TFN BUDGET CUTS CRITICISED BY UK RAIL ORGANISATIONS

The Railway Industry Association (RIA) and the Northern Rail Industry Leaders (NRIL) have criticised the UK Government’s decision to cut Transport for the North’s (TfN) 2021/2022 budget by 40%, from £10m to £6m.

Presented on 13 January at a TfN board meeting, the cuts will also bring about the cancellation of the contactless ticketing programme – the Integrated and Smart Travel Programme – which will likely lead to workforce reductions.

The RIA – the trade body for the UK rail supply community – said the uncertainty around TfN’s budget will damage rail suppliers.

“We crucially need to see the publication of the Integrated Rail Plan soon so members of the rail supply industry have the visibility they need to invest efficiently and effectively,” RIA chief executive Darren Caplan commented.

“The government’s ‘build back better’, green, levelling-up agenda needs to include rail, which will also help support thousands of jobs and billions of pounds of GVA at a time when the UK economy desperately needs its industrial sectors to boost growth, in all parts of the country.”

NRIL, which represents northern rail businesses, asked for clearer government policies.

“The North’s rail industry stands ready to deliver Transpennine Route Upgrade, HS2, Northern Powerhouse Rail, the digitalisation and decarbonisation of the network and much more, for the benefit of those who use the railway network,” added NRIL co-chairs Justin Moss and Mike Hulme.

“But these businesses do need [the UK Government] to be clear about its policies and intentions, so it is vital the Integrated Rail Plan is published as swiftly as possible. The greater the visibility for rail businesses, the more we can provide the region, in terms of efficient delivery, skills, innovation and investment.”

TfN board members expressed disappointment at the UK Government’s decision, saying these cuts will delay the north of England’s economic recovery, widening the economic gap with London and the south-east.

BOMBARDIER TO BUILD 16 NEW HIGH-SPEED TRAIN CARS FOR CHINA

The Bombardier Sifang (Qingdao) Transportation (BST) joint venture has secured a contract from China State Railway Group (CHINA RAILWAY) to deliver 16 new Chinese standard high-speed train CR400AF cars.

The value of the contract is approximately $46m. All 16 railcars will be provided by the end of June.

Offering an operating speed of 350km/h, the new railcars will be arranged into two eight-car trainsets.

Bombardier Transportation China president Jianwei Zhang said: “We thank CHINA RAILWAY’s trust and support for awarding this repeated order within two months, and we appreciate very much our China team’s tremendous efforts and excellent performance in delivering the state-of-the-art trains at quality, within budget and on time despite the challenge of Covid-19. We are confident in keeping our excellent performance in 2021 and sustainable success in China.”

In 2018, BST supplied the new Chinese standard high-speed train cars to CHINA RAILWAY for the first time.

Until now, BST has delivered a total of 448,350km/h CR400AF and CR400AF-A cars.

In November 2020, BST secured an order to deliver 112 CR300AF train cars to CHINA RAILWAY.

Bombardier Transportation in China has seven joint ventures and six wholly foreign-owned enterprises.

All the joint ventures have so far collectively provided around 4,700 railway passenger cars, 580 electric locomotives, and more than 3,000 metro cars; monorail; APM; and trams to the Chinese high-speed network.

The company's propulsion equipment and signalling systems have been installed in 30 Chinese cities.

Along with its partner CRRC Sifang Rolling Stock, Bombardier Transportation holds 50% of the BST shares.

DEUTSCHE BAHN DEPLOYS HD MAPPING TECHNOLOGY FOR DIGITAL RAIL PROJECT

German railway company Deutsche Bahn has deployed HD mapping technology for its new digital rail project, named Sensors4Rail.

The new technology has been supplied by HERE Technologies through its location platform.

During the course of this pilot project, sensor-based train localisation and environment recognition will be tested for enhancing efficiency, consistency and railway system capacity.

Bosch, Ibeo and Siemens Mobility have also participated in the pilot project.

Deutsche Bahn will install the sensor technology on a train, allowing it to provide its real-time location.

This technology will allow the German railway firm to simultaneously operate more trains on the tracks.

With the help of the HD digital map, the train will be able to recognise and classify hurdles, enabling the control centre to react quickly.

Built on LiDAR-based data provided by Deutsche Bahn, the HD map has been created on the HERE location platform.

To identify changes in the environment, objects along the route such as buildings, poles, or platform edges were fed into the technology as reference data.

Deutsche Bahn will retain ownership and control of the information, and HERE has given the company a private development environment so it can manage data independently.

Partners will present the project results at the Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS) World Congress in Hamburg from 11 to 15 October, along with the live demonstrations of the test train.

NETWORK RAIL TO PUSH LARGE CONCRETE STRUCTURE UNDER EAST COAST MAIN LINE

Network Rail has announced it will install an 11,000-tonne curved concrete tunnel under the UK's East Coast Main Line.

Part of the £1.2bn upgrade of the East Coast Main Line, the structure will be installed in nine days and is expected to be a first for UK engineering.

The project will be executed at Werrington, north of Peterborough, where the East Coast Main Line is crossed by the slow-moving east-west freight route.

Once built, the tunnel will take slower freight trains off the fast route, which will expedite services, enhance reliability and reduce maintenance costs.

During the installation, a 155m curved concrete box will be pushed at 150cm an hour with the help of large-scale jacks, which will propel and direct it into place.

To initiate the construction work, around three tracks have been removed temporarily.

For the past nine months, engineers were working on the new tunnel by the side of the East Coast Main Line.

Network Rail East Coast’s route director Paul Rutter said: “This is a massive engineering challenge, but it will avoid hundreds of hours of closure on one of the most important lines in the country. This is industry-leading work that really puts the needs of passengers first in how we approach improvement work.

“In the past, Network Rail might have approached this problem by thinking about the easiest way to do the engineering. Instead, I’m proud to say we have come up with a creative and innovative solution that will deliver massive benefits while keeping disruption to a minimum.”

MAERSK EXTENDS SUSTAINABILITY SUPPORT FOR GERMAN RAIL CUSTOMERS

Danish shipping firm Maersk has unveiled a new CapO2 free intermodal transports solution, which has been installed on 85% of its German inland rail services.

Compared with conventional trains, this native, cost-neutral solution will cut down CO2 emissions to zero, saving nearly 9,100tpa of CO2, the company claims.

Similarly, in comparison with road transport, the solution will save around 40,000tpa of CO2.

Maersk Germany intermodal sales manager Johannes Tenschert said: “Our aim is to be able to convert 100% of our rail inland network in a year from now, by Q1 2022. This is another example of Maersk’s effort to help customers reach their goals to reduce their CO2 footprint.”

The electricity-powered container locomotives will link the seaport of Bremerhaven with other local economic sites such as Mannheim, Munich, Stuttgart and Nuremberg.

Germany’s Maersk rail transport is run by boxXpress.de, which is owned by ERS Railways, Eurogate Intermodal and TX Logistik.

The Hamburg-based railway company utilises 100% renewable hydropower for the operation of fully electric trains in the country.

ERS managing director and boxXpress.de board member Bernd Decker said: “It is recognised by TÜV Nord as ‘Certified Green Electricity’.”

Last June, Maersk announced the launch of a new research centre, Maersk Mc-Kinney Møller Center for Zero Carbon Shipping.

The new research centre in intended at developing new fuel types and technologies.

The centre was founded by ABS, AP Møller – Maersk, Cargill, MAN Energy Solutions, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, NYK Line and Siemens Energy.

The shipping industry has announced plans to reduce global carbon emissions by 2050.

SALASAR WINS CONTRACT TO INSTALL BALLASTLESS TRACKS IN INDIA

Salasar Adorus Infra has secured a contract exceeding $34m from Texmaco Rail and Engineering to install ballastless railway tracks for the Bangalore Metro Rail in India.

Owned by Salasar Techno Engineering, Salasar Adorus Infra is a multi-conglomerate in the engineering and infrastructure industry in India.

According to a report in the Financial Express, Salasar Techno stated that the design of the ballastless track will be in line with the three-dimensional geometry of track layouts, guaranteeing longevity and low maintenance.

As per the contract, Salasar Adorus Infra will design, fix, test, supply and grant the commission of ballastless tracks for a 175km stretch of the Bangalore Metro.

The firm is expecting to finish a 5km stretch every month, subject to viaduct accessibility.

The project will be implemented from the second week of January this year, according to company plans.

In accordance with Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation guidelines, the project will be completed within three years.

Salasar Techno Engineering managing director Shashank Agarwal was quoted by The Financial Express as saying: “The expansion of the metro rail network in the city of Bengaluru is in full swing.

"The company looks forward to delivering safe mobility solutions to Bangalore travellers who commute on a daily basis with the installation of world-class ballastless tracks in the given time frame.”

In a separate development, the Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) Survey commenced for Delhi-Varanasi High-Speed Rail (DVHSR) Corridor in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh.

The Indian Ministry of Railways informed that a helicopter equipped with aerial LiDAR and imagery sensors took the first flight for capturing the data for a ground survey.

The proposed project will link the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi with cities such as Mathura, Agra, Etawah, Bhadohi, Varanasi, Lucknow, Raebareli, Prayagraj, and Ayodhya.