September 2007 in rail transport

This article lists events related to rail transport that occurred in September 2007.

Events

September 4

• – The first revenue Eurostar train to use High Speed 1 to St Pancras railway station sets a new speed record for rail travel between London and Paris. The first train left Paris at 9:44AM BST and arrived at St. Pancras two hours, three minutes and 39 seconds later. Officials aboard the inaugural train recorded speeds up to 202 mph (325 km/h) in France and 195 mph (314 km/h) in Britain.^[1]

September 5

• – Canadian Pacific Railway (CP) announces it will acquire the Dakota, Minnesota and Eastern Railroad (DM&E) from its present owners, London-based Electra Private Equity, for US$1.48 billion, and future payments of over $1.0 billion contingent on commencement of construction on the Powder River Basin extension and specified volumes of coal shipments from the region. The transaction is an "end-to-end" consolidation; the lines presently interchange at three points, including the Winona, Minnesota, connection between the DM&E's main line across southern Minnesota and CP's Chicago main. The acquisition will give CP access to shipments of agricultural products and ethanol in addition to coal from the Wyoming coal fields. CP has stated its intention to use this purchase to gain access to the Powder River and ship coal to midwestern and eastern utilities. The transaction is subject to approval of the Surface Transportation Board, which is expected to take a year.^[2][3][4]

September 11

• – In a speech at groundbreaking ceremonies for construction in Aktau, Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev states that he will make an official visit to Turkmenistan where he will work to reach an agreement on a new railway line connecting Kazakhstan with Iran and eventually to the Persian Gulf. Nazarbayev stated his hope that the railway connection would "bring us closer to our Muslim brothers."^[5]

September 12

• – Musa Panahov, the Deputy Minister of Transport of Azerbaijan, announces that construction on the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway will begin in October. Construction is budgeted at $200 million, of which $50 million has been allocated from the State Oil Fund of Azerbaijan (SOFAZ). The groundbreaking ceremonies are expected to be held in Turkey by October 10, after which the first rails are expected to be laid by March or April 2008.^[6]

September 15

• – UNESCO officials completes evaluation of the Kalka-Shimla toy train to facilitate the process of its inclusion in the World Heritage site list.

September 18

• – The European railway company Railion announces details of plans to build a railway to connect Rwanda through Tanzania to Indian Ocean ports. The plan was discussed in the previous week at Railion's offices in Germany with a visit from Rwanda's Prime Minister Bernard Makuza. The railway connection is part of Rwanda's Millennium Development Goals plan.^[7]

September 20

• – In a press release, Luxembourg-based International Railway Systems (IRS), the largest European freight car producer, announces the appointment of Juergen von Schwerin as CEO. He had previously served as CFO and Senior Vice President of SBS Broadcasting Group. In accepting the appointment, von Schwerin expressed his optimism and eagerness in helping IRS expand in some of Europe's fastest growing economic regions.^[8]

September 25

• – The German state of Bavaria announces that it has raised the funds necessary to build a new maglev train system to serve Munich with a line connecting the city center to Munich International Airport. The project is expected to cost €1.85 billion ($2.6 billion); the Bavarian state government has signed agreements with Deutsche Bahn to operate the line and with Siemens AG and ThyssenKrupp to build it. Upon completion this would become the first commercial maglev system in Europe.^[9]
• – Investors from the Venezuelan Bank for Socio-Economic Development (BANDES) reach an agreement with transportation officials in Cuba to invest $100 million for infrastructure improvements and repairs to Cuba's rail network. The work is expected to help increase the average speed of trains on Cuba's railways from 40 km/h (25 mph) to 100 km/h (62 mph). As part of the agreement, Cuban engineers will also work on similar projects on Venezuela's rail network.^[10]
• – The European Parliament votes to accept reforms known as the Third Railway Package, first introduced by the European Commission in 2004, which relate to passenger rail service across Europe. According to the Third Railway Package, international passenger rail service in Europe will be opened up to private operators by 2010-01-01, all train drivers will be required to obtain a European license to operate trains by 2009, and passengers aboard European trains will enjoy a set of rights that covers issues such as train operators' liability for passengers and their luggage, compensation for delays in cross-border travel and accommodations for passengers with disabilities.^[11]

September 26

• – Canadian National Railway announces that it has reached an agreement to purchase a majority of the Elgin, Joliet and Eastern Railroad which serves the greater Chicago metropolitan area extending into northwestern Indiana. The purchase is expected to close in mid-2008, pending United States Surface Transportation Board approval, and is valued at $300 million. U.S. Steel's Transtar subsidiary, the EJ&E's current owner, will retain some railroad infrastructure in Indiana and reorganize it as the Gary Railroad to continue serving U.S. Steel's plants there.^[12][13]

September 30

• – A new 41 km (25 mi) railway linking Quzhou and Changshan, Zhejiang Province, People's Republic of China, begins operations. The railway, which will be primarily used as a feeder line for freight traffic, is the first railway to receive any funding from a private company since the formation of the People's Republic in 1949. Construction began in November 2005 with financing from three government agencies and Changshan Cement Company, which now holds 18.88% of the railway.^[14]

References