All Railway Gazette International articles in April 2000 – Page 3
-
News
CKD DS break-up imminent
NEXT MONTH is due to see the formal takeover of Czech rolling stock supplier CKD Dopravní systémy by Siemens AG, with the implementation of a strategic plan announced by the German group last September. This led to the signing of a letter of intent last December under which Siemens will ...
-
News
NEL to break the high-speed logjam
INTRO: This spring will see the completion of a lightweight Non-Electric Locomotive being developed jointly by the US Federal Railroad Administration and Bombardier Transportation. Powered by a 5000hp gas turbine, the 240 km/h NEL is expected to spearhead an incremental approach to the development of high-speed inter-city services on non-electrified ...
-
News
Bucuresti branch opens
March 1 saw the start of revenue services on the long-awaited Bucuresti metro extension from Gara de Nord to 1 Mai. The 3·3 km branch of Line 3 has intermediate stations at Basarab and Grivita, bringing the network to 63route-km and 43 stations. Participating at the opening ceremonies were ...
-
News
Bracks invests
PLANS TO invest A$1·5bn in transport infrastructure over the next three years were announced by the Premier of Victoria Steve Bracks on February 28. Bids are to be called this year for redevelopment of Melbourne’s Spencer Street station as a multi-modal interchange. It will also be the terminus for the ...
-
News
Blue mountain, black hole
ALARMING evidence about chaotic safe-working procedures in New South Wales emerged during the official inquiry into the collision at Glenbrook in the Blue Mountains on December 2, when the Indian Pacific was struck in the rear by an inter-urban EMU, killing seven passengers and injuring 51.The EMU driver told the ...
-
News
STB ban halts BNSF-CN merger
IN A MOVE that stunned the North American railway industry, the US Surface Transportation Board on March 17 ordered a freeze on all mergers of large railways. The decision followed a four-day hearing into the proposed US$6bn combination of Burlington Northern Santa Fe and Canadian National (RG 2.00 p66) during ...
-
News
Ballast profiling by GPR
A COMPACT ground-penetrating radar (GPR) system suitable for ballast profiling has been introduced by Geophysical Survey Systems. Weighing 6 kg and housed in a weatherproof plastic case, the SIR 2000 takes power at 12V DC and can be used with a range of antennae with a frequency range of 16 ...
-
News
Ministry backs down
LAST December we reported the Japanese Ministry of Transport’s strong desire to push through legislation that would allow full privatisation of the three Japan Rail Group companies on Honshu. We suggested that one or two obstacles may prohibit rapid progress towards the ministry’s goal, despite strong backing from JR East ...
-
News
Davies backs Railtrack’s ATP strategy
TWO MAJOR collisions on the approaches to London’s Paddington terminus, both involving 200 km/h diesel trains operated by Great Western Trains, raised political concerns about rail safety to fever pitch after the Ladbroke Grove disaster on October 5 1999 (RG 11.99 p703). The next day, Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott ...
-
News
Fervour continues in Asian gateway
With Hong Kong's population set to break through the 7 million barrier this year, Tim Runnacles* reports on progress on a raft of expansion projects. The government has confirmed plans for partial privatisation of metro operator MTR Corp, but further rail proposals await the publication of the second Railway Development ...
-
News
DART approves three more lines
ON MARCH 8 the Dallas Area Rapid Transit board announced preferred routes for light rail extensions to serve Carrollton, Farmers Branch and Irving. A month earlier, the board approved a 16·4 km route to Pleasant Grove. A two-year Major Investment Study suggests that the $1·4bn northwestern lines serving 18 stations ...
-
News
Oil link approved
FEASIBILITY STUDIES have been completed for a 220 km rail link in the northern Caucasus, designed to improve access to the Caspian Sea oilfields. The line is being promoted by Russian Railways, with the regional government in Stavropol and various Russian and foreign oil companies.A committee was formed in 1998 ...
-
News
Amtrak turns to growth
REVERSING a 25-year policy of cutting costs, US national passenger operator Amtrak announced an aggressive expansion plan on February 29. President & CEO George Warrington admitted that the previous policy had backfired: ’the amount of revenue we lost exceeded the amount we saved.’ Intended to boost profits by $65m a ...
-
News
Amsterdam picks Combinos
ON MARCH 8 Amsterdam's metro operator GVB confirmed that it was to order a fleet of 95 Combino 100% low-floor cars from Siemens Verkehrstechnik, making it the eighth city to adopt the modular design. Placed after a Europe-wide tendering process, the 138bn euros contract works out at 1·45bn euros per ...
-
News
F-Market all at sea
WITH LITTLE fanfare and no speeches from elected officials, San Francisco Municipal Railway’s long-awaited F-Market light rail extension to Fisherman’s Wharf was opened on March 4. Now renamed F-Market & Wharves, the line runs along the waterfront to a loop at Jones & Beach streets. Serving many tourist destinations, the ...
-
News
BBR beacon lights the way in southern Africa
OPENING OF the Beitbridge - Bulawayo Railway in Zimbabwe on July 15 last year quickly led to appreciation of the benefits of faster transits between Zambia, Zimbabwe and the ports of South Africa. Traffic that had previously rolled through Botswana via Mafikeng and Plumtree rapidly switched to the new line. ...
-
News
Restructuring hits Adtranz
ON FEBRUARY 28 DaimlerChrysler AG presented its results for 1999, the first year with fully consolidated results from Adtranz after ABB sold its 50% stake in the business. Operating profit at DaimlerChrysler was up 20% at 10·3bn euros, after adjustment for one-time effects including restructuring expenses at Adtranz, where revenue ...
-
News
Auto-sanding tackles low adhesion
TRANSYS Projects Ltd has started work at Cambridge depot to fit sanding equipment to a batch of Class 158 DMUs operated by Central Trains of Great Britain, following successful installation last year on six Class 158s and a batch of Class 323 EMUs (below). The equipment operates automatically in braking ...
-
News
Action needed
A PROGRESS report from International Risk Management Services commissioned by the Irish Department of Public Enterprise chides Iarnród éireann for not moving quickly enough to implement changes to improve safety. While the dire predictions of a report by the same consultants published in November 1998 (RG 12.98 p825) have not ...
-
News
On-board condition monitoring keeps down Series E231 costs
BYLINE: Yoshihiko SatoGeneral Manager, Transport & Rolling Stock Department East Japan Railway CoEast Japan Railway’s Series 209 broke fresh ground in 1992 when it was launched as a train designed to halve costs. The idea was to achieve major savings in manufacturing and operating costs through a shorter life cycle ...
- Previous Page
- Page1
- Page2
- Page3
- Page4
- Next Page