Rail Freak

THE first sod was cut on April 5 for a €3.84bn 10-year project to build a second east-west S-Bahn line under the centre of Munich to relieve congestion on the parallel existing line. Under an agreement reached in October 2016, the German federal government will contribute around €1.5bn to the project through the Municipal Transport Financing Act (GVFG), with €1.4bn coming from the state of Bavaria, €155m from the city of Munich, and €150m from German Rail (DB). Any additional costs will be divided on a 60:40 basis between the federal and state governments. The project, which has taken 16 years of planning, will be implemented by Germany’s infrastructure manager DB Networks and is due to be completed in 2026. The 7km twin-bore underground line will run from a point between Leuchtenbergring and East Station in the east to the west of Donnersbergerbrücke with new stations at East Station, Marienhof in the city centre and Munich Main Station. Additional tracks will be constructe

Switzerland’s Federal Transport Office has issued a construction permit for the 13.4km (8.6-mile) Limmattalbahn light rail line, linking Zurich-Alstetten main line station with Killwangen-Spreitenbach in Aargau. The metre-gauge line will serve 27 stations and trams will run on a dedicated alignment for 92% of the route. The line will be electrified partly at 600V dc and partly at 1.2kV dc. Services will operate at 15-minute intervals with a commercial speed of 22km/h and an end-to-end journey time of 37 minutes. The first stage of the route from Altstetten to Schlieren Geissweid could commence in September. The second stage is expected to be built between 2019-2022. The project will cost SFr 715m ($US 709m) excluding rolling stock and is being funded jointly by the Swiss Federation and the cantons of Zürich and Aargau.

MUMBAI Metro Rail (MMR), India, plans to purchase driverless trains to operate on Mumbai metro Line 3, which will run for 33.5km from Santacruz Electronics Export Processing Zone (Seepz) in the north of the city to Cuffe Parade in the southern district of Colaba. The metro rail agency has plans to open the Metro system for passengers in phases from 2020. Mumbai Metro Rail Corporation's director (systems), AA Bhatt, said that the driverless train will be equipped with latest technology prevalent across the world. "It will have driverless features besides communication-based train control system." Initially, for a year, the train will operate with the help of a pilot, but these pilots will gradually be done away with. Packages for traction systems, power supply, tunnel ventilation, signalling, train control, platform screen doors and telecommunication systems are still up for tender, with Siemens, Alstom and Bombardier among those in the running for the various pa

India’s cabinet approved a proposal on April 5 to establish an independent rail regulator, which will be responsible for setting Indian Railways’ (IR) freight and passenger tariffs and ensuring a level playing field for stakeholders and investors. an independent regulator for the Indian Railways that will be empowered to set fares. Except that its name will neither have the words 'independent' or 'regulator'. The Rail Development Authority (RDA) - which will comprise a chairman and three members – will set efficiency and performance standards for IR on the basis of “global benchmarking parameters”. It will have the powers to engage experts from other fields. The RDA is expected to revive investor sentiment, as it will ensure greater continuity on the railway when a change of government occurs. With the setting up of the regulator towards the fourth quarter of 2017, passenger fares on the IR network - which have remained hugely subsidised in recent decades - ar