07/04/05 While ISO TC 104 Freight containers discusses a Danish move to include 45 ft. containers into the family of standardized ISO containers, the European road vehicle manufacturers prepare for increased numbers of such containers to be carried on road chassis. During the Utility Road Vehicle Exhibition in autumn 2004 in Hanover, all major producers exhibited their version of a container chassis being capable to be adjusted to 30 ft, 2 x 20 ft., 40 ft and 45 ft. Currently European road vehicles legislation does not allow the carriage of 45 ft. boxes on European roads. So, the owners and operators of such equipment operate in these days based on a grandfather's law special permit that runs out in 2006, or they have adjusted their boxes to chamfered corners that keep them within the legal limit. But this construction detail is not very elegant and creates some serious technical and safety concerns. In consequence, an ad hoc working group within the European Standardization Committee CEN has recommended finding ways and means to overcome the small legal limit and to allow a future European box with 45 ft. (13720 mm) length and 8 ft. 3 in. (= 2550 mm) width as future European domestic standard container, reports Trans-Business Group, referring to "Containers" №01-02/2005 (Bureau International Des Containers). www.rzd-partner.com 01/04/05 By developing its road infrastructure, Russia can additionally receive over $3 billion a year from the transit through its territory, the head of the Russian Federal Road Agency (Rosavtodor), Oleg Belozerov said. In an interview with the newspaper Vedomosti he said that the problem in highway engineering in Russia can be solved by attracting private investments into building toll roads. "We meet with investors practically every day and on their own initiative. As to the construction of the Moscow-Petersburg highway and toll roads to the Moscow Sheremetyevo and Domodedovo airports, we met with representatives of French and South Korean companies and of the Italian Transport Ministry," the Agency head said. "Some of them want to receive profits in the form of fares, that is, they want to be operators of the road; others want to build motels and tourist infrastructure along the road," Belozerov said. "Today, I think, the participation of the investors and the state may be 50x50; possibly the share of the investors will be slightly smaller." According to him, Turkish companies want to create a consortium for participating in the project of building a high speed highway between Moscow and Petersburg; the Russian financial-industrial groups are also interested in the participation in this project. The Agency head does not doubt that such projects, as a new highway from Moscow to Petersburg, will be repaid. "If this project did not interest foreign capital, Western consulting companies would not join consortiums with Russian institutions for taking part in contests for substantiating the investments. Foreign companies understand very well: Russia is one of the most rapidly growing markets in the world," the Rosavtodor head said. According to him, the toll highway from Moscow to Petersburg is especially attractive, because of the guaranteed traffic. The main part of the traffic on it is trucks which ply between the Petersburg merchant port and Moscow wholesale markets, reports RIA Novosti. The allowed speed on this 670-kilometer highway will be 150 km/h. It is expected that the project will be repaid in 11 years, with the fare amounting to some 600-800 rubles (up to $30). www.rzd-partner.com 01/04/05 Traffic accidents are Russia's national problem, deputy Prime Minister Alexander Zhukov has declared at today's meeting of the transport ministry's board. The minister characterized the situation regarding road safety in Russia as extremely worrying, referring to shocking figures, which show that 34,500 people were killed and over 251,000 were injured in 208,000 traffic accidents in Russia in 2004. Enhancing traffic safety is a strategic goal for the next 10 years, whose achievement requires coordinated efforts by specialized agencies, Zhukov emphasized, reports RBC. www.rzd-partner.com 29/03/05 Gennady Fadeyev, President of Russian Railways, and Dietrich Moeller, President of the Trains division of Siemens Transportation Systems (Germany), discussed and agreed the schedule for preparing a purchase contract for high-speed new generation trains, the press service of OAO RZD informed. Furthermore, the parties discussed parameters of the agreement on designing the trains and their production setup in Russia. The agreement is to be signed in April 2005. Fadeyev said that OAO RZD would have finalized technical specifications for the trains by May 30. It is presumed that the contract will be signed this summer, so that the first train is to be finished by 2007. The new generation electric trains are to be primarily employed on the Moscow-St. Petersburg route. OAO RZD has to prepare the infrastructure for the trains on its own by the end of 2007, and currently Russian Railways is adjusting its investment plans for the project. The investment into infrastructure of the route Moscow-St. Petersburg is to come to about 15 bln. roubles according to rough estimate. www.rzd-partner.com 25/03/05 Das Konsortium Alcatel und KZAiT (Kommunikacyje Zaklady Automatyki i Teletechniki) wird im Raum Posen in Polen die Sicherungstechnik fьr rund 30 Mio. EUR erneuern. In diesem Projekt werden sechs Bahnhцfe der Region durch Elektronische Stellwerke vom Typ Alcatel LockTrac 6151 (ESTW L90 5) modernisiert. Zusдtzlich eingesetzt wird eine neue Signaltechnik und Mehrabschnitts-Achszдhler des Typs Alcatel FieldTrac 6315 (Az LM). Darьber hinaus werden neue Bahnьbergдnge errichtet. Alcatel hat bereits erfolgreich ein дhnliches System im westlichen Abschnitt der Transitstrecke E20 installiert. Weiter wird Alcatel den Bahnhof Posen mit dem computergesteuerten Zugsteuerungs- und Ьberwachungssystemen Alcatel 6653 NetTrac (Command 900) ausrьsten. Der Abschluss der Arbeiten soll Ende 2007 erfolgen. www.eurailpress.com