Tag Archives: rail

Bomdardier-Azerbaijan corruption trial begins

SEPT. 5 2017 (The Conway Bulletin) — The trial started in Stockholm of Evegny Pavlov, a 37-year-old Russian national, who is accused of bribing Azerbaijani officials in 2013 to win a $340m contract for Canadian train maker Bombardier.

Mr Pavlov was head of the Baku office of Bombardier, reporting to the company’s Europe office in Stockholm when it won a contract to replace and install train signals across Azerbaijan.

It had partnered with an unknown Azerbaijani company called Trans-Signal-Rabita to win the contract. Trans-Signal-Rabita was owned by employees of the Azerbaijani ministry of transport awarding the contract.

His lawyers have argued that he was too junior to influence the process and that any corruption issues lie higher up. Bombardier has denied any wrongdoing.

Five other Bombardier employees have been described as suspects, including Peter Cedervall, a senior official in the Stockholm office.

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(News report from Issue No. 342, published on Sept. 7 2017)

Uzbekistan’s and Germany’s Siemens signs MoU

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JULY 24 2017 (The Bulletin) — Uzbekistan and Germany’s Siemens signed a memorandum of understanding to boost cooperation in the railway sector. The specifics of the deal were thin but it is being seen as a step towards more projects for Siemens in Uzbekistan.

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(News report from Issue No. 337, published on July 27 2017)

Alstom opens repair hub in Kazakhstan

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JULY 24 2017 (The Bulletin) — French train-maker Alstom has opened a new repair depot in Astana, media reported, underlining its interest in the region. Bernard Peille, Alstom’s managing director for the CIS region, said it would act as a hub for the wider region. Alstom and Spain’s Talgo have been competing to win business in Central Asia to modernise Soviet-era train stock.

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(News report from Issue No. 337, published on July 27 2017)

GE signs software deal with Kazakhstan’s Temir Zholy

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JUNE 26 2017 (The Bulletin) — GE, the US engineering company, has signed a deal with Kazakh railway operator Temir Zholy to deploy its software to reduce fuel consumption and improve safety, media reported. It’s unclear how much the contract is worth. GE has agreed a handful of deals with the Kazakh government over the past few months.

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(News report from Issue No. 335, published on July 3 2017)

Rail links China and Iran via Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan

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JUNE 8 2017 (The Bulletin) — Railway container services linking China with Iran via Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan are due to begin this month after the sides agreed various deals in May, the Railway Gazette reported. It said that the 10,300km journey would take around 14 days rather than 40 days by sea.

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(News report from Issue No. 332, published on June 12 2017)

Construction of Kazakh light railway to begin

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MAY 23 2017 (The Conway Bulletin) — After years of delay and prevarications, a consortium of Chinese companies will begin construction of the Astana Light Railway at the end of this month. The $1.8b light railway system, it is planned, will link the airport with various sites in the new sector of Astana including the planned Astana International Finance Centre, the government sector and the new railway station. According to the Astana Times, the network will have 18 stations and a capacity of 150,000 people.

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(News report from Issue No. 330, published on May 28 2017)

Kazakh port up for sale

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MAY 1 2017 (The Conway Bulletin) — Aktau port, the busiest Kazakh Caspian Sea port, will be privatised by the end of the year, Temir Zholy, the state railway company which currently owns it, said in a note. Kazakhstan is pushing ahead with a number of high profile privatisation projects. Aktau port will be viewed as a valuable asset as it is the main gateway for goods being sent between Asia and Europe.

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(News report from Issue No. 327, published on May 5 2017)

Uzbekistan receives second high-speed train from Spain

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APRIL 26 2017 (The Conway Bulletin) — Uzbekistan has taken delivery of a second train from Spain’s Patentes Talgo, media reported, scheduled to run along the recently modernised Tashkent to Bukhara route. The first train was delivered in March under a contract worth 38m euro. Each train carries 287 passengers. The Tashkent to Bukhara route is the second major route in Uzbekistan to deploy high- speed trains. Two similar trains have operated along the Tashkent- Samarkand-Karshi route since 2009. New president Shavkat Mirziyoyev has promised to continue his predecessor’s investment in major infrastructure projects such as high-speed railway.

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(News report from Issue No. 326, published on April 28 2017)

ADB loans $80m for rail upgrade in Uzbekistan

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APRIL 24 2017 (The Conway Bulletin) — The Asian Development Bank (ADB) approved an $80m loan earmarked for the electrification of a 145km stretch of railway in Uzbekistan’s Ferghana Valley. Uzbekistan has been attracting more lending and investment from international financial institutions since Shavkat Mirziyoyev took over as president in September last year.

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(News report from Issue No. 326, published on April 28 2017)

‘Silk Road’ train links UK and China via Kazakhstan

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APRIL 10 2017 (The Conway Bulletin) — A train carrying whisky, baby food and vitamins left a depot in southern England at the start of an 18-day journey through Central Asia to China.

This modern-day ‘Silk Road’ odyssey is part of China’s push to promote freight transport by rail between East Asia and Europe.

At its heart, the 11,000km route relies upon a stable Central Asia with modern infrastructure and it shows just how important the region has become as a transport hub. The ‘Silk Road’ train will travel through Europe into Russia and then dip down into Kazakhstan before crossing into western China and terminating in Yiwu on the eastern coast Xubin Feng, the head of Yiwu Timex Investment Company, underlined the importance of the train.

“Restoring the ancient Silk Road as a means by which China, North Europe and now the UK can exchange goods is an important and exciting initiative,” he said.

The project is part of China’s drive to promote its so-called ‘One Belt, One Road’ programme. Three months ago, the first freight train arrived from China to Britain and several other European capitals have already been linked up to China by rail.

And this ‘One Belt, One Road’ policy is important for Central Asia, and in particular Kazakhstan, as it plays a vital, and potentially lucrative, stagepost role.

Kazakhstan has started to leverage its position as a link between Europe and East Asia and, as well as promoting its rail infrastructure, it has also promoted itself as a refuelling pitstop for airlines crossing to Asia.

Also, this year, the first train from Kazakhstan headed through China to Vietnam, opening up another route.

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(News report from Issue No. 324, published on April 13 2017)