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"This market insight provides an outlook of the growth opportunities for the rail industry in India. Ambitious government plans coupled with unprecedented levels of foreign investment are leading to a complete overhaul of the rail environment in India. Over 39 cities are planning to invest in expansive urban rail networks to address severe traffic congestion problems. High-speed rail and dedicated freight corridors are planned to separate passenger and freight traffic to increase operating efficiency."

The National Development and Reform Commission of China approved 25 new urban rail transit and intercity rail projects in investment programmes worth RMB800B (US$127B). The projects are expected to be completed in the next three to eight years. Local governments will be major investors, however, banks loans are also expected to constitute a significant portion of the total investment funding.

"To prevent the theft of these cables, Network Rail have specified Panduit super heavy duty stainless steel banding to wrap around the cables and securely strap them to the cable trough. This measure will make the cables more difficult to access and extract therefore deterring thieves owing to the considerable extra time and effort involved and the added risk of detection, apprehension and arrest. The frequency of Panduit cable locking needs to be balanced with cost and the need to maximise the quantity of locked cables as quickly as possible. As a result of this, the below table sets out how often Panduit stainless steel rail cable bands should be used."

"At the start of the decade, Network Rail was hit by a wave of cable thefts which approached 1,000 cases a year as the price of scrap copper and other industrial metals soared. New data show that thefts in England and Wales fell below 41,000 in the year 2013-14 - down from 60,000 in the previous 12 months. "In recent years, we have witnessed a huge reduction in the number of incidents of cable theft on the railway," said a Network Rail official. "Disruption caused by the crime has fallen tenfold since its peak in 2010-11, when passengers suffered more than 6,000 hours of delay." Raids on church roofs, to strip copper and lead sheeting - another traditional target for thieves seeking to supply unscrupulous metal dealers - have also subsided with the price of scrap. Other areas affected include telecommunications and power networks, road signs, memorials, libraries, schools and children's playgrounds."

"The focus of spending is on building a China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) - a network of roads, railway and pipelines between the long-time allies."

"The traction transformer market in North America is driven by the increase in electrification of railways and high deployment of high speed trains in this region. Also the enhancement in the government spending in rail infrastructure is fostering the growth of the North America traction transformers market."

"Railway applications - Fixed installations - Stationary energy storage system for DC traction systems"

Wanma Cable recently announced that for the last year its operating income was RMB2.6 billion ($0.4 billion) increasing by 21.32% year-on-year, and net profit attributable to shareholders of listed companies was RMB103.6 million ($16.4 million) increasing 6.39% year-on-year. In product layout, the company consolidated its MV/LV and EHV market positions while establishing a special cable business division to intensify efforts to develop a special cable business. The company has secured a good start in new fields, such as rail transit, power generation, petroleum and petrochemical, wind power and coal mining. Wanma Cable's CEO recently said that the income target of company in this year was RMB3.1 billion ($0.5 billion) increasing by 20% year-on-year, based on the copper price keeping last year's price level. The company completed an investment plan in EHV and MV/LV cable through an IPO raising funds."

According to the General Research Institute of Mining & Metallurgy, it is a misconception to that 50-60% of copper is absorbed by China's power industry. The industry body posits that 30% of copper consumption is attributed to infrastructure projects, which include power, rail and telecommunications. 21% is absorbed by the construction, 20% for the production of consumer goods and 7% by industrial equipment manufacturers. The research institute forecasts copper consumption growth of 5% in the power industry this year and considers it to be the key driving force behind overall Chinese copper demand, which it expects to increase 4.1% in the same period.

Xingye Copper International Group plans to commission its 25,000t/y copper plate and strip project in Zhejiang province by 2014. The company already operates a copper and copper alloy plate and strip plant.

It was reported that Shandong Xiangrui Copper Semis Co. Ltd. bought a new 320,000t/y copper semis production facility into full operation during late August. The plant produces a variety of products. It's capacity includes 95,000t/y of copper wirerod, 100,000t/y of copper strip, 20,000t/y of overhead railway conductors and 10,500t/y of bare copper wire. Contirod continuous casting technology from Germany will be used for the process.