the trans-
port sector is expected to ensure reliable
commuting to and from work, as well
as improved accessibility. Freight trans-
port must also be reliable and ensure the
availability of goods wherever required.
Rail is expected to play a core part in
delivering these objectives, which is re-
flected in the increased public funding
being made available for network en-
hancement. However, Sweden has one
of the most liberalised rail markets in
Europe, very much in line with Europe-
an Commission policy. This means that
all parts of the rail sector — including
the train operators, regulators and other
players — will have to work with the in-
frastructure manager to deliver a sustain-
able, rapid, and efficient transport sys-
tem. With the right measures in place to
encourage growth and modal shift, the
Association of Swedish Train Operating
Companies estimates that there could be
a doubling in rail freight volumes and a
tripling of passenger ridership by 2050.
Capacity for growth
Overall demand for rail transport in
Sweden has been increasing for many
years, particularly in the passenger sec-
tor. Since the early 1990s, ridership has
doubled, while car usage has only risen
by between 10% and 15%. Infrastructure
enhancements and on-rail competition
in an increasingly deregulated market
have been key drivers. However, main-
tenance and renewals have not kept
pace, and the National Plan priorities
belatedly reflect some of the network
shortcomings which have become in-
creasingly apparent. There is a shortage
of capacity in both road and rail, leading
to delays, congestion and increased costs.
The Government Agency for Trans-
port Analysis concluded in its last an-
nual review that the system ‘does not
in any way’ look able to achieve the
long-term sustainability objectives. Rail
needed to increase its market share,
the agency said, yet the worn-out in-
frastructure was impacting on perfor-
mance, reducing user confidence and
the profitability of operators. This risked
triggering a period of stagnation or
even decline at a time when the country
should be investing in rail expansion.
Regional development
In recent years, social development
in Sweden has seen the emergence of
larger urbanised regions, with increased
commuting between and within them,
increasing flows of freight to and from
the cities, as well as serving the vital ex-
port industries. Expansion of the service
Investment SCANDINAVIA
‘‘
‘Infrastructure development needs to be
matched with — or preferably run ahead of
— projected increases in demand’
sector has resulted in increased demand
for a well-educated workforce, along
with better conditions for work, study
and culture. Regional development has
largely been a labour market issue and
the emergence of larger regions has been
driven by local efforts to increase com-
petitiveness and create growth. Accessi-
bility to labour and education is crucial,
but in recent years the growth trend has
been throttled by capacity constraints on
both the rail network and major roads.
In Astoc’s view, it is important that
infrastructure development is seen from
this perspective, integrating Sweden’s
regions into trans-European communi-
ties, and generating social benefits over
the longer term.
Major projects
Trafikverket’s 2018-29 National Plan
has been described as the ‘most ambi-
tious’ transport development strategy
that the country has ever seen, backed
by record levels of public funding.
Trafikverket has adopted a ‘four-step
process’ to identify and prioritise its
investment requirements: ‘reflect – op-
timise – rebuild – build new’. While it
has been looking to make best use of the
existing rail network through selected
enhancements and modern traffic man-
agement systems, the infrastructure
manager accepts that in some places the
network has reached its limits and new
capacity is needed, not least to handle
increased freight for the mining, for-
estry and manufacturing sectors.
The government has committed to
improving cross-border connectivity
with our Nordic partners, and ensur-
ing full interoperability on the TEN-
T core corridors. The National Plan
envisages that Sweden will meet the
TEN-T commitments by 2030, includ-
ing infrastructure improvements to ac-
commodate 750  m long freight trains
and the implementation of Ertms,
which along with other digitisation
projects is expected to increase capacity.
Responding to Astoc’s concerns
about the impact of Ertms implemen-
tation on the competitiveness of rail
freight (RG 3.17 p68), Trafikverket is
planning to consult on how it might
fund up to 50% of operators’ costs.
This recognises that the installation of
ETCS onboard equipment is really an
extension of the signalling infrastruc-
ture into the rolling stock.
Enhancement projects to be under-
taken during the 12-year plan period
include four-tracking the remaining
sections of the Uppsala – Stockholm
line, with a fifth track for freight on the
northern approaches to the capital. Ac-
cessibility improvements are planned
for many regional lines.
In the centre of the country, the
ongoing Hallsberg – Mjölby double-
tracking project is to be completed,
along with capacity enhancements
between Tomteboda and Kallhäll. Up-
grading works are also envisaged on
the lines linking Värnamo, Nässjö and
Jönköping. The Hamnbanan freight
link and Vastlänken cross-city tunnel
in Göteborg are to be completed, along
with capacity improvements on the Opening of the
main line to Laxå. In the south, the fi- Citybanan tunnels
nal section of the West Coast main line for Stockholm
commuter services
remodelling is to be completed between in July will release
Ängelholm and Helsingborg. capacity on the
Further north, expansion of the Ost- core network to
accommodate more
kustbanan is envisaged, including dou- regional and long-
ble-tracking from Gävle to Kringlan distance trains.
46 October 2017 | Railway Gazette International
SCANDINAVIA Investment
and Dingersjö to Sundsvall. Construc-
tion is also expected to start on the first
stretch of the Norrbotniabanan from
Umeå as far as Skellefteå.
Axleloads on the Malmbanan iron ore
line are to be increased from 30 tonnes
to 32·5 or 35 tonnes, in conjuction with
similar work on the Ofotbanen in Nor-
way leading to the port of Narvik.
Recognising that Trafikverket needs
to be able to respond rapidly to chang-
ing circumstances, a ring-fenced ‘buffer’
of SKr1·2bn has been set aside, which
can be called off in response to emerg-
ing market requirements with clear
public benefits. These might arise from
structural changes in different industry
sectors, or the restructuring of logistics
flows, for example, including the need
to tackle specific bottlenecks.
High speed downgrade
In terms of new capacity, the big-
gest single project under development
in recent years has been the planned
Y-shaped high speed line connecting
Stockholm with Göteborg and Malmö.
This is intended to accommodate the
growing demand for fast inter-city ser-
vices, where national operator SJ faces
competition from open access compa-
nies on both routes, while freeing up
capacity on the existing line for more
freight and regional passenger trains.
Infrastructure
improvements
The National Plan envisages that
to accommodate work will be pushed ahead on the Ost-
longer and heavier länken between Järna and Linköping,
trains, along with
the roll-out of where planning is already well advanced,
ETCS for European and also on the Lund – Hässleholm
interoperability, will section of the Malmö branch to provide
help Sweden’s rail
freight operators more capacity in the south. However,
support economic neither project is now expected to be
development completed within the plan period. Ost-
and drive the
country’s global länken is still not fully funded, and the
competitiveness. completion date has moved back from
2028 to 2035. Meanwhile, the intention
is now that the line should be built with
ballasted track for a maximum speed
of 250 km/h rather than the 320 km/h
originally envisaged.
Astoc is concerned that the choice
of a lower maximum speed will have a
significant impact on the viability of the
project. Trafikverket has not confirmed
that building a 250 km/h mixed-traffic
route would reduce infrastructure con-
struction costs, compared to building
a dedicated line for 320  km/h. Earlier
studies showed that a segregated high
speed line offered a better return on in-
vestment and a greater capacity increase.
From the passenger perspective, the
correlation between train and air jour-
ney times and market share is very well
established. Longer journey times mean
fewer rail trips and less transfer from
other modes, so abandoning the target
of 2 h 30 min to Malmö will have a sig-
nificant effect. The slower journey times
will also impact on connectivity be-
tween the labour market regions around
the bigger and smaller cities.
Adopting 250  km/h for Ostlänken
will effectively determine the standards
for the whole Swedish high speed net-
work and goes counter to the policy in
other countries which are looking for at
least 320 to 400 km/h. The slower aver-
age speeds means that more trains are
needed to handle a given throughput,
yet there is no established European
rolling stock market where operators
can buy standard vehicles for 250 km/h.
Short-term thinking
Astoc also has a number of other
concerns about the proposals, which we
believe reflect a degree of short-term
thinking that does not really ‘future-
proof ’ the Swedish rail network.
While the commitment to increased
maintenance spending is welcome, this
work needs to be undertaken systemati-
cally to ensure that the funds are used in
an optimal way. We would therefore like
to see Trafikverket developing a long-
term national maintenance plan.
The traffic projections seem to be
based on an extrapolation of recent
demand trends, rather than any funda-
mental reassessment of future market
requirements. As such, it is not clear
how rail is expected to become a cata-
lyst in shaping the future of Swedish
society in line with the government’s
broader objectives. We are particularly
concerned that the timescale for the
planned enhancements is too slow.
In recent years the rail system has
become increasingly vulnerable in terms
of performance, and this lack of reli-
ability may inhibit growth or even en-
courage the transfer of traffic from rail
to road, in direct contradiction to the
government’s aims. Infrastructure de-
velopment needs to be matched with —
or preferably run ahead of — projected
increases in demand.
We are also concerned that decisions
on sector taxes and track access charges
seem to be taken in separate silos, with
no overall view of the impact on trans-
port strategy or the need to ensure that
rail remains competitive with other
modes. For example, there is no proper
intermodal freight strategy in the Na-
tional Plan which would encourage
modal shift from road to rail.
In addition to the plan itself,
Trafikverket recognises the need for
other incentives to achieve the climate
objectives, including one described as
‘environmental compensation’. This
could reduce the track access charges
for rail freight by around SKr350m a
year, in accordance with Article 34 of
the Single European Railway Area Di-
rective as already adopted in Denmark.
At the same time, we have to ques-
tion whether there is sufficient capacity
in the supply and construction sectors
to deliver the huge raft of investments
that are needed without disrupting train
operations.
Additional capacity may be made
available in the short term through
more efficient use of existing infrastruc-
ture, including changes to track access
charging, administrative instruments
and remodelling to accommodate long-
er and heavier trains. But these are rela-
tively minor steps. In order to achieve a
real step-change in transport provision
— both in terms of service quality and
environmental impact — there is no al-
ternative to new construction. The na-
tional rail network must be expanded to
meet future demands for a sustainable
and competitive transport system.  n
 TEE THE MAR
AN KE
AR

KL A SIF IE D. se S E P TE M BE R 2017
U T

CA
T

NO
S
THE BE
DOBEL®

FFE
R
Quality & Service
Guarantee

DOBEL® FILM

EN 45545 HL3 APPROVED

LAMINATED METAL
Safety First
Can you imagine a product so strong that it can be bent,
stretched, stressed and used for years without any loss
of performance or looks?
DOBEL® F 105 allows designers to be creative in form
while retaining both the functional and safety properties.
The combination of strong and highly shapeable metal
together with design features in foils gives a versatile
material very suitable for exclusive interiors.
DOBEL® F 105 Aluminum now also meets the criteria
for the highest level of fire safety in accordance with
EN 45545-2: 2013 requirements R1, HL3.

W19/12
Metalcolour
07.05. M ZC A/S Metalcolour Sverige AB Metalcolour Asia Pte Ltd
08.05. Ti-To ZC 09.05. Ti-To ZC 10.05. Ti-To ZC
Agrovej
0/2 6 Emaljervägen 7 17 Tuas0/1
Avenue 4 0/0 0/0
13460 DK-4800 Nykøbing F. SE-372 30 Ronneby SG-639368 Singapore 12420
P-CST Phone: +45 5484 9070 Phone: +46 457 –781
F 08.05. 00
09.05. Phone: +65 9030 5157 P-CST
13460 info@metalcolour.com info@metalcolour.com info@metalcolur.com
67:44
www.metalcolour.com
12420W19/12
04:32 10:36 M ZC
07.05. 08.05. Ti-To ZC 09.05. Ti-To ZC 06:20 12:50 ZC
10.05. Ti-To
0/2 0/1 13441 0/0 Sjuk 10.05. 0/0
13460 F 08.05. P-CST 12420
P-CST D F 08.05. – 09.05. 13441 P-CST
pnr3070-annons_halvsida_railway gazette_8 sept_MC_infor.indd 1 27:26 42:50
13460 03:26 09:42 124202017-09-12 09:39
67:44
04:32 13620 10:36 13691 13610 06:20 1251012:50
P-CST P-CST P-CST 13441 Sjuk 10.05.P-CST
13620 F 08.05. 13691 P-CST 13610 12510
16:32 20:04 13441 09:53 21:05
05:02 D
11:08 03:40 08:58 27:26 05:02 06:58 15:13
42:50
12570 14590 03:26 09:42
Semester 09.05. – 12.05.
P-CST
13620 13691 P-CST 13610 12510
P-CST 12570 P-CST17:42 14590 P-CST P-CST
13620
09:28 18:53 13691 12:35 13610 12510
16:32 20:04 21:51 21:05
05:02 11:08 14420 03:40 08:58 14750 05:02 09:53 16460 06:58 15:13
P-CST
12570 P-CST 14590 Semester 09.05. – 12.05. P-CST P-C
P-CST 14420 P-CST 14750 16460
:22 12570 13:23 14590 20:52 20:58
14:27 23:23 17:42 12:46 19:09 16:01 23:00
13835 09:28 18:53 13815 12:35 21:51 13650 13710
CST 14420 P-CST 14750 P-CST 16460 P-CST

IVU.rail
13835 P-CST 13815 P-CST D 13650 P-CST 13710 P-C
18:03
14420 5:58 14750 9:32 19:00
16460 17:
03:09
:22 09:32 03:35 13:23 10:02 16:00 20:00 05:32
20:52 10:01 05:01 10:01
20:58

INTEGRATED
13805 14:27 23:23 12:46 19:09
14790 16:01 23:00
CST 13835 13815 P-CST F 09.05. 13650 13710
CST 13805 P-CST 14790 P-CST P-CST

SOFTWARE FOR
28:30 46:33
03:11 13835 08:58 18:03
13815 13:28
5:58
D 22:54 9:32 13650
19:00
13710
17:
03:09 13865 09:32 03:35 13540 10:02 16:00 20:00 05:32 10:01
12670 05:01 10:01 1

VEHICLES
CST 13805 P-CST 14790 P-CST P-CST
CST 13865 13540 P-CST F 09.05. 12670 1
18:12 14790 21:52 26:04
03:25 13805 09:32
AND CREW
28:30 03:44 09:39 07:31 13:30
46:33 15:34
03:11 08:58 13:2812760 22:54 13590 13420
13865 13540 P-CST P-CST 12670 P-CST 1
CST D P-CST 12760 P-CST
13590 13420 P-CST
12:16 9:45 18:07 1
13865 13540 12:16 18:3921:52 04:24 12670
10:39 1
18:12 26:04 04:46 10:05
03:25 09:32 03:44 09:39 07:31 13:30 15:34
12760 13590 13420

D
P-CST
12760
P-CST
13590
www.ivu.com/rail
P-CST
13420 W19/12
12:16 9:45 18:07 1
07.05. M ZC 08.05.12:16
Ti-To ZC 18:39 04:24 09.05.
10:39 Ti-To ZC 04:46 10.05. Ti-To ZC
10:05
39 133 134 133
1413 14415 13410 14770 13876 14400 12440
P-CST P-CST P-CST P-CST P-CST P-CST P-CS
1413 14415 13410 14770 13876 14400 12440
W19/12
06:27 07.05. M14:16
ZC 22:51 04:57 10:39 Ti-To ZC 16:49
08.05. 20:43 03:07 09:32 15:34
09.05. Ti-To ZC 00:20 06:27 13:51
10.05. Ti-To ZC
11553 39 16798 13710 133 16460 13710 134 14770 13876 133
1413 P-CST 14415 P-CST 13410 P-CST 14770 P-CST 13876 P-CST 14400 P-CST 12440 P-CST
11553 P-CST 16798 P-CST 13710 P-CST 16460 P-CST 13710 P-CST 14770 P-CST
13876 P-CS
1413 07:28 15:21 14415 23:00 05:01 13410 10:01 16:01 14770 23:00 13876
05:01 10:01 16:49 14400
20:43 03:07 12440
09:32 15:46
1673 06:27 14:16 16799 22:51 04:57 13610 10:39 16:49 20:43
11810 03:07 09:32 12640 15:34 00:20 06:27
13835 13:51 1
11553 P-CST 16798 P-CST 13710 P-CST 16460 P-CST
13710 14770 P-CST 13876 P-CST
1673 P-CST 16799 P-CST 13610 P-CST 11810 P-CST 12640 P-CST P-CST 13835 P-CST 1
11553 06:21 15:21 16798 23:00 05:02 13710 09:53 17:04 16460 01:39 13710
08:04 14770
17:32 03:09 13876 09:32 15:50
1493 07:28 15:21 16797 23:00 05:01 13420 10:01 16:01 23:0011690 05:01 10:01 16:49
14650 20:43 03:07 13441 09:32 15:46
1673 P-CST 16799 P-CST 13610 P-CST 11810 P-CST 12640 P-CST 13835 P-CST 1
P-CST P-CST P-CST P-CST P-CST P-CST
1493 16797 13420 11690 14650 13441
1673 05:57 15:50 16799 22:45 04:46 13610 10:05 11810
19:58 05:25 12640
11:27 19:20 03:26 13835 09:42 15:50 1
11513 06:21 15:21 23:0011690 05:02 09:53 1465017:04 01:39 08:04
13835 17:32 11710 03:09 09:3212620 15:50
1493 P-CST
16797 13420 P-CST P-CST
11690 P-CST
14650 P-CST
13441
P-CST P-CST P-CST P-CST P-CST P-CST
11513 11690 14650 13835 11710 12620
 Thursday
22 February 2018
London Hilton on Park Lane

In association with

THE 20TH RAIL BUSINESS AWARDS THE BUSINESS MAGAZINE FOR RAIL www.railpro.co.uk

LOGO SEPT 2012.indd 1 20/02/2017 14:21

20 years of recognising and rewarding excellence in rail

Enter now
ENTRY DEADLINE EXTENDED TO 10 OCTOBER

Enter online:
railbusinessawards.com
info@railbusinessawards.com | 020 8722 8370
T E GO R I E S NG DAT DS CEREMO
CA OS I
CL E AR

19 10 22
AW

NY

OCT FEB
Railway Gazette International | October 2017 49

Denmark SCANDINAVIA

Learning lessons from a

national ETCS roll-out
MARK FIELDING-SMITH
Digital Rail Director
Atkins

F
irst launched in 2009, the
Danish National Signalling
Programme is now more than
halfway to completion. Argu-
ably unmatched to date in scale and
ambition, the Signalling Programme
marks the first national rollout of the
latest version of Ertms, and the Dan-
ish experience is already yielding some
important lessons for future projects
around the world.
The entire Banedanmark main line
network will be fitted with ETCS Level
2 Baseline 3. Final commissioning is
scheduled for 2023, which is a reflection
of the complexity of the task (RG 3.12
p41). Nevertheless, the achievement will
be substantial. The København S-bane
network, which operates on segregated
tracks with 1·65 kV DC electrification,
is to be equipped with CBTC by 2021.
Atkins is involved in the Signal-
ling Programme in a project support
capacity, working in joint venture with
consultants Rambøll, Parsons Inc and
Emch+Berger. The consortium’s focus
has been on the design and installation
of ETCS Level 2 Baseline 3 with an
integrated Traffic Management System
(RG 12.16 p37) on the existing railway
in accordance with the EU’s Common
Safety Method for risk assessment in
interoperability. The team is also sup-
porting the roll-out of CBTC on the
S-bane as well as the development of
two national operational control cen-
tres, which will ultimately manage the
entire Banedanmark network.
Handling contractors
As part of its competitive procure-
ment strategy, Banedanmark split the
Signalling Programme into four ma-
jor framework contracts. Alstom was
Now approximately halfway to completion, Denmark’s national
Signalling Programme is yielding important experience that could
inform digital railway investment in other countries.
process and the selection of multiple
suppliers has encouraged flexibility and
reliability in the supply chain.
However, one change in approach
adopted since the outset of the pro-
gramme has been to ensure a greater
focus on ‘whole system’ thinking among
contractors and delivery partners. Pre-
viously, asset owners and suppliers had
the freedom to make independent de-
cisions about individual components
without considering the impact on the
overall programme performance. This
was recognised as a risk, and Banedan-
mark now manages all change requests
centrally from a whole-system perspec-
tive, recognising the wider impacts on
other parties and interfaces.
One especially successful element of
this centralisation philosophy has been
the creation of a systems integration
lab, allowing the simulation of digital
scenarios prior to their application on
the live railway. The Joint Test Lab was
established to flush out integration risk
early and has become a model of collab-
orative delivery. A wide range of equip-
including all the existing interlockings
across the Banedanmark network. This
helped to ensure that the Radio Block
Centre integration works first time and
that the handover between the east and
west TMS will be seamless.
Not only has the lab delivered value
by identifying and enabling the early
resolution of digital integration issues, it
has also significantly reduced the time
needed for on-site possessions, reducing
the potential inconvenience to passen-
gers and freight operators.
Safety and cybersecurity
The Danish case is the first time that
the Common Safety Method, as set out
by EU Regulation 402/2013, has been
applied to a national signalling roll-out,
and many lessons have been learned.
It is important that the CSM Risk &
Evaluation assessment and safety ap-
provals process is defined early and
understood by all stakeholders and sup-
pliers. Cybersecurity is clearly critical
to the safety and availability of digital
control systems, and this needs to be in-

‘‘
selected to supply all ETCS onboard ment has been co-located or simulated, corporated into the safety case.
equipment, as well as winning the
Fjernbane East contract to install li-
neside ETCS equipment and TMS
in the east of the country under one ‘We believe that the competitive tendering
of two geo­ graphically oriented pack-
ages. Thales won the matching Fjern- process and the selection of multiple suppliers
bane West contract. The last of the four
framework contracts covers the S-bane has encouraged flexibility and reliability in the
CBTC and went to Siemens. We be-
lieve that the competitive tendering supply chain’
50 October 2017 | Railway Gazette International

SCANDINAVIA Denmark

Cybersecurity policy and methodol-
ogy are a central element to the CSM,
and clear advice must be provided to
end users of the signalling and traffic
management platforms regarding the
security of assets throughout their life.
Where cybersecurity falls outside the
scope of the Signalling Programme
contractors (for example the telecom-
munications systems and interfaces),
the project support team designed and
implemented extra monitoring, techni-
cal controls and firewalls.
We have also found that connecting
IT and operational railway technology
requires a different strategy which goes
beyond conventional IT data protection.
The primary challenges identi-
fied include the need to connect with
legacy systems which may not have
been built for secure interconnection,
the requirement to connect to external
stakeholders’ systems and the adoption
of commercial off-the-shelf IT tools,
which ordinarily rely on frequent soft-
methods. A significant focus has been
placed on delivering the required busi-
ness change, including operational con-
cepts, organisational design, a roadmap
of changes to internal processes, oper-
ating rules, recruitment and upskilling,
and training facilities and programmes.
These changes affect a whole gamut
of railway staff, from signallers and dis-
patchers to drivers, track maintenance
staff and telecoms specialists. Atkins
and its partners have sought to develop
a holistic approach to manage this tran-
sition and seek to address the impact of
each stage of the Signalling Programme
on the affected workforce.
Collaboration is key
Because the four principal sub-
system contracts were tendered sepa-
rately, Banedanmark accepted that the
individual suppliers would retain re-
sponsibility for integration. However,
2023
from the support perspective, this meant
that collaborative behaviours had to be
established from the outset, so that they
FINAL could be reflected in the selection pro-
COMMISSIONING cess and resulting contracts.
DATE FOR MAIN
LINE ETCS LEVEL 2
So far, we have managed to promote
BASELINE 3 UNDER a ‘one team’ culture across the various
BANEDANMARK’S programme partners, where commercial
SIGNALLING responsibility is largely taken away from
PROGRAMME
the delivery teams. This has facilitated
clear communication, the early identifi-
cation of risks and effective joint problem
solving. The Signalling Programme also
requires close liaison with various other
projects across the Danish rail sector,
such as electrification, track and rolling
stock renewals, prioritising the replace-
ment of fleets which are approaching the
end of their service life.  n
The author would like to thank the team
from Atkins Denmark for their help with
this article.
© Railway Gazette 2017

ware updates to secure potential vul-

nerabilities as they are discovered. Our
strategy recognises that patching such
gaps requires the revalidation of the
safety case.
The creation of an offline digital ‘twin’
simulation replicating the operational N
signalling and traffic management sys-
tems will be essential for facilitating
the integration and testing of software 2018
changes throughout the life-cycle. This
will be used to continually test and 2018

strengthen cybersecurity as it adapts to

the changing threat landscape.
The Signalling Programme also re-
quires a certification approach govern- 2018/19
ing which software can communicate
2019
across the fixed and mobile networks.
This is best implemented through
Online Key Management to semi-
automate the rapid and comprehensive 2023
distribution of these authorised codes to 2019
2020
all onboard and wayside Ertms and IT 2023
components.
2021
2022
Cultural change 2021
The Signalling Programme requires 2021
the introduction of multiple digital 2022 2023
technologies in a short timeframe. The 2020 2022
adoption of new operating rules, or- 2021 2020
ganisational structures and technology,
as well as the migration from legacy sig- 2022

nalling centres to two centralised con- 2018/19

2021 2023 2022
trol hubs, requires a significant shift in 2021 2021
skills and processes across the Danish 2021
rail sector.
2019
As Denmark is pioneering the ‘big 2021
bang’ roll-out of Ertms across a nation- 2022 2023
al network, this is unchartered territory.
2023 2021
The programme has learned over the
last eight years the scale of the business 2023
change required within the delivery,
operational and maintenance teams to
adopt these digitally oriented working
 Stay ahead. Stay informed. INNOTRANS 2014

Subscribe today.
GERMANY
Mastering complexity
DB’s
Quality must underpin
t, says
technical developmen
Dr Heike Hanagarth
PAGE 44
FREIGHT The global gathering
Bold moves needed The international railwayin
needs
European rail freight industry comes together
behavioural change
to
Berlin this month
achieve modest growth PAGE 128
PAGE 74
September 2014

.com
www.railwaygazette

Serving the
customer

The number one publication for the international rail industry

Subscribe today and save 20%*

www.railwaygazette.com/subs112 †
For Terms and Conditions, go to www.railwaygazette.com/terms

• Issues delivered direct to your home or office

l b ei e

ts
na ec tt
pt na Ga rs

en ve
efi
io l r ze
ce tio y be

• Continuous Service† – you can cancel your subscription whenever

ex a wa ri
e rn ail sc

you like (minimum six issues)

es te R ub
th In to S

• Discount – subscribe today and save 20% off the normal rate*
• Digital Issue – free of charge, with access to our digital archive
• Our Guarantee – if you’re not happy with your subscription, we’ll refund the
remaining issues to you

Your connection for safety,

reliability and efficiency
We can support you with complete
testing, Notified Body (NoBo) certification,
CSM assessment, ISA and training
solutions for all your rail needs:
- Rail infrastructure
- Rolling stock and refurbishment
- Light rail and metro
- Rail energy and signalling
- Rail automation

JOIN US AT NORDIC RAIL:

BOOTH B05:29

TÜV SÜD Rail GmbH Barthstr. 16 80339 Munich Germany

+49 89 5791-1473 rail@tuv-sud.com www.tuv-sud.com/rail
52 October 2017 | Railway Gazette International
SCANDINAVIA Track
Reducing noise and
optimising maintenance
THOMAS LORENT
General Manager, Pandrol CDM Track
D
ue to open for revenue ser-
vice in December 2018, the
60  km København – Ring-
sted line will be the first high
speed line in Denmark. Banedanmark’s
contractor Strukton Rail completed track-
laying in February, having started work at
the end of October and laid up to 2 000 m
of track per day for several months.
As the line has been designed for
250  km/h operation, Banedanmark is
keen to ensure the quality and main-
tainability of the trackwork. Among
the innovations adopted is the deploy-
ment of under-sleeper pads. Pandrol
CDM Track was awarded a contract
to supply USPs for 6 000 sleepers in
specific areas, notably where there is a
transition in stiffness between the nor-
mal ballasted track and structures such
as bridges or concrete trough sections
with a shallower ballast depth.
USPs have been installed widely
around the world since the 1990s and the
benefits are now well understood. They
provide vibration protection, whilst ex-
tending ballast life and improving track
stability to permit longer intervals be-
tween maintenance interventions. Add-
ing an elastic layer to the underside of
the sleeper provides a simple and cost-
effective way to modify the stiffness of
ballasted track, for both conventional or
high speed lines as well as those carry-
ing heavy axleloads. Optimising the track
stiffness can reduce the formation of rail
corrugation, particularly in tight radius
curves. That allows the grinding interval
on such lines to be extended by at least a
factor of two.
A considerable amount of develop-
ment work has been undertaken to
understand the benefits of USPs. Re-
search has shown that our USPs in-
crease the contact surface between bal-
last and sleeper by around 31%, while
Nordic railway infrastructure managers are making more use of under-
sleeper pads to improve track geometry and extend maintenance intervals.
Tracklaying has now rigorous tests have confirmed the re-
been completed on
the København –
duction in ballast wear and the rate of
Ringsted fast line, track deterioration. USPs can also miti-
where Pandrol CDM gate the effects of local discontinuities,
Track has a contract
to supply under
such as differences in track settlement,
sleeper pads. hanging sleepers and differences in soil
stiffness. As well as their use on the ap-
proaches to bridges and other transi-
tions between track construction types,
as specified by Banedanmark, USPs
can beneficially be deployed to control
track response over short bridges and
rail expansion joints.
Defined elasticity
The use of USPs in the Nordic re-
gion is has been growing, with Pandrol
CDM Track USPs recently approved by
Trafikverket for use in Sweden, as well as
the Banedanmark installation. They are
Under sleeper
pads can be used already in use in Norway, having been
to extend ballast approved by Bane Nor, and one specific
life and manage application has been the Malmbanan
transition zones
between plain line iron ore corridor linking northern Swe-
and structures. den and Norway, where the infrastructure
managers are replacing timber sleepers
with pre-stressed concrete sleepers and
USPs as part of a programme to increase
axleloads from 30 to 35 tonnes. The pads
increase the contact area between the un-
derside of the sleeper and the top layer of
ballast, allowing the ballast stones to be-
come embedded, and ensuring that they
are subjected to as little mechanical dam-
age as possible.
Photo: Banedanmark
Ballast protection is an important con-
sideration, as specifying the right USP
elasticity allows infrastructure managers
to almost double the intervals between
levelling, lining and tamping. The ex-
tended maintenance intervals offer ef-
ficiencies in terms of cost, but equally
important is the reduction in disruption
to railway operations.
The improved load distribution across
the sleeper allows infrastructure manag-
ers to achieve the same track quality with
a ballast depth of 200  mm rather than
the usual 300 mm. While reducing bal-
last thickness could deliver significant
cost savings, the reverse is probably more
significant, as the introduction of USPs
provides a relatively cost-effective meth-
od of upgrading existing tracks where the
ballast depth may have been specified for
lower axleloads, a common scenario in
the Nordic region.
Pandrol’s track elastic model software
is used to calculate the optimal stiffness
of the USPs for each application, in com-
bination with the normal rail pads used
with Fastclip, e-clip and Fastclip FE
fixings.
USPs also offer important benefits in
terms of reducing ground borne vibra-
tions, which can cause noise disturbance
to lineside residents. This can be par-
ticularly important in urban areas such
as those traversed by the København –
Ringsted line.   n
 We advance technology
in safe rail transportation

Join us at:
AusRAIL PLUS 2017
Stand 692 | Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre | 21 - 23 November
54 October 2017 | Railway Gazette International

SCANDINAVIA Components

Compact lights keep

locos bright at night
Siemens and VR Group have worked with Harting to install bespoke lights for the Nordic variant of
the Vectron electric locomotive now being delivered to Finland.

I
n the long crisp darkness of a protective metal housing, which would also been fitted to illuminate the cab
Nordic winter, lights are a very also meet another key criterion: suit- access steps. For general visibility, the
serious matter. So it was perhaps ability for a harsh environment. Out- locomotives have been equipped with
little surprise that the 1 524  mm door use, IP rating, shock, vibration, bodyside positioning lights, which use
gauge Vectron locomotive fleet that low temperatures and high luminary orange LEDs.
Siemens is supplying to Finnish na- output were all requirements that had Harting designed customised
tional operator VR between now and to be reconciled with specific railway brackets for the light mountings,
2026 (RG 2.14 p10) includes some DANNY standards and norms. and worked with the customers to
bespoke features appropriate for local MAIJINCKX ascertain the optimum routing for
conditions. Business More lights please the necessary cabling. All the lights
One such addition concerns light- Development A further bespoke request from the have cables, flexible protective tubing
ing. Working alongside VR Group Director, EMEA customer was the addition of body- and 3A HPR connectors. Cabling is
as the customer, Siemens approached Harting side lights to improve illumination routed via a bespoke junction box de-
connector and electrical component Technology around the locomotive. LED lights signed specifically for this application.
specialist Harting with a view to de- Group have been installed in two variants: The lights are operated from a piezo-
veloping a range of compact lights white lights for the front and rear of electric switch integrated into a Hart-
and associated housings that could the loco and around the couplers to ing 3A HPR connector housing,
improve the locos’ illumination. Build- improve visibility when shunting and meeting the request for a rugged yet
ing on a long working relationship preparing trains. White LEDs have compact assembly.  n
between the two companies, Siemens
asked Harting to evaluate designs for
a miniature lighting structure that had
to fit the superstructure of the Vec-
tron loco, design of which was already
finalised.
At first sight, this kind of applica-
tion was not covered in the Harting
range. However, the more we learned
about the project the more common
ground we detected, and we began to
work on an LED design to achieve the
primary objective: a compact lighting
structure.
The additional lighting structure
had to be integrated into the loco
bodyshell with a minimum of effort
and structural changes. Therefore we
opted to encase the LED bulbs in a
56 October 2017 | Railway Gazette International

SPOTLIGHT Italy

Upgrading the
Adriatic Corridor
Photo: David Campione

A
mong the projects cur- Work is in progress to enhance the busy 800 km railway along Italy’s
rently being implemented Adriatic coast, paving the way for faster services from Bologna to Lecce.
by infrastructure manager
Rete Ferroviaria Italiana is a Benjámin Zelki reports.
scheme to upgrade the important route
from Bologna to Rimini and along the Trenitalia operates Modern signalling with CTC and when engineering work is in progress.
Adriatic coast to Ancona, Pescara, Fog- two Frecciarossa ACC-M interlockings is being in- The 3  kV DC power supply is also
services a day in
gia, Bari and Lecce. each direction stalled, with corresponding modifica- being enhanced, the cost of resignalling,
The programme was launched in between Milano, tions to the control centres in Bologna power supply work and civil works to-
2015 with the objective of raising line Bari and Lecce. and Bari. In Pescara, a new control cen- gether being around €350m.
speeds to 200  km/h through a combi- tre has been built.
nation of resignalling and infrastructure ACC-M equipment will in future Last bottleneck
improvements. Completion is expected control traffic on the following seg- The smooth flow of rail traffic along
in 2018. If related projects planned over ments of the corridor: Bologna – Ri- the Adriatic Corridor has long been
a longer timescale are included, the total mini; Rimini – Cattolica; Cattolica hindered by a 33  km single track sec-
cost will amount to nearly €1·6bn. Trenitalia operates – Pesaro; Fano – Montemarciano; Pes- tion between Lesina and Termoli, some
frequent regional
Although most of the corridor is services along the cara – Termoli; Termoli – Foggia; Fog- of which requires trains to reduce speed
already double track, line speed limits Adriatic Corridor. gia – Bari; Brindisi – Lecce. This will to 40 km/h or even 25 km/h. Plans to
vary from 115 km/h to 180 km/h. Rea- This double-deck help to improve punctuality and give rebuild this section of the corridor have
push-pull service is
lignment to ease curves and other im- between Bari and signalling staff the tools to optimise existed for many years, but local govern-
provements planned for the upgrading Lecce. traffic flows when there is disruption or ment in the Molise region, which covers
include elimination of the last single-
track bottleneck.
Maurizio Gentile, Managing Direc-
tor of infrastructure manager RFI, said
the goal of the route modernisation was
to increase speed and capacity and re-
duce travel times along the east coast.
When the work is finished, travel times
from Bologna are expected to fall by
8  min to Rimini, 45  min to Bari and
60 min to Lecce.
The programme continues a series of
line speed enhancements that has been
implemented over the last 15 years.
Photo: David Campione

These include doubling of a single-track

section between Apricena and Lesina
in 2003, while double tracking of the
150  km from Bari to Lecce was com-
pleted by 2006.
 Railway Gazette International | October 2017 57
the Ripalta – Termoli part of the route,
would not agree. Their objections cen-
tred on a section of the proposed line
near the sea that included a viaduct,
which the authority viewed as unattrac-
tive in a popular holiday area. The ob-
jectors wanted to eliminate the viaduct
and relocate the tracks inland, which
required construction of a 2 km tunnel,
but RFI and the Puglia region would
not accept the additional cost.
After years of arguments, a meeting
was held in July this year at which RFI,
the Ministry of Transport and the two
regions finally agreed on a compromise
to relocate the railway which will now
be built as a double track alignment. The
additional cost will be partly funded by
reallocating €150m destined for the
Molise region from the EU’s Cohe-
sion Fund during the 2014-20 financial
period.
Work on the Lesina – Ripalta section
in Puglia will start in August 2019 and
finish in December 2022, the cost being
€106m. Construction of the two sec-
tions in Molise, from Termoli to Cam-
pomarino and from there to Ripalta,
will cost €700m and work is not due to
be completed until 2026.
Further south, in Bari, another sec-
tion of new alignment is planned to
move the railway away from the beach
area between Bari Centrale and Bari
Torre a Mare. Relocated further inland,
the 10·2  km alignment will have four
tracks from Bari Centrale as far as the
site of a new station at Bari Executive;
from there two tracks will continue to
join the existing double-track main line
to Lecce. The realigned route will have
two more new stations at Campus and
Triggiano. Due to be finished by 2020,
the rerouting is costed at €391m.
Station rebuild
A separate but related project is the
complete rebuilding of Pescara Porta
Nuova station at a cost of €10m. Work
begun in 2015 includes relaying tracks
Photo: Staraldo/Shutterstock.com
to allow trains to pass at 135 km/h and
construction of an additional platform
track to avoid conflicting movements
between trains on the Adriatic Corri-
dor and those using the cross-country
route to Sulmona and Roma. The sta-
tion buildings have been refurbished
and platform heights raised to 550 mm.
Bologna – Rimini
The main line through the densely
populated region between Rimini and
Bologna carries heavy regional and sub-
urban traffic, as well as significant quan-
tities of freight. The upgrading pro-
gramme will allow inter-city trains to
run at 200 km/h along this section, but
achieving this requires all the bridges to
be replaced. Bridge replacement work
demands that contractors have full ac-
cess to the railway, and the new bridges
are being installed during a programme
of weekend line closures. For example,
over the weekend of May 20-21 2017
two bridges were replaced at Prati and
Sabbioso.
All stations between Rimini and Bo-
logna will have been rebuilt by the end
of next year. This work falls under RFI’s
‘500 Stazioni’ programme which pro-
vides for updating or reconstruction of
500 stations, including 40 hub stations
in the Emilia-Romagna region. Rebuilt
stations on the Rimini – Bologna line
include Cesena, Forlì, Faenza, Castel-
bolognese, Imola and Castel San Pietro
Italy SPOTLIGHT
Photo: Benjámin Zelki
Photo: Benjámin Zelki
Top: A Frecciabianca Terme. The work includes raising plat-
service arrives at form heights to 550  mm to meet EU
Falconara, north
of Ancona on the standards for level boarding, as well as
Adriatic coast. enhancement of audio and visual pas-
Above: The last senger information systems.
of 706 Vivalto To increase capacity for handling
double-deck freight, the Villa Selva intermodal ter-
push-pull coaches
was delivered to minal near Forlì is being expanded to
Trenitalia in July. quadruple capacity.
Rolling stock enhanced
In addition to regional trains, Treni-
talia operates two Frecciarossa and 12
Frecciabianca services daily in each
Lecce is the southern direction along the Adriatic Corridor,
terminus for many plus six pairs of conventional Intercity
long-distance trains
on the Adriatic trains.
Corridor. Passengers travelling on the premi-
um services can expect to benefit from
a cascade of rolling stock triggered by
delivery of the 50 ETR1000 trainsets
for Frecciarossa services in the Torino
– Milano – Roma – Napoli corridor.
These have displaced ETR500 sets for
use on the Torino – Milano – Venezia
route, in turn releasing Frecciabianca
trainsets formed of pairs of Class E414
power cars and locomotive-hauled
coaches. These have been allocated to
services from Milano to Bologna, Bari
and Lecce, and this route now offers
the most frequent daily services under
Trenitalia’s Frecciabianca brand.  n
Download our app
for more maps
 Stay ahead. Stay informed.
Subscribe today.
INDUSTRY
MARKET CARS
LOW-FLOOR
Turkey
LIGHT RAIL EXPANS
Metro ION
cars suppliers make
Market review
Domestic
as in
growing
patterns
OPENIN
Addis G
Ababa A new trend emerges in all
Turkey progress
Changing a rapidly
insupply
transport are
increase
Edinburgahnew
Bringing at ran order rail projects
Urbanvolumes a complex market
market
y to Sub-Saha
running inng2016
Trams start
technolog regions
multiplyi PAGE 38
41
Africa
last PAGE 32
37
Spring
Septemb 2014
er 2017
PAGE 10
22

om cleaner
ort.com
www.metro-rep

ldfrof
orfit
wne
CitiesAbe
opportunity
enance
track maint

First choice for the urban rail professional

RAIL
COMMUTER
RAIL | METROS |
TRAMS | LIGHT

†
For Terms and Conditions, go to www.railwaygazette.com/terms

• Issues delivered direct to your home or office

ts
pt na e rs

en ve
na ec r t

efi
ce tio o R be
io l r po
l b ei

†
ex a tr ri

• Continuous Service – you can cancel your subscription whenever

e rn e sc
es Inte to MSub

you like (minimum two issues)

• Digital Issue – free of charge, with access to our digital archive
• Our Guarantee – if you’re not happy with your subscription, we’ll refund the
th

remaining issues to you

2017 Brisbane
2 1 – 2 3 Nov e mbe r

RAIL’S DIGITAL REVOLUTION

Co-Hosting Sponsors Premium Platinum & Gala Dinner Sponsor Premium Gold & Lanyard Sponsor
RTAA Yellow Tie Dinner Sponsor

Official Event Guide Sponsor Luncheon Sponsor (Day 2) Copper Sponsor Supporting Sponsor Registration/Entrance
Feature Sponsor

350+ EXHIBITING ORGANISATIONS | AUSTRALASIA’S LARGEST RAIL CONFERENCE + EXHIBITION

Sponsorship and exhibition opportunities at AusRAIL PLUS 2017 are highly sought after. Ensure you book early to position yourself in
front of rail leaders. Contact Deborah Bocock on 02 9080 4348 or email deborah.bocock@informa.com.au
Railway Gazette International | October 2017 59

Italy SPOTLIGHT

A
s one of two major railway
projects currently in the
Sblocca Italia programme
(p62), upgrading of the
Napoli – Bari route for 200 km/h is due
to be finished by 2026 at a cost of €6·2bn.
Apart from shorter journey times that
include a target Roma – Bari timing of
around 3  h, benefits will include bet-
ter punctuality and reliability, while the
availability of double track throughout
with modern signalling and gradients
limited to 1·3% will raise capacity.
Rather than re-electrify at
25 kV 50 Hz, RFI has decided to retain
the 3 kV DC power supply because the
line will be used by freight locomotives
without 25  kV capability — the up-
grade is partly intended to attract more
freight traffic in line with the European
Union’s Transport White Paper objec-
tive of switching 30% of goods mov-
ing over 300 km to rail by 2030. So far

Southern upgrades
around €4bn or 65% has been agreed
towards the total investment cost.
At the moment line speeds are gen-
erally limited to 120 km/h, but a short
section from Benevento to Apice was

doubled and upgraded in 2008, allow-
ing speeds to be increased to 150 km/h.
Upgrading of a further 21  km be-
tween Cervaro and Bovino at a cost of
€270m was completed earlier this year,
and a special train conveying Transport
Minister Graziano Delrio and RFI
Managing Director Maurizio Gentile
from Foggia to Benevento ran on June
28 to mark the occasion. The upgraded
section is laid with UIC60 rails on con-
crete sleepers, and SCMT train protec-
tion is provided, allowing freight trains
to run at 140 km/h and passenger trains
at 200 km/h.
More contracts let
In March RFI awarded two con-
tracts for work at the western end of the
route. A consortium of Salini Impregilo
and Astaldi won a €397m contract for
design and construction of the west-
ernmost section between Napoli and
Cancello, where speed will be limited
to 130  km/h. Included in the contract
is construction of an elevated station
© Railway Gazette 2017
San Severo
Campobasso
Bovino Deliceto
Frasso
Telesino
Benevento
Caserta
Afragola Cancello
Napoli Vesuvio Est
(planned)
Pompeii
Salerno
Sorrento
move ahead
Reconstruction of the Napoli – Bari route to raise speeds and add
capacity is advancing steadily with contracts let this year for work at
the western end of the line.
serving the Le Porte di Napoli shop-
ping centre and two new underground
stations at Casalnuovo and Acerra; at
Acerra there will be interchange to
the Circumvesuviana suburban service.
About 4  km of the 15  km alignment
will run on viaduct, with a further 3 km
in tunnel. The new railway is due to be
commissioned in 2022.
A second phase of work at Afragola
station, which opened in June (RG 7.17
p9), will see the construction of two ex-
tra platforms for regional trains from
Napoli to Caserta and Benevento. This
work is also to be completed by 2022.
Another new station for high speed
0 50 km
Manfredonia
Foggia
Cervaro
Barletta
Molfetta
Ariano Irpino
NAPOLI – BARI
Upgrading in progress or planned
Other RFI lines
High speed line
Potenza
The station at Napoli services, not forming part of this con-
Afragola opened tract, is planned at Vesuvio Est to the
earlier this year.
Two more platforms east of Napoli. This will serve a catch-
will be built to ment area with a population of around
accommodate 742 000.
regional services.
Contracts for the adjoining section
Contracts have been of the Napoli – Bari route from Can-
let this year for cello to Frasso Telesino were awarded
upgrading sections
at the western end
to a consortium formed of Pizzarotti,
of the Napoli – Bari Itinera and Ghella. The job entails con-
route. The Foggia – struction of 16  km of new alignment,
Bari section forms
part of the Adriatic of which about 3  km will be elevated
Corridor where and over 4  km will run in tunnel. The
improvements are 180 km/h line will partly follow the ex-
also being made
to raise speeds to isting single track route, and new sta-
200 km/h (p56). tions will be built at Valle di Maddaloni
and Dugenta-Frasso Telesino. Comple-
tion is scheduled for 2022 at a cost of
€312m.
Still at the planning stage is the Frasso
N Telesino – Vitulano section, where the
work will be divided into three lots with
completion expected by 2025.
The 47·4 km Apice – Orsara section
is next. This will be split into two lots,
Bari with contracts for the line from Apice
to a new station at Hirpinia and from
there to Orsara. This work should be
Lecce
finished by 2026. Outline planning for
the adjoining Orsara – Bovino section
is due to be finished by the end of 2017.
60 October 2017 | Railway Gazette International
SPOTLIGHT Italy
Speed-up implemented
Until recently Trenitalia has operated
three daily return Frecciargento services
from Roma to Bari and Lecce, with Bari
reached in about 4  h from the capital.
These trains use the Roma – Napoli high
speed line as far as Caserta where they
join the single track route towards Foggia.
The trains do not call at Napoli, and
another disadvantage is the require-
ment to reverse at Foggia. In future,
trains from Roma will serve Napoli
Afragola and Centrale where they will
reverse, thence using the new alignment
to Cancello.
To avoid the reversal at Foggia a bypass
was built to the south of the city in 2015.
This made use of an abandoned align-
ment used during World War 2 to allow
freight trains to bypass the central area,
which was an important military site.
Local residents were unhappy as it
meant that trains from Roma would no
longer have to call at Foggia. Plans for
a new €15m station south of the town
on the bypass have proved controversial,
with residents and politicians saying
that it would be too far from the city
centre. If plans for the station go ahead,
it is likely to be sited at San Lorenzo,
although an alternative site has been
identified further east at Cervaro.
At the end of June Trenitalia launched
a non-stop Bari – Roma Frecciargento
service that completes the 503 km trip
in 3 h 34 min, significantly quicker than
other services that typically take just
over 4 h. Departing at 06.24, it arrives
in Roma just before 10.00. The return
working leaves Roma at 18.55 and is
scheduled to arrive in Bari at 22.35.
From September 3 Trenitalia added
a pair of Frecciargento trains between
Roma and Foggia. Calling at Caserta
and Benevento, they take only 2 h 42 min
compared to other services that typically
average 2 h 55 min. Rolling stock con-
sists of ETR485 tilting trainsets.
This is likely to change in June next
year when Trenitalia plans to intro-
duce the former V250 trains built
by Ansaldo­ Breda for the Amster-
dam – Brussels Fyra service on the
Photo: Benjámin Zelki
Roma – Bari – Lecce route. Trenitalia
Having travelled announced in August that it had ac-
over the Roma – quired 17 of the 19 trainsets from Hi-
Napoli high speed
line as far as tachi Rail Italy, successor company to
Caserta, Roma – Bari AnsaldoBreda, remarking that it was a
trains turn east particularly advantageous opportunity
on to the Napoli
– Foggia route. available for a very short time at a price
Once upgrading is considerably lower than market value.
complete, the Napoli
– Bari line will form
The V250 fleet ran only briefly in
part of Italy’s AV/AC commercial service in December 2012
network. and January 2013 before all sets were
withdrawn because of chronic unreli-
ability and other problems (RG 2.13
p25). The fleet was repurchased in 2014
by the supplier, with a view to rectifying
the faults and finding a new customer.
Trenitalia anticipates that technical
changes will render the 250  km/h fleet
able to operate reliably on medium-speed
routes. Thanks to their 25 kV 50 Hz and
3 kV DC capability, the trains are suit-
able for operation throughout Italy.
Right: Upgraded
sections of the
Napoli – Bari line
are suitable for
200 km/h.
Below: A new
station may be
built on the Foggia
bypass that opened
in 2015, possibly
near Cervaro.
For the moment open access opera-
tor NTV considers that the condition
of the infrastructure on routes to Bari
is not sufficiently good to warrant add-
ing the city to its network. Neverthe-
less, the company is watching progress
with the route modernisation to see if it
would warrant services to Italy’s south-
ern towns and cities. Currently NTV
offers ‘Italobus’ connections from
Salerno to and from Matera, Potenza,
Taranto and Cosenza.
NTV’s 12 non-tilting Pendolino sets
that are due to enter service from De-
cember will initially run on existing
routes, but in the near future they will
be used in northern Italy, primarily in
the Torino – Venezia corridor. The first
trainset began trials in June, and a num-
ber should be available for the Decem-
ber timetable change.
Sicilian upgrade
As part of the Sblocca Italia pro-
gramme, the Palermo – Catania –
Messina line is to be upgraded for
200  km/h operation by 2024. Prior-
ity has been allocated to the Catania
– Palermo section, and the Catania
Cannizzaro – Catania Centrale lot was
double tracked in June. Work is now
concentrated on the Catania Centrale
– Catania Bicocca section, with a start
planned in the near future on the Bico-
cca – Catenanuova part of the route.  n
Photos: David Campione
 Israel Railways bringing the future closer
You are invited to join
R.F.I. – Sale of a Shunting Locomotive
Israel Railways ltd. ("ISR") is requesting information regarding a sale of a
shunting locomotive number 131("131").
Guiding Lines
1. This RFI shall not be considered as a tender.
2. ISR is free to take whatever action it may consider upon receiving
addresses from prospects following this RFI and will not be obliged to
negotiate and/or sell and/or publish a tender regarding 131.
3. ISR may use any information received following this RFI in any way it
might find useful.
4. ISR may address one or more prospects that will submit information
regarding 131 following this RFI.
5. This RFI shall not be considered as a declaration of any kind as to the
technical condition of 131.
Details about 131
1. 131 is a G-12 shunting locomotive.
2. Model no. T-44/622CW.
3. 131 was manufactured by KALMAT VERKSTAD.
4. 131 is stationed at The Kisohn rails yards in Israel.
5. 131 can be examined at its current location by appointment to be set up
with the undersigned.
6. Year of production – 1989.
How do you weigh your trains? 7. 131 has an EMD engine - 1650 horsepower.
8. Kilometers travelled from 1999 – 22, 434 km.
9. 131 is operative and may be considered for further examination in its
current condition – AS IS.
Prospects who are interested in 131 may address the undersigned
via e-mail – aviads@rail.co.il until 21/10/2017
Aviad Shafir Head of Commerce Unit Israel Railways

www.weighwell.com

INVITATION DISCUSS THE FUTURE OF RAIL

Visit our experts at the Alpha Trains

Rencontres nationales du transport public Continental Europe’s train
10 —12 October 2017 in Marseille and locomotive leasing specialists.
Stand 48 www.alphatrains.eu
62 October 2017 | Railway Gazette International

SPOTLIGHT Italy

Northern high speed

network nears completion
W
hile the spine of Italy’s
T-shaped Alta Velocità/
Alta Capacità network
was completed in De-
cember 2009, gaps are still evident in
the bar of the ‘T’ across the north of
the country. Further work is planned to
bridge them, but high costs mean that
infrastructure manager RFI has had to
settle for upgrading rather than new
construction over some sections.
It is worth recalling that Italy was
the first European state to open a sec-
tion of dedicated high speed railway
when the Orte – Orvieto section of
the Roma – Firenze direttissima was
inaugurated on February 14 1977. Italy
now has 1 113 km of high speed line in
operation (Table I).
In determining priorities for further
AV/AC lines, there are two essential
requirements: one is to make progress
with the TEN-T corridors and the oth-
er is to implement a programme called
Sblocca Italia (Unblocking Italy). This
legislation entered the statute books in
November 2014, two of the main aims
being to foster economic recovery, espe-
cially in the south, and to enhance rail
services between principal cities.
Missing links
The projects currently in progress
in northern Italy are intended to
complete missing links in the AV/
AC network in the industrial triangle
bounded by Milano, Torino and Gen-
ova. Plans for a high speed line be-
tween Milano and Genova date back
to 1990, but the project, also termed
the Terzo Valico line, was controver-
sial, forcing planners to cut it back
to the section between Tortona and
Table I. High speed lines in Italy
Length
Route
km
Opened
Firenze – Roma 254 1977-92
Roma – Napoli 205 2005
Torino – Milano 125 2006
Padova – Venezia
25 2007
Mestre
Milano – Treviglio 27 2007
Napoli – Salerno 29 2008
Milano – Bologna 215 2008
Bologna – Firenze 79 2009
Bologna – Verona 114 2009
Treviglio – Brescia 40 2016
Work is in hand to complete the final stages of Italy’s T-shaped Alta
Velocità Alta/Capacità network, with further projects in the pipeline.
Benjámin Zelki reports.
Ceremonies were Genova; high speed services will use
held on December 10 existing lines from Tortona to Milano
2016 to inaugurate
the 39·6 km Brescia – and Torino. Work on the 53  km new
Treviglio line, Italy’s alignment began in 2013 and comple-
newest high speed tion is planned for 2020-21. No less
route.
than 37 km will run in tunnel.
A high speed line linking Torino
and Milano was completed in two
phases in 2006 and 2009, but less pro-
gress has been made on the eastern bar
of the T from Milano to Verona and
Venezia. Following completion last
December of a 39∙6  km section par-
allel to the existing railway between
Treviglio and Brescia (RG 1.17 p10),
no further work is taking place at the
moment.
However, construction of the 60 km
Brescia – Verona section was approved
by the Interministerial Committee for
Economic Planning in July, paving the
way for work to start before the end of
this year, and planning is well advanced
Maximum Power
for the Verona – Padova section. This
speed km/h supply will be built as two lots: Verona – Vi-
250 3 kV DC cenza (51 km) and Vicenza – Padova
300 25 kV 50 Hz (28 km). The Padova – Venezia Mestre
300 25 kV 50 Hz section has been in use since 2007.
The original proposals envisaged
220 3 kV DC
that the high speed corridor would
180 25 kV 50 Hz continue east from Venezia to Trieste.
250 3 kV DC Plans for a new 155  km alignment
300 25 kV 50 Hz were prepared in 2010, but the cost
300 25 kV 50 Hz proved to be prohibitively high, oblig-
200 3 kV DC ing infrastructure manager Rete Fer-
300 25 kV 50 Hz roviaria Italiana to accept the cheaper
alternative of upgrading the existing
line to allow the speed limit to be
raised to 200 km/h.
Routes to the border
Whether something similar will hap-
pen to plans for a 195 km AV/AC line
running north from Verona to connect
with the Brennero base tunnel remains
to be seen. Draft proposals for a short
section from Verona to Pescantina were
approved by the Interministerial Com-
mittee for Economic Planning in July,
but the proposed 2026 completion date
following a start on construction in
2019 seems optimistic. Partly because
the alignment would pass through envi-
ronmentally sensitive areas, no less than
168 km would run in tunnel.
Another long-planned project sur-
rounded by controversy is the 235  km
Torino – Lyon high speed line which in-
cludes a 57 km base tunnel through the
Alps between the Susa valley in Italy and
Maurienne in France. Despite numer-
ous inter-governmental agreements in
favour of the scheme, the French govern-
ment announced in July that it had been
‘paused’. According to Transport Minister
Elisabeth Borne, this was to allow time to
review the project as part of the Macron
government’s policy of not making com-
mitments to major projects unless they
had been fully funded. The EU is expect-
ed to meet 40% of the cost, with the rest
financed by the two governments.  n
Railway Gazette International | October 2017 63
Pigneto interchange
under construction
O
n June 26 work began
in Roma on a project to
construct an interchange
station at Pigneto to the
southeast of the city centre (RG 4.16
p36). The station is expected to be-
come the busiest node in the capital
after Termini and Tiburtina.
Infrastructure manager RFI said
that the Pigneto scheme is the most
complex station project currently un-
derway in central Italy. The site is
already served by metro Line C, and
metro passengers will in future be able
to change to and from suburban ser-
vices on route FL1 connecting Fiu-
micino Airport and Fara Sabina and
on route FL3 between Viterbo and
Roma Tiburtina. There will also be a
connection with the Termini – Parco
di Centocelle light rail line and with
tram routes 5, 9 and 14.
Another objective is to reconnect
the neighbourhood’s two parts that
are currently separated by the railway
which runs here in a cutting. A raft
will be constructed over the tracks and
a ‘green’ pedestrian area created.
An agreement to go ahead with
the project was signed between RFI
and the municipality in 2012, and a
contract was awarded in 2015 to Ma-
geg Srl. The total cost is €54m, but
Italy SPOTLIGHT
PUSHING
TRANSPORTATION
Powerful
the project is split into two phases. The railway cutting
Only the first, valued at €22m, is cur- will be covered by a
pedestrian precinct.
rently funded, and this is scheduled to
be finished by the end of 2019. This
will see construction of platforms
Interfaces
and other facilities serving the two Visit us at:
suburban lines, plus a pedestrian link
to the metro. Four new bridges over EXPO Ferroviaria in Milano, Italy
the tracks will connect the two parts 03.-05.10.2017
of the Pigneto neighbourhood, and
creation of a green pedestrian area is APTA Expo in Atlanta, USA
included. 09.-11.10.2017
The second phase to be imple-
Nordic Rail in Jönköping, Sweden
mented later at a cost of €32m will
entail covering over the tracks through 10.-12.10.2017
The future
the whole of the densely-populated concourse will 12th IREE 2017 in New Dehli, India
Pigneto area between Ponte Casilino offer interchange
11.-13.10.2017
between suburban
and Ponte Prenestino, in all about services and metro
500 m.  n Line C.
MODULARITY
FOR YOUR IDEAS
Only the right combination of data, signal
and power allows the realisation of
optimal solutions.HARTING offers a broad
range of products, systems and solutions.
www.HARTING.com
64 October 2017 | Railway Gazette International
SPOTLIGHT Italy
Intercity performance
contract signed
Under the terms of a 10-year agreement with the government,
Trenitalia will retain and improve the existing network of Intercity day
and night trains, writes Murray Hughes.
O
n July 31 Trenitalia signed a
10-year performance con-
tract with the Ministry of
Transport and the Ministry
of Economy & Finance for the con-
tinued operation of medium and long-
distance Intercity services. Covering
Intercity Giorno daytime and Intercity
Notte overnight trains, the contract had
started in January. The previous contract
expired in December 2014, but it was
extended by two years without changes
to the terms and conditions.
In return for commitments by Tren-
italia to improve punctuality and qual-
ity, the government will provide finan-
cial support until the end of December
2026. This will amount to about €348m
in 2017 and around €366m in subse-
quent years. FS Group said that without
this funding Trenitalia would have had
to consider withdrawing about 40% of
Intercity services. A regime with finan-
cial incentives and penalties will apply.
Trenitalia currently operates 88 daily
Intercity Giorno and 20 Intercity Notte
trains, plus 10 weekend services, that
together serve more than 200 towns
and cities, carrying about 12 million
Adjustments will be made to Inter-
city Notte trains to reflect changes in
demand.
Around €300m will be made availa-
ble for investment in rolling stock refur-
bishment and other enhancements. This
includes refurbishment and modernisa-
tion of the day fleet and conversion to
push-pull operation thanks to the re-
building of 53 Type UIC-Z1 coaches
to driving trailers; 40 Class E402A lo-
comotives are being modified for push-
pull operation.
The first of these push-pull services
commenced on August 2 between
Roma and Salerno, with subsequent
deliveries of driving trailers allow-
ing Milano – Grosseto and Milano –
Livorno routes to switch to push-pull
operation from September 4. The €70m
programme should see all 53 driving
trailers in use by the end of 2018.
Travelling cleaning staff, already
working on some trains, will be allocat-
Photo: Andrea Fava
ed to more services, and minibar cater-
ing will be provided on longer-distance
journeys.
Passengers can expect comfort en-
hancements as Frecciabianca rolling
stock is cascaded to Intercity services,
Alstom has been passengers a year. Some trains had op- gradually reducing the average age of
contracted to erated until January this year at Treni- the Intercity fleet from 25 years to 15
convert 53 hauled
coaches to driving talia’s own financial risk, but they will in years. From 2019 onwards some trains
trailers as part of the future be included in the ‘universal’ con- will be operated by ETR460 and
investment in the tract as socially desirable services. Fares ETR470 trainsets. All Intercity trains
Intercity rolling stock
fleet. will be set at levels below those applying will be air-conditioned and able to run
to AV high speed services, which are re- at 200  km/h. Both daytime and over-
Trenitalia is also quired to cover their own costs. night rolling stock is receiving a new
rebuilding 40 Class livery.
E402 locomotives as
a single cab design; More train-km Refurbished stock will meet the latest
all Intercity services Under the terms of the agreement fire regulations and be equipped with
are intended to Trenitalia will increase annual train-km CCTV and new lighting. All seats in
operate at 200 km/h
with air-conditioned by 7% to around 25·1 million, with 16% refurbished stock will have power sock-
rolling stock. more seats available on daytime trains. ets and tables or trays for drinks.  n
Photo: David Campione
 11–12 April 2018
Istanbul Congress Center
Istanbul, Turkey
Istanbul Rail Tech Conference and Exhibition

Powered by

Connecting you
to Rail Technology Buyers

Supporters Content Partner Organiser

Global Transport Forum

“THIS FAIR IS ORGANIZED UNDER SUPERVISION OF TOBB (THE UNION OF CHAMBERS AND COMMODITY EXCHANGES OF TURKEY) IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE LAW NO.5174”
66 October 2017 | Railway Gazette International

FORUM People
Thomas Ahlburg is to take over as
CEO of Stadler Group with effect from
January 1 2018, succeeding founder and
majority shareholder Peter Spuhler,
who will remain Chairman of the com-
pany board and focus on strategic de-
velopment. Ahlburg is currently Deputy
CEO and manages the company’s main
plant at Bussnang, in which role he will
be succeeded by Production Manager
Georg Kapeller.
Phil Verster has been appointed Presi-
dent & CEO of Ontario transport
agency Metrolinx, succeeding interim
CEO John Jensen. A former Manag-
ing Director of the ScotRail Alliance,
Verster was most recently CEO of the
UK’s East-West Rail project.
Per Schrøder is to join Danish state
operator DSB in February as Opera-
tions Director. Currently Fleet Director
for Thomas Cook Airlines, he succeeds
Anders Egehus who is stepping down.
Andrzej Matysiewicz has taken over
as Regional Director of Polish infra-
structure manager PKP PLK in Lublin,
succeeding Zygmunt Grzechulski who
has retired.
Erik Johansson has been named Chief
Financial Officer at Swedish freight op-
erator Green Cargo, succeeding Henrik
Backman who stepped down last month.
Andrey Solovey has been appointed
as Head of the Tver Carriage Works at
Transmashholding, while retaining his
leadership of the Tsentrosvarmash busi-
ness unit. Evgeniy Vozhakin becomes
General Director of Kolomensky Za-
vod, replacing Vladimir Karpov who
remains as Advisor on diesel engine
development. Mikhail Skurato becomes
General Director of Penzadieselmash,
having previously worked at the Novo-
cherkassk Electric Locomotive Plant.
Alstom has appointed Didier Pfleger
as Senior Vice-President, Middle East
& Africa. He is succeeded as Managing
Director for Germany and Austria by
Jörg Nikutta. Xavier Boisgontier be-
comes Managing Director of the com-
pany’s Southern Africa Cluster.
Karolis Sankovski has been nominated
to head the Infrastructure Directorate
at Lithuanian national railway Lietuvos
Geležinkeli. He will continue to serve
as Managing Director of LG subsidiary
Rail Baltica Construction, a post he as-
sumed in June.
Former RFF Procurement Director
François Meyer has been appointed as
Director-General of the French indus-
try association Fer de France, succeed-
ing former SNCF Rolling Stock Direc-
tor Alain Bullot who has stepped down
after four years in the post.
Andrus Kimberi has been appointed to
the Eesti Raudtee management board
as Finance Director with effect from
October 1.
Aigars Laizāns has been named in-
terim Chairman of Latvijas Dzelzceļš,
succeeding Ansis Zeltiņš who has
moved to manage the Freeport of Riga.
Previously Director of Service Delivery
for TriMet in Portland, Oregon, Ken
Zatarain has joined WSP USA to lead
station access planning for the Califor-
nia high speed rail programme, where
WSP is acting as Rail Delivery Partner.
HEADS OF THE MONTH
Piyush Goyal has been named
Minister of Railways and
Minister of Coal in the Indian
government, replacing Suresh
Prabhu who relinquished the
rail portfolio after a recent
series of accidents and becomes
Minister of Commerce &
Industry.
Currently head of the global
motor-cycle division at BMW
Group, Stephan Schaller is to
take over as President & CEO
of Voith with effect from April
1 2018, succeeding Dr Hubert
Lienhard, who is retiring after
10 years as CEO and will join the
company’s supervisory board.
Elizabeth O’Neill has been
named acting CEO of Metropolitan
Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority,
in succession to Keith Parker
who stepped down last month.
Currently the agency’s Chief Legal
Counsel, she will be supported
by recently appointed Deputy
General Manager Arthur Troup.
Sophie Heurtault Malherbe
(left) has been named Finance
Director at Transports Publics
Genevois, where Sheba Corti
becomes Director of Human
Resources. Both have joined the
TPG management board headed
by Director General Denis
Berdoz.
Sudhir Rao has been appointed
Managing Director of Bombardier
Transportation in India. A
graduate from the University of
Michigan, he has worked for 34
years in the automotive sector,
most recently as Chairman &
Managing Director of Skoda Auto
India.

Russian Railways’ Senior Vice-President for Economics &

Finance, Vadim Mikhailov has been named First Vice-
ITALY President, with responsibility for the company’s development
strategy, structural reform, attracting investment for railway
Trenitalia leadership development and overseeing the Transport, Logistics &
Commercial business unit.

reshaped Vossloh AG Chief Technology Officer Volker Schenk has

Following the completion of a corporate restructuring programme and the con-
solidation of rail freight operations into Mercitalia, FS Group has appointed a new
leadership team to run its national passenger business Trenitalia. With effect from
the annual shareholder meeting on September 15, Tiziano Onesti (above left) has
been named President, with the former Director of the Regional Passenger Divi-
sion Orazio Iacono (above right) becoming CEO & General Manager. They will
serve on the Trenitalia board until December 31 2019, along with Paolo Colombo,
FS board member for Finance Antonella D’Andrea and Maria Rosaria Maugeri.
The new board will be responsible for developing Trenitalia operations in line
with the FS Group’s 2017-26 Strategic Plan, focusing on the development of re-
gional and urban transport, managing substantial investment in new regional trains
for delivery from 2019, and developing integrated mobility services across the Ital-
ian public transport market.
Former President Barbara Morgante is to head up a new FS Group interna-
tional business unit, overseeing six subsidiaries operating in five countries outside
Italy, including Trenitalia UK, Netinera in Germany and Trainose in Greece.  n
been re-elected as President of the German rail industry
association VDB for a further three years.
Polish rail regulator UTK has named Radosław Pacewicz
and Kamil Wilde as Vice-Presidents, working with President
Ignacy Góra.
Former Merseyrail Managing Director Maarten Spaargaren
joined Ricardo on September 1 as General Manager,
Netherlands, heading the consultancy’s rail business interests in
continental Europe. He succeeds Gert Liefting, now responsible
for Ricardo’s global Rolling Stock Design & Engineering services.
Dr Young Tae Kim has taken over as Secretary-General of
the OECD’s International Transport Forum, succceeding José
Viegas who has completed his five-year mandate.
Most recently Senior Vice-President, Europe, at Alstom,
Andreas Knitter has joined the board of Dellner Couplers.
Railway Gazette International | October 2017 67
Research & Skills FORUM
USA
Short line hazardous
materials academy
The Pipeline & Hazardous Materials Safety
Administration has awarded the Short Line
Safety Institute a $500 000 grant to create a
Hazardous Materials Training Academy in
Washington DC.
‘Small railroads will greatly benefit from the
expertise and resources the Hazardous Ma-
terials Training Academy will provide’, said
SLSI Executive Director Tom Murta on Au-
gust 28. ‘The academy will provide classroom
IN BRIEF
Around 4 000 operations and maintenance
staff are to be trained at a High Speed Rail
Training Institute which is to open in Vadodara
in India by the end of 2020 (p7). A further 300
young officials from Indian Railways are to
receive high speed rail training in Japan, and
the Japanese government has offered Indian
Railways 20 fully-funded seats per year for
master’s courses at Japanese universities.
The Enhance the UK charity is providing
Arriva Rail North staff with disability awareness
training. Formal classroom training for new
employees includes a full day of training by
instructors with a disability, and ‘roadshows’
are being provided at main stations.
Network Rail plans to double the number of
apprenticeships offered to 600 over the next 12
months, including ‘exciting new opportunities’
in cybersecurity and the digital railway.
Hitachi Rail has launched a UK programme
which will see 56 trainees, graduates and
apprentices join the company over two
years. This follows the recruitment of 54
manufacturing apprentices at Newton
Aycliffe. The Level 3 apprenticeships will last
up to three years and be administered by the
National Training Academy for Rail.
The UK Department for Transport and
government agency Innovate UK have
announced a further round of funding worth
£7·9m under their Accelerating Innovation
in Rail programme. The funding is open to
bidders pitching ideas to make the railway
more reliable and attractive to end users. Bids
must be collaborative, involve more than one
organisation and include at least one small
or medium-sized business. The deadline for
entries is November 15.
The keystone
of sustainability
training, hands-on instruction, response ex-
ercises, and support individual railroads in
training their personnel. Our programme will
enhance the training currently provided in the
industry.’
SLSI was established by the American Short
Line & Regional Railroad Association in 2014
with Federal Railroad Administration support,
in order to provide safety training for smaller
railway companies.  n
DVM series
• AC & DC voltage from 600VRMS
ITALY to 4200VRMS
• Improved accuracy &
Understanding temperature stability
cybersecurity risks • High partial discharge extinction
voltage: 5kVRMS @ 10pC
The risks emerging from the digitisation of • 30% lower profile – 25% less
railway operations and infrastructure were
the core topic of a two-day conference held in
volume – 56% lighter
Roma on September 18-19. • Low sensitivity to magnetic fields
Organised by UIC and FS Group, the • Unmatched performance for
International Digital Days event addressed the common mode operation
technical and security aspects of digitisation.
Keynote speakers included Franco Gabrielli, • ± 50mA, ± 10V or 4 to
Italy’s most senior police officer, and Howard 20mA outputs
Marshall, Head of the Cyber Criminality De-
partment at the US Federal Bureau of Investi-
gation. Supporting industry partners included
diagnostics and monitoring equipment special-
ist MerMec and IBM.
Speaking ahead of the conference, UIC
Chairman and FS Group President Renato
Mazzoncini said that the Italian national
holding group would be investing €800m in
digital technology in 2017-18, which he be- www.lem.com
lieved would help it to use its infrastructure
and rolling stock more efficiently ‘to benefit
the whole Italian population’. But with such
investment comes risk, as cyber threats be- At the heart of power electronics.
come more prevalent and obstruction of key
public services moves up the agenda of cyber
criminals. FS and UIC would encourage the
sharing of best practice in IT security and
the sharing of preventative measures ‘using
common tools and language’, the organisers
added.  n
68 October 2017 | Railway Gazette International

FORUM Sidetrack

MOZAMBIQUE

Auckland DMUs shipped to Mozambique

Eight 1 067  mm gauge two-car DMUs as
well as spare parts have been shipped from
New Zealand to Mozambique, where they
are to operate passenger services around
Maputo.
The units have been surplus to requirements
since electrification in Auckland in 2014. ‘Sell-
ing the trains reduces Auckland Transport’s
costs, as these have been stored in Mount
Maunganui since the new electric trains began
operating’, said Brendon Main, Group Man-
ager, AT Metro Operations. ‘The diesel trains
served Auckland well between 1994 and 2014.
With the introduction of the new electric fleet,
the diesel trains were retired from the network,
except for the ones which currently operate
between Papakura and Pukekohe. Since the
city’s rail network was electrified we’ve seen
incredible growth in patronage, we’re nearing
20 million rail trips a year.’
Six ex-Queensland Railways SX coaches
and 104 ex-British Rail MkII coaches built in
the 1970s and shipped to New Zealand in the
1990s remain in storage at Taumaranui. AT has
entered into conditional sales agreements for
31 of these vehicles, and has received expres-
sions of interest in the remaining 79.  n

ADVERTISERS
Alpha Trains 61
Ansaldo STS 53
AusRAIL PLUS 58
Bombardier13
British Steel 36
CAF39
CORE 2018 23
ECMIBC
Elmia Nordic Rail 6
Gally68
GHH-BonatransBC
GreenrailFC
Greenwood Engineering 43
Harting63
Hitachi Automotive Systems 54
Israel Railways 61
Istanbul Rail Tech 65
IVU47
International Wheelset Congress 55
KLW9
Lapp Group 41 DIETER
Leica Geosystems 35
LEM67
Metalcolour47
MTM Power 23
MTU24
Robel20
Rollon14
Rosehill Rail 22 With work
Selectron30 getting underway
Tesmec43 on India’s first high
TÜV SÜD Rail 51 speed line between Mumbai
UniControls30 and Ahmedabad (p7), Dieter wonders
Vogelsang17
whether the Japanese-backed project will provide
Vossloh29
sufficient capacity to meet the burgeoning demand for
Weighwell61
low-cost travel.
Zhuzhou CRRC Times Electric IFC

SELF-LOCKING NUTS
EXCELLENT FOR HIGH SECURITY APPLICATIONS
NO LOSS UNDER SEVERE VIBRATIONS
PERFECT FOR REUSE

® Gally S.p.a. s.u.

Frazione Melotti 19/A - 10084 Forno Canavese (To) Italy
...since 1949 Tel +39 0124 700104 - www.gally.it - E-mail: sales@gally.it
Railway Gazette International | October 2017 69

Diary & Contact FORUM

EXHIBITIONS | CONGRESSES | CONFERENCES

November 2 London, UK Rail Network Resilience www.waterfrontconferencecompany.com

November 6 - 7 Brussels, Belgium European Rail Summit www.railwaygazette.com

November 7 - 9 São Paulo, Brazil NT Expo - Business on Rails ntexpo.com.br

November 8 - 9 Paris, France Transrail Connection 2017 www.transrail-connection.com

November 8 - 10 Birmingham, UK RailSIMtech www.railsim.tech

November 9 - 10 Fulda, Germany Signal+Draht Kongress www.eurailpress.de/events

November 13 - 14 Brussels, Belgium Global AirRail Conference www.globalairrail.com/events/global-airrail-2017

November 14 - 15 Amsterdam, Netherlands World Rail Festival www.terrapinn.com/conference/rail-festival

November 14 - 15 Praha, Czech Republic Railway Interiors Expo 2017 www.railwayinteriors-expo.com

Further details and more events at www.railwaygazette.com

November 14 - 16 Barcelona, Spain Smart Mobility World Congress www.smartmobilitycongress.com

November 15 Derby, UK Railway Brake & Friction Conference www.brakefriction.org

November 21 - 22 Nairobi, Kenya East Africa Rail www.terrapinn.com/exhibition/east-africa-rail

November 21 - 23 Brisbane, Australia AusRail Plus www.ausrail.com

November 28 - 29 Singapore Aspect 2017 www.irse.org/aspect

November 28 - 30 Aachen, Germany International Railway Symposium Aachen www.irsa.rwth-aachen.de

November 28 - 30 Wien, Austria Intelligent Rail Summit 2017 www.railtech.com/intelligent-rail-summit-2017

November 29 Edinburgh, UK Scottish Rail Conference www.mackayhannah.com/conferences

November 29 - December 1 Chiba, Japan Mass-Trans Innovation Japan 2017 www.mtij.jp

November 30 - December 1 Hanoi, Vietnam GMS Rail Expansion Summit 2017 gmsrail.org

December 6 - 7 Baku, Azerbaijan Caspian & Central Asia Rail www.terrapinn.com/conference/central-asia-iran-rail

January 25 - 26, 2018 Paris, France ICRETM 2018 www.waset.org/conference/2018/01/paris/ICRETM

February 22 London, UK Rail Business Awards www.railbusinessawards.com

CONTACT & SUBSCRIPTIONS

EDITORIAL & ADVERTISING CORRESPONDENTS SUBSCRIPTION ENQUIRIES

Editor-in-Chief Argentina Enrique Garibotto Railway Gazette Subscriptions
Chris Jackson FCILT AIRSE 5201 Australia John Kirk DVV Media UK Ltd
Managing Editor Belgium Harry Hondius 7th Floor, Chancery House
Nicholas Kingsley 5204 Brazil Julio Baptista St Nicholas Way,
Canada J P Stewart Sutton, SM1 1JB
Deputy Editor
Robert Preston 5202 China Andrew Benton, M K Ba Great Britain
Croatia Toma Bacic
Head of News & Online Phone +44 20 8652 5200
Czech Republic Michal Málek
Andrew Grantham 5203 Fax +44 40 8652 5210
Finland John Pagni
Assistant Editor France Jean-Paul Masse E-mail subs@railwaygazette.com
Karol Zemek 5207
Greece Artemis Klonos
DVV Media UK Ltd Production Editor Hungary Benjámin Zelki Recommended by
7th Floor, Chancery House Isabel Burton 5205 India Raghu Dayal
St Nicholas Way,
Consultant Editor Israel Aharon Gazit
Sutton, SM1 1JB
Murray Hughes 5206 Japan Akihiro Nakamura THE EUROPEAN RAIL INDUSTRY TM

Great Britain
C 100
M 0
Y 100
K 20
C 70
M 0
Y 100
K 10

Commercial Manager
C 50
M 0

Netherlands Hans Scherpenhuizen

Y 100
K 5
C 0
M 0
Y 0
THE EUROPEAN RAIL INDUSTRY TM K 60

Phone +44 20 8652 xxxx Andrew Walker 5214 New Zealand P R Parry Railway Gazette International is a member
Sales Manager Norway Tørris Rasmussen (*associate) of these railway associations:
using extension as
shown right Marianne Ripsher 5215 Pakistan A Naim Kurayeshi *
Fax +44 20 8652 5210 Poland Ryszard Piech
Sales Manager Unife Logo

Sharon Addison 5217 Portugal André Pires

E-mail firstname.lastname@ Romania Mihai Tudosa
Sales Executive
railwaygazette.com Amy-Louise Weston 5218
Russia Vladimir Waldin
Singapore Haziq Hamidon ©2017 DVV Media UK Limited
www.railwaygazette.com Head of Events South Africa Rollo Dickson All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be
Kelly Farley 5216 reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means
Spain J Robledo Morales electronic, mechanical (including photocopying), recording
Journal Assistant Switzerland Lorenz Degen or by any information storage and retrieval system,

A publication of Linda Gruosso 5200 Thailand Michael Mackey

without prior permission from the copyright owners.
Multiple copying of the contents of this publi­cation
Publisher Turkey Türker Ahi without prior written approval is not permitted. Railway
Gazette International (ISSN 0373-5346) is published
Andy Salter United States David Lustig monthly by DVV Media UK Ltd, 7th Floor
Chancery House, St Nicholas Way, Sutton,
Chief Executive Officer Uruguay Marcelo Benoit
SM1 1JB, Great Britain. Origination and
Martin Weber Vietnam Lê Huy An printing in Great Britain by Buxton Press Ltd.
70 October 2017 | Railway Gazette International
SURVEY Industry Watch
A paradigm shift is still required
ANDREAS SCHWILLING and
STEPHAN BUNGE
Roland Berger
R
ailway assets have a long life. importance of LCC-oriented procurement strategies.
Rolling stock, track, electri-
fication and control systems
can last for at least 30 years,
and often 40 or more, while structures
can last much longer. The costs of op-
eration and maintenance therefore as-
sume a significant role relative to the
initial capital outlay — in the case of
vehicles the purchase price typically ac-
counts for only 40% of the total life-
cycle cost.
Yet despite growing evidence of the
financial advantages of adopting a life-
cycle cost approach when planning
procurement and spending, it seems
that many operators and infrastructure
managers have been slow to do so. We
asked our panel of senior executives
what steps they felt would facilitate
more rapid progress towards an LCC-
oriented rail sector.
It is particularly notable that only 4%
of survey respondents felt that their cus-
tomers already had an advanced under-
standing the impact of life-cycle costs,
while a similar proportion said that they
were already providing their custom-
ers with tools to calculate the possible
savings in operating and maintenance
costs.
A vast majority of the respondents
(85%) felt that a cultural change was
needed among railway operators and
infrastructure managers. Organisations
that are owned by national or local gov-
ernments have traditionally planned
expenditure on the basis of annual
budgets rather than depreciating in-
vestments over a long period. In addi-
tion, the tendency to specify tender re-
quirements in great detail can constrain
the suppliers’ ability to deliver LCC-
optimised solutions. Governments that
want to transform their state-owned
railways into modern businesses need
to consider changing both the corpo-
rate objectives and management culture
in order to inculcate a focus on life-
cycle costs.
While culture is the leading con-
cern, 41% of respondents believe that
manufacturers had to do more to make
their customers aware of life-cycle cost
impacts. Many manufacturers already
promote the maintenance cost advan-
tages or provide LCC calculation tools.
Other steps could include the provision
of case studies with real data to show
the development of key performance
indicators over time compared to assets
Despite widespread promotion of the benefits of using life-cycle costs
to inform investment decisions over many years, more work is needed
by suppliers, operators and independent advisors to emphasise the
To find out more
with a lower purchase price and higher
about the survey operating costs. In terms of vehicles,
and apply to join the metrics could include life-cycle
our panel, visit the
RSIW website at: cost per vehicle-km or per seat-km, for
www.railsupply example.
industrywatch.
com
In a similar vein, 37% felt that more
independent reviews should be under-
taken to provide evidence of the eco-
nomic benefits. It is understandable
that some potential customers may be
concerned about the accuracy of manu-
facturers’ claims, whereas independent
reviews by academics or service pro-
viders may be more likely to convince
them. The question then arises as to
who should finance such independent
reviews. If they are funded by the sup-
ply industry, it may be appropriate to
involve operators in steering the project
to ensure a neutral perspective.
However, almost one fifth of the re-
spondents thought that the benefits of
LCC orientation should not be over-
stated, because the savings are only re-
alised after a long period. This can be an
adverse incentive for railway managers
Fig 1. Possible steps to authorise higher expenditure up-
to facilitate more front, as it is likely to be their successors
rapid progress
towards an LCC- that reap the benefits. One factor that
oriented rail sector. may convince operators with a high risk
A A culture change is needed among railway operators
and infrastructure managers to consider whole-life costs
and benefits, particularly those state-owned entities
which are still constrained by annual expenditure limits.
B Manufacturers should focus more on life-cycle costs in
their marketing activities, such as using case studies to
convince potential customers.
C More independent reviews should be undertaken to
provide evidence of the economic benefits of taking an
LCC approach, given that many companies seem to be
waiting to learn from the experience of others.
D The benefits of LCC should not be overstated. Some
savings will only be realised after 15 or 20 years and
there may be a high level of uncertainty to be taken into
account.
E Our customers are already heavily oriented
towards life-cycle cost, and we see little room for
improvement.
F Other.
aversion and a corresponding high dis-
count factor in their Net Present Value
calculations is a relatively short pay-
back period.
In summary, it seems clear that all the
main stakeholders have to pull together
in order to achieve a greater under-
standing of LCC across the rail sector.
As Unife Director-General Philippe
Citroën suggests, ‘systematic applica-
tion of the EU’s new principles on Most
Economically Advantageous Tenders is
essential in order to make the rail sector
more LCC-oriented. Such an approach
would be beneficial not only for the rail
sector, but for the whole of society, as it
would help to prevent wage and social
dumping and strengthen the regional
economic structure.’
Enhanced exchange of data and ex-
perience with operations, maintenance
and engineering is also important, and
here the independent players can con-
tribute by providing a neutral bench-
marking platform for the industry with
guarantees over data confidentiality.
If various operators, including start-
ups, have access to comprehensive data,
it becomes possible to experiment and
simulate innovative methodologies
which can trigger technical evolution.
This should in turn result in further im-
provements in life-cycle cost, which as
the Shift2Rail programme has pointed
out are essential to ensuring the com-
petitiveness of the rail mode at a time
when other mobility concepts are evolv-
ing rapidly.  n
85%
41%
37%
19%
4%
4%
PIONEERS OF
WHEELSET SOLUTIONS
Family of noise-absorbing systems developed and being
diversified by GHH-BONATRANS.
• High absorption effect – up to 10 dB(A) rolling noise,
up to 30 dB(A) squealing noise
• Applicable in all types of rail vehicles
• Variety of dampers with lifespan not limited by the service
life of the wheel
• Tailor-made design
Stress optimized wheels
Family of enhanced wheel steel grades for all types of
passenger, locomotive and freight wheelsets that ensures
greater life in mileage.
• Up to 30% greater life in mileage compared
to wheels made of standard EN grades
• Greater resistance against Rolling Contact Fatigue (RCF)
and hence also against the development of shelling on
the wheel tread
• Ultimately reduction of the wheelset Life Cycle Costs (LCC)
during the rolling stock operation
Innovative induction-hardened axle. It is our solution to
the requirements of increased safety and reliability.
• Allows older platforms to comply with current safety
requirements
• Increased NDT intervals for axles
• No damage on axle body
• No seizure during maintenance
Dedicated for railway vehicles in which wheels are
exposed to high thermal and mechanical loads,
especially for freight wagons with tread brakes.
• Low residual stress
• Minor deformations
• Loading capacity 23.5 t, 25 t, 32.5 t, etc.
www.ghh-bonatrans.com