All Railway Gazette International articles in April 2009 – Page 2
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NewsWindhoff multi-purpose vehicle handed over to SBB
SWITZERLAND: The first of five Combi multi-purpose infrastructure maintenance vehicles being supplied to Swiss Federal Railways by Windhoff was officially handed over at the IAF track technology exhibition in Münster on April 22. The 20 m long machine is one of three variants based on a common platform and ...
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NewsConfidence in a buoyant market
MATISA: Swiss track equipment specialist Matisa shows little sign of suffering in the global recession as orders continue to arrive from railways across the world.
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NewsTrack renewals closer
URUGUAY: State railway AFE was due to begin track renewals between Tacuarembó and Rivera last month, having begun to move rail for the project from a site near Peñarol using wagons supplied by Italian State Railways. Manufactured in Russia, the rail had been in storage since 1999. Meanwhile, infrastructure authority ...
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NewsBraking joint venture formed in Iran
IRAN: Faiveley Transport has announced the formation of a braking equipment joint venture with Iranian energy, transport and petrochemicals conglomerate MAPNA. Around 20 people will produce locomotive and rolling stock brakes at a site in Karaj. Faiveley Transport said the joint venture will provide the basis for offering spares, ...
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NewsHitachi drops out of Thameslink competition
UK: Hitachi Europe Rail Group confirmed on April 22 that it was pulling out of the bidding to supply commuter trains for Thameslink services through London. 'By doing so, the company is able to continue its focus on current and future commitments', said a statement from Hitachi. In July ...
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NewsExhibits inside and out
IAF: Swiss group Speno International will have products on display both indoors and outside in Münster.
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NewsVeolia to run Hong Kong trams
CHINA: Veolia Transport has signed an agreement with Wharf Holdings to buy a 50% stake in Hong Kong Tramways. Veolia will assume responsibility for operating and managing the network, which opened in 1904 and now carries 240 000 passengers a day on 163 tramcars, the only entirely double-deck fleet remaining. ...
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NewsPermanent Way industry makes tracks to Münster
INFRASTRUCTURE: More than 150 companies representing all aspects of the permanent way industry will be present in Münster for the 25th International Exhibition of Track Technology taking place on April 21-23.
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NewsSBB invites bids for biggest train order
SWITZERLAND: Swiss Federal Railways invited bids on April 20 for the supply of 59 double-deck trainsets, which it says will be its largest-ever rolling stock order. Three types of train are planned: 20 inter-city sets 200 m long, 30 inter-regional trains of 200 m and nine inter-regional sets of ...
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NewsFull order book in Freilassing
ROBEL: Driven by a robust export market and sub-contracted work from its parent company Plasser & Theurer, German track equipment supplier Robel is increasing capacity at its base in the south of the country.
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NewsWorld rail market April 2009
Australia: The government has appointed engineering consultancy GHD Pty Ltd to undertake an A$3m study of rail freight movements in and around Adelaide, looking at noise, capacity and safety issues. UK: ATOC has selected Delta-Rail and Steer Davies Gleave to develop and operate a new economic forecasting model ...
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NewsPeople in the news - April 2009
Gerald Hörster was formally installed as President of Germany’s Federal Railway Office (EBA) by Parliamentary State Secretary Achim Grossmann at a ceremony in Bonn on March 9. Appointed by Federal Transport Minister Wolfgang Tiefensee on January 22, Hörster succeeds Dipl-Ing Armin Keppel, who retired in December. After training as a ...
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NewsObama announces inter-city rail funding programme
USA: An ambitious strategic programme to spend $13bn on 10 'high speed' rail corridors over five years was unveiled by President Barack Obama on April 16, as part of an initiative to reduce fuel consumption, pollution, traffic congestion and airport overcrowding. The federal $787bn economic stimulus plan includes ...
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NewsSuppliers expect strong interest at Münster exhibition
IAF: Full order books are keeping track machinery suppliers busy, while economic regeneration programmes should lead to more contracts in the medium term. We look at some of the machines on show at iaf 2009 and talk to suppliers about the market.
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NewsNairobi commuter upgrade plan
KENYA: Kenya Railways signed a joint venture agreement with InfraCo on April 15 commissioning a two-year study into a major upgrading of commuter rail services in Nairobi. Implementation of the recommendations would take a further 18 months, for completion in 2012 when national rail concessionaire Rift Valley Railways loses the ...
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NewsFreight trains to use High Speed 1 from 2010
UK: DB Schenker Rail (UK) announced on April 16 that it had signed an agreement with HS1 Ltd to develop TVM software modifications enabling Class 92 electric locomotives to operate on High Speed 1, the high speed line from the Channel Tunnel to London. Infrastructure owner HS1 Ltd and ...
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NewsTraffic up, funds down
USA: Citing record fuel prices in mid-year as a key driver, the American Public Transportation Association reports that public transport ridership in 2008 reached its highest level since 1956, with more than 10·7 billion trips. And although job losses soared as the US economy fell into recession, patronage remained high. ...
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NewsPort of Melbourne link opens
AUSTRALIA: The upgraded Tottenham - Dynon rail link was officially opened on 8 April, five years after the start of the A$45m project to provide a 7 km double track standard gauge connection between the Tottenham yards and the Port of Melbourne's intermodal terminal. Opening the line, Minister for ...
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NewsTunnel with no trains
EUROPE: RFF President Hubert du Mesnil visited Perpignan on February 17 to celebrate the completion of works to connect the Perpignan - Figueres cross-border railway with the French rail network. Under the €210m package funded by the government, two new platform tracks have been added at Perpignan station, along with ...
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NewsCompetition through the Channel Tunnel
EUROPE: Presenting the FaberMaunsell/Aecom lecture on the future of rail freight in the UK at the Institution of Civil Engineers on March 12, Rail Freight Group Chairman Lord Berkeley announced that the first ‘open access’ freight train through the Channel Tunnel would be running that night. It transpires that the ...