All Railway Gazette International articles in April 2001 – Page 2

  • News

    Help needed

    2001-04-01T10:00:00Z

    NIGERIAN Railways Corp is once again on the point of collapse, with only 30 of its 200 locomotives in working order, according to Board Chairman Alhaji Waziri Mohammed. What is particularly sad is that the 50 Class 2101 locos, 150 passenger coaches, 20 railcars, 100 guard’s vans and 400 wagons ...

  • News

    Gas insulation

    2001-04-01T10:00:00Z

    THE Griebnitzsee switching station that Siemens Transportation Systems is building for DB Netz is to use inert SF6 gas-insulated switchgear, rather than traditional air insulation.Gas insulation has previously been used by Amtrak, Kowloon - Canton Railway and Hungarian State Railways, but this is the first application in Germany. The ...

  • News

    Spoornet rethinks its loco fleet

    2001-04-01T10:00:00Z

    INTRO: Faced with an ageing and increasingly unreliable motive power fleet, South Africa’s national railway has launched a major programme of upgrading and renewal. Bids are being called for new high-tech locomotives which will give Spoornet the ability to overcome a legacy of different electrification systems BYLINE: Leo Petkoon and ...

  • News

    Finnish seats

    2001-04-01T10:00:00Z

    Sir - In your Passenger Portfolio seating review (RG 2.01 p98), you include a photograph of our Rica Basic seat. Unfortunately, there is no reference to our company in the article, but only to another Finnish manufacturer. I am concerned that this might lead to a possible misunderstanding among your ...

  • News

    Finance

    2001-04-01T10:00:00Z

    Australia: Cheung Kong Infrastructure Holdings Ltd of Hong Kong is to invest A$26·5m in the Alice Springs - Darwin project, buying two tranches of floating rate loan notes issued by Asia Pacific Transport Consortium.Brazil: Ferropar, operator of the Guarapuava - Cascavel section of Ferroeste, is planning to invest R$43m ...

  • News

    Escape route

    2001-04-01T10:00:00Z

    Alert Safety Technologies has developed Safescape, a device which can break instantly a toughened glass window to provide an escape route when a button is pressed. It can be fitted to existing windows, and a film over the glass makes it easy to push out when frosted.Alert Safety Technologies, Great ...

  • News

    Electronic locker services

    2001-04-01T10:00:00Z

    TOKYO suburban operator Keihin Express Electric Railway is testing electronic lockers at its stations. The lockers provide a range of services, including photo developing, laundry, and the sending or receiving of parcels. Credit card and locker content data is transmitted along the railway’s optic fibre network, completed in March.Customers must ...

  • News

    Tunis suburban electrification funded

    2001-04-01T10:00:00Z

    TUNISIAN State Railways has negotiated a ´13bn loan from the Japan Bank for International Co-operation to fund the long-planned electrification of its metre-gauge Tunis suburban service to Borj Cedria. This was first floated in 1990 following the completion of a new maintenance depot at Borj Cedria and the extension of ...

  • News

    Silk Road link moves to engineering design

    2001-04-01T10:00:00Z

    INTRO: On February 5 the President of Kyrgyzstan signed legislation promoting the development of rail links between Central Asia and China. Chris Jackson asked the State Directorate on New Railroad Construction about the state of progress AT THE END of March, a Chinese study team is due to complete a ...

  • News

    DB to devolveits local services

    2001-04-01T10:00:00Z

    GERMAN Railway is to devolve responsibility for local passenger services to regional management. Announcing the move on March 15, DB Regio Chairman Dr Christoph Franz said that ’we want decisions to be taken where our customers are’, and announced the appointment of two DB Regio board members (p220) to oversee ...

  • News

    Crowding not over

    2001-04-01T10:00:00Z

    PASSENGERS commuting across central Paris on RER Line A were led to believe some time ago that overcrowding on the busiest section between Gare de Lyon and Auber would be eased when other cross-Paris rail arteries were opened. Since then, no less than three cross-city routes have been completed. Line ...

  • News

    Crossing tested

    2001-04-01T10:00:00Z

    Canadian Pacific Railway has given a positive review to ARS Networks’ Crosslogix advanced warning system for level crossings. Testing has been under way on CPR’s main line west of Toronto since last autumn, and an external third party auditor will be appointed to ensure that Crosslogix meets the criteria for ...

  • News

    Croatian DMU deal

    2001-04-01T10:00:00Z

    ADTRANZ and HZ subsidiary TZV Gredelj signed a general agreement for future co-operation in the construction of Regio Swinger tilting diesel multiple-units on February 28. Following an audit and positive technical appraisal by Adtranz, the Croatian vehicle component manufacturer is to produce parts for Adtranz, who are supporting the modernisation ...

  • News

    Track suppliers congregate at Rail-Tech Europe

    2001-04-01T10:00:00Z

    THE THIRD Rail-Tech Europe rail and infrastructure exhibition is being held in Utrecht on April 3-5. The exhibition and its associated conferences will form an important European forum for railway industry suppliers and operators.Inside the exhibition hall will be a 160m stretch of track, but additional exhibition space will be ...

  • News

    Commercial development contemplated

    2001-04-01T10:00:00Z

    RAIL India Technical & Economic Services has produced ambitious plans for the commercial development of underused space at a number of stations across the country. The expansion of retail facilities, food outlets and advertising potential is being studied at various locations, including Sealdah, Howrah, Bandra East, New Delhi, and the ...

  • News

    Errant car triggers high speed collision

    2001-04-01T10:00:00Z

    A LAND ROVER towing a trailer carrying a second car veered off a motorway at Great Heck in Yorkshire on February 28, and plunged on to Railtrack’s East Coast Main Line. Despite an emergency phone call by the driver at 06.12, his vehicle was struck almost immediately by the 04.45 ...

  • News

    Decision time in the Cape

    2001-04-01T10:00:00Z

    STRUCTURAL change is poised to arrive on South Africa’s 1067mm gauge railway. Debate about the future of the 19756 km network has been heated since consultants Halcrow were called in last year, and speculation was exacerbated when Systra was asked to evaluate the proposals (RG 12.00 p789). Last month the ...

  • News

    Cameras catch vandals

    2001-04-01T10:00:00Z

    FREIGHT operator Direct Rail Services is undertaking trials using train-mounted Sonitrol CCTV cameras to catch vandals. If the tests are successful, other companies may adopt the scheme. In 1999-2000, malicious acts caused 55% of reportable ’train incidents’ in Britain. As well as endangering lives, this cost the industry over £250m. ...

  • News

    Specialist cabling

    2001-04-01T10:00:00Z

    ON February 12 Railtrack granted approval for network-wide use of Brand-Rex’s RT/E/PS/00005 standard thermoplastic A4 signalling cable, the firm’s first trackside product. The compact lightweight cable was developed for use with the Train Protection &Warning System and will replace rubber based designs.Brand-Rex has also extended its X-treme Rail product range ...

  • News

    No monkey business

    2001-04-01T10:00:00Z

    Police have broken up a racket at Indian Railways’ main terminus in Kolkata, arresting 25 porters and 28 monkeys. The porters had previously been caught occupying unreserved seats on trains and selling them on to passengers. After being arrested for breaking railway by-laws, the porters recruited the monkeys to ...