All Railway Gazette International articles in December 2008 – Page 3
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NewsManchester voters reject TIF proposal
UK: Voters in the 10 boroughs of Greater Manchester have voted to reject the plans for transport investment outlined in the Association of Greater Manchester Authorities’ application for funding from the government’s Transport Innovation Fund. The £2·8bn TIF submission would have paved the way for Phase 3B of the expansion ...
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NewsClass 395 whisks minister to London
UK: Transport Minister Lord Adonis accompanied Southeastern Managing Director Charles Horton on a special trip from Ashford to St Pancras International on board a Hitachi Class 395 trainset on December 12. Marking the start of a one-year countdown to the launch of high speed domestic services on High Speed ...
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NewsUIC agrees a way forward
EUROPE: Meeting in Paris on December 5, the Executive Board of the International Union of Railways approved several principles for modifying the association's statutes and governance, designed to overcome disagreements that potentially threatened to split the UIC apart. The proposals were later endorsed by the General Assembly, paving the way ...
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NewsGetting ERTMS into service quicker
ITALY: Experience gained from the installation of ERTMS on two high speed lines has enabled infrastructure manager RFI to accelerate the commissioning of the Milano - Bologna line, which will carry its first passengers this month.
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NewsMTR orders from the Mainland
CHINA: On December 10 Changchun Railway Vehicles signed a HK$1·1bn contract to supply Hong Kong's MTR with 10 eight-car trainsets which will enable an increase in service frequencies on the Island, Kwun Tong, Tsuen Wan and Tseung Kwan O lines. Russell Black, Projects Director at MTR Corp, said it ...
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NewsAGV tests reach 360 km/h
FRANCE: On December 14 Alstom and Eurailtest will complete four weekends of high speed testing of the Pégase AGV demonstrator on LGV Est, one of the few lines where it is possible to reach speeds of 360 km/h. The AGV has already undergone four months of testing at the ...
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NewsGlobaltrans expands in oil and Kazakhstan
GLOBALTRANS: Russian private rail freight operator Globaltrans has bought two tank wagon leasing companies, as part of its policy of increasing exposure to the oil and oil products markets and gaining an entry to Kazakhstan. The company will pay US$79m over two years to acquire a 61% stake in ...
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NewsAirport S-Bahn to open
GERMANY: From December 11 passenger services will begin running on the branch of Hamburg S-Bahn Line S1 from Ohlsdorf to the city’s international airport. The 3 km double-track branch diverges from the existing network north of Ohlsdorf and runs underground to the airport station. The 1·2 kV DC third ...
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NewsAmbitious vision will alter public perception
ROMANIA: The railway has been praised for the pace of reform in recent years as it has adapted smoothly to a competitive market. In an effort to maintain this momentum, AIF, the country’s railway association, took a pavilion at InnoTrans for the first time. Secretary-General Stefan Roseanu outlined a bright ...
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NewsMeasure R approved
USA: Los Angeles County Metro confirmed on December 2 that voters had approved Measure R with a 67·9% majority, and as a result a 0·5% sales tax increase will come into force on July 1 2009. This is expected to raise more than $650m for transport projects in its ...
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NewsLonger trams in Helsinki
FINLAND: Verkehrs Industrie Systeme of Halberstadt has begun supplying Helsinki city transport company HKL with low-floor centre sections to lengthen 41 two-section articulated trams dating from the mid-1980s. A prototype centre section was designed by HKL two years ago, with VIS supplying components. After positive feedback for passengers VIS won ...
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NewsAlstom to modernise Hanoi - Vinh signalling
VIETNAM: On December 5 state railway DSVN signed a €38·3m contract with Alstom Transport for the modernisation of signalling at 34 stations on the 319 km Hanoi - Vinh line by the second quarter of 2012. Alstom will supply a control centre, electronic interlockings and trackside equipment including point ...
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NewsDrowning in data and seeking a solution
MAINTENANCE: Train-mounted measurement systems and condition monitoring equipment are generating large quantities of data, posing a challenge for railways to collate and interpret the information in a meaningful way. Software which can harness this data more effectively will help to inform infrastructure maintenance decisions.
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NewsEMU redesigned for airport traffic
UK: As part of a shake-up of London - Brighton services which saw the Gatwick Express dedicated airport service absorbed by commuter operator Southern in June, on December 9 Southern began returning to traffic 17 third-rail EMUs which have been refurbished after having being withdrawn by South West Trains in ...
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NewsTrack geometry car
CANADA: A self-propelled track geometry vehicle formed by installing state-of-the-art electronic inspection equipment in a Budd RDC has been delivered to Canadian National. This car was rebuilt for CN by US firm Gateway Rail Services, and now contains equipment produced by Ensco for the monitoring of curvature, alignment and ...
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NewsNew York Air Brake acquires Anchor Brake Shoe Co
KNORR-BREMSE: Anchor Brake Shoe Company, a US manufacturer of high and low friction composition brake shoes and tread conditioning shoes for locomotive and freight wagons, has been acquired by New York Air Brake Corp, part of the Knorr-bremse Group. Anchor Brake Shoe was previously part of Standard Car Truck. ...
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NewsWabtec completes SCT purchase
USA: On December 8 Wabtec Corp said it had completed the $300m acquisition of Standard Car Truck announced on September 15. SCT expects to report sales of $225m in 2008, and Wabtec said it expects the transaction to be accretive in the first year, although the recognition of non-cash, purchase ...
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NewsDB Netz uses satellites to locate track in three dimensions
GEOMETRY: Satellite surveying enhanced by reference points on the ground is now so accurate that it can be used to define the absolute position of track to± 10 mm accuracy, allowing contractors’ tamping and lining machines to produce track geometry within ±1 mm of optimised calculated values.
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NewsTMH-Alstom chosen for double-deck contract
RUSSIA: State railway RZD announced on December 8 that it had selected the TMH-Alstom joint venture of Alstom and Transmash Holding as its strategic partner for the supply of double-deck passenger carriages. Tenders had been called in March for the supply of 1 210 double-deck 'hotel train' vehicles, which ...
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NewsFirst Gautrain cars arrive
SOUTH AFRICA: The ship carrying the second pair of Bombardier EMU cars for Gautrain is expected to dock in Durban on December 8, following the arrival of the initial pair on December 1. The first 15 vehicles are being built at Bombardier's Derby plant in the UK. The 46 ...