All Railway Gazette International articles in December 2010
All articles published this month.
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NewsCosting crossing crashes
AUSTRALIA: The Rail Industry Safety & Standards Board has begun using a level crossing incident cost modelling tool which will provide consistency and accuracy in reporting the cost of incidents at the country’s 23500 level crossings Built around a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet, the tool developed by LECG calculates human, property ...
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NewsUrban rail news in brief
A 2 km extension of München metro line U3 between Olympia-Einkaufs-zentrum and Moosach opened on December 11, providing a connection to S-Bahn services. The U-Bahn network is now 103·1 km long with 100 stations. No further extensions are envisaged for the time being. Following the completion of two short ...
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NewsNews in Brief
The Castilla y León regional government has agreed to provide €107m for Spanish metre-gauge operator FEVE in the period up to 2014. This comprises €248m in operating subsidy and €829m for infrastructure enhancements on the León – Guardo route, where on December 3 a new halt was ...
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NewsUrban rail news in brief
The timetable change on December 12 was marked by a spate of urban rail openings in Germany, including the 5·2 km tram Line 6 from Rotes Tor to Friedberg West in Augsburg, a 1·8 km extension of Köln tram Line 5 from Rektor-Klein-Str to Butzweilerhof and a branch of Hannover ...
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NewsReform looks to cut costs
CZECH REPUBLIC: The Ministry of Transport established a working group last month to study options for merging passenger operator CD and infrastructure manager SZDC into one holding company. This would increase transparency in the flow of subsidies, which are to be cut under plans that were announced on November 15. ...
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NewsCompletion of Ankara - Konya high speed line is significant step
TURKEY: The first passenger train on TCDD's new Ankara - Konya high speed line ran on December 17, marking another significant step in the country's rail development. International Affairs Director Ibrahim Ceslik says revenue services are expected to begin in early 2011, following the formal completion of the line at ...
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NewsRail privatisation planned in Ukraine
UKRAINE: Newly-elected President Viktor Yanukovich has brought forward proposals for partial privatisation of state railway Ukrzaliznytsya as part of an economic package for the next three years which was submitted to parliament in November. UZ Deputy General Director Nikolai Sergienko said the railway would be restructured as a joint stock ...
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NewsSiemens wins first Vectron order
EUROPE: Siemens Mobility announced on December 22 that it had signed the first contract for supply of new locomotives from its modular Vectron family. München-based leasing company Railpool GmbH has ordered six locos for use on passenger and freight services in Germany and Austria. The contracts were signed at the ...
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NewsHonolulu light rail prospects look positive
USA: Hawaii’s newly-elected Governor Neil Abercrombie has signed the Final Environmental Impact Statement for Honolulu’s proposed $5·3bn light rail project, clearing the way for final approval from the Federal Transit Administration. The 32 km elevated line was stalled when Abercrombie’s predecessor, Linda Lingle, refused to approve the ...
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NewsPassenger trains to return to Norfolk
USA: Virginia’s Governor Bob McDonnell announced on December 20 that daily inter-city passenger trains will return to Norfolk within three years, restoring regular services to the Hampton Roads region for the first time since 1977. The announcement followed the signing of an agreement between the Commonwealth of Virginia and ...
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NewsHigh hoppers delivered
UK: WH Davis has supplied DB Schenker Rail with 12 hopper wagons to a new design which will enable aggregates to be delivered for Tarmac to terminals where unloading space is limited. The 75 tonne capacity stainless steel bodies are higher above rail level than is normal for hoppers designed ...
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NewsRhB orders Albula line trainsets
SWITZERLAND: Rhätische Bahn has signed a SFr110m contract with Stadler for the supply of seven new-generation trainsets to operate principal services on the Albula main line between Chur and St Moritz. The deal forms the third stage in RhB’s rolling stock renewal programme, bringing the total order value to SFr310m. ...
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NewsGrant reallocations double California’s high speed pilot section
USA: The planned initial segment of California’s proposed high-speed rail network was almost doubled in length on December 20, thanks to the reallocation of federal funding promised for right-of-way upgrading schemes in Wisconsin and Ohio. Following the rejection of those projects by the two states’ newly-elected governors, the Department of ...
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NewsDB awards ETCS on-board contract
GERMANY: Deutsche Bahn has awarded a €60m contract to Alstom for the supply and installation of on-board ETCS equipment for 121 high speed trainsets to be used on both international and domestic services. The order covers 71 ICE-T tilting trainsets and 50 ICE3 sets. Alstom will supply its Atlas on-board ...
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NewsTbilisi tram design contract signed
GEORGIA: The Mayor of Tbilisi Gigi Ugulava signed contracts with French consultancy Systra on December 17 covering studies for a proposed tram network and the development of an urban master plan as part of the city's railway bypass project.The French government is financing the development of plans for a tramway. ...
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NewsProgress Rail buys Coast to Coast Signal Engineering
USA: Progress Rail Services announced its purchase of Coast to Coast Signal Engineering Inc on December 20, the Caterpillar subsidiary's third signalling acquisition of 2010. Financial details were not released. Coast to Coast Signal Engineering was established in 1984 and is based in Omaha, Nebraska. It will now operate as ...
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NewsGas turbine in heavy haul tests
RUSSIA: The GT1-001 gas turbine-electric locomotive prototype being developed by RZD achieved a further milestone on December 20, when it hauled a 12 000-tonne freight train on the Moscow Railway’s Bekovka – Bekasovo line. The tests were conducted to demonstrate the locomotive’s ability to haul longer and heavier trains than ...
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NewsOslo orders more metro cars
NORWAY: On December 21, rolling stock leasing company Oslo Vognselskap AS signed a €180m contract with Siemens Mobility for the supply of a further 32 three-car metro trainsets. The MX3000 vehicles will be manufactured in Wien and delivered to Oslo in 2012. They will allow the operation of more frequent ...
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NewsTramino runs for charity in Poznan
POLAND: A Solaris Tramino low-floor tram decked in festive Christmas designs has been running in Poznań to raise money for children suffering from Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, an incurable hereditary condition. The 32 m long five-module articulated prototype vehicle currently in passenger service is 2 350 mm wide and has a narrow ...
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NewsIndustry News in Brief
Russian rolling stock and armoured fighting vehicle manufacturer Uralvagonzavod has acquired a controlling stake in Sambre et Meuse, which operates a specialist foundry at Feignies in northern France producing rolling stock components such as bogie castings for customers including Alstom and Bombardier. During November Polish bus manufacturer ...