All Railway Gazette International articles in April 2008 – Page 2
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News
Skates away
LIBERIA:?Currently renovating the disused Bong Mining Railway with a view to resuming iron-ore shipments in June 2009, the giant steel supplier Arcelor-Mittal has hit upon a little local difficulty. In common with many railways — both active and disused — across Africa, Asia and Latin America, the line is widely ...
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News
Infrastructure market April 2008
Africa: Consta has subcontracted Mesfin Industrial Engineering to undertake a 40m birr modernisation of bridges on the Ethio-Djibouti Railway. Corrosion on will be treated on 65 steel bridges, while a further 25 will be replaced with concrete structures. Australia: Rio Tinto has awarded Macmahon Holdings a A$65m contract to extend ...
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News
Sydney suburban data
IP NETWORK: Downer EDI Rail has awarded Finnish firm EKE-Electronics a €15m contract to supply an IP-based information system for 78 eight-car trainsets on order for Sydney suburban services. The double-deck EMUs are to be built by a joint venture of Downer EDI Rail and Hitachi Australia for Reliance Rail, ...
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News
DB launches Touch&Travel pilot
TELEPHONE Ticketing: The first 200 test users began using Touch&Travel mobile phone e-ticketing in Germany on February 29, in a pilot for a system which DB and development partner Vodfone hope to introduce nationally in 2010. The initial trials cover suburban trains in Berlin, local transport in Potsdam, and Berlin ...
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NewsUkrainian Railways on the path to renewal
UKRAINE: With traffic volumes and customer expectations increasing, Ukrzaliznytsya has started to renew its rolling stock and upgrade its infrastructure. Structural reform would allow the railway to become more commercial and raise funding for investment from external sources.
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News
State funding deal
USA: Responding to an 88% increase in ridership on state-supported inter-city services between 1996 and 2006, the Department of Transportation has unveiled a grant programme to support efforts by individual states to fund enhancements to passenger rail operations. 'Rail passengers demand improved service and quality and this grant programme will ...
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Rolling stock market April 2008
Australia: On February 28 United Group confirmed it is to supply Pilbara Iron with 30 GE Transportation Evolution Series locos worth A$150m. Canada: Faiveley Transport USA describes as its largest ever order a contract to supply doors for the 160 double-deck commuter coaches which have been ordered from Bombardier by ...
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Saudi Landbridge preferred bidder named
SAUDI ARABIA: The Tarabot consortium was named as preferred bidder for the US$5bn Saudi Landbridge project on April 21. The consortium expects to reach financial close within 12 months, and construction will begin shortly afterward.Tarabot comprises seven Saudi Arabian partners and Australian group Asciano, which owns rail operator Pacific National ...
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News
Market April 2008
China: Nextiva IP video networking from Verint Systems is to be deployed on the Beijing - Tianjin high speed line. Similar technology has also been ordered by DB for use on the Hamburg S-Bahn. Germany: Next month Railion Deutschland will transport the first of 60 000 pipes destined for the ...
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Urban rail news in brief - April 2008
China Northern was awarded a contract on March 4 to supply 24 six-car Type B trainsets with stainless steel bodies for Shenzhen metro Line 3. Deliveries will run for a year from the end of August 2009. A previous contract signed on January 12 covered 60 Type A cars for ...
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News
Polymers provide adaptability
CABLING: Mita UK used the Infrarail 2008 exhibition in Birmingham to showcase its range of glass-reinforced polymer products, aimed primarily at offering a more rapid and more adaptable alternative to concrete for lineside cable management. GRP has particular benefits for sites where the cabling cannot be buried alongside the track, ...
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News
Piezoelectric floor not such a bright idea
JAPAN: East Japan Railway has announced the results of its experiments with a 6 m² piezoelectric floor covering, which was fitted at the ticket gates of a Tokyo station where it used the movement of passengers to generate electricity. It worked, but only just. Production peaked at 10 kW-sec ...
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News
London Overground calling
GSM-R: The UK division of Siemens Mobility has won a contract to supply cab radios for the fleet of 44 Electrostar suburban EMUs for London Overground services currently under construction at Bombardier's Derby facility. The units are to be equipped with radios to operate on both the current analogue cab-to-shore ...
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FS enters the logistics market
ITALY: Italian Railways has set up a joint venture with the Italian post office aimed at securing a share of the market for transporting high-value goods and packages. Italia Logistica was launched on February 28 when FS and Gruppo Poste Italiane announced that they were merging the activities of their ...
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NewsVariobahn arrives in Bochum
GERMANY: Bochum-Gelsenkirchen tram operator Bogestra has taken delivery of the first of 30 Stadler Variobahn low-floor trams. These were ordered in 2004 under a €80m contract which included six Tango high-floor cars (RG 10.07 p602). The metre-gauge trams are 29·62 m long and 2 300 mm wide, ...
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News
Indian Railways moves towards Vision 2025
Presenting his 2008-09 budget to parliament on February 26, India's Railway Minister Lalu Prasad outlined a picture of continuing investment in modernisation and upgrading. Raghu Dayal reports
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News
Lucchini invests €80m in wheels
ITALY: German firm SMS Meer has won a contract to equip an expanded wheel plant at Lucchini Sidermeccanica's Lovere steelworks. The expansion aims to increase capacity at the site in northern Italy's Bergamo province from 140 000 to 240 000 wheels per year by the end of 2009. ELTI ...
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Córdoba private metro proposed
ARGENTINA: The federal Transport Secretariat is considering a proposal from a consortium of Iecsa, Ghello and Alstom to build a 15·8 km metro network in the city of Córdoba with private finance. Comprising two routes with tunnels 9 m in diameter excavated with TBMs and running at a depth of ...
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News
Metrorail revitalisation
SOUTH AFRICA: SARCC Chief Executive Lucky Montana has unveiled a three-stage investment strategy costing R18bn. This is aimed at providing additional services for the 2010 football World Cup, and creating a sustainable commuter network to serve the major cities after the tournament. Montana hopes that 96% of Sarcc's 4 600 ...