• AusAID pledges funding as Cambodian rehabilitation resumes

• 11 October 2012

CAMBODIA: Australian overseas development agency AusAID has pledged further financial assistance to support the rehabilitation of Cambodia’s partly-modernised metre-gauge network. AusAID’s contribution of at least A$1m will support the relocation and compensation of families affected by the US$141m railway modernisation. The upgrading work is being co-ordinated by the Asian Development Bank in partnership with the Cambodian government and AusAID. A 30-year operating concession was agreed in June 2009 with the Toll Royal Railways joint venture of Australian logistics group Toll and the Cambodian Royal Group of Companies, and freight services between Phnom Penh and Touk Meas commenced in October 2010. However, these were suspended in March this year when TRR said it was putting operations on hold because of delays in the infrastructure enhancement works. On August 29, TRR Chief Executive David Kerr announced that the concessionaire intended to resume revenue services and invest further in refurbishment and procurement of rolling stock. TRR also confirmed that upgrading work had recommenced on both the 256 km Southern line linking Phnom Penh with the port of Sihanoukville, and the Northern line running from the capital to Sisophon, close to the Thai border. TRR has signed a letter of intent with Richz Electronic Services of Malaysia to act as a ‘strategic partner for the provision of locomotive components and spare parts’ and technical assistance in the rebuilding of Alstom locomotives in Cambodia. TRR is also working with the government to ensure ‘transparent processes are established and followed’ when tenders are called for the purchase of new container wagons and locomotives rated at 1500 kW to 2200 kW, Kerr said on September 20.

• A detailed report on the Cambodian railway upgrading programme appeared in the August 2012 issue of Railway Gazette International, available to subscribers via our digital archive.

• Testing starts on northernmost PDL

• 11 October 2012

CHINA: Test running on the Harbin – Dalian Passenger-Dedicated Line commenced on October 8, when the first train was dispatched from the new Harbin West station at 07.30. Designed for operation at up to 350 km/h, the 921 km line has been under construction since August 2007, at a cost of 92bn yuan. Tracklaying was completed in December 2010, but opening was delayed by the suspension of work on high speed line projects. Following three or four months of test running, revenue services are now expected to begin at the end of 2012 or in early 2013. Linking 24 stations including Changchun, Shenyang and Anshan, the line connects with the original Shenyang – Qinhuangdao PDL and the new Changchun – Jilin line. It is to be operated with CRH380B trainsets, which are expected to achieve end-to-end journey times of around 3 h 30 min, cutting 9 h off the best timing on the existing line. The most northerly high speed line in China has been designed to cope with the region’s severe climate, where winter temperatures can typically drop to -38°C. Snow melting equipment has been provided along the route, and the track structure has been modified to withstand the very low temperatures. Lineside facilities including substations have also been protected against freezing. The line is expected to provide a significant economic boost for the three northeastern provinces of Liaoning, Jilin and Heilongjiang. It will also free up capacity on the existing line for a further 60 million tonnes of freight per year, according to the Ministry of Railways.