All Railway Gazette International articles in December 2007
All articles published this month.
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News
East Coast franchise handover
NATIONAL Express Group began operating the UK's prestigious InterCity East Coast franchise on December 9, replacing Great North Eastern Railway which had held the previous franchise until the operator and its parent company hit financial difficulties. The new agreement covering 200 km/h services between London, Yorkshire and Scotland via the ...
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News
Quick stop after derailment
THE TIME lag from the moment a derailment occurs to the moment the train stops can be crucial in minimising the damage which results, making it important to apply the emergency brake as soon as the wheels leaves the rail. The Sicode inertial derailment detector provides a quick brake application ...
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News
Bridal Belle
PAKISTAN Railways was expecting to launch a dedicated wedding coach into service during December. The special vehicle is available for charter by wedding parties, and will be attached to inter-city trains for travel to and from ceremonies. The air-conditioned coach has a bridal suite and five bedrooms providing sleeping accommodation ...
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News
Industry News in Brief
Faiveley Transport has begun exclusive negotiations to acquire the sintered brake pad business of Carbone Lorraine. A plant at Gennevilliers near Paris employs 80 staff and reported 2006 sales of €17·1m.Vossloh and Nanjing Iron Steel Co formally opened a rail fastening factory at Kunshan outside Shanghai in a ceremony on ...
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News
Alstom announces maintenance deal
SPANISH national rail operator Renfe and train builder Alstom announced the formation of train maintenance joint venture Irvia Mantenimiento Ferroviario on November 28. Alstom has a 51% stake in the Madrid-based joint venture, and the board will be nominated equally by the two partners. Irvia will initially maintain 80 ...
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News
TKL Rail bought by Vossloh
VOSSLOH announced on November 20 that it had signed an agreement to purchase the assets of TKL Rail, the Australian turnout business of Flowserve Corp subsidiary Thompsons Kelly & Lewis Pty Ltd. The companies did not disclose the price of the deal, which was expected to be completed in mid ...
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News
UP relies on Reliability Teams
UNION PACIFIC has learned that reporting a bad-order locomotive can be relatively easy. However, finding and fixing the problem efficiently and getting the loco back on the road can be another matter. To this end, the railroad has formed Reliability Teams at each of its 13 major locomotive repair shops ...
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News
Network Rail sends in the robots
IN RECENT months British train operators have suffered from massive disruption from fires close to their routes when acetylene gas cylinders were involved, or were suspected of being involved. Acetylene is unusual in that there is risk of explosion even after the fire is out, leading to the emergency services ...
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Sonic measuring tool
SIEMENS has built a sonic measuring tool for use at Wildenrath when approving vehicles against the European Rail Agency's TSI covering noise emissions. The key to accurately measuring the sound of a passing vehicle is ensuring that recorded noise comes from the train itself and not the track. A section ...
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News
DMU Eco-Mode fuels savings at TPE
TRANSPENNINE EXPRESS and Siemens Transportation Systems are extending their Eco-Mode programme, which was launched in July to improve the environmental credentials of the UK train operating company's 51-strong fleet of Class 185 Desiro DMUs. Eco-Mode focuses on reducing fuel consumption by encouraging drivers to adopt more efficient driving techniques, analysing ...
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News
China Railway Group flotation
STATE-owned rail infrastructure construction contractor China Railway Group raised 22·4bn yuan though an IPO in Shanghai on November 23. Ministry of Railways company China Railway Engineering Corp floated 27% of its China Railway Group subsidiary, with trading beginning on December 3. A further HK$19·22bn was raised through the sale of ...
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News
Major restructuring at Siemens
A MAJOR restructuring of Siemens will be undertaken during January, creating group-wide Industry, Energy and Healthcare sectors, divided into a total of into 15 divisions. The restructuring is intended to place greater emphasis on global businesses rather than regional activities, producing a less complex organisation with clearer lines of responsibility. ...
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NewsAirport casts pods in future transport role
UK: Construction is proceeding rapidly on elevated guideways for a 3·8 route-km T-shaped 'personal rapid transit' line which will connect the future Terminal 5 at London's Heathrow airport with a car park for business class passengers from 2009. The terminal is due to open a year earlier in 2008, ...
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NewsSiemens high speed train sets sail for China
THE FIRST of the CRH3 high speed trains being supplied to Chinese Railways has left Bremerhaven in Germany onboard M/S Gjertrud Maersk for the six-week sea journey to Tianjin. The 60 eight-car trains were ordered in November 2005 from a consortium of Siemens Transportation Systems and Tangshan Locomotive & Rolling ...
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News
Andalucía's network takes shape
UNDER ITS PROJECT to build a 128 km high speed line between Sevilla and the Córdoba – Málaga route at Antequera Santa Ana (RG 5.07 p250), the Andalucía regional government is aiming for civil works to be in progress on all route sections during 2008. Tenders have been called for ...
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Santo Domingo metro delivery
THE FIRST three-car Metropolis trainset for the metro line under construction in Santo Domingo left Alstom's factory in Barcelona on December 14. The ship delivering the train is expected to dock in the Dominican Republic in early January. Transport authority OPRET announced the award of a €92·5m contract for ...
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News
Pegase ready to take off
AFTER three years of research and development Faiveley Transport has launched Pegase, a roof-mounted electric traction power collection module which brings together the pantograph, auxiliary compressor, isolating equipment, lightning protection, disconnector, energy measurement and controls in an single unit. The trend towards low floor trains and larger air-conditioning units is ...
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Investment spend under pressure
ENGINEERING GANGS and contractors are hard at work across the USA, as the Class I railroads scramble to add capacity to cope with demand. With the coal, grain and intermodal sectors booming, capital investment budgets are running at record levels year after year. BNSF is adding a third track on ...