December 2006 in rail transport

2005, 2006, 2007

This article lists events related to rail transport that occurred in December 2006.

[edit] Events

- City officials in Auburn, Maine, announce the new High Street Crossing project to renovate and cosmetically restore the former station. The building was originally constructed in the early 1900s for Burham and Morrill, a canned goods company. The renovation is expected to be completed in 2007 when the structure will host several retail stores and restaurants.^[1]

- Officials in Colombo, Sri Lanka, begin work on a feasibility study, which is expected to be completed in June 2007, for a new underground system in the city. Financing for the project is expected to come primarily from a multinational consortium of Siemens AG, OPUS (Malaysia), NEB Infrastructure (India) and Axis Bank. The first phase of the project is planned as a 22 km (13.7 mi) section built in the median of the city's main road.^[2]

- The Allerdale council in northern England passes its final approval on a plan to demolish the remaining structure of Silloth railway station which last saw passenger trains in 1964; the line was closed for passenger service as a result of the Beeching Axe. The development firm James Morgan Ltd. was awarded a contract to build new single-family housing on the property. Stuart Hinchliffe, director of the development firm also stated "We will be reinstating as much of the old railway platform as we can, to maintain Silloth’s Victorian history."^[3]
- Kuibyshev Railway is named the Company of the Year in the Samara Oblast of Russia for the second year in a row. The railway beat about 2000 other companies for the title. Sergey Sychev presented the award to Vyacheslav Lemeshko, the head of the railway, at a ceremony in Samara. The railway also was listed at the top of the Master 2006 category, an award which was accepted by the Rodionovs family; the Rodionovs have been working for the railway for the last century and have accumulated 611 man years of service on the railway.^[4]

- Binali Yıldırım, Transportation Minister of Turkey, and Wolfgang Tiefensee, Minister for Transportation, Construction and Housing of Germany (Turkey's largest trade partner), sign an agreement of cooperation at a meeting in Istanbul between the two nations on rail technology and construction. Both ministers expressed their optimism that the agreement will help bolster Turkey's application to join the European Union.^[5]

- John Armitt, CEO of Network Rail in the United Kingdom, announces that he will retire at the end of July 2007; he will be succeeded by Iain Coucher, the current deputy chief executive.^[6]^[7]
- Transcontinental Australian passenger train The Ghan, running from Adelaide, South Australia, to Darwin, Northern Territory, collides with a road train at a level crossing appromixately 135 km (84 miles) south of Darwin, injuring four persons.^[8]

- Officials in Cambodia announce a plan to restore service on the nation's rail system and to reestablish rail connections with neighboring Thailand. Financing for the $73 million project to rebuild almost all of the system's 603 km (374.6 miles) of track will be supplied through a combination of loans including a $42 million loan from the Asian Development Bank and a $13 million loan from OPEC's Fund for International Development. Cambodia's Ministry of Public Works and Transport estimates that the project will be complete in 2009.^[9]
- Britain's Department for Transport announces that it is set to dissolve GNER's franchise to operate the East Coast Main Line connecting London and Edinburgh. The existing franchise contract was established in 2005 and was originally intended to last for 10 years. The reconsideration is due in part at least to lower than expected revenue figures by GNER; in October 2006, Bermuda-based Sea Containers Ltd, GNER's parent company, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. Although a new franchisee will not be selected for some time, Virgin Trains, Stagecoach Group and FirstGroup plc are all expected to bid. GNER will continue operating the line until a new franchise is established.^[10]^[11]

- A federal court in Sydney, Australia, rules that BHP Billiton should not be the exclusive operator of two railway lines to carry ore from a lucrative iron mining region. The ruling opens the possibility of other mining companies, such as Fortescue Metals Group Ltd which brought suit in June 2006, to operate trains on BHP's Mount Newman Railway and Goldsworthy Railway lines in Western Australia's Pilbara region. BHP is appealing the decision.^[12]^[13]^[14]

- Speaking at a ceremony for the beginning of a project to double track the connection between Khanewal and Raiwind, Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf asserts the importance of rail transport to Pakistan's future. During his speech, Musharraf mentioned initiatives to increase train speeds, install more lengths of double track and to convert the country's railways to standard gauge and establish direct rail connections with China.^[15] UN Map

/ - Norfolk Southern Railway runs its last train number 328 from St. Thomas, Ontario, to Buffalo, New York, after 109 years of almost-daily service. The train, and its return, number 327, were traced back to the Wabash Railroad, and most recently carried automotive parts and grain.