All Railway Gazette International articles in August 2007 – Page 2

  • News

    Finance August 2007

    2007-08-21T05:15:00Z

    Canada: Under a short line investment programme announced on July 5, the federal government is proving C$30m, the province of Québec C$20m and rail operators C$25m for the renewal of 1 641 km of track on nine short lines, upgrading to Class 1 loading standards and installation of sidings. Finland: ...

  • News

    Metros August 2007

    2007-08-20T11:08:00Z

    Belgium: Work has been completed at Sainte-Catherine under a programme running until 2009 to refurbish 24 stations on the STIB metro and pre-metro networks in Brussels. The €100m programme is being funded by the regional and federal governments. Canada: On June 27 the TransLink board authorised a study for a ...

  • News

    Swiss lorry limits to stay

    2007-08-19T05:03:00Z

    THE SWISS government has confirmed that rail will remain the preferred mode for north-south transit freight, approving in June the allocation of SFr1·6bn to support transit rail freight in 2011-18. The funds are specified in legislation that will replace the current law which expires in 2010 (RG 10.06 p641). The ...

  • News

    Trinity announces leasing deal

    2007-08-18T08:18:00Z

    ON JUNE 28 Trinity Industries Inc announced the sale of $1·4bn of wagons over 24 months as part of a complex deal involving the formation of a new company. Trinity Industries has purchased a 20% equity share in TRIP Rail Holdings LLC, with the remaining equity held by five ...

  • News

    Central America going nowhere

    2007-08-18T05:06:00Z

    THE BRAVE hope that privatisation would lead to a railway revival in Central America appears to be coming to naught. Just three weeks after Railroad Development Corp filed for arbitration in its dispute with the government of Guatemala (RG 7.07 p414), FVG Chairman Henry Posner III wrote to all customers ...

  • News

    Study says no to seat belts on trains

    2007-08-17T05:05:00Z

    A MAJOR report published by Britain's Rail Safety & Standards Board on July 31 draws together the findings of several research programmes extending over five years into the case for using seat belts on ...

  • News

    WestNet plans West Australia iron ore network

    2007-08-16T05:00:00Z

    WHILE NOT on the same scale as iron ore production in the Pilbara, high prices are driving the development of new mines in the Mid West region of Western Australia. WestNet Rail, the Babcock & Brown subsidiary that leases and manages Western Australia's 5 100 km of 1 067 mm ...

  • News

    Mine forces Malmbanan move

    2007-08-15T05:57:00Z

    DEEP-LEVEL mining of iron ore will require the relocation of Sweden's Malmbanan at Kiruna, as the present alignment of the Luleå - Narvik main line will be affected by ground deformation. According to Thomas Nordmark of mining company LKAB, the new line will be around 20 km long and has ...

  • News

    National Express wins East Coast

    2007-08-14T14:33:00Z

    ON AUGUST 14 the UK Department for Transport announced that National Express Group had been selected to operate the InterCity East Coast franchise, which runs to March 31 2015. From December 9 NEG will take over from GNER, which agreed last December to hand back its 10-year franchise after ...

  • News

    Zhuzhou to build 5·6 MW freight locos

    2007-08-14T14:23:00Z

    SIEMENS Transportation Systems announced on August 14 that it had signed a €334m contract to supply CSR Zhuzhou Electric Locomotive Co with components for the construction of 500 heavy-haul electric locos. Due to enter service with Chinese Railways from early 2009, the 150 tonne, six-axle freight locos will be rated ...

  • News

    Taipei orbital nears E & M bidding

    2007-08-14T05:36:00Z

    TENDERS for electrical and mechanical work on the first phase of the medium-capacity orbital transit line in Taipei are likely to be called in September, according to Chung-Cheng Kao, Chief Engineer of the Department of Rapid Transit Systems. Announcing this at a UK Trade & Investment seminar in London last ...

  • News

    Wien U-Bahn to extend north and south

    2007-08-13T05:32:00Z

    THE Austrian government and the city authorities in Wien have unveiled plans to add 14 km to the Wien U-Bahn network in a €1·85bn expansion programme stretching to 2019. Announcing details of the extensions on July 12, Vice-Chancellor and Finance Minister Wilhelm Molterer and Deputy Mayor Renate Brauner said that ...

  • News

    Off to a fresh Start at MÁV

    2007-08-12T05:18:00Z

    LAST MONTH Hungarian Railways launched MÁV Start as a subsidiary company to run the passenger business, marking a key step in the government’s plans to reform the state railway. The new company began life on July 1 using a temporary operating licence and start-up capital of 62bn forints. Rolling stock ...

  • News

    Up in Algeria and Den Haag

    2007-08-11T06:10:00Z

    THREE track-mounted mobile lifting jack systems are being supplied to Algeria’s national railway for installation in the depots under construction at Mecheria and Béchar. Each consist of four jacks with individual capacities of 20, 25 and 35 tonnes and a lifting height extending up to 2 000 mm, giving the ...

  • News

    Argentina sets a new course

    2007-08-10T11:14:00Z

    With the failings of a once-vaunted privatisation programme now clear to see, the government of Argentina is seeking to create two new state-owned companies to reform the railway sector and carry out much-needed investment.

  • News

    'Cobra' offers high speed future

    2007-08-10T11:10:00Z

    ONE OF THE promises that Néstor Kirchner made during his successful campaign for Argentina's 2003 presidential election was to restore long-distance passenger services to those communities which had lost them back in the 1990s, leaving them at the mercy of unmetalled roads which become impassable in wet weather. Almost ...

  • News

    ERRAC updates Research Agenda 2020

    2007-08-10T11:07:00Z

    A DOUBLING of rail traffic in Europe over the next 15 years is anticipated in the updated version of the Strategic Rail Research Agenda drawn up by the European Rail Research Advisory Council. This was formally presented to András Siegler, Director for Transport at the European Commission's Research Directorate-General, by ...

  • News

    First train to Modi'in

    2007-08-10T05:15:00Z

    ISRAEL Railways operated its first trial train on the new line from Ben Gurion Airport to Modi'in on July 2. The IC3 Flexliner DMU carried guests from the local municipalities and selected press representatives, covering the 14 km in around 20 min. Transport Minister Shaul Mofaz had already announced that ...

  • News

    SweMaint taken over

    2007-08-09T08:06:00Z

    WAGON maker Kockums Industrier announced at the end of June that it was paying SKr88·3m to acquire SweMaint, Sweden's largest wagon repair and maintenance company, from state-owned Swedcarrier. Kokums also assumes SKr78·3m of SweMaint debt under the deal, which creates a combined group with around 360 employees and an annual ...

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    News

    Railteam bids to relaunch international rail travel

    2007-08-08T09:34:00Z

    A DRIVE to position rail as the natural mode for international travel across Europe came on July 2, when the Railteam alliance of high speed train operators was launched in Brussels. A year of detailed negotiations has shaped the Railteam concept since a provisional accord was signed last year ...