GERMANY: Two contracts totalling €230m have been awarded to civil engineering group Bilfinger Berger for construction of new urban rail links to serve Berlin Hauptbahnhof, the company announced on February 10.
The bigger contract awarded by the local transport authority covers the missing section of U-Bahn line U5 between Alexanderplatz and Brandenburger Tor, where it will connect with the isolated route to the main station where BVG has operated a shuttle service as Line U55 since completion in 2009. As well as boring the 1·6 km running tunnels using a TBM and shield excavation, Bilfinger Berger will excavate the underground station at Museuminsel and build a cut-and-cover station at Unter den Linden.
The second contract awarded by DB to a joint venture including Bilfinger Berger covers the construction of tunnels for Line S21 between the Hauptbahnhof and a triangular junction with the northern side of the city’s S-Bahn ring. Including a mix of open cut and tunnelling, this will require pressurised excavation of the section below the main station.
IRELAND: The 2030 Rail Network Strategy Review of the medium-term needs and long term vision for investment in the national rail network was published on February 22.
It recommends that improvements to speed and capacity on inter-city lines should be prioritised, with electrification of the two main routes considered in the longer term.
National railway Iarnród Éireann commissioned the Strategic Rail Investments Needs Review from AECOM and Goodbody in the light of the government's new National Development plan. This will set out public investment priorities for 2012-19 in the context of Ireland's revised economic circumstances since the financial crisis. The review focuses on long-distance and regional routes, with the Greater Dublin area to be considered separately by the National Transport Authority.
The final report recommends that investment should be concentrated on links between the major cities, based on a value for money approach.
A three-phase strategy is proposed, with an estimated annual spend of €215m on infrastructure and €116m on rolling stock maintenance and renewals to 2030.
The first phase to 2015 would focus on 'quick wins' generating large returns in passenger benefits and fare revenue. These include 'modest' infrastructure improvements to reduce journey times on the routes from Dublin to Cork and Galway, and development of a Dublin (M50) Parkway station on the line into Heuston station where passengers would change for a bus link to the airport. If additional money could be found, further journey time improvements would enhance the benefits.
Phase 2 in 2015-20 would include Portalington - Athlone double tracking to increase capacity, a DART suburban link between Clongriffin and Dublin Airport, and various upgrades which rely on growth in demand to make a satisfactory return.
Phase 3 in 2020-25 includes electrification of the Cork and Galway routes, which could generate 'significant returns' but only if aligned with rolling stock life cycles; premature replacement of existing inter-city DMUs would reduce the economic case.
Predicted demand on the Dublin - Belfast cross-border route is found to be to low to justify electrification, even if aligned with fleet renewal, but this 'should be kept under review'.
The report highlights the need to ensure that maintenance and renewal is safeguarded, to avoid assets being run down over time. A strategic decision is need to retain viable freight capacity, and public funding models devised for freight services which might not be profitable but would generate wider economic benefits.
A revision of the fares structure is suggested, with a clearer split between advance and walk-on tickets, and the elimination of anomalies such as return tickets being cheaper than singles.
Options for the lightly used Waterford - Limerick Junction and Limerick - Ballybrophy lines 'range from closure to more targeted services over sections of the routes.' Of possible new lines or reopenings, only Athenry - Tuam is proposed for further consideration.
IÉ Chief Executive Dick Fearn said the economic crisis should not prevent planning for the future. 'It would be easy in today's environment to focus solely on short-term measures needed to ensure financial viability and the protection of existing services', he said. 'However, public transport in general and rail development in particular must always be considered in the medium and long-term strategic context.'
THAILAND: The Thai Office of Transport & Traffic Policy & Planning submitted proposals for a 336 km railway from Ban Phai to Nakhon Phanom to the cabinet at a meeting in Udon Thani on February 21.
The branch from the existing Nakhon Ratchasima – Nong Khai metre-gauge line would run northeast via Mueang Roi Et to the border with Laos, from where it could ultimately be extended eastwards to meet the planned Vietnamese railhead at Mu Gia.
With a projected construction cost of 41bn baht, the line is scheduled to open in 2017. Traffic is estimated at 6·3 million tonnes of freight and 7·4 million passenger-journeys annually by 2037. OTTPP calculates that the line could deliver wider economic and social benefits worth 2·8bn baht per year.
The project is part of a wider infrastructure package aimed at stimulating economic growth in northern Thailand, which has been badly affected by floods in recent months. As well as developing potential links within the framework of the long-term Trans-Asian Railway plan, OTTPP is also prioritising rail connections to the country’s main import terminal at Laem Chabang on the Gulf of Thailand.
USA: Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood and Mayor Mark Mallory attended a groundbreaking ceremony on February 17 to mark the start of work on a tram line serving the centre of Cincinnati.The 5∙8 km route with 17 stops will run from Findlay Market in the district of Over-the-Rhine, to the Banks redevelopment project in the Riverfront area. The streetcar will run on a pair of single tracks in adjacent streets, following Elm and Race between Over-the-Rhine and Central Parkway, and Walnut and Main from there to the Riverfront. The depot will be located near Findlay Market. Advanced works include a four month project to move water mains on Elm Street at 12th Street. Due to open in 2013, the Cincinnati Streetcar project is costed at $110m. The city received $25m from the federal Department of Transportation’s Urban Circulator Grant Programme in 2010, towards the cost of construction work. Another grant from the TIGER III programme is funding a short extension from Fifth Street to Second Street.The project has been controversial, but attempts to cancel the scheme were rejected by voters in 2009 and 2011. Mayor Mallory said ‘today’s groundbreaking belongs to the thousands of Cincinnatians who have enthusiastically worked to make the Streetcar a reality. The Streetcar is another part of our efforts to build a better Cincinnati.’
CHINA: A ground-breaking ceremony at the Olympic sports centre in Shenyang on February 17 formally launched construction of a 60 km tram network in the city.
The 4∙86bn yuan project is being managed by China CNR Corp under an agreement signed with the municipal government on December 1 2011. The aim is to begin test running in March 2013 and launch passenger services in June 2013 in time for the 12th National Games three months later. 2013 also marks the 40th anniversary of the closure of the city's previous tramway.
The planned network will have 73 stops on four lines linking key destinations including the Hunnan New Area industrial zone, Taoxian Airport, the conference and exhibition centre, Shenyang South high speed rail station, metro stations, the National Games Village and the Olympic Sports Centre.
CNR expects construction of the surface running segregated tram lines to be around a quarter of the cost of the city's metro lines. The company is to supply an initial 20 low-floor trams.
KUWAIT: Expressions of interest in a public-private partnership contract to supply rolling stock and railway systems for the Kuwait Metropolitan Rapid Transit System Project are to be invited shortly, the government's Partnerships Technical Bureau announced on February 19.
The contract will cover the supply of trains and railway systems for the planned five phases of the metro project.
Separate contracts are to be let for civil works and the operation of Phase 1, which includes approximately 50 km of metro with 28 stations, around a third of which will be underground. PTB also plans to award a contract for system integration, and will appoint four infrastructure PPP companies for the subsequent phases which will expand the network to 160 km and 69 stations, 11 of which will be underground.
Procurement is being undertaken by the Ministry of Communications through PTB, which has appointed Ernst & Young, Ashurst and Atkins to undertake feasibility studies and prepare procurement.
PTB has recommended that the financing structure includes a government subsidy owing to the size and strategic importance of the project, which it said forms a key aspect of the state's strategy to address the challenges of population growth and the current lack of public transport.
TURKEY: Three long-planned metro lines in Ankara are on course to open by mid-2014, according to Transport Minister Binali Yıldırım, following the award of contracts to complete civil engineering and fit-out works.
Line M2 will run for 16∙6 km from Kizilay in the city centre to the southwestern suburb of Çayyolu. The 15∙4 km Line M3 will run west from Batikent to Sinçan, and the 10 km Line M4 north from Tandoğan to Keçiören via Ulus. Each line will have 11 stations, and all three will connect with the 14∙6 km line M1 linking Kizilay and Batikent, which was completed by Bombardier and SNC-Lavalin in 1997.
Work on the three new lines started several years ago, but was halted by financial problems. Last year Ankara Metropolitan Municipality handed over responsibility to DHV, the General Directorate of Infrastructure at the Ministry of Transport. DHV’s call for tenders attracted bids from 16 consortia, of which 12 were shortlisted; the final offers in December included firms from Turkey, Spain, Austria, China and Italy.
A contract for completion of M4 was awarded to the Gülermak-Kolin consortium on February 2. This was followed on February 9 by the signing of a contract with a joint venture of Spanish civil engineering group Comsa-EMTE and local partner Açilim Insaat to complete M2 and M3 at a total cost of €100m.
Yıldırım said on February 1 that M2 and M3 would open at the beginning of 2014 and M4 six months later. He confirmed that bids were due by February 14 for the supply of 342 metro cars to operate the three lines. Although the tender rules specify 51% local content, Yıldırım said that because of the urgent delivery timescale this would be cut to 30% for the first 90 vehicles.
INDIA: Delhi Metro Rail Corp has submitted proposals to the Haryana state government for an extension of the Airport Metro Express line across the border to serve the growing satellite town of Gurgaon. The 12 km extension from the current terminus at Dwarka Sector 21 to meet the Orange Line at IFFCO Chowk would be mainly elevated, with intermediate stations at Bijwasan, Sector 23 and Sector 18.
Gurgaon is currently served by the Delhi Metro Orange Line, which connects HUDA and IFFCO Chowk with Vishwavidalya and Jehangirpuri, but this is a lengthy route with 32 intermediate stations. Extending the Airport Express would provide a limited stop service, cutting the journey time to Rajiv Chowk in the centre of New Delhi by around 30 min. Journey time from Gurgaon to the airport would be 14 min.
The Airport Express service is currently operated by Reliance Infrastructure, and DMRC says the concessionaire has already submitted a proposal for operating the extension, under what has been branded the Express Metro project. DMRC would be responsible for construction of the extension, which would then be handed over to the operator.
Subject to approval by the state government, DMRC hopes to start construction in the next few months and open the line in 2016. Other projects in Phase III of the metro’s expansion programme would also involve extensions across the Delhi border to satellite towns in the National Capital Region. Amongst these projects, the Violet Line from Central Secretariat to Badarpur would be extended southeast to Faridabad.
FRANCE: March 1 is due to see the start of civil engineering work for the new tram route in Besançon. STD, Sacer, Roger Martin, Colas Rail and Alstom have been awarded a €43m contract to build the 7 km western section with 13 stops between Hauts-du-Chazal and Chama
Work on the eastern 7 km section with 18 stops is due to commence in May, under a €53m contract awarded to a grouping led by Eurovia which includes Bonnefoy, Eurovia Travaux Ferroviairies, Campenon Bernard and Coteb Codiel.
Colas Rail is supplying the overhead electrification equipment, while seven substations to supply traction current at 750 V DC are to be installed by Spie Est. Signalling is to be supplied by Vossloh Cogifer.
USA: Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood joined Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed and local officials at a groundbreaking ceremony for the $94m Atlanta streetcar line on February 1.
The 4∙2 km tram route with 12 stops will linking the Martin Luther King Jr National Historic Site with Centennial Olympic Park, connecting with Marta’s heavy metro network. A joint project led by the City of Atlanta, the Atlanta Downtown Improvement District and MARTA, the streetcar line was awarded $47∙6m of federal funding in October 2010; this was the largest capital grant in the second round of the Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery grant programme.
In May 2011 Siemens was awarded a $17•2m contract to supply four cars based on the S70 Avanto LRV platform. The company’s first order for North American streetcars, the vehicles are being assembled in Sacramento, using propulsion systems and other components manufactured at Siemens’ plant in the Atlanta suburb of Alpharetta.
Speaking at the groundbreaking, LaHood said ‘all across America, there is work to be done on projects like this. Now is the time to connect people who need work with the work we need to do to improve our nation’s transit centres, highways, railways, airports and ports.’
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