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Found 138 bulletins. The archive was last updated on 18 October 2005 and there are 2345 bulletins.
Two Dead in Head-On Collision Two Canadian National crewmen died and another two were injured after two trains collided at a siding in Davisburg, Michigan, on Thursday the 15th. One of the trains had pulled into the siding, but they collided anyway. Three of the two trains' four locomotives derailed, and 100 homes near the site were evacuated for several hours while rescuers searched the wreckage for signs of hazardous cargo or leaks. Investigators eventually determined that the tanker had not leaked. Most of the burning debris reportedly was auto parts. (November 23rd 2001, thanks Sherrie Grady)
Railtrack Aftermath
Let's be Friends WestLB, the German bank bidding for Railtrack, has asked administrators to replace a competitive auction with a "collaborative effort" where the bidders and the government would jointly buy the rail network owner. The bank believes the size and complexity of Railtrack makes a competitive auction difficult, and would delay the restructuring of the failed company. Instead it wants the government to work with private sector bidders to put together a sale on a "collegiate" basis. (November 20th 2001)
More Regulation The UK Department of Transport is setting up a second railways directorate to oversee strategy, prompting fears that it is renationalising management of the industry by the backdoor. Officials said the department plans to have two railway directorates; one for strategy and restructuring issues, the second to manage day-to-day running of the industry. (November 20th)
Engineering Firms Take Over From Railtrack? Rail engineering groups including Balfour Beatty, Jarvis and Serco are considering mounting a bid to run the railway following the collapse of Railtrack. The proposed scheme is likely to suggest a company limited by guarantee, as proposed by government, that would own the track, signals and stations. (November 6th)
Chunnel Freight Resumes UK railfreight operator EWS has restarted a restricted service through the Channel Tunnel after through-train cargo servicesentering the UK from France were suspended last week. French railway SNCF suspended all inbound UK freight trains amid fears that French staff were in danger from illegal immigrants trying to enter freight wagons near the entrance to the Channel Tunnel. The EU had threatened to fine France for blocking traffic. (November 16th 2001, thanks Bengt Mutén)
Investors Line up for Urban Rail in South Africa South Africa's rail project linking Pretoria and Johannesburg is being critised since the government has promised a ridership guarantee. The good news is that most of the large train manufacturers attended an "investment conference" on the project. The new track connecting the existing Pretoria and Johannesburg stations and the airport will wind through 11km of underground tunnels and for 5km over bridges with branches to Johannesburg International airport and Hatfield outside Pretoria. The train will travel at speeds of more than 160 km/h. (September 26th 2001, thanks Alan Reekie)
Amtrak Cuts Workforce Amtrak will significantly cut its 2900-strong management staff as part of a plan to save the company up to US$85m, George Warrington, Amtrak's president, announced on Friday the 27th. Mr Warrington said Amtrak would offer employees buy-outs and early retirement packages in an effort to create a "leaner, more efficient company". See also FT story. (July 30th 2001)
SBB Orders More Swiss-Built ICNs
Swiss SBB orders 10 Tilting Intercities Swiss SBB ordered 10 more tilting intercity trains at the end of June. The €143m order went to Bombardier and Alstom. Bombardier will be responsible for the production, assembly and commissioning of the vehicles; Alstom will be responsible for the production of the bogies and the tilting technology. Bombardier's share of this contract is about 80%. The trains are scheduled to be in operation by the end of 2004 mainly between Geneva-Lausanne-Bienne-Delemont and Basle as well as between Bienne and Zurich.
The carbodies will be produced at the Hennigsdorf plant, Germany, and the trains will be assembled at the Pratteln, Switzerland, manufacturing site. Commenting on this order, Bombardier Transportation President and Chief Operating Officer Pierre Lortie said "We recognize that Switzerland possesses a concentration of world-class expertise in the railway industry and we intend to focus on the needs of this market as well as work diligently to strengthen its export capabilities and know-how." This calms Swiss sentiment which was aggravated by cutbacks implemented by the former Adtranz (now Bombardier). (July 22nd 2001, thanks Richard Mlynarik)
New Speed/Endurance Record
New TGV Record - 1100 km in 3,5 hrs A TGV Réseau made the 1067 km run from Calais by the Channel tunnel to the southern port city of Marseilles in just 3 hrs 29 min on Saturday the 26th. The train averaged 306 km/h (190 mph). The public relations coup was staged to generate publicity for the 251 km new TGV Méditerranée line from Lyon (Valence) to Marseille. The new line will have TGV Duplex, TGV Réseau and TGV Sud-Est trains, all painted in blue/silver and running at a top speed of 300 km/h. The new line, which opens for commercial service on June 10th, is aimed at generating between 5m and 6m additional passenger journeys a year, an increase of 30 per cent.
The train used was TGV-Reseau #531, which left Calais at 16h30. This full-length TGV has been specially equipped with monitoring equipment, which measured temperature of components and kept an eye on the pantograph. The highest speed reached by TGV 531 was 336 km/h, and only the normal scheduled traffic on the high-speed network prevented it from arriving a few minutes earlier. The world speed record for trains is 515 km/h, set by another TGV in May 1990, and the record for magnetic levitation trains is 552 km/h. See also official site with statistics, photos and other info; ABC story, AFP story, press release, and TGV map. (May 27th 2001)
Railtrack Knew of Hatfield Cracks Railtrack knew of a serious problem with the track at Hatfield before the tragic accident, in which four people died, according to an inquiry. Quarterly ultra-sonic tests carried out by Balfour Beatty gave results that should have indicated a serious problem, but they appear not to have been acted on. Inadequate management by Railtrack of contractors looking after the rail infrastructure was also cited by the inquiry as a problem, the BBC reports. (May 15th 2001, thanks Jan de Haan)
Canadian Pacific Spins off CPR Canadian Pacific is splitting into five separately listed companies in an effort to increase shareholder value. Under the terms of the break-up, the group's hotel interests will remain as the only significant asset of the existing company, while holders of CP common shares will receive new shares in the spun-off operations. They comprise PanCanadian Petroleum, of which CP owns 86%, and the group's 100% stakes in Canadian Pacific Railway, CP Ships, and Fording Coal. See also Globe and Mail stories, 1 and 2. (February 14th 2001)
CN Interested in Buying CPR
Canadian Pacific Ltd. is looking to divest at least one of its five core businesses this year, says David O'Brien, the company's chairman, president and chief executive. Figuring out what CP might keep or sell has become a parlour game for analysts and other industry observers. Most agree the railway is a likely candidate for divestiture because Mr. O'Brien himself has said it is too small to be a buyer in the expected coming consolidation of the railway industry in North America.
CN's Paul Tellier said that "Obviously, if at one point in time Mr. O'Brien was going to decide to sell his railroad we have the responsibility to make sure that if we were eventually a potential buyer that this is preceeded by a good public-policy debate," in a media conference call in the strongest indication yet that CN could bid for CPR. Any merger would have to be good for customers, he said. Mr. Tellier's concern with public policy likely reflects the furor created by the merger of Air Canada and Canadian Airlines Ltd. in 1999, during which Ottawa appeared sometimes hesitant in the takeover fight and was forced to make policy on the fly. See also report on the debate. (January 26th 2001, thanks Bengt Mutén)