February 2008 in rail transport

Events

February 1 - February 9

;February 1:* flagicon|Hungary – About 7,000 railway workers in Hungary go on strike to protest for better wages. Almost all train service on MÁV is suspended during the strike. Officials with the Independent Railway Workers Union said the strike would be suspended on February 2 if the union and MÁV reach an agreement. The union alleges that MÁV did not fulfill its obligation to its employees after the sale of MÁV Cargo to ÖBB. [cite news| url=http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2008/02/01/europe/EU-GEN-Hungary-Rail-Strike.php| title=Railway workers on open-ended strike in Hungary to demand higher wages| author=Associated Press| publisher=International Herald Tribune| date=2008-02-01| accessdate=2008-03-04| ] :* flagicon|Canada – The provincial government of Quebec and the federal government of Canada sign agreements to fund rebuilding work to restore service on the St. Lawrence and Atlantic Railroad (SL&A) and Montreal, Maine and Atlantic Railway (MM&A) in Canada. The agreement itself is valued at $22.8 million and is expected to generate outside investments over $75 million in five years. The project is designed to increase carrying capacities over both lines to the Canada/U.S. border with work over convert|153|km of track on the SL&A and over convert|381|km of track on the MM&A. [cite news| url=http://www.todaystrucking.com/news.cfm?intDocID=19036| publisher=Today's Trucking| title=Gov'ts to restore St. Lawrence, Atlantic Railroad| date=2008-02-01| accessdate=2008-03-04| ]

;February 5:* flagicon|France – French President Nicolas Sarkozy presides over a ceremony unveiling the new AGV for SNCF. The new train, built by Alstom and intended to be the successor of the TGV, is designed to travel at speeds up to convert|360|km/h|abbr=on in regular service. Unlike the TGV trains that have electric locomotives at each end, the AGV uses motors on all of the train's bogies and opens space in the end cars for passenger areas. Italian train operating company NTV has also ordered 25 AGV trains for use there. [cite news| url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/7227807.stm| title=France unveils super-fast train| publisher=BBC News| date=2008-02-05| accessdate=2008-03-04| ]

February 10 - February 16

February 17 - February 23

;February 20:* flagicon|Spain – The first AVE train between Madrid and Barcelona in regular operations travels the convert|550|km|sing=on distance in 155 minutes. RENFE, the national rail carrier of Spain, has scheduled 17 trains daily between the two cities; the trains have a capacity of 200 passengers each. Railway officials hope to further extend the AVE network with line extensions and new lines radiating from Madrid by 2010. [cite news| url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/7254630.stm| title=Spain opens new bullet train link| publisher=BBC News| date=2008-02-20| accessdate=2008-03-04| ]

;February 21:* flagicon|Russia – Russian mining company Mechel announces the beginning of construction of a new railway line to haul coal from the Elga region of Yakutia to a point near Ulak on the Baikal Amur Mainline. The new line will extend convert|315|km|lk=on, travel over 194 bridges and be capable of carrying 25 million tonnes of coal per year. Operations on the new line are expected to begin before September 30 2010. [cite press release| url=http://www.foxbusiness.com/markets/industries/industrials/article/mechel-announces-start-construction-railroad-elga-deposit_489485_6.html&cid=1135079409&ei=xc2-R8aQB5L6_AH6kOGKBg| title=Mechel Announces Start to Construction of Railroad to the Elga Deposit| publisher=Mechel (reprinted by Fox Business)| date=2008-02-21| accessdate=2008-03-18| ]

;February 22:* flagicon|Macau – Officials in Macau announce that they have selected seven companies to present proposals for construction of a new light railway that is planned to be opened by 2011. The selected companies include four from Europe, and one each from the United States, Singapore and Hong Kong. The new line will be fully automated and built on an elevated platform with 23 stations over a distance of convert|20|km|lk=on; the construction contract is estimated at 4.2 billion patacas (US$525 million). [cite news| url=http://www.macauhub.com.mo/en/news.php?ID=4906| title=Macau: Government launches tender for consultation on light railway| publisher=MacauHub| date=2008-02-22| accessdate=2008-03-18| ]

February 24 - February 29

;February 25:* flagicon|China – China Railway Construction Corporation launches an initial public offering of stock valued at $5.4 billion, making it the largest offering worldwide so far in 2008. Originally, 2.8 billion shares were to be made available to investors in the Chinese mainland, but cut the number of shares to 2.45 billion in an effort to increase investor confidence. [cite news| url=http://www.reuters.com/article/innovationNews/idUSHKG2418220080225| title=China railway builder launches $5.4 billion IPO| publisher=Reuters| author=Chim, Kennix| date=2008-02-25| accessdate=2008-03-18| ]

References