Dear Readers
We are pleased to be supporting the upcoming Urban Rail 2024 which will take place from 18-19 June 2024 at the Sofitel Brisbane, Australia.
Urban rail is reshaping the Australasian landscape by reducing traffic congestion and greenhouse emissions and transforming the way we travel by offering smart solutions and multimodal connections.
Becoming the second city in the world to achieve this recognition, Brisbane’s recent gold level achievement under the United Nations’ (UN) Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Cities Global Initiative was largely due to transport wins such as Brisbane Metro, a fully-electric high-capacity mass transit system saving 50,000t of emissions over 20 years.
Across Australia, projects such as Sydney Metro, Melbourne Suburban Rail Loop, Light Rail Extensions and Cross River Rail are focussed on meeting the transport needs of the +22,000million people who live in Australia’s largest cities.
Get involved to review all the recent project, policy and technology developments in the sector.
For more information and to register to attend, visit: https://www.informa.com.au/event/conference/transport-logistics/urban-rail/
Best Regards
Rail Personnel
Rail News
16 May 2024. South Africa. Prasa reports completion of resignalling schemes
Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa has resignalled six suburban rail lines across the country, Transport Minister Sindisiwe Chikunga reported on April 24. Under a project that is expected to take seven years to complete, Prasa is resignalling the network in phases, the minister said. According to the national safety regulator RSR, much of the country’s suburban rail lines are being controlled using manual telephone dispatch in the wake of the vandalism crisis seen during and after the pandemic.
Source: Railway Gazette International
15 May 2024. United Kingdom. LNER Azuma Trains circle the Earth 2000 times!
LNER is proud to celebrate five years since its world-class Azuma trains entered service across its East Coast route between the Scottish Highlands, Yorkshire and London King’s Cross. Azuma services launched on 15th May 2019 with the inaugural journey from London King’s Cross to Leeds. Since then, tens of millions of customers have travelled on the trains which continue to set new, higher standards in comfort, reliability and customer experience.
During the five years, LNER’s fleet of 65 Azuma trains have clocked up more than 58-million miles – equivalent to travelling the circumference of Earth over 2,000 times.
Source: Rail Technology Magazine
15 May 2024. Thailand. Korean company awarded Thai signalling contract
State Railway of Thailand has awarded South Korean company LS Electric a 32·7bn won contract to supply signalling for the 177 km railway under construction between Ban Phai and Nong Pok. This forms the first phase of a 55·4bn baht project build a 354 km double-track line between Ban Phai and Saphan Mitraphab. Announcing the contract on May 2, LS Electric said it has won orders totalling 200bn won since entering Thailand’s signalling market in 2001, and it has a market share of more than 50%.
Source: Railway Gazette International
14 May 2024. Australia. Sunshine Coast Rail receives additional $1.15B
The Federal Government has announced that it will be investing an additional $1.15 billion into the Direct Sunshine Coast Rail Line, which is set to better connect the community to jobs study, services, and iconic tourist locations. This investment, which takes the Federal Government’s total investment to $2.75 billion, is to ensure Stage 1 of this major project can be delivered. The Direct Sunshine Coast Rail Line will extend the South East Queensland rail network from the North Coast Line at Beerwah to Caloundra.
Source: Infrastructure Magazine
14 May 2024. Australia. Daytime testing for Parramatta Light Rail
Parramatta Light Rail is now undergoing daytime testing, which will see the 45m trams travelling in the heart of Parramatta during off-peak times between 10am and 3pm. The first daytime test run will see the tram journey from the stabling facility in Camellia, complete a run up to Carlingford and back, before rolling into the Parramatta CBD. With an experienced driver at the controls, the tram will cross a number of key traffic intersections and pass local schools on Macquarie Street, giving locals an exciting glimpse of their future public transport network.
Source: Infrastructure Magazine
Transport for London (TfL) is celebrating 25 years since the Jubilee line extension was completed with special anniversary posters along the line. The major engineering project connected the West End to the rapidly developing Docklands in the late 1990s, linking every Tube line and making travel in London more accessible. While the original Jubilee line opened in May 1979 between Stanmore and Charing Cross, the extension to London Underground’s youngest line was completed in three phases.
Source: Rail UK
13 May 2024. Egypt. Cairo Metro opens final expansion of Line 3’s third phase
The Egyptian Ministry of Transportation has begun trial operations of the Cairo metro network’s latest expansion, with the first passengers travelling on the new section of Line 3. Spanning 7.1km, Section 3C connects Al-Tawfiqeya station in the west of the city to Cairo University in the south, covering five stations including Wadi Al-Nil Street, the League of Arab States stop, and the surface station Boulak Al-Dakrour.
Source: Railway Technology
13 May 2024. United Kingdom. UK’s HS2 reaches boring halfway point
The UK’s HS2 high-speed project has reached the halfway point of boring the 54.8 mile long network of tunnels that form the new line connecting London and the West Midlands. HS2 Ltd, the public body responsible for the project, said that two of the five twin-bore tunnels being bored have completed excavation with another two “well underway”, totalling around 29 miles of tunnels completed.
Source: Railway Technology
