Arup AECOM JV secures consultancy contract for Northern Link project

The Arup AECOM joint venture (JV) has secured a preliminary design consultancy contract from Hong Kong Mass Transit Railway (MTR) to conduct the planning and design for the proposed Northern Link main line project.

Work will include the development of the scheme into an engineering design, preparing the construction programme and gazette plans, as well as determining the cost estimate.

The Arup AECOM JV will work closely with MTR’s Capital Works team to deliver the works.

Alstom hands over first semi high-speed train for India’s RRTS project

French rolling stock manufacturer Alstom has delivered India’s first semi high-speed regional train for National Capital Region Transport Corporation’s Delhi-Ghaziabad-Meerut RRTS Phase 1 project.

These aerodynamic, fully air-conditioned trains are anticipated to result in a 40% decrease in journey times between the 82.5km Delhi–Meerut route.

Among its features include 2×2 transverse seating, door status indicators, grab handles, and ergonomically-designed areas to support disabled people.

The trains are also equipped with CCTV cameras, intercoms, fire extinguishers, exterior cameras, fire and smoke detectors, Wi-Fi, laptop/mobile/USB charging stations, dynamic route display maps, and an auto controlled ambient lighting system.

This RRTS route is India’s first to incorporate the European Train Control System hybrid level signalling system.

Russian forces attack six railway stations in Ukraine

Russian troops have attacked six railway stations in the central and western parts of Ukraine, according to Ukrainian Railways head Oleksandr Kamyshin. Missile shelling by Russian forces has delayed 14 trains.

In a statement on his Telegram channel, Kamyshin stated: “According to operational information, there are no casualties among the railway workers and passengers. “The damage to the infrastructure is severe, we will clarify the details after the end of the air raid.”

The Russian forces shelled various Ukrainian regions, including Kyiv, Lviv, Vinnytsia, Transcarpathian, and Kirovohrad.

According to Russia’s defence ministry, these railway stations are used for the supply of Western-made weapons for Ukrainian forces in the eastern part of the country. The ministry did not specify which weapons the stations supplied to Ukrainian troops.

High-precision air and sea-based weapons were used to disable the railway stations.

Network Rail concludes upgrades along West Coast main line

UK-based Network Rail has concluded several key improvement works to the railway between London Euston, the Midlands and North West regions.

Network Rail invested £41.1m ($50.4m) in the North West and Central region for the enhancement of passenger and freight services. The funding also covered recent work at Easter.

The enhancements included railway drainage work in Camden for the protection of tracks from future flooding and the demolition of an old railway viaduct in Birmingham before the HS2 (SAS 13) bridge renewal.

Upgrades to signalling in Macclesfield and bridge improvement work in Carlisle were also carried out.

Other improvement works include track foundation strengthening in Warrington and Carlisle, in addition to track replacement on the West Coast main line in Carstairs in Scotland.

CAF wins contract for new Granada Metro trains in Spain

Construcciones y Auxiliar de Ferrocarriles (CAF) has secured a contract from Spain-based Metro de Granada (Granada Metro) to deliver new trains.

Under the contract, CAF will provide eight new units for the single light rail line in the city of Granada.

The new units will be added to the already supplied 15 trains, which are currently under operation in Granada.

With a maximum operating speed of 70 km/h, the new units have the ability to carry 221 passengers.

Plans are in place to deliver the new units within 22 months.

CAF stated that the fleet extension aims to boost transport capacity by increasing the number of seats and stations’ train frequency.

Russia concludes construction of its section of rail bridge to China

Russia has completed its section of the first rail bridge across the Amur River, which is designed to connect Russia and China.

According to the Russian state-owned news agency TASS, the construction was concluded near the village of Nizhneleninskoye in the Jewish Autonomous Region.

Construction on the Tongjiang-Nizhneleninskoye bridge was commenced in 2014.

China concluded the construction of its section of the bridge, which covers four-fifths of its complete length of 2,200, in 2018.  

Initially, Russia connected the bridge with China in 2019. Russia’s section is around 309m in length.

The project was revised due to the deepening of the riverbed on Russia’s side. Due to Russian train station renovations, the bridge’s 2021 launch was postponed.