1347i

INTERNATIONAL SUPPLEMENT TO BLN 1347 07 MARCH 2020

BRANCH LINE NEWS

INTERNATIONAL

This newsletter covers the World outside the British Isles from information
supplied by members.

Opinions expressed are not necessarily those of the Compilers or of the Society.

INTERNATIONAL NEWS TEAM:-
International Editor: Pete Skelton, 1 rue Traversière, 16450 BEAULIEU SUR SONNETTE, France
to whom all email contributions should be sent. Email: [email protected]
Postal Contributions should be sent to: Paul Stewart, 4 Clarence Close, MALVERN, WR14 3HX
Deputy International Editor: Derek Woodward, 68 Church Street, MATLOCK, DE4 3BY

_________________________________________________________

EUROPE
[094] Belgium – Disruption in the Port of Antwerpen
Rail freight transport within the Port of Antwerpen was seriously disrupted over several days following
a collision of a locomotive and a freight train at the entrance of the Liefkenshoek tunnel. This piece of
infrastructure, also known as the Antigoon tunnel, connects the Antwerpen Linkeroever with the
Antwerpen Noord marshalling yard on the Rechteroever and with the main Belgian rail network. An
estimated 80% of rail transport between the two banks of the Schelde moves through the Antigoon
tunnel. An additional complication is that the Lillo Bridge, another important rail freight link, was
closed at the end of 2019 due to excessive wear. There is an old route via the Kennedy tunnel south of
Antwerpen. The route via the Liefkenshoek tunnel was built to serve as a faster alternative to that
route.

[095] Belgium – Forthcoming Diversions for Engineering Work
From Saturday 04 April 2020 until Sunday 19 April, the Oostende - Eupen services run between Liège
and Welkenraedt via Visé and the Montzen route; Line 40, Line 24/1, Line 24/2, Line 24, Montzen Yard
and Line 39 to Welkenraedt. Work is also planned to take place on this section from 27 June to 30
August 2020. The time penalty is 40 minutes and the diverted trains are unable to call at Verviers
Central. ICEs and Thalys are not diverted as the work is on the part of Line 37 that is bypassed by Line
3. NightJet INT324 on Monday 06 April 2020 is shown in the journey planner as running Aachen ->
Welkenraedt -> Visé -> Liège G. [Courtesy of The Ramble]

Verviers Central Station

[096] Finland – Upgrade Works Pori to Mäntyluoto Correction

Pori Station

(BLNI1345.053) The second sentence of this item on the subject of electrification reads: “The first
electric-hauled passenger service ran on 16 September 2019.” This is incorrect and should have read:
“The first electric-hauled FREIGHT service ran on 16 September 2019.” As far as is known there are no
plans for passenger services to be introduced over this section, the electrification work is purely to
facilitate freight operation. [My apologies for any confusion caused and thanks to Roger Newman for
highlighting this error – Ed.]
[097] France – Track Replacement in the Hautes-Pyrénées
At Lannemezan, Hautes-Pyrénées (65), an engineering base has been created for the major work
underway to renew the tracks between Boussens and Muret. This work is carried out overnight. The
base is reached by using a short section of the former branch line which closed in 1969 up the Aure
valley to the village of Arreau. This section, still used for freight, was reinforced for the heavy
engineering trains. SNCF Réseau reports that the renewals were scheduled from 14 October 2019 to
20 March 2020 with a two week break over Christmas/New Year. The scope of the work; 85 km of
track to be replaced, 40 level crossings, 450 staff employed, budget of €107 million. [Courtesy of
French Railways Society]

At Lannemezan on the 16th January the engineering train prepared for the overnight RVB work near Boussens is
ready to move from the INFRA base to a siding at the Gare, triple headed by BB 69439, BB 69403, ECR 66423. The

electrical junction seen in the background connects the Lannemezan SNCF sub-station to the national grid.
[Photo: Georges Turpin]

[098] Germany – Berlin Brandenburg Airport Line
(BLNI1345.056) A correspondent has provided more detail relating to the changes being made for the
opening of the new Airport.
The new route to the Airport will not use a direct connection to the Außenring (BAR) but will run
independently alongside it so that traffic-flows will not conflict with BAR flows. Crossovers will allow
airport traffic to use the eastbound Ring line bi-directionally if needed, but with no facility the other
way.

Essentially, the infrastructure works to serve the airport have happened in two stages widely apart.
Getting on to a decade ago the airport lines were finished; now the Dresdener Bahn is finally being
rebuilt in the Berlin area and this means that the connection of the airport lines into the city can take
its final form with the construction of the Mahlower Kurve at Glasower Damm.

The section of the BAR between Schönefeld and Glasower Damm Ost (BAG O) was quadrupled in the
80s, 3rd line 1983 and 4th line 1986, with the new southern pair effectively becoming the Dresden
lines and the original northern pair remaining as the Außenring lines, though both pairs obviously
usable interchangeably. Construction of the airport lines saw the Dresden pair cut between
Waßmannsdorf and Selchow. The two tracks east of the cut were then used to form two new tracks
for a westwards extension of the S-Bahn from Schönefeld and then over a new-construction curved
route through the new Waßmannsdorf S-Bahn station to terminate at the Airport. The northern pair
from Schönefeld (the original BAR lines) was then slued at the site of the cut across into the southern
pair, thus leading directly into the Dresden curve at BAG O. At the Selchow end of the cut the
northern pair of BAR lines coming eastwards from Genshagener Heide was taken by new construction

under what were now the remaining two BAR lines and then on to the Airport. A single-track curve,
the Selchower Kurve, was provided on the south side of the alignment linking the former DD-B line,
now the BAR eastbound line, into what is now the line from the west to the Airport. At this stage no
changes were made at BAG O, so that trains on the BAR to and from the Genshagener Heide direction
have to change pairs through the existing crossovers at that point. The lines were renumbered, so that
the two lines between the Airport and BAG O became Line 6151 and the former Dresden pair
(previously Line 6137) took the BAR number of Line 6126 between the slue at Waßmannsdorf /
Selchow and BAG O.

The Current Layout – 2020

Now that the Dresdener Bahn is finally being rebuilt, the plans are to be completed. At BAG O the
lines to and from Genshagener Heide will be slued into the former Dresden pair, making the BAR pair
of tracks continuous again, with two ladders provided linking the two pairs of lines. The Schönefelder
(Dresdener) Kurve, doubled during the 1980s works, will be singled again; and the new 100 km/h
Mahlower Kurve (minimum radius 410 m, cant 160 mm) will be built, from a grade-separated junction
at the new Glasower Damm Nord (BAG N) into the existing northern pair of tracks (now the airport
lines, previously the BAR main lines) at BAG O, thus moving the start of Line 6151 back to the junction
with the Dresdener Bahn at BAG N; it ends at Bohnsdorf Süd on the Görlitzer Bahn and the kilometre
posts of the line are based on the BAR measurements of the common route-section. The request for
tenders for all this went out in the EU Journal late last spring.

The Final Layout - 2024

[099] Italy - Historic Tram celebrates the Centenary of the Milano – Limbiate Tramway

Historic tram number 92 “Reggio Emilia” dating from 1928

BLNI 1231.147 described ATM line 179 which runs from Comasina, the northern terminus of line 3 of
the Metro, about 12 km north to Limbiate. BLNI 1283.242 described how the 2017 service was first
being run-down, then suspended (allegedly for "engineering works"), and concluded that it seemed
unlikely to reopen. Fortunately this pessimism was unfounded and the service has survived, reaching

its centenary on 01 February 2020, an anniversary marked by the ATM in collaboration with the ATM
Historical Group and the Public Transport Users Association by the presence of historic tram number
92 “Reggio Emilia” dating from 1928. This is normally kept in Varedo depot but was allowed out to run
to the Municipality of Limbiate where it was received by a brass band and a short speech by the
Mayor. The threat of closure lingers on, partly due to the age of the rolling stock and partly because
the roadside running crosses many private driveways and secondary roads. Similar reasons caused
closure of the Milano - Desio line in 2011 with the promise of soon being rebuilt as a Metrotramvia
(similar to that built on the Milano - Cinisello Balsamo route) but, to this day, the works have not
started.
[100] Lithuania/Latvia – Mažeikiai to Reņģe finally reopens
BLNI has followed this saga for several years and now it has finally been resolved. To recap; in 2008
Polish oil company Orlen planned to reroute freight from its Mažeikiai refinery in northwest Lithuania
to the Latvian port of Ventspils via the Mažeikiai to Reņģe cross border freight line. It was intended to
use an operator other than Lithuanian Railways (LG) who were understandably upset about losing this
important traffic and prompted them to lift the line from Mažeikiai to the Latvian border station of
Reņģe in October 2008, citing poor track condition. This forced Orlen to use the much longer route via
Joniškis to reach Latvia. Orlen appealed to the EU claiming a breach of EU competition law and in 2017
the European Commission agreed, fining LG €27·87m and demanding the track be reinstated. The
missing 19 km from Mažeikiai to Reņģe was officially reopened on 15 February 2020; 12 years after LG
closed the line. Freight should resume shortly and the Latvian Minister of Transport claims that
negotiations will start soon with Lithuanian Railways for a passenger service to start before 2023.

The old Station at Reņģe

[101] Poland – Freight arrives from 西安 (Xi’an) in China
The Polish Euroterminal Sławków has celebrated the arrival on 01 February 2020 of its first 1000-
metre-long (50 containers) freight train that had travelled 9477 km from Xi’an in China, in eleven days;
a new record. Euroterminal Sławków is an intermodal facility at the western terminus of the
‘penetrating’ broad-gauge Metallurgy Line. A shorter trial train had run a few weeks earlier. This
route involves only one gauge change between the Chinese standard gauge and the Russian 1520 mm
gauge at the Kazakhstan border. After unloading at Euroterminal Sławków, (jointly owned by Grupa
CZH, PKP LHS and PKP Cargo), the containers are taken to their final customers by a further road or rail
leg. Some containers are bound for the Port of Gdańsk where they are loaded on vessels for delivery
to Scandinavia.

The first Container Train from 西安 (Xi’an) China arriving at Euroterminal Sławków Poland

[102] Poland – Diversionary Routes around Wrocław
The purpose of this short trip to Poland was to cover the currently available diversionary routes in
Wrocław.
Monday 10 February – Our member flew from Stansted to Katowice; at Stansted the plane was
already there when passengers were called to the gate. They were let down to the plane at 10:50 and
had to queue at the foot of the aircraft steps, in the tail end of storm Ciara, waiting for the crew to
turn up to the empty plane. That was a cold ten minutes. The plane pushed back on time and was
blown across to Katowice giving a ten minute early arrival at 14:30, this gave time to catch the 14:55
bus AP3 to Katowice Station which is the fast bus arriving at 15:40. There was plenty of time for a little
light refreshment and to stock up on supplies before joining the 17:03 TLK for the run to Wrocław and
a two-night stay in the Ibis Hotel just across from the station. The attached restaurant “Crazy Mary”
offered an interesting menu, different from the usual Polish Ibis fare.
Tuesday 11 February – The first train was the 07:28 EN57 to Brzeg Dolny for a twenty minute wait, the
aim being to join TLK71106 and return to Wrocław Głowny by diverting through Gądów yard after
leaving Wr. Kuzniki. The big question was which leg of the diving junction would it use? Rumours
suggested it should do the very rare west side of the dive-under but alas no, the train crossed over and
took the usually used eastern line 349 down to pass through the yard (our member needed both
anyway) and taking line 753 to reach podg. Wr. Grabisyn. Arrival was dead on time at 08:58 in the
main station. Here, a break was taken until 09:47 for the KD69567 train as far as Wr. Zirkini. This train
was booked to take, and did, line 161 at podg. Wr. Grabisyn and then cross to the freight line, line 757,
at Wr. Swiebodzki signal box, to call at Wr. Muchobór. At this point single line 757 runs alongside the
main passenger lines (273) with freight lines 758 as the outer most tracks of a set of five. The train
then turned off left onto the short curve at podg. Wr. Muchobór round to Wr. Nowy Dwór all part of

line 275. Staying on to Wr. Zirkini gave a view of the junction of the freight lines (759) just after Wr.
Nowy Dwór and the bridge with freight line 751 crossing over just beyond that. After a twenty minute
wait the return journey was on another KD EMU which called at the southern platform at Wr. Nowy
Dwór again and took the short curve round to line 273 at podg. Wr. Muchobór and stayed on the main
line all the way into Wrocław Głowny arriving at 10:36. The northern platform at Wr. Nowy Dwór and
the dive-under curve to line 273 at Wr. Muchobór is used by only one train per day, at around
05:00. Next there was a 26 minute wait for TLK84104, next stop Legnica. This train was booked to run
from podg. Wr. Grabisyn via freight line 753, through Gądów yard on line 349 then cross to freight line
759 to join the main passenger line 275 just beyond the end of Wr. Nowy Dwór platforms. This line
does not pass through the platforms but behind them. Going in this direction there is about fifty
metres more freight line to do because of the nature of the junction at podg. Wr. Nowy Dwór.

Wrocław Głowny Station [Photo: Roger Bartlett]

The reason for the diversions appears to be that line 273 from Wr. Kuzniki is singled through
Muchobór to podg. Wr. Grabiszyn. The north bound track is flagged out at both ends and is lightly
rusted. There was no work in progress but a crossover at the north end of Wr. Muchobór had been re-
laid very recently.

Well, that was the three diversions planned and three out of three scored! Now, at Legnica, a sixty-six
minute wait ensued for a train on the cross country line to Kamieniec Zabkowicki. This turned out to
be a hired in SKPL ex NS diesel railcar and the crew were still being shown how to operate it. This train
was taken as far as Jaworzyna Śląski to wait an hour for a KD two car DMU forming the Wrocław
to Bielawa Zachodnia service. This unit was taken to the end of the branch and back, changing
at Swidnica Miasto (only ten minute wait) into another KD 2-Car DMU to complete the line down to
Kamieniec Zabkowicki, arriving here still in daylight, for a five minute connection into a Lichkov to
Wrocław KD EMU.

A KD two car DMU forming a service from Wrocław at Bielawa Zachodnia [Photo: Roger Bartlett]

Wednesday 12 February – For two days the trains had run on time and even long distance services
appeared to be running to time, but our member was going home today, from Łódź, would his luck
hold out? While waiting for the 08:28 PolRegio EN57 all stations to Łódź Kaliska he saw the only truly
late running trains; first was the Lwów sleeper which was reported to be 50 minutes late; next was the
KD service from Jelcz Laskowice which was at first only five minutes late on its due arrival of 07:45, but
gradually deteriorated to 30 minutes late. The problem being that our reporter’s train was following it
off the same branch! His train finally arrived two minutes after departure time (and so 6 mins late)
and promptly lost more time, departing ten late. There was single line working from Wr. Mikołajów
round to Wr. Sołtysowice and the train lost another few minutes here as it had lost its path. Arrival in
Oleśnica was 13 late, however there was an opportunity to pick up time at the reversal here, but they
lost two more minutes!!!! The train came to a stand at Międzybórz Sycowski for ten minutes waiting
for a TLK to come the other way; now 23 minutes late it set off again, two stops on at Sośnie
Ostrowskie it was due to wait seven minutes for the TLK so here it did pick up time, back to 13
late. Only one minute was recovered at Ostrów Wielkopolski but on the double track line 14 through
Kalisz, running at up to 109 km/h it got back to only 6 minutes down. Then there was single line
working between Sędzice and Sieradz, running wrong line at a maximum of 70 km/h but slowing down
to 10 km/h for every road crossing whether the barriers were working or not. By Łask the train was
back to 15 minutes late again and terminated here for the bus replacement to Łódź. Two coaches
were provided and the train crew got into a minibus. Fortunately nobody on the bus wanted the
intermediate stops, so running non-stop down the motorway to Łódź Kaliska, through very wet sleet,
arrival was 5 minutes early!!!!

From here our reporter caught the bus out to the airport for the plane home which arrived ten
minutes early in Stansted.

[103] Portugal – The Madeira Railway
A holiday to the Portuguese island of Madeira in late February 2019 gave the opportunity to explore
the remains of this short-lived rack-railway. An internet search revealed an outline of the line’s history
(see references below) while a request to the Continental Railway Circle email-list brought many
interesting responses.

From various open-access sources such as Wikipedia and Bonito (2014), the railway was promoted by
local entrepreneur António Joaquim Marques who obtained permission for its construction from
Câmara Municipal do Funchal (Funchal City Council) on 17 February 1887, based on the work of French
engineer Raoul Mesnier du Ponsard. The Caminho de Ferro do Monte (CFM) was built as a metre
gauge single track rack railway using the Riggenbach system due to the steep gradient averaging
16.7%. It ran from Pombal station located in central Funchal on a straight route up the hillside
towards Monte, opening part way to Levada de Santa Luzia on 16 July 1893 before completion to
Monte. An extension to its final terminal at Terreiro da Luta was opened on 24 June 1912, the line
attaining its maximum elevation of 850 m above sea level and length of just over 3.8 km. There was
also a horse-drawn tramway, the Caminhos de Ferro Americanos da Cidade do Funchal, connecting
Pombal station to the pier via the main square. From opening the railway was operated by a 0-4-0T
and five 0-4-2T locomotives, reportedly built in Denmark in 1893 (Bonito, 2014).

Road on old Trackbed [Photo: Iain Scotchman]

Decline set in during the First World War, the railway reporting a loss in 1918 and the situation was not
helped by a locomotive boiler explosion in September 1919 while operating a Monte-bound train,
resulting in a number of deaths and many casualties; operations did not resume until February 1920
after safety tests on the line. Safety issues again came to the fore in January 1932 with a train
derailment, causing a death and several casualties, further eroding confidence in the line. By this time
competition from buses was seriously affecting finances of the railway and the curtailment of tourism
with the onset of World War Two sounded its death knell. Effectively bankrupt, the CFM was sold to
the Câmara Municipal do Funchal on 30 December 1942 who took over the line and set about its
closure, declassifying it as a railway on 29 March 1943. The last train ran in April 1943 and the

following month the four remaining locos, the rolling stock and other equipment were sold at public
auction. With the removal of the track, the trackbed from Pombal to Monte and just beyond was
converted to a road.

Monte Viaduct [Photo: Iain Scotchman]

Today the function of the railway has been taken over by the Teleférico do Funchal, a cable car from
Funchal sea front adjacent to the old town to Monte, opened in 2001.

Proposals to resurrect the rack railway in the mid-2000s were abandoned with the 2010 financial
“crash” but in January 2017 the Câmara do Funchal acquired the by then out of use former Monte
station for €200,000 with plans to restore it to its former glory and use it as the Tourist Information
Centre, a small auditorium and a multipurpose room for cultural and musical activities, with the
former ticket office transformed into a cafeteria. However, with an estimated cost of €400,000, this
has yet to transpire and the building continues to deteriorate.

Present Day Remains of the Railway. From street maps of Funchal (e.g.Openstreetmap.org) the route
of the main section of the railway from Pombal to Monte is clear, where it is shown as “Rua do
Comboio” uphill towards Monte from Pombal and “Caminho de Ferro” for the section up to Monte
(“Train Street” and “Railway” respectively).

Pombal (Funchal) station building is located on the north-east corner of the Rua do Comboio and Rua
do Pombal cross road, the adjacent Rua do Comboio being the former trackbed. The building, which
Ransome - Wallis described as a “sizable large and stately building, with two covered platforms and a
transverse platform through which locomotives could move from one line to another”, is now empty,
in need of repair and up for sale, probably with an uncertain future. The former depot area
immediately north of the former station building is now occupied by a motor vehicle repair workshop.
The road occupying the former track-bed then climbs steeply uphill towards Monte.

Monte station is located on the north-west corner of the Fountain Square, the station and ticket booth
being easily recognised from photographs despite being empty and boarded-up in a run-down state. A
stone sign set in the front wall gives an elevation of 550 m while a plaque describes its heritage and

the erstwhile plans to restore both it and the railway to Terreiro da Luta. Immediately south of the
station, the trackbed (now Caminho do Ferro) is carried over a small gully by a five-arch stone viaduct
with a girder span at its southern end which was the only major structure on the line.

Part of the Old Trackbed [Photo: Iain Scotchman]

North of Monte station a road occupies the track bed, heading up hill through an overbridge, to end in
a turning circle. Just beyond, the trackbed towards Terreiro da Luta is a steep grassy incline cut into a
rock-cutting crossed by a modern concrete road bridge. At Terreiro da Luta the former station
building, now a restaurant which being out of season was completely locked up, is located on a large
rocky promontory on the hillside, causing the railway to terminate in a platform at its base on the
south-side. Today the former platform edging can be seen against the grassy infilled track bed, with
two small water cranes for the steam locos extant in the bushes on the south side of the former line.

On the front of the building a “Heritage” sign recognises it as the former railway station, saying
construction began in 1910 with opening in 1912. A railway museum on the lower floor is also
mentioned but was, of course, closed.

Other than these remains, the only indicator of the railway’s existence in Funchal is a typical
Portuguese blue tile montage of the railway on the east end of the “Café Ritz” building in Avenida
Arriaga, although an over-priced fridge magnet in the duty free shop of the same image could not be
resisted.

The former Station at Terreiro da Luta is now a Restaurant [Photo: Iain Scotchman]

More of the old Trackbed near Pombal [Photo: Iain Scotchman]

Terreiro da Luta – The Terminus of the Line [Photo: Iain Scotchman]

Reference: Bonito J., 2014.
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/284183142_O_olhar_cirurgico_de_Ransome-
Wallis_sobre_o_caminho-_de-Ferro_do_Monte_Madeira_Portugal

[104] Spain – Parla Tram System

The town of Parla, south of Madrid and with a population of about 130,000, has a tram system which
opened in 2007. There is a single route that comprises a circuit from the town centre to the large Parla
Est housing scheme to the south east. The loop is 8·3 km long and standard gauge. At Parla Est the
clockwise and anti-clockwise tracks follow different routes along parallel streets. It makes little
difference which way one travels between here and the town centre and this arrangement means that
more residents live close to a tram stop. A complete circuit takes about half an hour, including a
timing stop of several minutes part way round. The depot is to the north of the town, at Plaza de
Toros, which is indeed next to the bull ring. There is a tram stop immediately outside the RENFE
Cercanias terminus and Madrid zonal tickets, including Zone T tourist tickets, are valid on the tram.

A Parla Tram

[105] Spain – Soria Branch, a Different View
(BLNI1344.043) Most days of the week there are just two trains each way, one in the morning and the
other in the evening. These are not even scheduled so that a single train can be used but inward and
outward services cross at Sigüenza where the crews swap over. As a result, the modern DMU which
arrives at Soria at 10:42 Mon-Fri stables there until its return working at 19:06. On Fridays there is an
additional train from Madrid that arrives at Soria at 18:40, so that is the only day when an out and
back trip can be made by train without spending most of the day in the town. Fortunately, buses to
Madrid and Zaragoza run every few hours. There is a vast, semi-derelict goods yard at Soria, with no
evidence of traffic. Despite there being no departure for over eight hours, the booking office was
open on arrival of the morning train.
The line used to continue to Castejón de Ebro and there were through trains between Madrid and
Pamplona via Soria. Passenger services were withdrawn in 1996 and the line was officially closed in
2016. Remains of this line, which still has rusted track in place, can be seen from the bus to
Zaragoza. At Coscurita, a closed station south of Almazan, the Soria branch intersected with the now-
closed line from Ariza to Valladolid via Aranda, and the track bed can clearly be seen; that closed to
passengers in 1985 and for freight in 1994.

The Morning Train from Madrid after Arrival at Soria 29 January 2020 [Photo: Gregory Beecroft]

[106] Spain – Vitoria-Gasteiz Tram Network extended
A 1·4 km southern extension of the Vitoria-Gasteiz tram network opened on 15 February 2020. The
metre gauge extension runs from Angulema stop to Unibertsitatea/Universidad via the stations of
Florida and Hegoalde. The section between Hegoalde and Unibertsitatea/Universidad is single track.

A 2·5 km extension is planned to open later this year connecting Florida station to Salburua, adding
five new stops and turning the Y-shaped network into an X-shape configuration.

REST OF THE WORLD
[107] Australia – A Taster from the PTG Trip, Tasmania – Redwater Creek Steam & Heritage Society
Although branded by the tour leader as an extra visit (because ATS had not arranged it) a visit to this
610 mm gauge railway was expected albeit on a different day. The station is the original Sheffield
station from the Roland branch line which closed in 1957 but has been moved a short way. When the
Redwater Creek guys arrived and opened for running in 1994 they had restored the station and built a
three road modern depot and workshops. The line is around 1 km long, with a level crossing across a
minor public road. Participants had a normal run to the end (our reporter rode in the 1906 Krauss 0-
4-0T loco, number 1, during the run round) and then had another trip with a stop for pictures at the
level crossing. Finally the train was shunted into the right hand road in the depot (more track), where
the participants then had a good look around with two further coaches, and two small diesel
locomotives - another Hunslet steam locomotive is being restored. Also, they use Edmondson tickets
(4 varieties - adults, students, under 16s and under 5s). It was great visit and a good introduction to
the railways of Tasmania. The track layout is as shown in Quail's Tasmanian volume. The railway
normally runs during the first full weekend of each month, 11:00 to 16:00. Adult fare is AUS$7.

A Train on the Redwater Creek Railway

Nearby is a 13 cm/18 cm gauge ground level line, which operates only during Tasmania's March long
weekend when Steam Fest takes place
(www.steamfesttasmania.org.au http://www.steamfesttasmania.org.au) along with traction engines,
steam threshing, tractor pulling etc.
[108] Canada – Dangerous Goods Incidents
Following two recent derailments of crude oil trains that were followed by major fires Canada has
temporarily reduced the speed limit of freight trains carrying hazardous goods. Trains with large
quantities (over 19 wagons) of dangerous goods may not run faster than 40 km/h (32 km/h in urban

areas) throughout Canada in the coming month. That period may be shortened or extended
depending on the outcome of the fire investigation. The most recent incident was at Guernsey,
Saskatchewan, on 06 February. Around 30 wagons of a 100-wagon train derailed and just under half
caught fire; dozens of residents had to evacuate their homes. On 09 December 2019, nineteen similar
wagons derailed about 10 km from Guernsey. It also led to a huge fire and a leakage of around 1·5
million litres of crude oil. It appears that a key factor in the fires is that the ‘oil’ - actually more like
bitumen, from Alberta - has to be mixed with LPG or Naphtha as a diluent to make it flow; it is the
additive that can be ignited by a metal-to-metal spark in case of leakage. The most recent accidents
have involved modern tank cars that exceed current requirements in terms of over-ride protection,
wall thickness and protected discharge pipework.

A lengthy Oil Train making its way through the rugged Canadian Countryside

[109] Cuba – Fuel Shortage

Cuba – Many Trains but not much Fuel!

(BLNI1342.466 & BLNI1343.010) First we had Albania running out of fuel then Kosovo and now stocks
in Cuba are getting very low resulting in many services being cancelled. The situation observed by our
reporter in mid-February was:

 Camaguey – All the local passenger trains and the Santa Clara to Santiago de Cuba passenger
service were cancelled. There were one to three goods trains a day and some sugar traffic.

 Ciego de Ávila – All the local passenger trains were cancelled. The only movements noted were
a general freight train and a sugar train.

 Morón – All the local passenger trains, including the Santa Clara to Nuevitas mixed, were
cancelled with the exception of the Punta Alegre service which was operated by a railcar; this
service was reduced to one return trip a day, arriving into Morón at 06:00 and leaving again at
14:40. A sugar train was also noted here.

[110] Hong Kong – New Metro Line Opens
After major delays, Hong Kong metro operator MTR opened Phase 1 of the Tuen Ma Line (TML) on 14
February 2020 adding two new stations to the network. The 6·8 km line is an effectively an extension
of the Ma On Shan line, with services running from Tai Wai through Hin Keng and Diamond Hill to Kai
Tak and is part of the delayed 17 km Shatin – Central link (SCL).

MTR Metro Train in 香港 (Hong Kong)

Passengers can change to the East Rail Line at Tai Wai and to the Kwun Tong Line at Diamond Hill
where the existing concourse for the Kwun Tong Line has been connected to the new concourse for
the Tuen Ma Line. Improved ticket machines installed at the new stations will allow passengers to
purchase single journey and monthly passes, as well as top up Octopus smart cards. New Smart
Customer Service Centres will provide passenger information including entrance and exit directions,
information on MTR journeys and access to the Help Line.
[111] India – New Metro Line opens in কলকাতা (Kolkata formerly Calcutta)
Phase 1 of the Kolkata East – West Metro Line 2 opened to passengers on 14 February 2020. Part of a
16·5 km project, it is 5·3 km long with six stations, running from a future interchange with the under-
construction Line 6 at Salt Lake Sector-V to Salt Lake Stadium. The full line will connect Howrah on the
west bank of the river Hooghly with Salt Lake City on its east bank, with an interchange with Line 1 and
the under-construction Line 3 at Esplanade.
Line 2 features automated fare collection ticketing gates which accept smart cards and smart tokens.
The line is equipped with CBTC and has platform screen doors, luggage scanners and metal detectors
at all stations. The trains feature power sockets, CCTV and ramps for emergency evacuation, while

emergency announcements from the operation control centre can be transmitted directly to the
trains.

On the new Metro Line in কলকাতা (Kolkata)

[112] Israel – Extension of the High Speed Line under ‫( ירושלים‬Jerusalem)
The Israeli transport ministry has approved a new route for an extension of the Tel Aviv – Jerusalem
high-speed line. A 3 km tunnel will lead to the Western Wall - one of Judaism's holiest sites - in the
city's occupied east; no details of the route have been released but it is thought that the tunnel will
pass under the centre of the city with two underground stations along the way.

Double-Deck High Speed Trains are already in use between ‫( ירושלים‬Jerusalem) and ‫( אביב תל‬Tel-Aviv)

The long-delayed high-speed rail link will bring relief to commuters. The Israeli plan to extend the Tel
Aviv – Jerusalem high-speed line to the Western Wall, which attracts millions of visitors and
worshippers each year, was unveiled in 2017 by then Transport Minister Israel Katz.

[113] South Africa – Kimberley Trams
(BLNI1345.066) During October 1985 our reporter spent a fortnight touring loco sheds and industrial
steam in South Africa which included Beaconsfield shed in Kimberley. After the shed visit he went
directly to the Open Mine Museum and found a new tramway had opened the previous week and was
running from the museum to the Market Square close to the City Hall partially circling the ‘Big Hole’.
This line had been built as a tourist attraction and also as a ‘Park & Ride’ as it was hoped that tourists
would leave their cars at the Open Mine Museum. The track length is 1·4 km and 1067 mm gauge.