The Railway Magazine – July 2019

July 2019 •The Railway Magazine•97

Two monorail lines for Egypt – with

trains built by Bombardier in Derby

IN LATE-May it was announced
Bombardier was‘preferred bidder’
for a major contract, with local
partners, to build and operate two
monorail lines in Egypt.
Bombardier also announced
the 280‘Innovia’vehicles required
would be built in the UK at Derby.
Bombardier’s share of the
contract is worth around
€1.2billion (£1.07bn) with an
additional €1.1bn maintenance
contract planned.
Bombardier say the order is
currently subject to contract and
final confirmation
The two monorail lines (East
Cairo to New Administrative City
[54km] and Giza to 6th of October
City [42km]) are designed to link
the suburbs of Cairo with new

cities that are being built outside

the urban area.

Cairo is one of the world’s

biggest cities and has limited

public transport and severe traffic

congestion

The contract represents the first

major export order in a decade

from Derby or any other British

factory for passenger rolling stock

since the South African Gautrain

‘Electrostar’EMUs, which were

also built in Derby by Bombardier.

Derby was selected by

Bombardier as it is the

company’s European centre

for aluminium welding, plus it

has better productivity figures

than its European car body

manufacturing sites in Germany

and Poland.

Bombardier say the Egypt

contract will guarantee

employment for at least 100

production staff in Derby

from the end of 2022 when

construction of current UK

‘Aventra’orders will have been

completed.

Bombardier has previously

supplied its‘Innovia’monorail

systems to Bangkok, Las Vegas,

São Paulo and Riyadh – with

some engineering design work

undertaken in Derby – but

production was undertaken

by the company’s Canadian or

Chinese factories.

Construction of the Egypt

monorail cars in Derby is

scheduled for late-2021 until the

end of 2023.

Bombardier‘Innovia’300 monorail for Riyadh (Saudi Arabia) on show at the Innotrans trade fair in
Berlin in September 2014. These vehicles were made in Bombardier’s Canadian factory at Kingston,
Ontario.KEITH FENDER

THE only remaining diesel loco

supplied by British Thomson-

Houston (BTH) still in service

anywhere in the world is in use

with Alliance Group in New

Zealand, where it works as a

shunter at their Pukeuri Works,

north of Oamaru, on the South

Island.

The loco – DSC 2067 – was

delivered 60 years ago, in July

1959, as New Zealand Railways

(NZR) number 406. It was

withdrawn by 1989, along with

all the other 18 British-built DSC

locos, but uniquely survived,

being bought by the NZ Dairy

Group to shunt its Waharoa

cool stores. All the others were

scrapped by 1990.

When the loco was sold to

Alliance it still had its two 210HP

Rolls Royce C6TFL engines

fitted, but was re-engined

around 2010 with Cummins

NT855 engines (as used by

surviving KiwiRail-built Class

DSC locos)

BTH supplied 18 of the

NZR Class DSC locos, but

bodyshell and final assembly

was undertaken by Clayton at

Hatton in Derbyshire. However,

the build quality was not

considered good by NZR, which

went on to order another 52 DSC

locos from its own workshops at

Hillside and Addington.

They were built between

1962 and 1967, this time using

Leyland UE902 engines.

BTH was majority owned

by American firm General

Electric from the end of the

19th century, but was never a

major loco builder, although it

supplied electrical equipment

used in many trains.

It supplied the Class 15

Type 1s for BR between 1957

and 1961 in conjunction with

the Yorkshire Engine Company

and Clayton, which shared the

construction.

BTH also fulfilled an order

awarded to GE in Australia to

build 10 Class 41 Bo-Bo diesels

for New South Wales in 1953 –

working with Metro-Cammell

in Birmingham, which built and

assembled the locos.

Eighteen‘Y’Class 1,067mm-

gauge Bo-Bo’s were supplied

to Western Australia between

1953-55, with Clayton

undertaking assembly.

Examples of all these locos

survive in preservation.

Former Clinchfield Railroad EMD‘F7’diesel No. 800 (EMD 8479, built 12/1948) seen leaving

Tavares on April 20 with a train to Mount Dora on the last day of service on the line. On the

rear of the push-pull train is EMD GP30 No. 1030 (EMD 27753/1963).D LANGHAM

British Thomson-Houston

survivor in New Zealand

DSC 2067 seen at the Alliance Group’s Pukeuri Works on March 12.

The loco has been repainted in Alliance Group livery.PHIL BARNES

Florida tourist train loses half its route after owner decision

AROUNDhalf the route operated by Florida
tourist train Orlando & Northwestern
Railway – which runs as‘The Royal Palm
Railway Experience’– was closed to
passengers in April.
The move came after the route’s owner,
shortline freight operator Florida Central
Railroad, decided it would no longer
maintain the Tavares to Mount Dora section
to passenger standards.
The company claim the track is old jointed
track dating from 1904-1910, and renewal
for passenger use will be expensive.
‘Royal Palm’is based in central Florida,
north west of Orlando, and had been
operating several times a week on two
routes from Tavares – the 4.6-mile section
to Mount Dora and the 4½-mile section
from Tavares to Eustis, which has continuous
welded rail so will be maintained to
passenger standards.
Operations may be extended on this route
beyond Eustis in the future.
‘Royal Palm’is the sixth operator for this
tourist line since 1998.

THE new Copenhagen to

Ringsted high-speed line

opened on May 31, with

public services starting the

next day.

The line is designed for

250kph operation using

ETCS, but will initially be

used at lower speeds with

lineside signals because

insufficient passenger

trains in Denmark are

currently ETCS fitted.

High-speed

line opens

in Denmark

Like usfacebook.com/

TheRailwayMagazine

Follow us

@railwaymagazine

Have you got a story for us? Email: [email protected]