All Railway Gazette International articles in April 1998 – Page 4

  • News

    Pilgrim shuttles

    1998-04-01T10:00:00Z

    MANY MOONS have passed since anyone has suggested reviving the Hedjaz Railway, built in 1901-08 from Damascus to the Islamic holy city of Medina in what is now Saudi Arabia. Although sections were famously destroyed by Lawrence of Arabia, substantial parts of the 1050mm gauge line are remarkably intact, and ...

  • News

    Pointers

    1998-04-01T10:00:00Z

    n The Gulf Co-operation Council has recommended construction of a US$30bn rail network linking the six partner states which have a combined population of 25 million. United Arab Emirates has launched its own study of the proposals.n The first of Polish State Railways’ Class EU43 dual-system electric locos is expected ...

  • News

    Porto regauging

    1998-04-01T10:00:00Z

    PORTUGUESE infrastructure authority Refer began work on February 16 to regauge and electrify the metre-gauge branch from Lousado to Guimarães, part of the 62 km route from Porto Trinidade to Guimarães. Between Trofa and Lousado trains shared a 2 km dual-gauge section with the Porto - Valença main line. Through ...

  • News

    PUBLICATIONS

    1998-04-01T10:00:00Z

    Maghreb Rail (map)This detailed 70x100 cm colour relief map covers at 1:2350000 scale Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia and Libya - a region whose railway geography is unfamiliar to many. Colour coding and hatching is used effectively to distinguish four different gauges, single and double track, electrification, closed and projected lines. Also ...

  • News

    Road and rail to the rescue

    1998-04-01T10:00:00Z

    NS Safety Services has developed a modular rescue train mounted on a crane-equipped Volvo truck, with the aim of getting hydraulic jacks, cutters and other equipment to accident sites within 15min of being called out. The truck carries three 2·5 tonne units which are lowered onto the track at a ...

  • News

    Sizarail seizure settled

    1998-04-01T10:00:00Z

    THE GOVERNMENT of the Democratic Republic of Congo has started paying off a debt of R136m owed to South African operator Spoornet following renationalisation of the railways in the former Zaire. The aim is to restore relations damaged last year when Laurent Kabila’s regime seized the railway and rolling stock, ...

  • News

    SIDETRACK

    1998-04-01T10:00:00Z

    Going undergroundVisitors to Moscow have always been impressed by the Metro. Glass chandeliers hanging from cavernous painted ceilings, and walls and floors surfaced in polished marble and granite gave a feeling of extraordinary grandeur - dare one say, like the interior of a royal palace. But times have most definitely ...

  • News

    Talgo speed-up

    1998-04-01T10:00:00Z

    THE FEDERAL Railroad Administration and BNSF have given Amtrak West permission to raise the speed of its Talgo tilting trains through curves on the Seattle - Portland portion of the 750 km Pacific Northwest corridor. The move will cut journey times by up to 25 min, permitting introduction of a ...

  • News

    Training strategy

    1998-04-01T10:00:00Z

    CONTINUING optimism about the future of rail in Britain has prompted concern that engineering expertise could be lacking in years to come. Launching a consultation paper on February 25, the Chairman of the Railway Division of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers Peter Lowe said that it was important ’to ...

  • News

    Via at the Styx

    1998-04-01T10:00:00Z

    ’CAN we close the gap between revenue and costs any more? The answer is no.’ Addressing the Standing Committee on Transport on February 26, Via Rail Canada President & CEO Terry Ivany told Canada’s MPs that by the end of this year Via will have reduced its reliance on government ...