1. travel
2. transports
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Sound theory
PKP IC in crisis
Rhône running
Reducing freight wagon
noise at source
Where next for Polish
long-distance operator?
Rail dominates Lyon’s €1bn
five-year transit plan
IRJ
March 2015 I Volume 55 Issue 3
www.railjournal.com
International Railway Journal
Towering
ambition
Gulf rail investment continues to climb
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Inspiration delivered.
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Page 3
Contents
March 2015
Volume 55 issue 3
News
4
6
12
This month
News
Transit news
16
20
Financial news
News analysis
Middle East
26
Delivering the GCC’s integrated railway
The key players speak out on 2135km project
32
2015: a key year for Oman Rail
page 38
Urban rail
38
43
Lyon’s É1bn transit blueprint
Rail at the heart of five-year strategy
Also in this issue
Santos light rail ready to roll
55
57
57
58
First phase of network due to open this month
Noise and vibration
47
Rendezvous
Full contact list
Advertisers index
The last word
Sound theory
PKP IC in crisis
Rhône running
Reducing freight wagon
noise at source
Where next for Polish
long-distance operator?
Rail dominates Lyon’s €1bn
five-year transit plan
IRJ
March 2015 I Volume 55 Issue 3
www.railjournal.com
International Railway Journal
Reducing wagon noise at the source
Tackling troublesome rolling noise and curve squeal
Front cover
Croatia
51
Reconstructing a war-torn network
EU funds boost transport development strategy
Dubai Citadis: the Gulf region’s
first tramway and the world’s
first 100% catenary-free line,
made by Alstom.
Towering
ambition
Gulf rail investment continues to climb
Contact us
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IRJ March 2015
3
Photo: Sytral
National network plan builds momentum
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This month
David Briginshaw Editor-in-Chief
Declining oil price poses
serious threat to railways
T
HE dramatic fall in oil
prices has already claimed
its first railway casualties,
including Mexico’s troubled
high-speed project, and it
could have serious
consequences for rail if the
cost of road transport remains
at a much lower level.
Looking at the effect on
investment first, oil-producing
countries have seen a massive
drop in their revenues. As we
report this month, Middle East
countries have largely pledged
to maintain investment in rail
projects as they form a key
element in their attempt to
diversify their economies away
from a dependence on oil and
exploit their mineral wealth.
However, this is not the case
in Mexico where around onethird of government spending
is derived from oil revenue.
The government has
responded to the drop in
income by slashing $US 9bn
from this year’s national budget
and along with it two rail
projects: the 210km high-speed
line from Mexico City to
Queretaro and a new 278km
line across the tip of the
Yucatán peninsula from Mérida
to Puerto Venado. This leaves
just one project remaining in
president Enrique Peña
Nieto’s passenger rail revival
programme: the 55.7km new
line from Mexico City west to
Toluca on which construction
has already started.
President Peña Nieto came to
power in December 2012 and
one of his pledges was to
reinvigorate the Mexican
economy. In mid-2013 the
president announced ambitious
plans to boost infrastructure
investment by 50% to Pesos 4
trillion, or around $US 300bn at
2013 conversion rates, for the
4
period up to 2018. The
president said this could
trigger additional public and
private investment of up to
Pesos 1.3 trillion. “The size of
these figures reflects the
government’s commitment to
make transport and
communications a strategic
engine for national
development,” Peña Nieto
said at the time.
In February 2014 the
government unveiled a plan to
invest Pesos 125bn in 13
passenger and freight railway
projects. As studies for the
high-speed line were already
underway, the Federal
Secretariat of Communications
and Transport (SCT) was able
to invite tenders to design,
build, operate and maintain
the 300km/h line in July 2014.
instructed SCT to launch a
new one. SCT said in January
that it would issue preliminary
bidding documents by January
14 for a revised tender, but
announced on January 28 that
it had postponed publication
of the bidding documents to
accommodate feedback from
prospective bidders and the
competition authority.
Just two days later the
government pulled the plug
on both the high-speed and
Yucatán projects citing a
worsening economic situation
and falling oil revenues. One
cannot help thinking that
SCT’s poor handling of the
high-speed project made it an
easy target for indefinite
suspension when the
government decided it needed
to cut spending.
Railways need to be fully aware of changes
in the market and must be ready to react
to avoid traffic haemorrhaging away.
SCT announced in October
that a Chinese consortium was
the sole bidder. The fact that
16 companies, including some
of the leaders in high-speed
rail technology, chose not to
participate should have raised
alarm bells at SCT. Three
months was far too short a
period to prepare technical
and financial proposals for
such a major project. SCT also
wanted to commission the line
by 2018, an ambitious target
which may also have
unnerved prospective bidders.
Nevertheless, SCT
confirmed on November 3 that
it had selected a ChineseMexican consortium to
proceed with the project. But
just three days later Peña
Nieto annulled the tender and
Mexico is not alone in making
a hash of trying to implement a
high-speed rail project. Brazil is
in a similar situation with its
numerous attempts to kick start
its Rio - São Paulo - Campinas
scheme. High-speed rail is by its
very nature at the cutting edge
of railway technology and such
schemes need careful planning
and technical expertise to
implement them successfully.
Nations lacking high-speed rail
expertise would do well to
obtain advice and guidance
from countries with good
experience to avoid the mistakes
which have been made in both
Mexico and Brazil.
Turning to the effect of the
oil price fall on current
operations, railways are
vulnerable to increased
competition from road
vehicles which now cost less
to run. As always, railways
need to be fully aware of
changes in the market and
must be ready to react to avoid
traffic haemorrhaging away.
Long-distance passenger
traffic is most vulnerable to
cheaper motoring if rail fails to
respond through things such as
special promotions, increased
marketing or simply by cutting
fares. Irish Rail and Portuguese
Trains have both reported
modest increases in traffic for
the first time since the financial
crisis which affected their
countries so badly, so it would
be a great pity if these signs of
revival are snuffed out due to
lower fuel prices and a failure
to react.
Some railways can ill afford
to see further reductions in
traffic. Our news analysis
report on Poland makes grim
reading, where reluctance to
modernise infrastructure and
rolling stock after the end of
communism was compounded
by a failure to change the
passenger service into a
commercial business focused
on the needs of customers
resulting in a steady decline in
traffic. The situation in Poland
is similar to that in western
Europe after the Second World
War, where railways did not
adapt to the rapid growth in car
ownership and air travel and
lost a large amount of traffic
and market share, which took
decades to recover. One has to
ask if it is the curse of the
railway industry to continually
repeat the mistakes of the past?
[email protected]
IRJ March 2015
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News
Hitachi wins race for Finmeccanica rail assets
Marco Chiandoni
Regional editor
H
ITACHI announced on
February 24 that it has
reached a binding agreement
with the board of Finmeccanica
to acquire all of the shares in
AnsaldoBreda and the Italian
conglomerate’s 40% stake in
Ansaldo STS.
Hitachi will pay ƒ9.65 per
share for Ansaldo STS or a
total of ƒ773m, although the
agreed purchase price is
subject to a possible preclosing downward adjustment.
The purchase price for
AnsaldoBreda, including real
estate assets, is ƒ36m.
Finmeccanica says the deal
includes the current business
of AnsaldoBreda with the
“exclusion of some revamping
activities and certain residual
contracts,” although it has not
disclosed which contracts are
not included.
Both transactions are still
subject to regulatory and
antitrust approval, but Hitachi
expects to achieve financial
close later this year.
Following the close of the
acquisitions Hitachi will
launch a mandatory tender
offer on all remaining shares
in Ansaldo STS, in accordance
with Italian law.
“The sale of the rail transport
business is a key step in the
execution of our industrial
plan, aimed at focusing and
strengthening the group in the
core aerospace, defence, and
security business,” says
Finmeccanica CEO Mr Mauro
Moretti. “The transactions
announced today confirm our
commitment to deliver on our
economic and financial
objectives contributing to
significantly reducing net debt.
Hitachi has clearly recognised
the know-how and expertise
which would be contributed
by both AnsaldoBreda and
Ansaldo STS within the new
group. I am sure both
companies will play a key role
in the future development of
the Hitachi Rail business
worldwide.”
Finmeccanica says it expects
to reduce net debt by ƒ600m
as a result of the sale with a
net capital gain of ƒ250m.
Hitachi says the acquisition
will strengthen its position in
signalling and traffic
management systems, expand
turnkey operations, and add to
its product portfolio. “With the
addition of these companies
we are in an excellent position
to transform Hitachi Rail into
one of the strongest global
players in the sector,” says
Hitachi Rail global CEO Mr
Alistair Dormer. “Today’s
announcement is a further
testament to the long-term
vision we have for growth of
Hitachi. By combining forces,
we significantly strengthen
our market position, aspiring
to become a leading global
total solution provider to the
rail sector.”
On February 20 the steering
committee of Finmeccanica
held a two-hour meeting to
discuss the sale. According to
reports in the Italian financial
press China’s Insigma group
submitted a binding offer to
RZD Sakhalin Island locomotives on test
R
USSIAN Railways (RZD)
has begun six months of
trials with the first of 32
diesel locomotives being
supplied by Sinara for the
1067mm-gauge network on
the Pacific island of Sakhalin.
Sinara has delivered two of
6
the 2.94MW double-unit
TG16M locomotives to the
island for tests.
The fleet is due to be
introduced in July and will
primarily be used on mineral
trains on the steeply-graded
Yuzhno - Sakhalinsk -
Kholmsk line. The 2.94MW
locomotives are fitted with
Voith L 530 breU2
transmission, a cooling
system equipped with
SilentVent fans and doubleblock radiators, and BR153/
BR199 couplings.
Finmeccanica and this expired
at midnight on February 20.
However, the CEO of Insigma
reportedly sent letters to the
board of Finmeccanica
together with UBS, and
Mediobanca, which were
assisting in the transaction,
claiming it reserved the right
to extend the offer.
Nonetheless, Moretti was
said to favour a deal with
Hitachi, which has much
higher annual turnover than
its Chinese competitor, even
though by this stage it had not
submitted a binding offer.
There were further
indications that the deal
would go Hitachi’s way at a
meeting of the steering
committee of Ansaldo STS,
which was held immediately
after the Finmeccanica
meeting, when members voted
to proceed to the due diligence
stage and open the company’s
books to Hitachi. A binding
bid was finally submitted for
consideration by the
Finmeccanica board on the
evening of February 23.
Talgo mulls
€400m IPO
S
PANISH rolling stock
manufacturer Talgo has
selected JP Morgan, Santander,
and Nomura as banking
advisors to evaluate the
possibility of launching an IPO
on the Madrid stock exchange,
which is provisionally valued
at ƒ400-500m.
According to press reports,
the advisors will now analyse
potential options, starting with
plans to float a 50% stake in
Pegaso Rail International, the
holding company which owns
100% of Patentes Talgo. Pegaso
is currently valued at between
ƒ800m and ƒ1bn.
Although unconfirmed by
the company, current Pegaso
shareholders include Trilantic
Capital Partners (64%) and
MCH Private Equity (16%),
with the founding Oriol family
retaining a 20% stake.
Talgo previously planned an
IPO but put its listing on hold
in 2011 due to turbulence in
the financial markets.
IRJ March 2015
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In brief
Siemens chosen for Rhine-Ruhr Express fleet
Brazil
The Brazilian Railway
Industry Association (Abifer)
says rail vehicle suppliers
produced 4703 freight wagons
in 2014 - more than double the
2280 produced in 2013 - and
374 passenger coaches, an
increase of 70% from 219 in
2013. Locomotive production
remained static at 80 units.
Total revenue for the railway
industry, including its supply
chain, was Reais 5.6bn ($US
2.02bn), a 24% increase
compared with Reais 4.5
billion in 2013.
China
China Railway Group’s second
bureau has started preliminary
work on the 350km/h highspeed line between Guiyang
and Nanning. The 533km line
is expected to cost Yuan 74bn
($US 11.83bn).
R
HINE-Ruhr Transport
Authority (VRR)
announced on February 10
that it has selected Siemens as
preferred bidder for a contract
to supply 82 EMUs for the
Rhine-Ruhr Express (RRX)
network and maintain the
fleet for 30 years.
The deal is still subject to
approval by the five tendering
authorities, VRR, Rhineland
Local Transport (NVR),
Westphalia-Lippe Local
Transport (NVR), North
Rhineland Palatinate Regional
Rail Transport (ZSPNV-Nord)
and North Hessen Transport
(NVV). A decision is due to be
made by March 26.
VRR says Siemens made a
better economic offer than its
two competitors in the tender,
Stadler and a consortium of
Alstom and Škoda. The total
value of the order is estimated
to be around ƒ900m.
The 160km/h four-car trains
will be based on Siemens’
Desiro High-Capacity (HC)
platform, which combines
single-deck driving cars with
double-deck intermediate cars.
According to Siemens, a
105m-long four-car Desiro HC
set with two double-deck cars
will seat up to 420 passengers.
The first trains are due to
enter service in time for the
launch of the RRX concession
in December 2018. According
to the tender, 71 trains will be
required to operate the full
timetable with the remaining
sets covering maintenance.
The five-line RRX network
is intended to bring a
consistently high-quality fast
regional rail service to
Germany’s most denselypopulated region, with trains
running at 15-minute intervals
on the core Dortmund Cologne line.
VRR says the transport
authorities decided to procure
rolling stock directly, rather
than through the operating
concessionaire, because this
will result in lower life-cycle
costs and a standardised fleet.
DB Regio opposed this
structure and launched a legal
challenge against VRR, which
was rejected by a court in
Münster last October.
Mexico cancels high-speed project
M
EXICO’s troubled highspeed plans suffered
another major setback on
January 30, when the federal
government announced that
the Mexico City - Queretaro
high-speed project will be
suspended indefinitely due
to the worsening economic
situation and declining oil
prices, which have put
pressure on public finances.
Secretary of the treasury
and public finance Dr Luis
Videgaray also confirmed that
the proposed mixed-traffic line
between Merida, Yucatán and
IRJ March 2015
Puerto Venado in neighbouring
Quintana Roo has also been
cancelled.
Just two days previously
the Federal Secretariat of
Communications and
Transport (SCT) announced
that it would postpone the
publication of final bidding
documents for the tender to
build and maintain the 210km
Mexico City - Queretaro line
to accommodate feedback
from prospective bidders and
the country’s competition
authorities.
Last November the
government annulled the
tender just days after SCT
announced that it would sign
a contract with the sole bidder,
a consortium of Chinese and
Mexican companies. China
Railway Construction
Corporation is now seeking
compensation from the
Mexican government.
Around a third of
government spending
depends on oil revenues and
with oil prices falling
significantly Mexico has
responded by cutting $US 9bn
from its 2015 budget.
Ethiopia
Tendering for construction of a
280km railway from Semera
east to the Djibouti port of
Tadjourah has been postponed
for a fifth time after bidders
requested more time to
prepare their bids. However,
one contractor claimed the
delay has was down to
Ethiopian Railways
Corporation (ERC) altering the
terms of the tender to only
accept bids from contractors
with experience of building a
minimum of 180km of new
railway or highway in projects
worth more than $US 200m.
Finland
The government has pulled
the plug on the 8km Helsinki
City Rail Loop following
disagreements in the fourparty government over how to
fund the ƒ900m project, which
would link Pasila with Töölö,
the city centre, and Hakaniemi.
France
SNCF has finally granted TTG
Transportation Technology,
Australia, approval to provide
more than 1500 TGV drivers
with hand-held Energymiser
Driver Advisory System
devices. The contract was
awarded in 2014 and is part of
SNCF’s programme to
improve punctuality and
reduce energy consumption.
7
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News
Brazil’s Cosan proceeds with ALL takeover
C
OSAN Logistics has been granted
approval by Brazil’s antitrust regulator
Cade to proceed with a takeover of the
country’s largest railway operator Latin
American Logistics (ALL) through its Rumo
Logistics subsidiary, which is expected to
create a logistics company worth Reais 11bn
($US 3.85bn).
Rumo agreed to buy ALL’s rail division in
February 2014 for around $US 3bn in an allstock deal. Cade gave the green light to
proceed on February 11 as long
as the new freight company
continues to guarantee
third-party access to
Cosan’s two
dry bulk terminals at Santos, Brazil’s largest
port. This is intended to address sugar and
grain producers’ concerns that the deal will
create a monopoly on railway access to Santos.
Cosan, which is based in São Paulo, is a
producer of bioethanol, sugar, energy and
goods, and already contracts ALL to provide
transport services to Rumo.
The merger ends a long-standing legal
dispute between the two companies over
contracts to deliver Cosan’s sugar
over ALL’s infrastructure, with
Cosan arguing that ALL was
failing to invest
sufficiently in its
infrastructure.
China to study Mongolian mineral line
N
ORTHERN Railways
(NR), the rail
infrastructure subsidiary of
Aspire Mining, Australia, has
appointed China Railways 20
Bureau Group, a subsidiary of
China Railway Construction
Corporation, to carry out a
feasibility study for its
proposed 547km Erdenet Ovoot line in Mongolia.
Aspire says preliminary
work on mapping the first
250km of the east-west route is
already underway and it has
made an initial payment of
$US 250,000. Further payments
will be conditional on the
project receiving a construction
concession and funding.
The first stage feasibility
study will include a detailed
construction schedule and cost
estimates for the entire route.
If this study is approved,
NR will commission a
bankable study to develop
8
the project in more detail.
The most recent prefeasibility report indicates
the railway will require a
total investment of around
$US 1.3bn plus contingencies.
The project will be funded
primarily through an
engineering, procurement and
construction (EPC) contractor
as well as debt and equity
sources.
The railway was included in
the Mongolian government’s
recently-published national
rail policy and will support
Aspire’s Ovoot Coking Coal
project, which is expected to
generate output of 5 million
tonnes in its first year of
operation. Both the railway
and the mine are due to be
commissioned in 2018.
In addition to traffic from
the mine, the new line is
expected to carry general
freight and passenger traffic.
Chinese rail
equipment exports
up 22.6% in 2014
T
HE total value of rail
equipment exported from
China surged by 22.6% to
Yuan 26.77bn ($US 4.38bn) last
year, according to statistics
released last month by the
General Administration of
Customs (GAC).
Chinese equipment was
shipped to more than 30
countries, with the largest
markets being Southeast Asia
(Yuan 3.84bn), Argentina
(Yuan 3.45bn), and Australia
(Yuan 3.35bn). The products of
state-owned companies
including CNR and CSR
accounted for more than 70%
of exports in 2014.
The value of locomotives
sold rose by 13.3% to Yuan
15.45bn, while the export of
multiple units, light rail
vehicles, coaches and wagons
soared by 47%.
In December total exports
reached Yuan 2.81bn, a 42.3%
year-on-year increase.
China’s international
railway equipment business
has grown substantially in
recent years from $US 80m in
2001, with average annual
growth of more than 34%.
German passenger numbers reach
record levels but freight stagnates
P
ASSENGER numbers on
the German rail network
reached their highest recorded
level in 2014, but railfreight
stagnated despite growth in
the overall freight market,
according to annual figures
published last month by the
German Federal Statistical
Office (Destatis).
Passenger numbers for local
rail services (including S-Bahn
trains) grew by 2.1% to 2.52
billion, while tram and U-Bahn
ridership increased by 1.7% to
3.85 billion.
For long-distance travel,
ridership on inter-city trains
continued its recent slow
decline with a further drop of
1.1% to 130 million passengers.
Correspondingly, the recentlyliberalised long-distance bus
market continued to
experience surging growth,
with passenger numbers more
than doubling from 8.2 million
to an estimated 17-19 million,
with precise figures still to be
finalised.
Meanwhile railfreight
operators failed to capitalise
on growth in the overall
freight transport market as
strikes held back volumes.
While total inland freight
volumes increased by 2.9% to
4.5 billion tonnes (656.9 billion
tonne-km), almost all of the
traffic gained went by road.
The share of the total carried
by rail fell by 2.4% to 364.9
million tonnes, with distance
travelled remaining static at
112.6 billion tonne-km.
The drop in railfreight
volumes is attributed to
extensive strike action which
affected the largest railfreight
operator DB Schenker.
IRJ March 2015
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In brief
Ghana
Junior transport minister Ms
Joyce Mogtari says that a
contract to rebuild the 330km
eastern railway corridor will
be awarded by the end of the
year. The project involves
reconstruction of the 1067mmgauge railway, converting it to
standard gauge, strengthening
and widening bridges and
culverts, and rehabilitation of
signalling and telecoms.
International
Hallandsås tunnel nears completion
S
WEDISH infrastructure
manager Trafikverket
announced on February 12 that
tracklaying has been completed
in the 8.7km Hallandsås
tunnel, Sweden’s longest
railway tunnel, and the SKr
10.5bn ($US 1.25bn) project is
on course for its official
opening on December 13.
Construction of the twinbore tunnel between Bastad
and Förslöv originally started
as long ago as 1992 but was
suspended in 1997 when the
project was one-third complete
because of serious
environmental concerns.
Tunnelling eventually
resumed in 2005 and the final
concrete segment was installed
in September 2013.
Tracklaying has been carried
out using a Plasser & Theurer
SVM 1000 tracklaying train,
which can lay up to 2km of
track in 24 hours. Over the
next few months installation of
signalling, electrification, and
telecommunications
equipment will continue both
inside the tunnel and on the
approaches, with driver and
rescue staff training scheduled
to begin in the summer.
The tunnel is a key element
in the upgrading of Sweden’s
Gothenburg - Malmö West
Coast Line, replacing a
steeply-graded single-track
section on the line which is
now 85% double-track.
Morocco plans $US 780m rail investment in 2015
T
HE board of Moroccan National Railways
(ONCF) approved a capital budget of
Dirhams 7.5bn ($US 780m) for this year at a
meeting in Rabat on February 19, which was
chaired by minister for infrastructure,
transport and logistics Mr Aziz Rabbah.
More than half of the budget, Dirhams 4bn,
is allocated to the 200km Tangiers - Kenitra
high-speed line, which is currently under
construction, while the remaining Dirhams
3.5bn will be used for enhancements on the
conventional network.
Planned investments include construction of
a third track on the Kenitra - Casablanca line,
track doubling on the Settat - Marrakech line,
station modernisation, refurbishment of
existing rolling stock and acquisition of
new trains, and improvements to
safety and security.
The government of Flanders,
Belgium, has again raised the
prospect of reopening the Iron
Rhine, a direct rail link
between the port of Antwerp
and Mönchengladbach, which
closed in the 1990s.
Hungary’s Györ-SopronEbenfurth Railway (GySEV) is
planning to form a joint
venture company with
German Rail (DB) to develop
freight traffic from the Black
Sea to Passau on the German/
Austrian border. DB will hold
a 51% stake with GySEV
providing locomotives and
traincrew.
Israel
Ridership on Israel Railways
(IR) services increased for the
third successive year in 2014,
with passenger numbers rising
by 7.5% year-on-year to 48.5
million. Much of the growth is
attributed to the launch of a
new timetable in June which
brought increased frequencies
on many routes and a daily
record of 196,000 passengers.
Netherlands
P&O Ferries says it will begin
work soon on a project to
expand its rail hub at
Rotterdam Europoort to
accommodate burgeoning
traffic at the terminal.
Railfreight volumes through
the terminal increased by 43%
in 2013 and 78% last year, with
80% growth expected in 2015.
Norway
Photo: David Gubler
IRJ March 2015
Infrastructure manager
Jernbaneverket has been
granted approval to replace
copper cables with an
aluminium alternative
following a successful trial
which resulted in a dramatic
fall in thefts.
9
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News
DB loses Nuremberg S-Bahn to National Express
Keith Barrow
Associate editor
F
OLLOWING an
international tender, the
Bavarian Railway Authority
(BEG) has selected National
Express Rail, the German
subsidiary of British rail and
long-distance bus operator
National Express, as preferred
bidder for two 12-year
contracts to operate the
Nuremberg S-Bahn network.
BEG tendered the five-line
network as two contracts as it
was considered too sizeable
for a single tender.
With the exception of the
four-line network in Bremen, all
S-Bahn services in Germany
are currently operated
by German Rail
(DB).
National Express will take
over the Nuremberg S-Bahn
from DB in December 2018
and by that time the network
will have expanded by a
further 48km to reach 272km.
All services will be operated
by new rolling stock and
National Express will replace
the ageing locomotive-hauled
trains and much newer Talent
2 EMUs currently used by DB
with a fleet of 38 five-car
RegioPanter EMUs from
Skoda. The ƒ360m contract is
the first order for RegioPanter
trains for operation in
Germany.
Timetables and frequencies
have not yet been announced
as it is unclear whether all
planned infrastructure
enhancements will be
completed in time for the start
of the 2019 timetable in
December 2018.
Performance criteria
specified by BEG include a
minimum number of seats per
train and the presence of
security guards on all services.
National Express
will
adopt BEG’s quality
measurement system and will
be subject to monitoring by the
authority. National Express
says it expects to generate
ƒ1.4bn in revenues over the
duration of the concession.
National Express will begin
operating its first German
regional concession in
December, when it takes over
RE7 (Rheine - Münster Wuppertal - Cologne - Krefeld)
and RB48 (Wuppertal Solingen - Cologne Bonn) services in
North Rhine
Westphalia.
Bombardier is
supplying 35
Talent 2 EMUs
for these
services.
Trans-Papua railway study to start soon
Linz - Wels four-tracking plan revealed
I
A
NDONESIA’s Ministry of
Transport says that a
feasibility study into the
construction of a 595km
railway between Sorong and
Jayapura in Papua will begin
this year.
According to a document
released last month, the line
will consist of a 390km
section between Sorong and
Manokwari and a 205km
Sarmi - Jayapura section.
However, the report did not
give any specific details of the
Manokwari - Sarmi section.
Feasibility studies into both
projects will start this year,
and detailed design and
10
environmental impact of the
Sorong - Manokwari section
will take place in 2016
followed by a 2.5-year land
procurement process that will
begin in 2017. Construction is
expected to start in 2018 with
completion scheduled for
2019.
Detailed design and
environmental impact studies
on the Sarmi - Jayapura
section will also take place in
2016-17, with land
procurement starting in 201819, and construction after
that. The project is expected
to cost Rupiah 10.61 trillion
($US 831.3m).
USTRIAN Federal
Railways (ÖBB) has
finalised the details of a
project to quadruple the Linz Wels section of the Vienna Salzburg line.
From Linz, two additional
tracks will run parallel to the
existing line as far as Leonding
but from there a new
alignment will diverge to the
south to avoid the towns of
Pasching and Hörsching. A
new station will be built at
Linz Hörsching airport and
the existing line through the
two towns will be abandoned.
Near Oftering, the existing
alignment is joined again and
the two new tracks will
continue in parallel as far as
Marchtrenk. From there the
line already has four tracks, two
of which form the approach to
Wels marshalling yard.
The new section will be
16km long and will require
extensive noise mitigation
measures. An environmental
assessment is now underway
and construction is expected to
start on the ƒ660m project in
2018, with completion
scheduled for 2026.
The Linz - Wels line is one
of the busiest in Austria and is
currently used by 340 trains
per day, with traffic forecast to
reach 500 trains per day by
2025.
IRJ March 2015
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Page 11
In brief
Nigerian privatisation bill approved
N
IGERIA’s Federal
Executive Council has
approved the Nigerian
Railway Authority Bill 2014,
which will open up operations
to the private sector and
relinquish government control
of rail infrastructure dating
back to the 1957 Railway Act.
The bill allows the private
sector to build new lines and
operate and maintain the
3557km of existing 1067mmgauge infrastructure which is
currently the guise of Nigerian
Railway Corporation (NRC).
The bill has been sent to the
National Assembly for debate
and final approval.
NRC says it requires private
investors and modern technical
expertise to revive Nigeria’s
poorly-maintained railway,
which consists of two main
lines from Lagos to Nguru and
Port Harcourt to Maiduguri.
The approval of the bill
revives the delayed plans for
three separate concessions of
25-30 years for private firms to
operate the western, central
and eastern railway corridors.
Backers sought for Senegal - Mali upgrade
T
HE African Union (AU) is
seeking private investors
to support an upgrade of the
1000mm-gauge single-track
Dakar - Bamako line to
improve connectivity and
boost trade between Senegal
and landlocked Mali.
The $US 3.1bn upgrade
entails investment in new track
to convert the 1000mm-gauge
line to standard gauge, as well
as rolling stock, and signalling
on the 1128km line, which has
not carried any traffic since
2010. China International
Railways, China Railway
Construction Corporation and
Sahara Mining, India, have
expressed interest in financing
the project.
The line was operated by
Transrail before being acquired
by Belgium’s Vecturis, and
forms part of the Dakar Djibouti railway, which will be
extended from Djibouti to
Libreville, under AU plans.
SJ plans major
Stockholm - Oslo
improvements
S
WEDISH national
passenger operator SJ has
revealed plans for major
improvements on the
Stockholm - Oslo route with
the reintroduction of X2000
tilting trains, an increase in
frequency, and dramatically
improved journey times.
From August 9, SJ will
replace the two daily InterCity services between the
Swedish and Norwegian
capitals with three X2000s,
reducing the journey time for
the 572km trip from 5h 38min
to around 4h 30min.
SJ previously operated
X2000s to Oslo between 2000
and 2004 under its 50:50 Linx
venture with Norwegian State
Railways (NSB). However,
competition from low-fares
airlines led to a 40% decline in
ridership and SJ decided to
redeploy the trains on busier
domestic routes. Every year
1.1 million passengers fly
between the two capitals.
Poland
Polish infrastructure manager
PKP has commissioned WYG
Consulting to carry out a
feasibility study of the
electrification of around
100km of the Lublin - Stalowa
Wola line in southeast Poland.
Portugal
Portuguese Trains (CP) carried
109 million passengers in 2014,
a 3% increase on 2013. This is
the highest rate of growth
since 2008 and was driven by
a 12.6% increase in patronage
on long-distance services. CP’s
revenues reached ƒ214.5m in
2014, an increase of 5.2%.
Russia
Aeroexpress has announced it
will withdraw its operations in
Kazan and Vladivostok to
focus solely on serving
Moscow’s main airports.
Aeroexpress says it may
transfer these businesses and
their assets to local operators.
Aeroexpress lost Roubles 130m
($US 1.96m) on the Kazan
service and Roubles 62m in
Vladivostok in 2014.
Thailand
General Thawatchi
Samutsakorn, board chairman
of State Railway of Thailand
Electrified Train (SRTET), the
state-owned subsidiary of
State Railway of Thailand
(SRT) which operates the
Bangkok airport express
service, has expressed a desire
for a private company to
operate the service. SRT has
the power to grant a
concession or establish a PPP.
Uzbekistan
Tracklaying completed on Borders Railway: Scottish cabinet secretary for infrastructure Mr
Keith Brown joined contractors at Tweedbank station on February 12 to attach the final rail clip on
the Borders Railway, marking the completion of tracklaying on the 48km line from Newcraighall,
south of Edinburgh. The £294m non-electrified line will open in September, restoring rail services
to an area isolated from the network since the closure of the Edinburgh - Carlisle Waverley Route
in 1969. Around 90% of the new railway uses the alignment of the abandoned line.
IRJ March 2015
The International Bank for
Reconstruction and
Development will provide a
$US 195m loan to finance
construction of the 124km
Angren - Pap railway through
the Kamchik Pass, which will
create a direct connection
between Tashkent and
Namangan. The entire project
is expected to cost $US 1.63bn,
with $US 1.08bn coming from
Uzbekistan Railways (UTY),
the Uzbek government, and
the Uzbek Reconstruction and
Development Fund (URDF)
and the remainder from
international lenders. IRJ
11
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Transit news
Stif approves 101 new trains for Paris
T
HE board of Ile-de-France
transport authority Stif
has approved a ƒ1.5bn
investment in new rolling
stock for the Paris region,
including 72 metro trains and
29 suburban EMUs, which
will be 100%-funded by the
authority.
In January Stif, Paris
Transport Authority (RATP),
and Société du Grand Paris
(SGP) signed a ƒ2bn 15-year
framework order for up to 217
MP 14 rubber-tyred metro
trains with Alstom. Stif will
fully-fund the initial order for
35 eight-car trains, which will
replace six-car trains on Line
14, enabling capacity to be
increased from 30,000 to 35,000
passengers per hour as part of
the extension of the line north
to Mairie de Saint-Ouen.
Stif will also fund a second
order for a further 37 eight-car
trains for Line 14, which will
be required for extensions
north to Saint Denis Pleyel
and south to Orly Airport. In
the longer-term, further trains
will be needed for extensions
to lines 1, 4 and 11 as well for
Line 6 and the Grand Paris
express metro network.
On the RER network, Stif
has exercised a ƒ150.7m
option with a consortium of
Alstom and Bombardier for 10
additional MI 09 double-deck
EMUs for Line A to provide
additional capacity on the
109km east-west line, which
carries around 1.2 million
passengers per day. The 112mlong trains will supplement
the 130 sets already in service
or on order and are due for
delivery in 2017. By the
middle of January, 83 MI 09s
were in service on Line A and
the fleet has covered more
than 19 million kilometres
since introduction.
Finally, Stif will place a
ƒ177.6m order with
Bombardier for 19 additional
class Z 50000 Francilien EMUs
for suburban Line L, which
runs west from Paris SaintLazare and carries around
312,000 passengers per day.
The single-deck trains will be
delivered in 2017 and will
replace Z6400 EMUs dating
from the 1970s.
Doha metro systems
contract awarded
Q
ATAR Railways sent a
conditional letter of
acceptance on February 20
to a consortium of Mitsubishi
Heavy Industries (MHI),
Mitsubishi Corporation, Kinki
Sharyo, Hitachi and Thales,
which has been selected as
preferred bidder for a turnkey
contract to supply electrical
and mechanical systems for
the first phase of the Doha
metro network.
Consortium leader MHI
will provide power supplies,
platform screen doors,
trackwork and tunnel
ventilation systems, and it
will be responsible for overall
project management and
systems integration.
A fleet of 75 three-car
driverless trains will be supplied
by MHI and Kinki Sharyo.
Thales will supply CBTC,
telecommunications and
security, an integrated
operational control centre,
and automatic fare collection
systems, while Hitachi will be
responsible for certain project
management functions and
will also handle facilities
maintenance, including the
supply of infrastructure and
maintenance vehicles.
The first phase of the Doha
metro is due to be completed
by October 2019.
Sydney South West
Rail Link opens
Ottawa previews Confederation Line LRV: A mock-up of the forthcoming Alstom Citadis Spirit
low-floor LRV for Ottawa’s Confederation Line was unveiled on January 29 by the city’s mayor
Mr Jim Watson, Member of Parliament for Ottawa-Orléans Mr Royal Galipeau, and Ontario
provincial transport minister Mr Steven Del Duca. Alstom will supply 34 LRVs for the 12.5km
line from Blair to Tunney’s Pasture, which will open in 2018. The four-section 50m-long vehicles
will be designed to operate in multiple and each LRV will accommodate up to 300 passengers.
Designer chosen for Copenhagen LRT project
C
OPENHAGEN metro
authority Metroselskabet
has appointed a joint venture
of Arup and Rambøll to
provide design services for the
27km Ring 3 light rail line,
which will link 11 districts
along the route of the Ring 3
highway in the west of the city.
The line from Lundhofte in
the north to Ishøj in the south
will have 27 stations and
services will operate every five
12
minutes at peak times with an
end-to-end journey time of
around 55 minutes. A fleet of
27 LRVs will be required for
the line, which is not expected
to open before 2021.
Daily ridership is projected
to be around 43,000 passengers
per day, or 13-14 million
passengers per year.
The project is budgeted at
DKr 4bn ($US 610m) at 2013
prices, including a 15%
contingency, with funding
expected to come from the
state (40%), municipalities
(34%), and the Capital Region
of Denmark (26%).
Arup will be responsible
for design co-ordination and
technical integration of light
rail systems, design of the
control and maintenance
centre, traction power, groundborne noise, and vibration
modelling.
T
HE South West Rail Link
(SWRL) extension to the
Sydney Trains suburban
network from Glenfield to
Leppington officially opened
on February 7.
The premier of the state of
New South Wales Mr Mike
Baird said the $A 1.8bn ($US
1.4bn) 11.4km extension had
been completed more than a
year ahead of schedule and
$A 300m under budget.
Transport minister Ms
Gladys Berejiklian said
planning work had already
started to extend the line to a
proposed second Sydney
airport at Badgerys Creek.
A half-hourly Leppington Liverpool shuttle service
operates daily with a journey
time of 16 minutes.
IRJ March 2015
IRJMARXX (Evraz):Layout 1
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Transit news
In brief
BVG reveals new Berlin U-Bahn train
Bordeaux
B
Bordeaux added another
6.4km to its light rail network
on January 24, when the city’s
mayor Mr Alain Juppé
inaugurated two extensions in
the north and west of the city.
The 2.8km three-station
northern extension of Line C
from Berges du Lac to Parc des
Expositions serves the city’s
convention centre and the
New Bordeaux Stadium. The
extension included a new
depot at La Jallére, which
accommodates up to 26 LRVs.
Line A has been extended
3.6km west from Mérignac
Centre to Le Hallain Rostand.
ERLIN Transport (BVG) unveiled the first of two prototype
new-generation trains for the city’s narrow profile U-Bahn
lines at Olympia-Stadion station on February 3.
The four-car type IK train was assembled at Stadler Pankow’s
plant in nearby Velten, Brandenburg, and delivered by road to
BVG’s Machandelweg depot at the end of January.
The two prototypes will undergo three months of trials before
entering passenger service in May. The trains will be evaluated in
regular operation over a year and are expected to cover around
120,000km during this phase. If trials are successful, BVG will
exercise an option with Stadler for 34 production trains.
China approves Jinan metro phase 1
C
HINA’s National
Development and Reform
Commission has approved
construction of the Yuan 43.7bn
($US 7bn) first phase of the
metro network in Jinan, the
capital of Shandong province.
Phase 1 comprises three lines
totalling 80.6km. The Yuan 12bn
Line 1 will be 26.4km long
with nine stations and will
link western districts of the
city. The 35km east-west Line 2
is expected to cost Yuan 19.9bn
and will have 14 stations
including interchanges with
lines 1 and 3. Line 3 will run
north-south from Jinan East
mainline station to Laohu
Cave with 11 stations. The
19km line has a budget of
Yuan 11.8bn.
With long distances between
stops, all three lines will have
a maximum speed of 100120km/h and services will be
operated by six-car Type B
metro trains.
Construction is due to begin
later this year and all three
lines are due to be completed
by 2019.
Testing begins on Addis Ababa LRT
T
RIAL operation of the Addis Ababa light rail network
was officially launched on February 2 in the presence of
Ethiopia’s prime minister Mr Hailemariam Dessalegn. Public
services are due to begin in May on the 34km two-line
network, which was constructed by China Railway Group.
China is financing 60% of the $US 400m project, with the
remainder coming from the Ethiopian government.
Bratislava
The European Commission
has approved a ƒ63m grant
from the European Union
Cohesion Fund for the ƒ78.6m
extension of the metre-gauge
tram network to Petrzalka.
The extension is already under
construction and due to be
completed later this year.
Helsinki
Helsinki Regional Transport
Authority (HSL) confirmed
on February 10 that it will
negotiate a five-year
transitional contract with
Finnish national train operator
VR Group for the operation of
the city’s suburban network
from April 2016. In the longerterm, HSL plans to launch a
competitive tender for the
operation of these services
from 2021.
Kochi
Delhi Metro Rail Corporation
has awarded Alstom two
contracts worth more than
$US 75m to supply signalling,
telecommunications, and
electrification equipment for
the 25.6km north-south metro
line from Aluva to Pettnaline,
which is scheduled to open
next March. Alstom will
design, supply, install, test,
and commission CBTC and
telecoms including radio,
CCTV, passenger information
systems, and a secure gigabit
transmission network.
Mannheim
Baden-Württemberg transport
authority NVBW, together
with transport authorities in
14
southern Rhineland-Palatinate,
Bergstrasse, and Saarland
have selected DB Regio for a
contract to operate RhineNeckar S-Bahn Lot 1 for 17
years from December 2016.
The contract covers the
operation of around 8 million
train-km per year on lines S1,
S2, S3, S4 and S33.
Milwaukee
Milwaukee Common Council
approved the construction of a
4km light rail in the city centre
on February 10. The $US 124m
line is expected to open by
mid-2018.
Porto
Transports Ciutat Comtal
(TCC), a joint venture between
Barcelona metro operator
TMB and Catalonia’s largest
privately-owned public
transport operator Moventia,
has been selected for a 10-year
concession to operate and
maintain Porto’s light rail
and bus networks. TCC was
chosen for the contract by the
boards of light rail operator
Metro do Porto and bus
company STCP, which operate
under the Portuguese Ministry
of Finance.
São Paulo
Mitsubishi Heavy Industries
(MHI) has awarded Nippon
Signal, Japan, a contract to
supply signalling systems for
metro Line 6. Nippon Signal
will supply automatic train
supervision (ATS), electronic
interlockings and its Simplestructure and high
Performance ATC by Radio
Communication (Sparcs)
CBTC technology for the
13.5km driverless line, which
will link Brasilândia with São
Joaquim on Line 1.
Turin
At a meeting on February 17
Turin City Council approved
the 3.4km four-station western
extension of metro Line 1 from
Fermi to Cascine Vica. The
ƒ340m project will be fully
financed by the Italian
government through the
Unblock Italy programme and
is now awaiting approval from
the Ministry of Infrastructure
and Transport and the Italian
Committee for Economic
Planning (Cipe). IRJ
IRJ March 2015
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IRJ March 2015
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Financial news
Vossloh’s largest shareholder to bid for company
K
B Holding, which has a
29.99% holding in
Vossloh, plans to offer between
É48 and É49 per share for the
remaining 70% of the company.
This is considerably below
Vossloh’s current share price,
which suggests that KB
Holding may be satisfied with
simply increasing its stake in
Vossloh. However, under
German law, a shareholder
with a 30% stake in a company
is bound to make a public offer
for the remaining shares.
KB Holding is controlled by
Mr Heinz Hermann Thiele
who has been chairman of
Vossloh’s supervisory board
since 2013. Thiele says he
wants to increase and protect
his investment in Vossloh,
which announced a
restructuring in December
involving selling off its rolling
stock business by 2017 in order
to concentrate on track
products.
Thiele is also a major
shareholder, through another
of his investment companies,
in the German braking and
train components company
Knorr-Bremse, but he says he
intends to maintain Vossloh’s
independence.
North American Class 1s report strong growth
Photo: Stephen C Host
T
WO of North America’s
leading Class 1 railways
achieved strong growth in 2014.
Union Pacific (UP) net
earnings increased by 18%
from $US 4.4bn in 2013 to $US
5.2bn last year, while operating
income was also up 18% at
$US 8.8bn. Canadian National
(CN) reported a net profit of
$C 3.17bn ($US 2.55bn) in 2014,
compared with $C 2.61bn in
2013, and operating income
rose by 19% to $C 4.62bn.
UP’s freight income was 9%
higher in 2014 than 2013 at
$US 22.6bn and wagon
loadings rose by 7%. Operating
revenue was $US 2bn higher at
a record $US 24bn, while UP’s
operating ratio improved by
2.6 points to 63.5%.
UP invested a total of $US
4.1bn in 2014, around $US
500m more than in 2013.
CN’s freight volumes for
2014 reached record levels,
with wagon loadings up by 8%
and tonne-km up by 10%. Its
operating ratio improved by
1.5 points to 61.9%.
Revenue increased by 15% in
2014 to $C 12.13bn which CN
attributed mainly to a record
2013-14 Canadian grain crop,
as well as strong energy
markets and new intermodal
and automotive business.
CN plans to increase its capital
spend by roughly $C 300m to
around $C 2.6bn in 2015.
Looking ahead to 2015, UP’s
CEO Mr Jack Koraleski is
cautiously optimistic: “Overall,
the US economy continues to
move forward at a moderate
pace. Clearly, one of the
biggest uncertainties is the
outlook for energy markets,
which will bring both
challenges and opportunities.”
JR Kyushu set for
stock exchange
J
APAN’s Ministry of Land,
Infrastructure, Transport
and Tourism (MILT)
announced on January 27 that
Kyushu Railway Company (JR
Kyushu) will be listed on the
Tokyo stock exchange in the
2016 financial year, the fourth
company formed from the
former Japanese National
Railways (JNR) to do so.
The government will submit
a bill to the House of
Representatives in the current
legislative session to exempt
JR Kyushu from the
requirement for the transport
minister to approve all
appointments to its board.
This would also require JR
Kyushu to commit to retaining
its current 2122km network.
JR Kyushu made a loss of
Yen 15.6bn ($US 132m) on its
railway operations in 2013, but
MILT deems the company
suitable for flotation because
of its property and hotel
activities. Indeed, the
company expects to generate
more than 60% of its total
revenue from non-rail
activities by next year.
JR Kyushu covers the losses
from its rail operations
through a Yen 3.387bn
stabilisation fund established
by the government as part of
the breakup of JNR in 1987
and it will be allowed to use
Yen 220.5bn of this to cover
infrastructure charges for use
of the Kyushu Shinkansen.
JR Kyushu operates a
1984km 1067mm-gauge
network, plus a 138km
standard-gauge Shinkansen
line from Kagoshima to
Hakata, and carries around
315 million passengers per
year.
Abellio wins É1.5bn regional concession in Limburg
F
OLLOWING a public
tender, the Dutch province
of Limburg has granted
Netherlands Railways
subsidiary Abellio a 15-year
concession for the province’s
regional bus and rail services.
The contract begins in
December 2016 and has an
annual value of É55.5m, or a
total of É1.5bn.
16
The contract covers the
Nijmegen - Venlo - Roermond
line and four other routes in
the Sittard, Heerlen and
Maastricht area including one
service to Aachen, Germany.
Other bidders included the
incumbent Veolia Transport
Nederland, which reportedly
submitted an invalid bid, and
Arriva Nederland. The
tendering procedure was
criticised by non-NS bidders,
which argued that Abellio, as
an NS subsidiary, might have
an unfair advantage. Veolia
took the case to court but the
judge ruled in favour of the
provincial government,
although the Dutch Consumer
and Market Authority (ACM)
is now investigating the tender.
The new concession will
need more electric trains
because two lines are being
electrified. At least eight multisystem EMUs, authorised for
use in Germany, will be
required for cross-border
services, and the trains will
also need to be equipped for
future use between Maastricht
and Liège, Belgium.
IRJ March 2015
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In brief
SNCF revenues up 1.5% in 2014
F
RENCH National
Railways (SNCF) reported
revenues of É27.24bn in 2014,
despite the continued difficult
economic environment in
France, which included a
7-10% increase on domestic
passenger travel VAT rates and
a 5% rise in track access fees.
Net profit for 2014 was
É605m compared with a É180m
loss in 2013, which was mainly
due to a É1.4bn write-off of TGV
high-speed trains. Recurring net
profit amounted to É419m in
2014, down by É177m
compared with 2013, which
SNCF attributed primarily to the
decline in Ebitda.
SNCF stabilised its net
financial debt at É7.4bn, while
maintaining self-funded
investment at É2.2bn. Total
investment amounted to
É3.3bn, with 60% invested in
rolling stock and equipment
and 40% invested in
maintenance facilities.
International business grew
by 7%, which SNCF says is the
main driver of growth, with
25% of its revenues from
outside of France. Revenue at
Keolis was up 20% outside
France and increased 5.8%
outside Europe.
“We achieved signigicant
growth in 2014, meeting our
Ebidta targets and stabilising
debt, while continuing to
invest on an unprecedented
scale” says SNCF president Mr
Guillaume Pepy
SNCF has set ambitious
targets for 2015, including
revenue growth of over 3%,
with international revenue
growth targeted to reach 27%.
MTR awards
Hong Kong
CBTC contract
M
TR Corporation has
awarded a consortium
of Thales and Alstom a
É330m contract to install
communications-based train
control (CBTC) on the Hong
Kong metro.
The consortium, which is
led by Thales, will be
responsible for replacing
MTR’s existing automatic
train supervision (ATS),
interlocking, and automatic
train control (ATC).
Thales will supply its
SelTrac CBTC system for the
project. Alstom will be
responsible for project
management and will also
supply remote trackside
equipment controllers.
Genesee & Wyoming to acquire Freightliner
G
ENESEE & Wyoming
(G&W) has agreed to
acquire a 95% stake in
Britain’s Freightliner Group
from Arcapita and other
shareholders for $US 755m
in cash.
G&W will assume around
£8.5m in net debt and
capitalised leases as part of the
deal, which is expected to
reach financial close during
the first quarter of this year.
Members of the existing
Freightliner management team
will retain a 5% stake in the
company.
Freightliner is Britain’s
second-largest railfreight
operator and is active in the
intermodal, bulk, and
infrastructure sectors. The
company operates 13
intermodal terminals in
Britain, eight of which it owns,
and the company also has a
fleet of 250 lorries for local
pick-up and delivery.
Freightliner’s Polish
subsidiary operates in Poland
and eastern Germany, while
the company’s Rotterdambased ERS Railways provides
cross-border intermodal
services from the key North
Sea ports to terminals in
Germany, Poland, and Italy.
In Australia, Freightliner
transports coal and
containerised agricultural
products for customers in New
South Wales and is also
licensed to operate in Victoria,
Queensland, South Australia,
and Western Australia. G&W
plans to combine its existing
Australian operations in South
Australia and the Northern
Territory with Freightliner’s,
and these operations are
expected to generate around
12% of group revenues.
Freightliner’s global fleet
comprises around 250
standard-gauge locomotives
and 5500 wagons, most of
which are leased with
maintenance being carried out
at the company’s own depots.
Freightliner generates
annual revenues of around
$US 785m, with 65% coming
from Britain, 25% from
mainland Europe, and 10%
from Australia. The company
employs around 2500 staff
worldwide.
During its first year of
ownership G&W expects
Freightliner to generate
revenues of $US 785m and
Ebitda of $US 93m, including
lease costs of $US 69m. Capital
expenditure is forecast to be
around $US 26m.
Australia
Downer EDI has secured a 10year contract worth around
$A 1bn ($US 782m) to maintain
more than 300 locomotives for
Pacific National. The deal
includes remote monitoring
and inspection from a 24-hour
fleet control centre.
Brazil
Evraz, Russia, has won a
contract to supply Tiisa
Construction with 4000 tonnes
of 60E1-compliant headhardened rails for a 30km line
to connect a pulp mill to the
ALL network. It will also
supply 300 tonnes of headhardened 60E2 rails to BR
Railparts for use in turnouts.
Britain
Eversholt Investment Group, a
consortium of 3i Infrastructure,
Morgan Stanley Infrastructure
Partners, and Star Capital
Partners, has agreed to sell
rolling stock leasing company
Eversholt Rail to CK
Investments, which is jointly
owned by Hong Kong-based
Cheung Kong Infrastructure
Holdings and Cheung Kong
(Holdings).
Serco Caledonian Sleepers
has awarded a £150m contract
to CAF, Spain, for 75 coaches
for use on overnight services
between London and Scotland
from April 2018.
China
Bombardier and New United
Group (NUG) have agreed to
set up a signalling and train
control joint venture in
Changzhou near Shanghai.
Each company will have a
50% stake in the joint venture
which will be known as
Bombardier NUG Signalling
Solutions.
Germany
Rheinbahn has selected
Siemens to resignal the 11km
four-track Stadtbahn tunnel
beneath Düsseldorf. Siemens
will install its Trainguard ZUB
222 train protection system for
semi-automatic operation and
Trainguard Sicas ECC
electronic interlocking.
Italy
AnsaldoBreda has won a
É24.6m two-year contract with
IRJ March 2015
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Financial news
In brief
PKP Cargo acquires 49% of Pol-Miedz Trans
P
KP Cargo announced on
February 2 that it had
agreed terms with Lublinbased copper and silver miner
KGHM Polska Miedz to
acquire a 49% stake in its
railfreight subsidiary PolMiedz Trans.
PKP Cargo says that subject
to approval from Poland’s
Office of Competition and
Consumer Protection it expects
to finalise the sale in the
second quarter of this year,
and while the value of the deal
has not been disclosed, the
share acquisition is being made
in exchange for cash and
locomotives.
KGHM has been seeking a
strategic partner for its
railfreight unit as part of a
plan to refocus its resources on
its core business activities.
New Hungarian loco plant planned
an optional one-year extension
to maintain 78 TSR doubledeck EMUs for Trenord, plus
14 sets which are on order.
Mexico
Grupo Mexico has proposed
selling 15% of its 74% stake in
Ferromex. The proposal is
under review by the national
banking and securities
regulator. Union Pacific holds
the remaining shares.
Netherlands
Netherlands Railways (NS)
reported a 1% increase in traffic
to 17.2 billion passenger-km
and a 6% increase in revenue to
É4.14bn in 2014. NS made an
after-tax profit of É180m
compared with a loss of É43m
in 2013. However, NS was
fined É5.5m for failing to meet
four of the 13 key performance
indicators in its 2005-2015 core
network concession.
Poland
Photo: Ferenc Németh
R
OMANIAN rolling stock
manufacturer Softronic
and LAC Holding, Hungary,
have signed an agreement to
establish a locomotive
assembly plant in Hungary.
The deal was signed on
January 27 in Budapest, when
Softronic also handed over the
first locomotive for LAC’s
railfreight subsidiary CER
Cargo Holding. The 25kV
50Hz/15kV 16.7Hz ac unit is
the first dual-voltage Softronic
Transmontana to operate in
Hungary and only the second
to be registered in the country.
Softronic and LAC Holding
plan to start locomotive
production in Hungary by
the end of this year, initially
assembling Transmontanas
using parts supplied by
Softronic.
However, within a few
years the proportion of parts
supplied by Hungarian
subcontractors is expected to
reach 70-80%. LAC Holding
also intend to develop a
3kV dc version of the
Transmontana locomotive.
Traffic and revenue up at Eurotunnel
E
UROTUNNEL has
announced record
revenues for 2014, following a
7% growth in consolidated
revenues, which reached
É1.2bn.
Cross-channel railfreight
saw the largest growth, with
14% more trains and a 21%
increase in tonnage to 1.64
million tonnes in 2014.
Eurotunnel attributes this
increase to a scheme aimed at
incentivising new intermodal
railfreight services.
Eurotunnel shuttle services
saw a 7% increase in revenues
to É526.7m. Lorry shuttle
traffic increased by 6% to over
18
1.4 million and passenger
shuttle traffic increased by 4%
to over 2.5 million.
Railfreight subsidiary
Europorte has reported an 8%
increase in revenues to
É266.5m, following an increase
in new contracts and extensions
of existing agreements.
Eurostar saw a 3% increase
in 2014 passenger traffic
compared with 2013, with
almost 21 million passengers
transported. Traffic should
increase further when Eurostar
launches its London - Lyon Marseille service this year,
and a London - Amsterdam
service in 2016.
Newag, Poland, has won a
É17.5m contract to supply five
3kV dc six-axle E6DCF-DP
Dragon locomotives to ING
Lease Poland for use by
Freightliner PL. Delivery of
the 5MW 120km/h units will
start in May 2016. The
locomotives will have 520kW
diesel engines for last-mile
operation.
Saudi Arabia
Saudi Railway Company
(SAR) has awarded a British
consortium a £120m contract
for support on operating the
North-South Railway. Serco
will provide technical support
for future passenger services,
Freightliner will assist with
freight operations, and
Network Rail Consulting will
provide infrastructure
management services.
South Africa
CNR Dalian and its South
African consortium CNRRSSA
have awarded Rolls-Royce a
É100m contract to supply 232
MTU type 20V 4000 R63L
3.3MW diesel engines for the
232 six-axle locomotives on
order from Transnet.
ABB has won a $US 50m
contract from Bombardier for
transformers and associated
traction equipment for 240
Traxx Africa dual-voltage
locomotives for Transnet.
Spain
Adif has placed a É155m
contract with a consortium led
by CAF Signalling and
including FCC and Revenga to
equip the new Monforte de
Cid - Murcia high-speed line
with ERTMS Level 2,
electronic interlockings and a
traffic control centre. The
contract includes a 20-year
maintenance agreement.
Sweden
National passenger operator SJ
more than doubled its
operating profit in 2014 to
SKr 568m ($US 67.9m)
compared with SKr 270m in
2013, while net profit rose by
110% to SKr 460m. Passenger
traffic increased by 2% overall,
but by 13% on the Stockholm Gothenburg and Sundsvall Umeå routes.
Skånetrafiken has awarded
Alstom a SKr 1.5bn contract to
supply 25 additional class X61
Coradia Nordic EMUs to
expand its fleet to 99 sets.
Skånetrafiken needs the extra
trains to accommodate a 5-6%
projected growth in traffic.
Switzerland
Swiss Federal Railways (SBB)
has exercised an option worth
SFr 120m ($US 128.8m) with
Alstom for four ETR 610
Pendolino tilting EMUs. The
multi-system trains will be
used on Milan - Geneva/Basle
and Milan - Zürich services
pending the delivery of 29
new EC250 EMUs from
Stadler, which will enter
service from 2019.
United States
California High-Speed Rail
Authority has invited
companies to prequalify by
March 23 to bid for a contract
to become the authority’s rail
delivery partner until 2022.
The partner would be
involved in programme
management, strategic advice,
and business planning.
Wabtec has acquired Texasbased signalling contractor
Railroad Controls for an
undisclosed sum. The
company specialises in level
crossings, interlockings, and
Positive Train Control (PTC)
equipment. IRJ
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MarNANL:Layout 1
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News analysis
Dutch concessions: the m
At the start of this year new 10-year concessions came into effect for infrastructure management and operation of
passenger services on most of the Dutch railway network. Quintus Vosman considers whether lessons have been
learned from the previous concession, and how the new agreements will shape the operation of the network over the
next decade.
O
N December 15 last year
the Dutch secretary of
state for infrastructure Mrs
Wilma Mansveld signed both
the concession for the
infrastructure management of
the Dutch railway network,
granted to Prorail, and the
concession for public
passenger train operations on
the so-called core network,
which was awarded to
Netherlands Railways (NS).
Both agreements, covering the
period 2015-2025, have been
shaped by several years of
debate and discussion both at
a political level and between
the government and the
concessionaires.
Since the start of railway
reforms in the early 1990s,
railways have become an
increasingly important issue
in Dutch politics. Major steps
were taken to reducing the
railways’ dependence on
subsidies to create a financially
self-supporting transport
system. This included giving
NS more independence from
the government, creating an
independent infrastructure
manager Prorail, and opening
up the network to new
entrants.
There was a brief spell of
competition in the passenger
market in the late 1990s, the
short-lived Lovers Rail
operation in the Amsterdam
area being the most notable
example, but a shortage of
suitable rolling stock, qualified
staff, and maintenance staff
meant barriers to entry were
extremely high. While an open
market existed on paper, the
reality was anything but.
With the disappearance of
Lovers Rail the socialist
transport minister at the time
Mrs Tineke Netelenbos closed
the door on open-access
passenger operators. Political
distrust of private operators,
20
fuelled in part by events across
the North Sea in Britain,
removed any prospect of
competition for NS, which was
happy to see the threat subside.
A new public transport law
was passed which made
passenger rail a regulated
market. This meant all public
transport operators must be
licensed by the competent
authority - in the case of the
main line rail network the
Ministry of Infrastructure with selected provinces
granting concessions for
regional services. This also
ensures that there is only one
operator per line - when two
operators unavoidably meet,
special arrangements are
necessary. NS was awarded
the concession to operate the
bulk of the network, and with
a few exceptions, none of the
services in the core network
concession are subsidised by
the government.
In return for the opportunity
to make a reasonable profit on
the core network, the ministry
specified minimum service
levels, the most notable being
the requirement for every
station to be served by a train
at least every 30 minutes.
As part of the reform
process, NS identified 33
so-called ‘loss making lines,’
perhaps better described as
regional passenger services,
which were considered to be
unprofitable. NS was keen to
withdraw from the operation
of these lines and the new act
made it possible to transfer the
legal power and budget for
regional passenger train services
to regional governments.
Regional authorities and
politicians became involved
in passenger rail, with
remarkably positive results.
The growth in patronage on
these services far exceeded the
core network, and the quality
and reliability of these services
is significantly better.
The government has
devised a system of regulation
based on concessions for the
passenger core network and
infrastructure management.
The first national railway
concessions began in 2005 and
were awarded directly to
Prorail and NS with a term
of 10 years.
The concessions define
performance criteria for both
infrastructure management
and passenger operations.
Annual plans drawn up by the
concessionaires and approved
by the minister of transport
(subsequently the minister for
infrastructure) enabled finetuning based on actual
developments, including
government policy or
responses to poor performance.
In practice, NS was proposing
the key performance indicators
(KPIs), which arguably is not
an incentive for achieving the
best results. Despite this, NS
failed to meet its own KPIs on
several occasions.
During the first concession
period there was frequent
government dissatisfaction
with both Prorail and NS.
IRJ March 2015
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Page 21
e ministry asserts control
Critics argued that both
organisations were so
preoccupied with optimising
their own performance that
little consideration was given
to the coherent operation of
the overall railway system.
A merger between NS and
Prorail was suggested and
rejected but information
management was transferred
to NS, to the irritation of
regional passenger operators.
Major disruption caused
by technical failures or bad
weather meant the railways
were often a challenging issue
for the minister and the
secretary of state. The Dutch
parliament and the public
called for stronger leadership,
but in a practical sense there
was little political intervention
could do to improve the
situation. The financial
incentives and penalties in the
concessions were too small to
make any real impact on
performance, to the extent that
paying the maximum penalty
might actually be more costeffective than implementing
enhancements to boost
performance. This meant that
there was little for the ministry
to enforce.
In the run-up to the new
concession the Ministry of
Infrastructure has been
working with rail stakeholders
to develop a new vision for
the country’s railways,
including high-frequency train
operations on key corridors
and in the Randstad
conurbation. This vision,
which covers the period up to
2028, has helped to shape
performance criteria for the
2015-2025 core network
Domestic high-speed services on HSL South are being merged
into the new core network concession. Photos: Quintus Vosman
IRJ March 2015
concession. During this process
it became clear that the Dutch
government did not want to
introduce competition on the
core network and that the new
concession would also be
awarded directly. It must also
be noted that in recent years
NS has paid a considerable
dividend to its only
shareholder - the Dutch state.
New concessions
According to the Ministry
of Infrastructure the 2015-2025
core concession is based on
three guiding principles.
The first of these is “strong
leadership from the concessiongranting authority.” The
Ministry will inform NS
annually of its priorities and
NS will then incorporate them
in the yearly plan, working
wherever necessary with other
railway organisations to meet
the government’s objectives.
As in the previous
concession, the ministry will
approve the annual plan and
there will be a mid-term
review by the minister in 2019.
Progress towards and
achieving the goals will be
checked, and where necessary
modifications will be made,
including adjustments of KPIs
and performance penalties
and incentives. In the previous
concession hardly any
measures could be taken if NS
decided to reject or resist the
priorities set by the minister.
The second principle is
“stimulation and obligation
for cooperation.” The minister
wants rail to be a competitive
and attractive option for
passengers, and highlights the
need to consider the entire
‘door-to-door’ journey
experience. This requires NS
to co-operate, not only with
the infrastructure manager, but
also with regional operators
and other modes. This has not
always been the case in the
past.
The third principle is
“focusing on the management
of both NS and Prorail to
achieve common goals.”
Clearly infrastructure
management and passenger
operations are interdependent,
so track and train will need to
work together more effectively.
Development and
performance are subject to
incentives and NS will receive
bonuses for good performance.
Failure to meet performance
targets will be met with fines
of up to ƒ6.5m, although
against a turnover of around
ƒ2bn it is questionable whether
this is a serious incentive.
Nonetheless, if NS fails to meet
its obligations, the ministry
has the power to cancel the
concession partially or in full.
There are also changes to
the infrastructure concession.
Experience from the first
concession has resulted in
tougher demands in the new
agreement, with the aim of
strengthening performance and
reliability. For infrastructure
management, cooperation
with other stakeholders is
essential, not only with NS,
but also with regional
operators and other modes of
public transport. With regards
to passenger operation, the
Minister wants to give Prorail
the same targets as NS to
encourage closer working.
High-speed
A key change in the new
core network concession is the
inclusion of domestic highspeed services on HSL South.
This was previously a separate
concession which was held by
the High-Speed Alliance
(HSA), a joint venture between
NS and airline KLM. HSA
won the contract pledging a
ƒ148m annual premium for
the operation of domestic
high-speed and cross-border
services to Brussels.
However, problems with the
fleet of AnsaldoBreda V250
trains led to the collapse of the
Fyra service in January 2013
and HSA needed financial
support from the government
to protect it from bankruptcy.
The European Commission is
currently investigating
21
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News analysis
NS is expected to accommodate growing ridership while raising performance standards.
whether this support
constitutes illegal state aid.
This was a remarkable
situation, not least because
the concession was awarded
following an open tender. It is
also remarkable that NS as the
parent company did not
compensate for HSA’s losses.
Integration of the highspeed concession means that
domestic Intercity services will
run via HSL South from the
end of this year. However, as
domestic high-speed rolling
stock is not available, journey
time savings will be limited.
New ETCS-equipped
locomotives have been
delivered, and 30-year-old
160km/h coaching stock is
receiving a second
refurbishment for operation
on HSL South. NS has begun
tendering for its IC New
Generation project, but these
will not be delivered until
2020 at the earliest and will
only be capable of 200km/h hardly the most appropriate
equipment for a 300km/h
railway.
The size of the core network
is not expected to change
during the concession period,
although the Zwolle - Kampen
and Zwolle - Wierden Enschede lines will become
the responsibility of regional
public transport authorities
and subject to an open tender,
which was decided before the
core concession even began.
A more notable change is
the decision to transfer
operation of stopping services
on two core network lines to
regional control. Following an
open tender, the province of
Limburg has awarded Abellio
(a subsidiary of NS) a contract
to operate Roermond Maastricht Randwijck and
Sittard - Heerlen stopping
services for 15 years from
December 2016 as part of a
larger regional concession,
even though other services on
these routes remain under NS
control. This will be the first
experiment with full-scale
competition (albeit regulated)
on the core network.
This is an indication that in
the long-term fundamental
changes might occur,
competition could become
more important and that NS
might lose the monopoly
status it currently enjoys.
The design of the next core
network concession will start
with the mid-term review in
2019 and NS will need to
maintain good performance
before then if it is to retain its
position in the longer-term.
A well-functioning
concession needs both a good
concessionaire and a granting
authority with the knowledge
and organisational capacity
to ensure services meet the
required standard. Control
and an effective system of
incentives and sanctions are
essential for keeping the
concessionaire sharp. In turn,
the concessionaire can
provide a basis for further
development, innovation and
improvements. The second
concession period will
demonstrate the importance
of these qualities. IRJ
Mass Transit
Interior Components & Insulation
Interior engineering
Detail engineering
FE calculation
Documentation
Validation
Measuring
Documentation
Cutting
Packaging concept
Mounting
Intirio GmbH
3250 Wieselburg, Austria
Phone +43(0)7416/20300-100
e-mail [email protected]
www.intirio.com
22
IRJ March 2015
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News analysis
PKP IC looks to privatisatio
as ridership plunges
Despite the recent launch of a new premium express service intended to draw traffic back to rail, these are turbulent
times for Poland’s national long-distance passenger operator. Andrew Goltz considers the reasons behind declining
traffic and looks at potential solutions to the problem.
J
UST one month after the
high-profile launch of its
flagship Express InterCity
Premium (EIP) service on
December 14 (IRJ January p10),
Poland’s long distance
passenger operator PKP
InterCity (PKP IC) said
goodbye to its CEO Mr Marcin
Celejewski.
Celejewski’s departure from
the helm had been on the
cards for some time as he had
failed in his main task of
delivering cheap airline-style
demand-related pricing and he
had been unable to stem the
haemorrhaging of passengers.
PKP IC carried 30.7 million
passengers in 2013, but only
25.5 million in 2014, a loss of
approximately 5.2 million
passengers (-17%). Most of the
passengers deserting PKP IC
24
were those who used the
company’s services for
relatively short journeys, and
the decline in passenger-km
from 7.1 billion in 2013 to 6.2
billion last year was a more
modest fall of 7.9%.
While PKP IC has yet to
publish its 2014 financial
results, a quick calculation
reveals the magnitude of the
disaster. In 2013, PKP IC
declared an overall loss of
Zlotys 87.2m ($US 23.7m), on a
margin of Zlotys 91.3m between
sales revenue and operating
expenses. Adjusting sales
revenue in accordance with
the 8% reduction in passengerkm in 2014, and assuming that
any savings achieved in
operating expenses were
cancelled out by increased
debt service charges, the gap
between sales revenue and
operating revenue widens to a
huge Zlotys 282.6m.
On initial consideration it
would seem Celejewski’ s
successor, 33-year-old PKP
Group privatisation guru Mr
Jacek Leonkiewicz, should
find his period at PKP IC less
of an uphill task than his
predecessors - after all, over the
last 10 years there have been
no less than nine chairmen.
In recent years track has
been upgraded, speed limits
removed, and new or
refurbished rolling stock
introduced. In step with all
these investments, PKP IC is
repositioning itself upmarket
as a competitor to domestic
airlines rather than targeting
low-fare long-distance bus
services operated by PolskiBus,
a new company launched by
Stagecoach Group chairman,
Mr Brian Souter.
So will the strategy work?
PKP insiders as well as external
rail pundits have their doubts.
Many Poles see themselves
and their country as still
trying to catch up from 60 lost
years between the start of the
Second World War and the
end of communism and Soviet
hegemony in Poland. Owning
and using a car at every
available opportunity is widely
seen as part of that catching
up process. With the exception
of long-distance commuters and
bargain hunting holidaymakers,
Poles who have a choice prefer
travelling by car.
PKP IC uses three brands:
EIP for Pendolino services,
EIC for other high-quality
IRJ March 2015
10:26 AM
sation
es
premium-priced services, and
TLK for the rest.
For PKP IC to market its EIP
Pendolino trains as a premium
service, the whole journey door-to-door - needs to be seen
as a ‘premium’ experience, not
just the rail portion. However,
the other elements of the
journey - taxis, buses and
trams - are very much ‘second
class’ transport while most
stations lack safe, secure, and
convenient parking places.
Here we find the nub of the
issue, as the decision to focus
on the higher premium market
stems not from careful market
analysis, but rather is forced
on PKP IC by high track access
charges. This is a fundamental
problem facing all Polish train
operators. The Polish
government sees little value in
subsidising Poland’s railway
network, and encourages
infrastructure manager, PKP
PLK to take a ‘what the
market will bear’ approach
when setting charges.
IRJ March 2015
Page 25
So what about the remaining
long-distance services operated
by PKP IC under the TLK
brand, originally Tanie Linie
Kolejowe (Cheap Railway
Lines), but now Twoje Linie
Kolejowe (Your Railway
Lines)? Much of Poland’s
secondary trunk rail network
remains in an appalling state,
and this means journey times
and ticket prices are
uncompetitive on routes
served by PolskiBus. A
negative feedback spiral is in
progress - passengers are
leaving the railway in droves,
services are cut back and more
passengers desert the
remaining services.
So what should Leonkiewicz
be doing to reverse the flow of
desertions from PKP IC? There
are six priority areas which
require his urgent attention:
Re-focusing the company on
the customer: too many people
in PKP IC are still focused on
the trains. There has been
some progress - customerfacing staff have been sent on
‘customer satisfaction’ courses,
train managers are more
polite, and have even been
known to stop departing trains
so that last minute stragglers
can board. But senior people
have yet to realise that true
customer focus must start at
the very top of an
organisation. When things go
badly wrong, staff need to be
empowered to deal with such
problems on the spot, by
granting them the authority to
revalidate old tickets, or issue
new replacement tickets,
without having to charge the
customer a second time. An
enormous amount of acrimony
can be avoided and goodwill
generated through such a
simple step. When things do
go wrong, one of the worst
things that can happen to a
passenger is to be told by the
train manager that a brand
new ticket must be purchased,
and that a refund for the old
ticket can only be obtained via
a bureaucratic complaints
system.
Improving internal
communications: most of the
PKP group’s internal culture is
still firmly rooted in
‘command and control’ mode,
a legacy of the days when
Poland’s railways were an
integral part of the Warsaw
Pact’s military machine. Senior
directors feel more at home
attending Powerpoint
presentations from consultants
than communicating with
their employees. Instigating a
‘reverse channel’ so information
can flow upwards from staff to
their managers, regional
directors and main board
members should be one of the
top priorities.
Commissioning a new
ticketing system: despite PKP
IC’s attempt to introduce lowcost airline style yield
management, the fares system
is still a shambles. For example,
passengers needing to change
trains are forced to buy
separate tickets for each train
(thus losing the through
journey discount) when
booking online.
Improving the customer
experience at stations: in the
last few years major stations
have undergone complete
rebuilds or makeovers - a
process partially accelerated
by the Euro 2012 football
championship (even though
relatively few football fans
actually travelled around
Poland by rail). But too many
stations lack decent waiting
rooms with comfortable seats;
passenger information is often
incomplete; decent restaurants
and bars are conspicuous by
their absence.
Improving access for
passengers with reduced
mobility: to give credit where
credit is due, major stations
around the PKP network are
being equipped with
escalators and/or lifts.
But architects are failing to
provide integrated solutions complete routes that can
easily be navigated without
encountering a flight of stairs.
One can, for a time at least,
excuse such problems at
legacy buildings like Warsaw
Central, but for new projects,
such as the new passenger
facilities at Krakow Glowny,
this is really inexcusable.
Enthusing staff and
passengers with the ideal of
safe, ecologically sound, rail
transport: Rail travel was once
seen as a premium travel mode
and in many parts of Europe
that notion is returning.
PKP IC should be engaging
its passengers and staff in a
campaign to promote the
benefits of safe, ecologically
sound, rail transport.
Will Lenkiewicz have the
courage to tackle PKP
InterCity’s internal problems
head on, or will he see his main
priority as quickly getting the
company in better financial
shape for privatisation and
making deep cuts in lossmaking services? Whatever
business strategy he adopts,
with parliamentary elections
due in November this year, he
may, like his predecessors
before him, have very little
time to make an impact. IRJ
PKP IC ridership 2011-2014
40
35
Passengers (million)
24/02/2015
Photo: Keith Fender
MarNAPKP:Layout 1
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
2011
2012
2013
2014
25
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Page 26
Middle East
Delivering the GCC’s
The GCC member states are pushing ahead with plans to develop an integrated railway network
between Oman and Kuwait. Kevin Smith reports from the GCC Metro and Rail conference in Muscat
where the leading lights in the GCC railway industry gathered to discuss progress and the challenges
facing this mammoth project
T
HE Gulf Cooperation Council
(GCC) was founded in 1981 as a
trade bloc with the mission to
improve the cooperation, coordination
and integration between each of its six
member states: Saudi Arabia, the
United Arab Emirates (UAE), Qatar,
Oman, Kuwait and Bahrain. Fuelled by
its oil and gas riches the region has
gone through untold changes in the 34
years since with glitzy skyscrapers in all
the leading cities hinting at their newfound wealth and modernity.
Despite the individual states’ success
at accumulating petroleum riches - the
GCC is now the world’s 13th largest
economy and fifth largest exporter desire for greater integration has not
diminished: a joint power infrastructure
project is up and running and a custom
union intended to boost trade within
the GCC was enacted on January 1
following more than a decade of
negotiations. A shared water project is
also scheduled for completion by 2020,
while there is a proposal to introduce
a joint currency, the Khaaleji.
Competing with the currency union
for ambition is the region’s railway
project. Running from Oman to Kuwait,
the idea first emerged around 2005,
and in 2009 an agreement
was signed by each
state to
26
develop a 2177km network. However,
unlike many other integrated railway
projects talked up around the world but
struggling to get off the drawing board,
the GCC is pressing ahead (see panel
p31).
With only Saudi Arabia having any
pre-existing railway infrastructure, the
GCC is in an advantageous position
over other cross-border schemes
because it is developing a greenfield
project. While daunting in scale, the
GCC has the opportunity to build
infrastructure to unified and established
standards avoiding historical gauge
differences and variations in signalling
systems, as well as the political
stumbling blocks which are holding
many other projects back.
Yet developing a railway from scratch
in a region with limited past expertise
comes with challenges. This is resulting
in delays, and as the years slip by and
deadlines are extended, the 2018
opening date appears increasingly
unrealistic.
Nevertheless the region’s
railway CEOs and
transport ministers remain bullish that
the deadline will be met. Indeed in their
presentations at the GCC Rail and
Metro conference, which was hosted by
Oman’s Ministry of Transport and
Communications in Muscat in January,
there are no extensions in their overall
timeframes for implementation, just
reductions in the expected construction
period.
Etihad Rail’s acting CEO Mr Faris Saif
Al Mazrouei told the conference that
continuing government support, and
their success at implementing phase 1,
means that the deadline remains
achievable. “The government is behind
this and there is the initiative and
leadership to get this done otherwise
you would not see us here,” he said.
“We are working on making this
happen and it will happen.”
His contemporary at
Oman Rail,
March GCC:Layout 1
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10:53 AM
Page 27
C’s integrated railway
Mr Abdulrahman Al-Hatmi, was
equally forthright.
“We can see the level of commitment
to this project,” Al-Hatmi says. “It was
suggested that we don’t look to 2018,
but to 2020. But we said no, we have to
stick to it, because psychologically if we
say 2020, it will happen in 2020 or even
later. That is why we need to stick to
2018.”
Dr Abdul Latif bin Rashid Al-Zayani,
secretary general of the GCC, expressed
a more pragmatic view. He described
the development of the integrated
railway as “a dream” for the leaders of
the GCC but emphasised the
importance of getting the project
right. “It is better to be late than to
rush,” he said.
With work underway to
establish cooperative agreements with
the Intergovernmental Organisation for
Carriage by Rail (Otif), the European
Railway Industry Association (Unife)
and European Railway Agency (ERA),
he revealed that the GCC is conducting
a study to establish a regional railway
regulator. “Without a proper GCC
regulatory authority there is no
integrated railway,” he said.
This view was supported by
Ms Maryam Ahmed Jumaan,
undersecretary for land transport at
Bahrain’s Ministry of Transport.
“The GCC secretary general is acting
as the project manager for the GCC rail
alliance,” Jumaan said. “This covers
technical and operational requirements.
That is happening. However, the key
for us and for all the member states is
that because all of the projects are
taking place at the same time, we are
all competing for the same resources.
Having a strategy to manage that is
critical to ensure that costs are kept
under control and all of the targets
are met.”
27
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Page 28
Middle East
As the smallest GCC state, Bahrain’s
concerns at getting a fair deal for its
rail and causeway projects are
understandable.
A centralised procurement strategy
and labour market could reduce costs
and ease pressure on resources. For
example there is huge demand for
TBMs with Qatar alone planning to
purchase 18 over the next two to three
years, while Riyadh will require seven
to eight for its metro projects. A regional
authority would also have the foresight
to tackle operational challenges for a
railway crossing a vast territory and
six states. This includes the issue
highlighted by one delegate of the
difference in requirements for wagons
operating on Oman’s network, which
will feature severe gradients due to its
topography, and the rest of the GCC,
which is relatively flat.
However, the GCC railway project
accounts for only 2177km of more than
40,000km of both main line and urban
railway infrastructure planned across
the GCC, and only $US 15bn of the
expected $US 200bn investment. As a
result there is a general reluctance from
the newly formed railways to cede
greater power to a centralised body at
this stage, which they fear could
jeopardise their national programmes.
Responding to Al-Zayani’s
comments, Dr Ahmed Bin Mohammed
Bin Salem Al-Futaisi, Oman’s minister
of transport, said that due to the size of
the project and the differences between
the respective states, which have
limited railway experience, it makes
sense for each country to lead its own
efforts. “For us as the programme
“Without a proper GCC
regulatory authority there
is no integrated railway.”
Dr Abdul Latif bin Rashid
Al-Zayani
manager it is important to make sure
that there is an environment within
Oman in which the project can progress
satisfactorily,” he said. “I think this is a
much better model than the centralised
model.”
Arguments that the GCC should look
to a regulator based on the European
Railway Agency (ERA) model were also
largely dismissed.
Mr Philippe Citroën, director general
of the European Railway Industry
Association (Unife), said that given the
time it took to form ERA, developing a
centralised strategic body should be an
immediate priority for the GCC to
avoid the mistakes made in Europe.
Brazil’s recent agreement to share best
practice with ERA already shows its
international reach, while Citroën
“To create an authority
you have to give up
authority from the
country, which we do
not have yet. We are still
building.”
Hamad Ibrahim Al Bishri
28
pointed to the example of the
Californian High Speed Rail Authority
which is adopting some of the
European Technical Specifications for
Interoperability (TSIs) for the Los
Angeles - San Francisco project.
“The tools are there, the documents
are there, we have the proper
framework,” Citroën said. “We are
developing a single system for Europe
through the nine corridors, and by
looking to do something similar here,
we think the relationship between the
GCC and Europe will be strengthened.”
However, Mr Hamad Ibrahim Al
Bishri, deputy CEO of Qatar Rail, said
that he does not feel the GCC’s railways
are “mature enough” to establish such a
body, which is not yet a priority for the
GCC. He added that the existing GCC
railway steering committee, which
meets four times a year to discuss
interoperability issues, is sufficient for
now.
“To create an authority you have to
give up authority from the country,
which we do not have yet,” Al Bishri
says. “We are still building, and this is
the problem. The most essential thing is
to agree on the minimum requirements
and the minimum standards - safety,
gauge, signalling, platform height, all
of these things, which we have done.
“I think that when all of us are in
operation and all of us are mature
enough we can start to establish a
regional body and a GCC authority to
take care of this. But in doing so we
shouldn’t create another layer. We
already have a rail operator in each
country. We don’t want a regulator of a
regulator. We need someone to organise
more than we do already.”
While the national railways are
IRJ March 2015
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Page 30
Middle East
Dr Rumaih Al-Rumaih says privatising operations will provide the GCC’s railways with
the best opportunity to make a profit.
focusing largely on their own internal
affairs at present, there are some signs
of GCC integration in shared training
proposals. Delegates at the conference
agreed to prepare a detailed study to
create a development fund to promote
sustainability in the GCC railway sector.
Funded by the GCC member states,
this will look at establishing training
programmes and a GCC railway
academy, as well as support local
research and technology initiatives,
and study and establish programmes
to localise supporting industries and
knowledge and experience.
Saudi Railway Company (SAR)
CEO Dr Rumaih Al-Rumaih also
expressed his willingness to share Saudi
Arabia’s railway training academy, and
highlighted its existing cooperative
arrangements with Etihad Rail.
“Sharing our experience and expertise
is very important and we would
welcome our partners from the GCC,”
Al-Rumaih said.
Private partners
While an ERA for the GCC seems a
little way off at this stage, one area
where the European model is finding
credence is the institutional split
between infrastructure ownership and
operations. Al-Rumaih said he favours
a model of infrastructure owned by the
government and operations run by the
private sector which will optimise
opportunities to run a profitable service.
“It must be privatised,” Al-Rumaih
said. “This is definitely something that
30
we need to work on to make sure that
there is healthy competition.”
In addition to operations there is an
emphasis across the GCC on attracting
private firms, and small and mediumsized enterprises (SMEs) in particular,
to the railway projects to boost
domestic industry.
Oman is embracing this notion by
including an in-country value (ICV)
clause to require 10% of the value of
contracts to go to local companies. It
has outlined 265 categories in which the
private sector, including domestic
companies, can participate. The result
is that all of the prequalified bidders for
its inaugural civil works contract have
established partnerships with local
contractors. Qatar Rail has similarly
awarded 69% of its subcontractor
contracts for the Doha metro project
to Qatar-based companies.
Saudi Arabia is also emphasising
localisation in its projects and is
encouraging the establishment of
domestic manufacturing facilities.
For example, Voestalpine recently
opened a turnout production plant
in Riyadh, in Dammam Freight Car
America is supervising the production
of 250 cement wagons, and Vossloh and
its Saudi partner Masar are building a
turnout plant, while Timken and Plasser
& Theurer are expected to develop their
own Saudi-based facilities.
However, Al-Rumaih cautioned
against including local SMEs at the
expense of the project.
“It is a challenge to keep SMEs
involved in everything,” he said. “It is
true that local contractors are part of the
consortium, it is a must. But the SMEs
must add value. If they are only start
ups, they offer no value to the project
itself. The SMEs should focus on the
innovations they can bring because
they are there as subcontractors.”
Interest in attracting private
finance to support future projects
is also growing. While the GCC’s
current railway undertakings are
predominantly government-funded,
many upcoming projects, particularly
urban transit schemes are looking at
alternative means of funding including
private finance, bond issues and
public-private partnerships (PPPs).
Mr Mario Salameh, managing
director of project finance for Middle
East North Africa at HSBC, told the
conference that there is little desire
for a bank to support a 100km freight
railway through the desert. However,
he does see long-term potential in
infrastructure investments in the
Middle East, including railways,
through project finance or on a
corporate basis.
“The bank’s role is to finance projects
that are strategic and important for the
countries, their economies and people,”
Salameh said. “I look at the rail
industry, especially from a passenger
model in the region, and there is a huge
and important business rationale so
naturally the banking community is
interested in becoming involved.”
Private investments may become
more common in the GCC if the current
low price of oil, which is hovering
around $US 50 a barrel compared with
around $US 100 a year ago, persists.
However, the notion of this current
trend affecting railway projects in the
long-term was strongly dismissed
during the conference.
“I think we need to look back at the
history of the GCC states,” said Dr
Abulla Bilhaif Al-Nuaimi, the UAE’s
minister for public works and chairman
of the Federal Authority for Land and
Maritime Transport. “This is not the
first time we have faced such a
challenge and we have the capacity, the
ability and desire to face this challenge.
The existing projects will continue.”
Indeed rail is considered a vehicle
to delivering greater diversity in the
GCC economy by enabling states to
tap into their vast mineral resources.
For example, Oman’s network is
designed to connect with existing and
prospective mining sites while Etihad
Rail’s inaugural project will establish
the UAE as the world’s largest exporter
of granulated sulphur. In addition UAE
IRJ March 2015
March GCC:Layout 1
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11:30 AM
deputy prime minister Sheikh Saif bin
Zayed’s recent remarks that oil will
account for only 5% of the UAE’s GDP
by 2021 compared with 30% at present,
Page 31
and 90% in the 1970s, reflects its
economic diversification efforts.
The integrated railway project may not
open in 2018 as is widely hoped, but it
will open. And when it does, it will
serve to boost trade within the GCC, and
from this global economic powerhouse
to the rest of the world. IRJ
GCC network takes shape
S
AUDI Arabia is responsible for two projects and 633km
of the total network, including the Ras Al Khair to
Jubail section which is currently under construction.
The plan is to extend this line north to Al Khafji and Kuwait,
and south to Damman (IRJ June 2014 p18.).
However, as Saudi Railways Organisation (SRO) president
HE Mohammed Khalid Al Suwaiket indicated to IRJ in May
2014 (p18), delays with the Kuwaiti segment mean the
southern section is the priority. From SRO’s line at Hofuf,
the line will run to Salwa and Batha to link with the UAE’s
628km section which is the second phase of its network plan.
The line runs from the Saudi border via Habshan to Al Ain
to Oman’s railhead at Buraimi. Tenders for the project were
issued as long ago as 2012 but Al Mazrouei says the UAE
government is close to granting approval to proceed. Oman
is also expected to award civil works contracts for its initial
207km phase by the end of the year (p32).
Qatar, while currently focusing on metro and light rail
projects in Doha and Lusail ahead of the football World Cup
in 2022, is also committed to its long-distance agenda.
Preliminary design of the 510km network is complete and
preparation for procurement is underway. The network
consists of a mixed passenger and freight line from the Saudi
Arabia border to Doha, and from Doha to Dukhan and Al
Shamal, a dedicated freight line from Port Mesaieed to Ras
Laffan and a high-speed line via a new causeway to Bahrain.
Amman
ISRAEL
Al Haditha Al Jalamid
JORDAN
Ma’an
EGYPT
Following delays in 2014, there was a fresh call last month
to prequalify for the project’s phase 1 civil works tender,
which includes construction of 143km of line, including 26
bridges, and three freight terminals and an intermodal hub.
The tender is expected to be called by the middle of the year
and awarded in the second quarter of 2016. Work is due to
commence the following quarter and conclude in 2018.
A little further behind is Kuwait which is planning a 574km
network to link Al Khafji, Saudi Arabia, with Al Nuwaiseeb,
Shuwaikh and Al Shoiaba ports in Kuwait City and the future
Mubarak Al Kabeer port on Bubiyan island, terminating at Al
Abdali, close to the border with Iraq. Kuwait’s Municipal
Council approved construction on January 22 and the Ministry
of Communications is now coordinating plans with other
government agencies and ministries to finalise the alignment.
Prequalification of consultants for design work is currently
underway and the ministry says it hopes to begin construction
next year.
In Bahrain studies of the dedicated causeway to Saudi
Arabia by Canadian consultancy SNC Lavalin are nearing
completion with the results set to be made public in March.
Two routes are proposed for the 87km link which will
include 28km of approach tracks, a 26km causeway and
10km bridge. Construction is expected to take five to six
years to complete with a provisional opening date of 2022,
although Jumaan stated that 2018 “remains the target.”
Al Basayta Junction
TBS
Al Basayta
Halit Ammar
Phosphate Junction
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Bandar-e-Emam
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Basra
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31
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Page 32
Middle East
2015: a key year f
Oman Rail is set to make huge strides on its inaugural railway project in 2015 as its first civil works
contracts are awarded and construction gets underway. Kevin Smith reports from Muscat on progress
so far.
I
N a nondescript office building a
short hop from Muscat’s iconic
Opera House, officials at Oman
Rail are busy working to get the
country’s inaugural railway project up
and running.
Oman Rail, which was founded in
June 2014, says that its plans for a
2135km railway network will transform
the country, and IRJ’s visit to Muscat
takes place just a few days before
technical bids for the first phase civil
works contract are submitted.
Contracts are expected to be awarded
by the middle of the year, and while
extensive deliberation and analysis is
set to take place over the next few
months, this is just the beginning. Rows
of empty desks ready for the next
batch of employees
32
hint at the rapid expansion that will
take place here as the project takes
shape, with operations expected to
begin by the end of 2018.
Like the other start-up railways in the
Middle East, expatriate railway
professionals with decades of
experience on some of the world’s most
prestigious undertakings are helping to
shape the project in Oman. Mr Michael
Darby, Oman Rail’s chief operating
officer, is one such railwayman who has
worked extensively in North America
and Australia. He describes his job and
building railways as “something he
likes to do.” However, he is clear on
where he sees his, and Oman Rail’s,
long-term future.
“The idea is that the guy who follows
me will be Omani,” Darby says. “I’m
not going to be here forever, the railway
is.”
Indeed “Omanisation” is a key focus
for the project. Already 40 graduate
Omani engineers from various fields
including civil, mechanical and
electrical engineering have been
recruited from 1600 applicants who
applied for the positions. They are all
on a four-year programme, which
involves training in a range of areas
essential to a railway’s development
including track and architectural
design, communications systems, and
station, tunnel and bridge construction.
“In September we took them all to
InnoTrans in Berlin and this was a
great experience for them to see
the railway industry up close,”
Darby says.
Omanisation is not limited
to skills and recruitment.
Oman has ambitions to
establish its own
domestic railway
industry,
March Oman:Layout 1
24/02/2015
10:18 AM
Page 33
ar for Oman Rail
which encourages the growth of
domestic-based small and medium
enterprises (SMEs) that “doesn’t
reinvent the wheel” but complements
Oman’s existing strengths. As a result
10% of the value of each contract
awarded for the project must go to
Omani companies under an in-country
value (ICV) development initiative.
Work is already underway to register
domestic companies so they can
integrate into the supply chain and
according to Oman Rail’s CEO Mr
Abdulrahman Al-Hatmi the railway
will facilitate the diversification of the
Omani economy away from the
traditional oil and gas sectors. The
railway is also set to enhance the
country’s logistical flexibility.
“We are going to change the life of
almost anyone who has anything to do
with Oman,” Al-Hatmi says. “We will
make everything you buy and sell in
the supermarket cheaper. In terms of
natural resources, we will even make
building a house cheaper. This is why
we are reorganising and revolutionising
the logistical supply chain in Oman.”
Due to its advantageous geographical
position at the southeast corner of the
Arabian Peninsula, Oman is marketing
itself as the gateway to the Gulf
Cooperation
Council (GCC) region. It is located on
two major international shipping routes
which are within two weeks of some of
the world’s major ports, and has direct
trade routes to the rest of the GCC,
India and Africa. Critically Oman has
three deepwater ports - Salalah, Al
Duqm, and Sohar - and the railway is
set to play a major role in their
continuing development.
“The network is designed as a
logistics centre by connecting Oman’s
ports with the rest of the GCC as well
as our own mining and commercial
hubs,” Al-Hatmi says.
First phase
The 207km first phase of the project
will link Buraimi on the UAE border
with Sohar, and with construction due
to be completed by the end of 2018, it
will fulfil Oman’s obligation to link
with the GCC network. The doubletrack, standard-gauge line will mimic
the rest of the GCC’s network by
adopting 32.4km axleloads and a
loading gauge sufficient to
accommodate double-stack container
trains. The line will utilise ERTMS Level
2, and while it will initially only
accommodate diesel traction, it will be
built with a view to future
electrification.
Technical bids for the civil works
contract were submitted to Oman Rail
on January 18, with 18 bidders
prequalified,
although not all were expected to
submit a final technical bid. Financial
bids were due on March 1 and Oman
Rail expects to announce a winner “by
the middle of the year.”
The winning bidder will deliver a
substantial package of works
encompassing rail design, engineering,
supply, construction, installation and
commissioning. However, cost is not
the determining factor in their bids.
“We have a device in tenders to give
credit to the highest proposals on SMEs,
with the bidders that do so having a
better chance of getting the contract,”
Al-Hatmi says. “This will provide us
with proposals to develop the industry
in Oman, or improve the level of Omani
manufacturers which already have
certain capabilities, for example in
producing signalling and telecoms
systems. These guarantees will ensure
our domestic programme is
implemented.”
In addition to civil works, bidding is
underway for the systems contract. Five
consortia led by Alstom, Ansaldo STS,
Bombardier, Siemens and Thales were
selected as prequalified bidders in 2014,
and the winner is expected to deliver
ETCS Level 2 and associated systems
for train detection, switch control,
broken rail detection, level crossings
and hot box detection along with
centralised traffic control and an
operations control centre. The contract
is expected to be
awarded by the end
of the year and
also includes
33
March Oman:Layout 1
24/02/2015
10:18 AM
Page 34
Middle East
a telecoms element. This
encompasses delivery of a
related telecoms and core
communications network as
well as passenger
information systems.
The consortium, which
overcame competition from
IRJ
Parsons International and
Uif!Hvmg
the lowest-priced bid for the
N
Abu Dhabi
contract from a group led by
Sohar
Buraimi
Dohwa Engineering, Korea,
Ruwais
will now proceed to review
Tarif
Muscat
Hafeet
the contract process, extend
Ibri
UAE
Major transformation
contract management, and
Nizwa
Shah
Developing the first phase
provide project management
Ibra
of the railway network will
services for the Sohar prove a further boost to the
Buraimi section. The
port of Sohar, which is going
consortium will also carry
through a major
out construction supervision
OMAN
transformation. It is now one
and be responsible for
of the world’s largest port
testing and commissioning.
SAUDI ARABIA
and freezone developments
It will also oversee the
Uif!Joejbo
thanks to a $US 15bn
procurement of rolling stock
Haima
! !Pdfbo
investment over the last
and coordinate with the
Al Duqm
decade. The relocation and
government to select an
expansion of Oman
operator for the first phase
International Terminal and
of the network. This
the transfer of all of Muscat’s
contract, which includes
Amal
commercial port activities to
maintenance, will be
Marmu
Mazyounah
Sohar in August 2014 has
awarded in the first half of
Oman Rail Phase 1
increased capacity to 1.5
the year.
Thumrait
Oman Rail Phase 2
million TEU per year.
In addition, the
YEMEN
Oman Rail planned
As a result the port is
consortium
will review the
Etihad
Rail
open
Salalah
Etihad Rail planned
expected to handle 300
complete network design,
vessels in 2015. And with
which Italian State Railways
construct a large shunting yard and
further multi-billion dollar investments
(FS) subsidiary Italferr is currently
logistics facility to handle future
in agricultural storage, a sugar refinery,
carrying out under a $US 37m design
railfreight shipments.
and petrochemical facilities as well as
consultancy contract awarded in
Discussions on the structure for this
an expansion of its freight terminal now
August 2013. Work, which began in
are continuing with the railway’s
underway, logistical activities are set to
January 2014, involves detailed
project management consultant set to
continue to increase. Indeed the port’s
alignment and infrastructure design
play a critical role in the design of the
TEU capacity is expected to rise to 9
and developing specifications for
facility. Bids for this contract were
million in the long-term.
rolling stock and other systems. Italferr
received in March 2014, and following
This will be further underpinned by a
says it is on course for completion by
months of delays, the $US 149m
land reclamation project which will
January 2016.
contract was finally awarded to the
commence soon, while the port
The civil works contractor will face a
Spanish-based Tecnicas Reunidas
authority is preparing for the addition
number of challenges during the
consortium on February 11.
of the railway link by proposing to
construction phase, specifically relating
Oman
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VERTICAL
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Page 36
Middle East
Light weight meets intelligent performance
Light weight meets intelligent performance
“We have a device in tenders to give credit to the highest
proposals on SMEs, with the bidders that do so having a
better chance of getting the contract.”
Abdulrahman Al-Hatmi
www.robel.tv
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to topography which differs
significantly from other GCC countries.
For example the first phase of the
project will require construction of
5km of tunnel and 35 bridges and will
feature several steep gradients. Overall
the entire network will require 35km
of tunnels, 132km of bridges and 245
overbridges or underpasses. Suppliers
are also anticipated to provide
12,000km of rail, 23 million m3³of ballast
and sub-ballast, 10 million concrete
sleepers, and 41 million fasteners along
with 8000 wagons and 300 locomotives.
While the civil construction bids
for phase 1 are currently undergoing
close assessment, attention is already
shifting to phase 2, which encompasses
a 240km link from Hafeet via Ibri to a
new economic zone in the Al Dhahirah
Governorate economic zone, in the
northwest of the Sultanate.
The second phase will be delivered in
two stages; stage one encompasses the
114km section from a junction with
phase one at Hafeet to Ibri, and stage
two is a 126km link from Ibri to the new
economic zone.
In future phases beyond Al Dhahirah
the alignment will traverse the vast
desert expanses of central Oman via
Ghabah to Haima, with a branch
veering south towards the port at Al
Duqm, and eventually reaching the
Yemeni border at Mazyounah with
another branch to the port at Salalah.
In the long-term a south - north line
from Amal via Al Duqm to Muscat and
Sohar is envisaged to complete the
network.
Depending on funding, contracts for
subsequent phases could be launched in
very quick succession. Indeed Al-Hatmi
says he expects that two further tenders
for construction of 500km of railway
will be issued in 2015. Work will also
start on building Oman Rail’s own
centre of railway engineering excellence
this year, which further underlines its
commitment to developing in-house
railway expertise.
Bonanza
Oman Rail clearly has a lot on its
plate in the next few months and it has
not been helped by the uncertainty in
global markets following the recent fall
in oil prices. This resulted in an
extension to accepting bids for the
phase one civil works contract as costs
were revised, placing greater pressure
on the project.
Despite the obvious challenges, the
rail project offers a potential bonanza
for suppliers around the world. The
implementation deadlines might be
strict, but this is not putting all the big
companies off, which is great news for
their prospective domestic private
partners and Oman’s future
development.
“The project has recorded substantial
progress over the past 18 months, but
we’re just getting started.” Al-Hatmi
says. IRJ
IRJ March 2015
IRJMARXX (Pouget):Layout 1
04/02/2015
13:34
Page 1
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MarLyon:Layout 1
24/02/2015
4:02 PM
Page 38
Urban rail
Rail at the heart of Lyon’s
At the end of 2014 Lyon public transport authority Sytral
revealed details of its €1bn 2015-2020 investment
plan, which aims to significantly increase system
capacity over the next six years. Keith
Barrow looks at how the city is seeking
to build on the success of its existing
light rail and metro networks.
W
ITH a population of 485,000,
Lyon is the third-largest city
in France and one that has
invested consistently in recent years in
the development of its urban rail
network. Since the opening of the first
two lines in 2001, the light rail network
has expanded to 66km, and the city
operates three metro lines totalling 32km.
Between 2008 and 2014 Lyon’s public
transport authority invested around
ƒ1bn in the bus, trolleybus, light rail
38
and metro networks and the authority’s
2015-2020 capital programme, which
was unveiled in December, allocates a
further ƒ1bn for network expansion,
increasing capacity, and service
enhancements.
“It is essential that we continue to
develop the network and support the
local economy,” says Sytral president
Mr Bernard Rivalta. “We also need to
increase network capacity as ridership
is growing. To avoid becoming victims of
our own success, we must invest in new
equipment - mostly metro trains and
trams - to accommodate more passengers
and maintain a quality offering.”
Sytral will need to achieve this in
challenging economic circumstances.
High interest rates, high unemployment,
reduced consumer purchasing power
and stagnating tax revenues combine to
make the environment for investment a
difficult one. However, Sytral says it
expects to complete all of the projects
IRJ March 2015
MarLyon:Layout 1
24/02/2015
Page 39
b
t
l
i
u
s
e
n
a
p
r
t
n
t
rin
on’s €1b
4:03 PM
Photo: Sytral
listed in its investment programme
without increasing its debt beyond the
current ƒ1.1bn.
Public consultation took place in
January and February on plans for the
2.5km underground extension of metro
Line B from Oullins mainline station in
the district of La Saulaie to Lyon South
Hospital, with an intermediate station
serving Oullins town centre. The main
objective of the project is to improve
transport links to the central part of
IRJ March 2015
Oullins and the university hospital in
Saint Genis Laval, which has more than
4000 staff, 1000 researchers, and 4000
students. Civil works are scheduled to
start in early-2019 and the ƒ394m
extension will open in mid-2023.
Light rail line T1 will be extended
east from its southern terminus at
Debourg to Lyon East Hospital by 2019
at a cost of ƒ114m. Construction of the
6.9km 14-station extension will be
divided into two phases, starting with
the 4.7km nine-station section between
Debourg and an interchange with metro
Line D at Mermoz.
The journey time between Debourg
and Lyon East Hospital will be 23
minutes and the extension is expected
to carry 24,000 passengers per day
when it is fully operational. The
extension will enable passengers from
the south and east of the city to reach
western districts without travelling
through the city centre.
39
MarLyon:Layout 1
24/02/2015
4:03 PM
Page 40
Urban rail
Lyon
Cuire
Sa
ôn
e
Depot
IUT-Feyssine
T1
ne
La Doua
Gaston Berger
C
Charpennes
Hôtel de Ville
T1
Bellecour
Part-Dieu
Guillotière
Saxe Gambetta
eA
St Jean
Perrache
L in
Jean Macé
T1
e-Express
U6
up!Fvsfyqp
Bron
East
Hospital
T2/T5
Mermoz
T1
T4
Gerland
up!
Bel-Air Nfz{jfv
Grange Blanche
Jet d'Eau
Debourg
L Bonnevay
Depot
La Soie
Villeurbanne
eD
Confluences
Museum
Metro lines
Open
Planned
Funiculars
Open
LRT lines
Open
Planned
SNCF lines
Existing
T3/Rhôn
B
L in
St Just
Line
Alai
Line
A
Brotteaux
Fourvière
N
e
Hénon
Li
Croix Rousse
Gorge de
Loup
ôn
Line D
Vaise
Rh
T2
Parilly
Oullins
up!Mzpo!Tpvui!
Iptqjubm
to St Priest
Bel-Air
Vénissieux
U5
Preliminary studies were completed
last November and a public inquiry will
be launched early next year with the aim
of starting construction in early 2017.
The 2015-2020 investment programme
includes ƒ24m towards a ƒ66m project
to connect the new stadium at Décines
to Line T3 and the Rhône-Express
airport line. This project is due to be
completed at the end of this year.
Sytral has allocated ƒ6.7m for the
rollout of Wi-Fi or 4G to all metro
stations, and studies into further
expansion, including an extension of
Line T1 from Lyon East Hospital to La
Doua and a four-station branch off
metro Line D to an interchange with
mainline services at Alai west of the
city. This project is being developed in
conjunction with the so-called “ring of
sciences,” a planned 15km toll highway
around the western periphery of Lyon
linking the city’s scientific industries.
The metro line would include a parkand-ride station near the proposed
road.
up!Gfz{jo!Iptqjubm
IRJ
capacity to the network. As part of its
Future Metro project, Sytral is
automating Line B and plans to
introduce a new fleet of 19 two-car MPL
16 driverless trains by 2020. This will
enable the transfer of Line B’s current
fleet of 14 MPL 75 trains to Line C,
supplementing the existing fleet of 18
MPL 75s on this line. A further eight
MPL 16s will be delivered in time for
the opening of the Lyon South Hospital
extension in 2023.
The introduction of unattended train
operation (UTO) on Line B will increase
capacity from 7700 passengers per hour
per direction to 10,100 by 2019 and
13,100 by 2024.
Last year Sytral awarded CAF a
ƒ23m contract to carry out heavy
overhauls on the fleet of 36 two-car
MPL 85 trains used on Line D. The first
train was transferred to the CAF France
plant at Bagnères-de-Bigorre at the end
of last year and the programme is due
to be completed by mid-2018.
Like the metro network, light rail
lines have witnessed surging patronage
as the system has extended its reach
into more areas of the city. Ridership
increased by 40% between 2009 and
2013, and additional capacity will be
required by the end of the decade.
Sytral plans to order 17 43m-long
low-floor LRVs, which will be delivered
in 2020 for use on Line T4. The ƒ60m
project will include the lengthening of
platforms on Line 4 and alterations to
the depot at Mayzieu to accommodate
longer vehicles. The 32m-long Alstom
Citadis vehicles currently used on Line
T4 will be transferred to lines T1 and T2
to increase capacity on these routes.
In addition, Sytral has allocated ƒ29m
for rolling stock refurbishment, ƒ21m
for improvements to metro and light
rail operating systems, ƒ71m for
buildings and infrastructure, and ƒ34m
for fare collection, passenger
information and CCTV systems.
Despite the pressure on public
finances, Sytral’s investment
programme demonstrates that Lyon is
still determined to continue with the
tried-and-tested formula of incremental
expansion that has transformed the
city’s public transport network in recent
years. IRJ
Rolling stock
Ridership on the metro rose by an
average of 4.6% per year between 2001
and 2009 and increased 10.3% between
2009 and 2014. Sytral forecasts further
growth of 12% on Line A, 30% on Line
B, and 16% on Line D.
Sytral plans to invest ƒ365m in metro
equipment by 2020 as it seeks to add
40
Under Sytral’s five-year plan metro Line B will be extended
south from Oullins to Lyon South Hospital. Photo: Sytral
IRJ March 2015
Mar p37:Layout 1
23/02/2015
5:49 PM
Page 41
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IRJMARXX (SRS):Layout 1
04/02/2015
15:21
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MarSantos:Layout 1
24/02/2015
4:04 PM
Page 43
Urban rail
Santos light rail
ready to roll
Passenger operation is due to begin this month on the first phase of a light rail network in the Brazillian
port city of Santos. Keith Barrow previews Brazil’s first modern electric LRT system.
S
ITUATED on the Atlantic coast of
São Paulo state, Santos grew to
prominence as the global gateway
for Brazil’s coffee exports and today the
city remains an important hub for
international trade as South America’s
largest sea port.
The nine districts that make up the
Santos metropolitan area have a total
population of 1.7 million, with around
2.2 million daily trips on the city’s
transport network. The proportion of
IRJ March 2015
trips made by private cars increased
from 21% in 2007 to 26% in 2012 and
Santos suffers from the chronic traffic
congestion and pollution that blights
many Brazilian cities.
São Paulo’s state government is
seeking to address the problem with its
Integrated Metropolitan System (SIM),
an enhanced public transport network
for the São Paulo metropolitan region
which includes light rail for Santos.
Construction began in May 2013 on
the first phase, an 11km east-west line
from Porto to São Vicente and Barreiros
Terminal. Preliminary public services
are expected to start this month, when
passengers will be offered free rides on
the completed central stretch of the line
between Mascarenhas de Moraes in São
Vicente municipality and Pinheiro
Machado in Santos. Further sections of
the Porto - Barreiros line are nearing
completion and São Paulo Urban
Transport Company (EMTU) said in
43
MarSantos:Layout 1
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Page 44
Urban rail
mid-February that 90% of construction
work has been completed in São Vicente
and 50% in Santos.
Civil works on the Reais 850m ($US
300m) project are being carried out by
Consórcio Expresso VLT Baixada
Santista, a consortium of Brazilian
construction companies Queiroz Galvão
and Trail Infraestrutura, while the
electrical and mechanical contract was
awarded to a consortium of Adtranz
Engenharia, Brascontrol, Ferreira
Guedes, and TTrans.
In June 2013 TTrans subcontracted
Thales to supply signalling and control
systems, fixed and mobile
communications, data transmission,
multimedia solutions and the electronic
traffic monitoring system for Phase 1.
Vossloh is supplying rail fastenings and
switches and crossings for the project.
The fleet of 22 bi-directional Tramlink
low-floor LRVs is being supplied by
Tremvia Santos, a consortium of TTrans
and Vossloh Spain, under a Reais 252m
contract awarded in December 2012.
The first vehicle was delivered last May
and dynamic testing began on the 1km
Mascarenhas de Morais - Nossa
Senhora das Graças section in August.
The first three of the seven-section
vehicles were built at the Vossloh Rail
Vehicles plant at Albuixech near
Valencia in Spain, with the remaining 19
being assembled in Brazil by TTrans at
its Três Rios facility in Rio de Janeiro
state.
By mid-February two vehicles were in
use for commissioning and four
vehicles will be required to operate
Santos
IRJ
Valongo
SANTOS
Antonio Emmerick
Nossa
Mascarenhas
Porto
Pinheiro Machado
Samaritá
Light rail lines
Completed section
Under construction
Planned
Freight railways
Existing lines
services on the initial section when it
opens. The remaining 18 vehicles are
due to be delivered to Santos by
December and 20 vehicles will be
required to operate the full service with
two maintenance spares.
Each 43.7m-long 2.65m-wide LRV
will accommodate up to 408 passengers
(6 passengers/m2), 74 of them seated,
and the vehicles are equipped with
batteries for catenary-free operation on
a 440m-long section of the route in the
city centre.
The line will have a peak capacity of
7000 passengers per hour per direction
with a commercial speed of 25km/h.
Peak services are expected to operate at
3.5-minute headways. EMTU says the
first phase will indirectly benefit all
The newly-completed station at Nossa Senhora das Graças.
44
Conselheiro Nébias
São Vicente
Barreiros
municipalities of the city by reducing
pollution, noise, and journey times
between districts, with projected
savings of Reais 21m per year from
reductions in accidents and road
maintenance.
With the opening of the line the bus
network will be restructured and the
number of bus routes in Santos will be
reduced from 52 to 32. Phase 1 of the
LRT network is expected to carry 30,000
passengers per day when the Porto Barreiros line is fully operational, and
the line will be fully integrated into the
broader SIM network serving the São
Paulo metropolitan region.
Second phase
Environmental approval is currently
being sought for the Reais 250m second
phase of the network, a 4km branch
running north from Conselheiro Nébias
to Valongo in Santos and expressions of
interest will be requested in the second
quarter of this year for the project,
which also includes three additional
stations on the Porto - Barreiros line.
Phase 2 is expected to increase ridership
on the network to around 70,000
passengers per day.
In the longer-term it is planned to
extend the branch west to form a loop,
which would rejoin the Porto - Barreiros
line at Antonio Emmerick station in São
Vicente.
Preliminary design has also been
completed on Phase 3, a four-station
7.5km western extension to Samaritá in
São Vicente. An environmental impact
assessment is currently underway on
this Reais 320m project.
With further light rail lines planned,
the network is expected to reach 55km
by 2030. IRJ
IRJ March 2015
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Page 45
TRANSPORT
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IRJ March 2015
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March Southampton N+V:Layout 1
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5:38 PM
Page 47
Noise and vibration
Reducing freight wagon
noise at the source
Freight wagons remain the source of high levels of noise despite European legislation prohibiting the
use of cast-iron brake blocks on new wagons. Dr Martin Toward, Dr Giacomo Squicciarini, and
Professor David Thompson from the University of Southampton’s Institute of Sound and Vibration
Research look at current efforts to mitigate rolling noise and curve squeal from freight rolling stock.
R
AILWAY noise is often a major
majority are still fitted with cast-iron
source of annoyance for people
blocks. Indeed, it was estimated that
living close to railways and can
only 37,000 of Europe’s 411,000-strong
be a major issue when authorities seek
freight wagon fleet were fitted with
public support to build new or increase
composite brakes in 2012.
the capacity of existing lines.
The introduction of composite LL
Often the dominant source is rolling
type blocks, which have similar friction
noise, generated by the surface
characteristics to cast-iron blocks and
unevenness (roughness) at the rail/
can be retrofitted to existing wagons,
wheel interface which is radiated by the
typically results in a noise reduction of
sleepers, rails and wheels. Wheel
around 7 to 10 dB(A), or roughly half
roughness is highly dependent on the
the perceived
type of brakes fitted. In continental
loudness.
Europe, cast-iron tread brakes are still
widely used on freight
wagons, with
the
abrasive
actions of
a cast-iron
brake
block on
the wheel
tread
resulting in
high levels
of wheel
roughness
which, at
most
wavelengths,
dominate over
Tests of Axiom’s LN25 bogie have shown
the rail
that its enhanced curving behaviour can
roughness. The
reduce the likelihood of curve squeal.
result is high noise
However,
levels compared with passenger trains,
attendant costs
which are generally fitted with
and maintenance
composite tread brakes or disc brakes.
considerations have
Moreover, freight trains often operate at
meant there has been
night when the potential for
little incentive for operators to retrofit
disturbance is highest.
wagons with composite blocks until
All new freight wagons in Europe
recently.
must now be fitted with composite
Recognising this issue, the European
brakes (K or LL types), which result in
Commission published a Roadmap for
much lower levels of wheel roughness
the reduction of noise generated by
and noise, to comply with noise limits
freight wagons in April 2013. The
introduced in 2006. However, the slow
Roadmap considers options to increase
renewal rate of wagons due to their
retrofitting composite brakes to existing
long lifespan means that the vast
IRJ March 2015
wagons including by increasing
financial support, and introducing
mandatory noise limits and noisedependent track access charges.
Germany subsequently introduced a
system where ‘noisy’ trains are required
to pay a track access surcharge from
which retrofitted ‘quiet’ wagons are
exempt. In addition ‘quiet’ wagons
also receive a mileage-based bonus.
Switzerland has gone a step further
by passing a federal law banning
wagons fitted with cast-iron brake
blocks from 2020. Indeed it
now seems inevitable that
over
time the
proportion of
cast-iron braked
vehicles in Europe will
decrease and attention
will shift to other means
of reducing freight
vehicle noise.
Wheel design
At low frequencies (<1000Hz) rolling
noise is mainly radiated by vibration of
the track. However, at higher
frequencies wheel noise becomes
increasingly important. This is
particularly the case in continental
Europe where relatively stiff rail pads
limit the rail contribution.
Railway wheels are very lightly
47
March Southampton N+V:Layout 1
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Page 48
Noise and vibration
damped so the noise they radiate is
heavily influenced by their resonant
behaviour. Coupled with an axisymmetric nature and single connection
point at the axles, this means that they
resonate with negligible motion at the
wheel centre.
As a result the vibration behaviour of
the wheel is largely unaffected by the
rest of the train and consequently noise
control measures focus predominately
on reducing excitation (ie the
roughness) or the vibration and
radiation of the wheel. Noise from the
bogie or vehicle body is usually
negligible in comparison unless the
suspension is in poor condition.
Design can influence noise radiated
by the wheel. To illustrate this, we
carried out noise predictions for two
different freight wheel designs. The first
is the BA319 wheel used on the
European standard Y25 bogie, which is
fitted with either composite or cast-iron
blocks, while the second is the wheel
fitted to the Axiom Rail LN25 bogie,
which is fitted as standard with
composite blocks.
The Twins model used in the
predictions calculates the noise radiated
Table 1
Wheel
dB(A)
Cast-iron braked
BA319 wheel
87.5
Composite braked
BA319 wheel
80.3
Composite braked
LN25 wheel
78.4
Track
dB(A)
Total
noise
dB(A)
88.9
91.3
81.4
83.9
80.7
82.8
Twins predictions showing the
contributions of wheel and track
components to total noise for the BA319
wheel and the LN25 wheel.
by the rails, wheels and sleepers from
parameters relating to the track and
vehicles. Here we have assumed some
typical track and train characteristics for
freight in Europe: UIC-60 rail, concrete
monoblock sleepers, stiff rail pads, and
120km/h train speeds.
The wheels are modelled using finite
elements from which mode shapes and
natural frequencies are extracted and
damping values assigned; the designs
are illustrated in Figure 1.
These clearly show the LN25 wheel
has a thicker web with less curvature
while its diameter is 80mm less than the
Figure 1
BA319
24mm
Ø920mm
LN25
32mm
Ø840mm
Finite element models of the cross-sections of the BA319 and LN25 wheels.
48
industry standard BA319 wheel. As a
consequence, assuming roughness
corresponding to composite brake
blocks for both wheels, the LN25 wheel
is predicted to radiate around 2 dB(A)
less noise than the BA319 wheel, while
the combined noise level from wheel
and track is predicted to be around
1 dB(A) lower (see Table 1).
As expected the total noise level with
the cast-iron braked BA319 wheel is
significantly higher than either wheel
utilising composite brakes (8.5 dB(A)
and 7.4 dB(A) respectively). In all cases,
the wheel makes slightly less noise than
the track.
There is little evidence to suggest that
fitting wheels with disc-brakes to
freight wagons offers any significant
benefits in terms of roughness
compared with composite blocks.
However, they can offer some
secondary benefits in terms of wheel
design.
Whereas tread-braked wheels are
required to have a curved web to allow
for thermal expansion under braking,
this is not required for disc-braked
wheels. This means straight (and thick)
webs and wheels may be of a smaller
diameter, both of which are beneficial
for noise reduction.
A further benefit of using disc brakes
is that the wheel-mounted discs
increase wheel damping, reducing the
magnitude of its resonances.
Commercially available wheel dampers
are now available to exploit the same
effect. Designs of these vary
considerably and include mass-spring
dampers, interlocking plates and
friction rings that are inset into the
wheel. A round-robin test of wheel
dampers in the European Stardamp
project found that the efficacy also
varied considerably but that reductions
of up to 9 dB(A) in the wheel
component and up to 2.5 dB(A) in the
total noise are possible.
Curve squeal
Curve squeal noise is another major
source of annoyance to the railways’
neighbours, and it can often be much
more acute than rolling noise due to its
high magnitude and tonal nature. In
most cases wheel squeal is initiated at
the interface between the wheel tread
and the rail. Squeal occurs because train
axles are not able to steer perfectly
around a corner, which results in
lateral creepage at this interface,
particularly for the front inner wheel
of a bogie or vehicle. Stick-slip
behaviour then excites the wheel at
IRJ March 2015
March Southampton N+V:Layout 1
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5:39 PM
Page 49
Figure 2
axlebox movement
bush compliancy
radial arm movement
bush compliancy
radial arm movement
Y25
LN25
Comparison of steering mechanisms of industry standard Y25 bogie and the Axiom Rail
LN25 bogie.
one or more of its natural frequencies
the yaw angle of the front wheelset
resulting in the radiation of noise from
relative to the rail. One way to reduce
the wheel.
this is to minimise the distance between
Due to the very high magnitude of
the axles (a simple rule of thumb being
curve squeal, solutions generally aim to
that squeal is likely to occur when the
eliminate the squeal rather than reduce
curve radius is less than 100 times the
its severity. While lubricating the
wheelbase). However, the scope for this
wheel/rail interface is undesirable with
on freight bogies is limited; the Y25
respect to adhesion, friction modifiers
bogie has a wheelbase of 1.8m and
are available which aim to interrupt the
other design constraints will limit any
stick-slip behaviour without significant
further reductions.
loss of adhesion. Systems that deploy
these are often located on the track but
Alternative
vehicle-mounted systems are also
An alternative method to minimise
available.
the yaw angle uses suspensions which
For the vehicle, an important design
enable the axles to steer and reduce
consideration with respect to squeal is
creepages during curving. The LN25
bogie has a radial arm design
suspension which allows greater yaw
angles than the industry standard Y25
bogie (Figure 2).
Recently, we investigated the effect
of this increased steerability on the
likelihood of squeal occurrence.
Initially, both bogie designs were
modelled using the vehicle dynamics
software, Vampire, for various cases
of curve radii, cant deficiencies and
wagon loads. The creepages, contact
point location and normal forces
predicted in Vampire were then used
as inputs for a curve squeal model we
have developed.
From the results of these simulations,
it is possible to estimate the statistical
likelihood of squeal occurring for each
case. Figure 3 compares the likelihood
of curve squeal between the two bogies
for different curve radii and shows that
in severe cases (ie low curve radii) both
bogies are likely to squeal. However,
squeal continues for greater radii for the
Y25 bogie than for the LN25 bogie. This
trend was seen for all cant deficiencies,
showing that the improved curving
behaviour of the steerable LN25 bogie
results in lower creepage values, which
in turn can reduce the likelihood of
curve squeal.
In summary, while at present the
primary focus in Europe is rightly on
reducing the number of ‘noisy’ wagons
with cast-iron brake blocks, it is
expected that over time attention will
shift towards other means of noise
reduction for freight wagons. Recent
work has shown that there is significant
scope in the design and damping of
wheels to reduce rolling noise, and that
by enabling the axles of freight bogies
to steer, it is possible to reduce the
likelihood of curve squeal. IRJ
Figure 3
Y25
80
LN25
60
40
20
100
Cant deficiency = 0 mm
Y25
80
LN25
60
40
20
0
0
200
250 320 400
Curve radius, m
100
Probability of squeal, %
Cant deficiency = -50 mm
Probability of squeal, %
Probability of squeal, %
100
Cant deficiency = 70 mm
Y25
80
LN25
60
40
20
0
200
250 320 400
Curve radius, m
200
250 320 400
Curve radius, m
Comparison of curve squeal probability for the laded Y25 and LN25 bogies. In both cases the results are with the BA319 wheel.
IRJ March 2015
49
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Page 1
OCTOBER 4-7, 2015
MINNEAPOLIS, MN
SAVE THE DATE
REGISTER TODAY!
Railway Interchange 2015 will host a USA-based Exhibition and Technical
Conference at the Minneapolis Convention Center from October 4-7, 2015.
Indoor and outdoor exhibits will showcase the latest technology
by the members of:
• Railway Supply Institute (RSI)
• Railway Engineering-Maintenance Suppliers Association (REMSA)
• Railway Systems Suppliers, Inc. (RSSI)
Technical and Educational presentations are hosted by:
• American Railway Engineering and Maintenance-of-Way Association
(AREMA)
• Coordinated Mechanical Associations (CMA)
•Air Brake Association
‡,QWHUQDWLRQDO$VVRFLDWLRQRI5DLOZD\2SHUDWLQJ2I¿FHUV
‡/RFRPRWLYH0DLQWHQDQFH2I¿FHUV$VVRFLDWLRQ
•Mechanical Association Railcar Technical Services
•League of Railway Industry Women
AREMA
RSI
REMSA
RSSI
www.railwayinterchange.org
March Croatia:Layout 1
26/02/2015
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Page 51
Croatia
Reviving a war-torn network
Since it was founded in 2006, Croatian infrastructure manager HZ Infrastructure has struggled to
rehabilitate its war-ravaged network. But with the government now turning its attention to rail and
tapping into EU funds, the tide appears to be turning. Marco Chiandoni and Kevin Smith look at the
various projects proposed and underway across the country.
C
ROATIA’s railway network
continues to show signs of
neglect two decades since the
Balkans conflict which tore Yugoslavia
apart and left much of its infrastructure
in ruins.
While the Croatian government
initially focused on rebuilding roads with
only a few railway schemes, in 2012 it
turned its attention to rail by establishing
the Railway Commission, which has
resulted in an array of projects to restore
and develop new railway infrastructure
across the country.
Croatia’s Transport Development
Strategy 2014-2030, which was adopted
by the government in October 2014, is
the basis for financing railway projects
with the government expected to
allocate É500m from 2014 to 2020. It
follows the É150m spent on
modernising the railways through the
2007-2013 Transport Operational
Programme, and like the projects
included in this programme, the
government is banking on receiving
additional support from the European
Union, which Croatia joined as the 28th
member state on July 1 2013.
Among HZŽInfrastructure’s priority
projects is the redevelopment of
corridors RH1 and RH2. RH1 is part of
TEN-T Corridor X, and the Croatian
section links Savski Marof on the border
with Slovenia with Zagreb, Vinkovci
and Tovarnik on the Serbian border.
Corridor RH2, which is part of the
Mediterranean corridor, or branch B of
TEN-T Corridor V, runs from Šapjane
on the Slovenian border to Ogulin,
Karlovac, Zagreb and Botovo on the
border with Hungary.
Some schemes slated to improve the
interoperability of the two corridors to
meet EU standards have already been
completed, including an É11.4m project
in 2013 to install new signalling and
interlocking systems at Zagreb station
where the two lines meet. This project,
85% of which was funded through an
All existing electrified lines in Croatia have been upgraded from 3kV dc to 25kV ac.
IRJ March 2015
EU Instrument for Pre-Accession grant,
has reduced shunting times and
eliminated the bottlenecks previously
impeding long-distance operations.
In total around É1bn is due to be
spent on RH2 from 2015 to 2019 with
some preliminary projects already
completed and others underway.
These include conversion of
electrification from 3kV dc to 25kV
50Hz ac on the Moravice - Rijeka Šapjane, Škrljevo - Bakar, and Sušak
Pecine - Rijeka Brajdica sections. This
É83m project completed the rollout of a
unified 25kV ac system across Croatia
in 2013.
In addition the refurbishment of the
Krizevci - Koprivnica section under a
É28m project was completed in 2014
while work is underway on the
Koprivnica - Botovo section in a project
estimated to be worth É15.2m.
The Jastrebarsko - Zdencina upgrade
between Karlovac and Zagreb is also
complete, where speeds have been
increased from 80 to 140km/h.
Also nearing completion is the
É22.3m rehabilitation of the 16.5km
Skrad - Moravice section. This upgrade
will increase speeds from 50 to 80km/h
on this demanding mountainous route
as well as improve passenger comfort.
An upgrade worth approximately
É40m also began on the Moravice Ogulin section in August 2014.
Another upcoming project is the
upgrade of the existing line and
construction of a second track between
Dugo Selo and Krizevci. Bids from two
parties were submitted to HZ
Infrastructure in February for the work
which is budgeted at É198m, with the
EU providing É168m of these funds.
Other planned projects, which will
make up the majority of the expected
outlay on RH2, but are yet to secure
funding include:
construction of a second track on the
Krizevci - Koprivnica - Hungarian
border section
reconstruction and construction of a
second track on the Hrvatski Leskovac Karlovac section, and
51
March Croatia:Layout 1
26/02/2015
4:20 PM
track-doubling between Goljak and
Skradnik.
Investments of É160m are planned to
modernise, reconstruct and renew RH1
which will increase line speeds to
160km/h and axleloads to 22.5 tonnes.
The short section from the border with
Slovenia to Zagreb is one of the country’s
most important commuter routes but is
mixed traffic apart from on the Zagreb
West - Zagreb Main Station section.
From Zagreb Main Station the corridor
runs east to Dugo Selo. A É30.2m project
to renew 16km of double-track between
Zagreb Borongaj and Dugo Selo was
completed by a consortium of Swietelsky
and Pruzne Gradevine last summer
when the maximum line speed was
raised to 140km/h.
Further double-track upgrades are
planned on the 83.4km stretch south from
Dugo Selo to Novska at a cost of É558m,
with work being carried out in specific
sections between Dugo Selo and Kutina,
Kutina and Lipovljani where a new
double-track section will be built, and
Lipovljani - Novska. A É15.6m design
project is underway, with the EU
providing 85% of these funds and 15%
coming from the Croatian government.
This documentation will form the basis of
an application for EU funds to complete
the project.
Sections where work has been
completed include the 6.5km stretch
from Zagreb Main Station south to Klara
where speeds have been increased from
50 to 90km/h through a project
completed in 2013 at a cost of É10m, and
on the 9.7km section from Velika Gorica
to Turopolje under a É13m project which
has raised speeds from 50 to 140km/h.
In addition, upgrades to the line from
Vinkovci to Tovarnik and the Serbian
border have already been carried out
under a É60.2m project. This ran from
September 2008 to December 2011, and
was the first in Croatia to benefit from EU
funding, with É28.8m, or 35% of the
funds provided. Trains can now travel at
up to 160km/h on this section, with the
upgrades including replacement of wardamaged signalling and interlockings
with ETCS Level 1 as well as the
installation of a new telecommunications
system. Seven existing stops were
modernised and two new stops added
while stations at Jankovci and Deletovci
were rebuilt.
Work is also underway to reconstruct
the 16.8km Novska - Okucani section
and around 3km of track around
Okucani station. An EU IPA grant is
funding 85% of the É35.9m project with
the Croatian government covering the
remaining 15%.
52
Page 52
Croatia
Ljubljana
Koprivnica
Zabok
Podsused
SLOVENIA
Botovo
Dugo Selo
Samobor
Sapjane
Karlovac
Ostarije
N
Zabno
Gradec
Zagreb
Rijeka
HUNGARY
Osijek
Sisak
SERBIA
Novska
Sunja
Vincovci
Slavonski Brod
Tovarnik
Bihac
Gospic
Zadar
BOSNIA
Gracac
Knin
0
km
50
Besjbujd! !Tfb
Split
IRJ
From Okucani the next section of
RH1 up for development is the 131.3km
double-track stretch to Slavonski Brod
and Vinkovci. Work to develop a
feasibility study to define the technical
parameters for this project is planned.
Other projects
In addition to the two core corridors,
HZŽ Infrastructure is targeting other
upgrades across Croatia. This includes
the Lika Project, a É21m upgrade of the
Oštarije - Knin - Split line which is
underway and due to be completed by
2017.
HZ Infrastructure also plans to
construct new lines that are of regional
and local importance. Bids for
construction of the new Gradec - Sveti
Ivan Zabno line, which is estimated to
cost É32.4m and is co-financed by the
EU is underway. Design for the
reconstruction and electrification of the
Podsused - Zabok line along with plans
for the new Podsused - Samobor line,
which will also be co-financed by the
EU, are planned.
HZ Infrastructure says that one of its
primary objectives is to increase the role of
the railways in transporting passengers, in
particular on suburban services in Rijeka
and Zagreb. In addition, preliminary work
in Split has begun to define the terms of
reference for the preliminary design of an
integrated transport project in SplitDalmatia County. Here HZ Infrastructure
will cooperate with Split-Dalmatia County
Electrified lines
Other lines
Planned lines
to develop a master plan for regional
mobility.
Of course operating cross-border
railways like RH1 and RH2 requires
effective cooperation with other
infrastructure managers. HZŽInfrastructure
says a joint operations manual has been
developed in Slovenia for the two
countries based on EU regulations.
“We are cooperating with regard to the
delivery of onboard electronic
documents, and to introduce a computer
programme that will offer a train route
upon special request,” says Mr Ivan
Vukovic, member of the Management
Board at HZŽInfrastructure.
An automatic translation system is
also being put together to ease
difficulties with language experienced
with Hungarian State Railways (MAV)
while in Serbia, regulations for the
border crossing are reviewed annually.
It is a similar story with Bosnia and
Herzegovina, although cooperation
takes place with infrastructure
managers at B-H Federation-level and
with the Republic of Srpska.
HZŽInfrastructure has a lot on its plate
over the next few years, and its success
is riding on the continuing support of
the EU. Progress made thus far is
encouraging, but as the array of projects
planned shows, there is a lot yet to be
done to deliver the infrastructure
required for two European TEN-T
corridors and an infrastructure manager
intent on improving services for freight
and passengers. IRJ
IRJ March 2015
IRJMARXX (Mack Brooks):Layout 1
11/02/2015
10:24
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"#
12th INTERNATIONAL EXHIBITION OF RAILWAY EQUIPMENT SYSTEMS & SERVICES
Railtex is the all-encompassing showcase for technological
innovation across all sectors of the rail supply market - the
platform for people from throughout the industry to meet face
to face, make connections and do business.
Regist
for FR er
EE at
www.r
ailtex.c
o.uk
saving
£20
the do on
or
Hundreds of exhibitors will present thousands of products
and services to the industry. See the latest innovations
and hear updates on key projects and developments
^P[OPU[OLPUK\Z[Y`MYVTOPNOWYVÄSLZWLHRLYZ
Tel + 44 (0) 1727 814400
[email protected]
Supported
by:
www.railtex.co.uk
Project1:Layout 1
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INDUSTRY BRIEFING DAY, JEDDAH,SAUDI ARABIA
MARCH 30, 2015
Pursuant to Council of Ministers Decree No. 131 dated 29/04/1434 H (12 March 2013), the Metro Jeddah
Company (MJC) was established to implement the Jeddah Public Transportation Program (JPTP). The JPTP
consists of Metro & Light Rail Transit System, Bus Rapid Transit & Bus Network, Marine Ferries/Taxis and
supporting infrastructure, Corniche Tramway, Al-Muntalaq Multi-Modal Station with supporting
infrastructure, Park & Ride Facilities, and Obhur Creek Bridge.
Sponsored by His Royal Highness Prince Khalid Al-Faisal , Advisor to His Majesty The Custodian of The Holy Mosques ,
Governor of Makkah Region, and the Chairman of the Higher Committee of Jeddah Public Transportation ProgramMetro
Jeddah Company cordially invites Consultants, D & B Contractors, Manufacturers, and Interested Companies to attend the:
Industry Briefing Day for
Jeddah Public Transportation Program (JPTP)
Objective: MJC will brief the industry on JPTP Master Plan, Program Master
Schedule, Procurement Strategies, and Packaging Tendering Process.
Time: Monday, March 30, 2015, 08:00 am to 05:00 pm
Tuseday, March 31, 2015, Site visit to metro Jeddah lines proposal and alignment
Location: Jeddah, Saudi Arabi
Registration deadline: March 22, 2015
Registration Fee: SAR 2,500 per person (Max. 2 representatives per company)
Attendees must fill the registration form the following link:
ftp://metrojeddah.com.sa
and send it to
( Email: [email protected] )
$FRQ¿UPDWLRQHPDLOFRQWDLQLQJWKHORFDWLRQRIWKHHYHQWDQGWKH,QYLWDWLRQ&DUGZLOOEHVHQWWRWKHQDPHVRIWKRVH
who have successfully registered.
MarRendez:Febrrend
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Rendezvous
24-25—Lille, France
Sifer International Exhibition of
Rail Technology
Mack Brooks, St Albans, Britain.
Tel: +44 1727 814400
Fax: +44 1727 814401
[email protected]
www.sifer2015.com/
March 2015
16-17—Berlin, Germany
3rd Railway Forum & Exhibition
IPM, Hannover, Germany.
Tel: +49 511 4731 4790
Fax: +49 511 4731 4791
[email protected]
www.ipm-scm.com
24-26—Melbourne, Australia
NEW: RISSB Rail Safety
Conference
Informa, Sydney, Australia.
Tel: +61 2 9080 4307
[email protected]
www.railsafetyconference.com.au
17-18—Dubai, UAE
Middle East Rail Exhibition
Ansil D’Souza Terrapinn,
Dubai, UAE.
Tel: +971 4440 2520
Fax: +971 4445 8475
[email protected]
www.terrapinn.com/exhibition/
middle-east-rail/
17-19—Utrecht, Netherlands
Rail-Tech Conference & Exhibition
Europoint, Zeist, Netherlands.
Tel: +31 30 698 1800
Fax: +31 30 691 7394
[email protected]
www.rail-tech.com
30-31—Doha, Qatar
NEW: International Conference on
Railway Interoperability,
Standardisation and
Harmonisation for the Middle East
Paul Veron, UIC, Paris, France.
Tel: +33 1 4449 2050
Fax: +33 1 4449 2059
[email protected]
www.uic.org
23-26—Tokyo, Japan
Rail Tokyo Conference 2015
JTB Communications, Osaka,
Japan.
Tel: +81 6 6348 1391
Fax: +81 6 6456 4105
[email protected]
http://railtokyo2015.cs.it-chiba.ac.jp/
30-Apr 1—Hong Kong, China
Asia Pacific Rail Conference &
Exhibition
Yee Lim Tan, Terrapinn,
Singapore.
Tel: +65 6322 2701
Fax: +65 6271 2052
[email protected]
www.terrapinn.com/exhibition/
asia-pacific-rail/
31-Apr 1—Colorado Springs,
USA
TTCI 20th Annual AAR Research
Review
Transportation Technology
Center, Pueblo, Colorado, USA.
Tel: +1 303 617 3300
[email protected]
http://regonline.com/20thAnnual
April 2015
15-17—Lisbon, Portugal
World Congress on Rail Training
N Amirault, UIC, Paris, France.
Tel: +33 1 4449 2020
Fax: +33 1 4449 2029
[email protected]
www.uic.org/spip.php?rubrique2
193
30-May 1—London, Britain
NEW: Rail Safety Summit
RailStaff, Coalville, Britain.
Tel: +44 1530 816 456
www.railsafetysummit.com
May 2015
6-7—Arlington, VA, USA
NEW: Next-Gen Train Control
Conference
Simmons Boardman, New York,
USA.
Tel: +1 212 620 7208
Fax: +1 212 633 1165
[email protected]
www.railwayage.com/index.php/
conferences/nextgen.html?channel
12-14—Birmingham, Britain
Railtex Exhibition
Heidi Cotsworth, Mack
Brooks, St Albans, Britain.
Tel: +44 1727 814 400
Fax: +44 1727 814 401
[email protected]
www.railtex.co.uk
17-20—Tehran, Iran
NEW: RailExpo 2015
Milad e Noor, Tehran, Iran.
Tel: +98 21 2225 4250
Fax: +98 21 2225 4250
[email protected]
www.miladfair.ir
19-20—Amsterdam, Netherlands
Smart Rail Congress & Expo
Global Transport Forum,
London, Britain.
Tel: +44 20 7045 0900
Fax: +44 20 7045 0901
[email protected]
http://globaltransportforum.com
/smart-rail-europe/
June 2015
8-10—Milan, Italy
NEW: UITP World Congress &
Exhibition
FREE
19-20 MAY 2015
TO ATTEND
PASSENGER TERMINAL AMSTERDAM,
NETHERLANDS
FOR RAILWAYS, INFRASTRUCTURE
MANAGERS AND GOVERNMENT
3 CONGRESSES, 1 DEFINITIVE SHOW
HIGH LEVEL C-LEVEL SUMMIT & MARKET REVIEW
Defining the future railway • Staying competitive and meeting demands
SmartTrain Manufacturing Partners:
Associate Sponsors:
Network Sponsor:
Workshop Sponsor:
IT Partner:
Register your pass at www.smartraileurope.com
IRJ March 2015
55
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Rendezvous
NEW: Africa Rail
Call for papers.
Corentine Wauters, UITP,
Brussels, Belgium.
Tel: +32 2 663 6665
Fax: +32 2 660 1072
[email protected]
www.uitpmilan2015.org
Brian Shabangu, Terrapinn,
Bryanston, South Africa.
Tel: +27 11 516 4015
Fax: +27 11 463 6000
[email protected]
www.terrapinn.com/exhibition/
africa-rail/
10-13—Busan, Korea
NEW: Korean Railways &
Logistics Fair
Messe Frankfurt Korea, Seoul,
Korea.
Tel: +82 2 775 2280
Fax: +82 2 776 5113
[email protected]
www.raillogkorea.com
21-24—Perth, Australia
IHHA Conference & Exhibition
EECW, Wembley, Australia.
Tel: +61 8 9389 1488
[email protected]
www.ihhaperth2015.com
25-26—Bangkok, Thailand
NEW: Asia Rail Summit
China Polaris Consulting,
Shanghai, China.
Tel: +86 21 6045 6268
Fax: +86 21 6047 5887
[email protected]
www.ourpolaris.com/2015/ars
30-Jul 1—Johannesburg, South
Africa
July 2015
7-10—Tokyo, Japan
NEW: UIC Highspeed Congress
2015 (9th World Congress and
Trade Exhibition on High Speed
Rail)
UIC, Paris, France.
Tel: +33 1 4449 2020
Fax: +33 1 4449 2029
www.uic-highspeed2015.com
August 2015
30-Sep 3—Colorado Springs, USA
NEW: International Conference on
Contact Mechanics & Wear of Rail
/Wheel Systems
Lori Bennett, ConferenceDirect,
Colorado, USA.
Tel: +1 303 617 3300
Fax: +1 888 389 7599
[email protected]
www.cm2015.com
September 2015
22-23—Lille, France
NEW: ERTMS CCRCC Conference
European Railway Agency,
IRJ Subscription Order Form
Valenciennes, France.
Tel: +33 32 709 6595
[email protected]
www.era.europa.eu/Communica
tion/News/Pages/CCRCC-2015.
aspx
22-25—Gdansk, Poland
NEW: Trako International Railway
Fair & Exhibition
Gdansk International Fair Co,
Gdansk, Poland.
Tel: +48 58 554 9212
Fax: +48 58 554 9211
http://trakotargi.amberexpo.pl/
30-Oct 2—Lyon, France
NEW: Rencontres nationals du
transport public Conference &
Exhibition
GIE, Paris, France.
Tel: +33 1 4874 0482
Fax : +33 1 4874 0854
stephanie.comere@objectiftrans
port public.com
www.rencontres-transport-public.fr/
6-8—Jönköping, Sweden
NEW: Nordic Rail 2015
Conference & Exhibition
Elmia Fairs, Jönköping,
Sweden.
Tel: +46 3615 2137
Fax: +46 3671 8544
[email protected]
www.elmia.se/en/nordicrail/
21-22—Marrakech, Morocco
NEW: Next Station Conference
UIC, Paris, France.
Tel: +33 1 4449 2020
Fax: +33 1 4449 2029
[email protected]
www.nextstation2015.com
28-29—Charlotte, USA
NEW: Smart Rail Congress & Expo
Global Transport Forum,
London, Britain.
Tel: +44 20 7045 0900
[email protected]
www.globaltransportforum.com/
smartrail-events/
October 2015
November 2015
4-7—Minneapolis, USA
NEW: Railway Interchange Trade
Show & Conference
AREMA Tel: +1 301 459 3200
RSI
Tel: +1 202 347 4664
REMSA Tel: +1 202 715 2921
RSSI
Tel: +1 502 327 7774
www.railwayinterchange.org
11-13—Chiba, Japan
NEW: Mass-Trans Innovation
Japan 2015
CNT, Tokyo, Japan
Tel: +81 3 5297 8855
Fax: +81 3 5294 0909
[email protected]
www.mtij.jp
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I Infrastructure Manager
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C Consultant
R Regulatory Authority
U University/Training Organisation
H Railway Libraries or Associations
O Other (Please specify)
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Tick your job function/responsibility:
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IRJ March 2015
MarAdIndex:Ad Index
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Recruitment
Editorial contacts
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Tel +44 1326 313945 Fax +44 1326 211576
Editor-in-Chief/Associate Publisher
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Features Editor Kevin Smith MA
Data & Markets Editor Angus Hammond BA (Hons)
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or email [email protected]
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Chile Ian Thomson Newman
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Germany Keith Fender
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Italy Marco Chiandoni
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Japan Yoshihiko Sato
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New Zealand Richard Worrall
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Southern Africa John Batwell
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Spain Fernando Puente
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Switzerland Anitra Green
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USA/Canada William C Vantuono
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Austria Erwin Reidinger
Brazil Gustavo Ferrari
Denmark Denis Bowers
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If you are planning one of these for
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next issue of IRJ.
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Pakistan Naeem Qureshi/Rashid Ali
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Advertising contacts
For more
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on +44 1444 416368
or by email at
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For all areas except those listed below contact:
Louise Cooper, International Area Sales Manager
Tel +44 1444 416368 Fax +44 1444 458185 [email protected]
Julie Richardson, International Area Sales Manager
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Tel +81 3 5691 3335 Fax +81 3 5691 3336 [email protected]
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AL, AR, IN, KY, LA, MI, MS, OH, OK, TN, TX
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IRJ March 2015
Advertisers Index
Airtec International
Alstom
Amsted Rail
Arema (Railway Interchange 2015)
Astoca
AZD Praha
Evraz
Global Rail Tenders
Global Transport Forum (Smart Rail Europe)
GMT Gummi Metall Technik
Hitachi Rail Europe
Ineco
Intirio
Kranunion (Kirow)
Loram
Mack Brooks (Railtex)
Mechan
Pandrol
Plasser & Theurer
Pouget Rail
Renk
Robel
Siemens
SRS Rail System
Terrapinn (Asia Pacific Rail 2015)
ThermOmegaTech
Ultimate Europe
Wi-Tronix
46
FC
IBC
50
46
15
13
54
55
41
IFC
45
22
15
35
53
41
29
5
37
45
36
23
42
46
19
34
BC
57
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The last word
Seeking efficiencies with
smarter procurement
With an annual purchasing volume of more than €10bn, German Rail is a key customer for thousands of rail industry
suppliers. Chief procurement officer Uwe Günter tells Keith Barrow how DB’s procurement strategy seeks to harness
both innovation and standardisation to improve performance and reduce life-cycle costs.
“There’s a need to
transform procurement
from a project-related
activity to a productrelated one. Previously
we bought ‘our’ trains,
now we want to buy
standard trains.”
A
N effective procurement
strategy is vital to the
performance of any railway, so
for Europe’s largest railway
company, refining this process
can make an enormous
contribution to improving the
efficiency of the network.
German Rail (DB) manages
and operates a 33,500km
network. Procurement volume
reflects the scale and high
traffic density of the network DB has annual purchasing
volume of around ƒ12bn and
places around 300,000
individual orders with 35,000
suppliers each year.
In recent years Germany
has become notorious for
prolonged rolling stock
authorisation, and this has
become a significant risk for
operators introducing new
trains fleets, which is often a
requirement of new regional
contracts. As a major rolling
stock buyer, DB is looking for
ways to reduce its exposure to
risk in new rolling stock and it
has initiated its Procurement
and Technology Strategy 2025
to manage this process more
effectively.
The aim of the strategy is to
improve cost effectiveness,
quality, and availability of
train fleets while ensuring new
rolling stock meets the highest
sustainability standards to
minimise their impact on the
environment.
“The procurement of rolling
stock has become associated
with significant delivery
delays and high failure rates,
which means additional cost
and a negative impact on the
company’s image,” explains
DB’s chief procurement officer
Dr Uwe Günter. “We want to
avoid this in future, so we are
bringing technical quality,
58
Uwe Günter
production, and procurement
together to optimise this
process. We also need to exert
our exacting standards for
quality and efficiency through
the whole life-cycle of the
trains we buy, and this needs a
different tendering strategy.”
The procurement strategy
seeks to separate innovation
and procurement projects with
a focus on what DB describes
as “configurable standard
products,” making use of
suppliers’ product platforms
wherever possible. DB has
developed guidelines for
quality partnerships in the
development of rail vehicles
with the aim of creating a
common understanding
between the buyer and
supplier on rolling stock
requirements. “There’s a need
to transform procurement
from a project-related activity
to a product-related one,” says
Günter. “Previously we
bought ‘our’ trains, now we
want to buy standard trains.”
Günter says that
standardisation of rolling stock
will bring substantial benefits
to suppliers, operators, and
ultimately the railway’s
customers. “Our objective is to
harmonise requirements with
other operators,” he says.
“More standardisation means
that more products will meet
our requirements. Over time,
demand for innovative
standardised vehicles rises,
so the strongest suppliers will
make the biggest impact.”
DB employs a system of
Key Performance Indicators
(KPIs) to track progress with
equipment once it has been
delivered and is using tools
such as a uniform rail vehicle
maturity model to monitor
quality on a life-cycle basis.
Suppliers are partners in the
procurement strategy and DB
adopted a three-stage supplier
management process in 2010.
This comprises:
Qualification - suppliers are
selected according to
minimum standards defined
by DB, which sets principles
for the future development of
chosen suppliers at this stage.
DB argues that qualification of
suppliers accelerates the
award process at later stages.
Appraisal - supplier
appraisal is carried out
according to standard criteria.
All appraisal results are
documented with reference to
the specific transaction and
provide information about the
qualification of a supplier as a
DB partner. The appraisal is
intended to ensure the
supplier can meet cost, quality,
and delivery requirements.
Development - DB seeks
to enhance the quality of
approved suppliers and
improve the chances of
success for new suppliers in
the development phase.
“This system gives us a
stronger relationship with
the supplier through all three
phases,” says Günter. “We
have a ratings system and if
the supplier is classified as
restricted or poor we initiate
supplier development to help
address any problems they
might be having. We’ve had
good feedback from our
suppliers and they are
satisfied with the management
system. We make around 5000
appraisals a year and as part
of this process we try to
prepare our suppliers for the
competition.”
DB has initiated an annual
supplier award programme
to recognise excellence in
procurement in five categories.
DB also presents a “Supplier
of the Year” award to the
company that most effectively
reflects the company’s values
in ecology, economy, and
social affairs.
Günter says that both
suppliers and buyers will need
to make changes if rail is to
remain an attractive option for
freight and passenger users.
“Other modes have seen
strong technical development
recently and in rail there is a
need for substantially shorter
product cycles,” he says. “We
must pursue faster innovation
on a massive scale if we want
to remain competitive.” IRJ
DB will present details of its
procurement strategy at the
3rd Railway Forum in Berlin
on March 16 and 17. For more
details visit www.ipm-scm.com
IRJ March 2015
IRJMARXX (Amsted):Layout 1
11/02/2015
16:15
Page 1
THE CRITICAL LINK
IN THE
HEAVY HAUL
WORLD.
Last year, the nearly 3 million freight cars
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www.amstedrail.com | +1.312.922.4501 | 311 S. Wacker Drive, Suite 5300, Chicago, IL 60606
© 2015 Amsted Rail Company, Inc.
IRJMARXX (Wi-Tronix):Layout 1
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Page 1
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