All Railway Gazette International articles in December 2010 – Page 2
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NewsAmerican Railcar Industries to enter wagon leasing market
USA: American Railcar Industries Inc has announced plans to diversify into wagon leasing, building on customer relationships it has developed through manufacturing, refurbishing and managing wagons. The leasing business is expected to provide more consistent cash flows and revenue, helping to improve performance during market downturns. 'The economy and railcar ...
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NewsSonoma-Marin orders commuter DMU cars
USA: The board of Sonoma-Marin Area Rail Transit voted unanimously on December 15 to award a US$56·9m contract for nine two-car diesel multiple-units to Sumitomo Corp and Nippon Sharyo. The 18 vehicles will be assembled at Nippon Sharyo’s new factory in Rochelle, Illinois, in compliance with ‘Buy America’ rules, ...
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NewsAlstom to overhaul PATCO fleet
USA: Meeting on December 15, the Delaware River Port Authority’s board of commissioners agreed to award a contract to Alstom Transportation Inc for the overhaul of the 120-car fleet of EMUs used on the PATCO cross-river express metro line linking Philadelphia and Lindenwold, New Jersey. The company’s competitive low bid ...
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NewsRailways seek refund from carbon cartel
EUROPE: A number of European rail companies have began proceedings in the UK's Competition Appeal Tribunal on December 15 seeking to recover excess prices paid for carbon products used in rolling stock electrical systems when a group of suppliers was operating a cartel in 1988-99. Hausfeld & Co LLP and ...
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NewsA sporting chance for rail
INTERNATIONAL: Amid a flurry of flashbulbs and a deluge of controversy, the governing body of world football FIFA announced on December 2 that Russia and Qatar would host the 2018 and 2022 World Cup tournaments respectively. Within days of the announcement in Zürich, the first details of planned transport investment ...
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NewsLocal locomotive partnership
BRAZIL: Locomotive specialist EIF has signed a partnership agreement with US-based Global Locomotive to exploit repowering and new-build opportunities in Latin America. Founded in 2001, EIF had until recently focused on the refurbishment and repowering of small and medium-power main line diesel locomotives, but the firm is seeking to increase ...
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NewsSpain to build 450 km/h railway test circuit
SPAIN: The government has approved a project to build what it describes as the largest railway test circuit in the world, a 55 km loop designed for trials of 1 435 mm gauge rolling stock at speeds up to 450 km/h. Work on the facility at Bobadilla, between Córdoba and ...
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NewsBroad gauge to Wien is feasible, says study
EUROPE: The proposed 450 km broad-gauge railway from Košice in eastern Slovakia to the Wien-Bratislava region offers the potential to create jobs and provide economic benefits to four countries, according to a pre-feasibility study undertaken by Roland Berger Strategy Consultants. The study was commissioned in April by project promoter Breitspur ...
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NewsSeeking energy efficiency
ENERGY: The joint UIC/Unife Railenergy project concluded four years of research with a conference in Brussels on November 25. Railenergy comprised 27 partners including train operators, infrastructure managers and suppliers working together with the aim of delivering a 6% saving in total energy consumption across the industry. The conference saw ...
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NewsPhone control
WHEELS: NEM Solutions has launched what it claims is the first system enabling wheel profiles to be measured using a mobile telephone. A Bluetooth link between the phone and NEM's Laser Profiler enables control of the measuring, with the precision customised to below 0·1 mm and recording taking from 7 ...
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NewsTram Bern West opens
SWITZERLAND: Trams now serve the business and residential areas of Bümpliz and Brünnen in the western suburbs of Bern, replacing two former trolleybus routes. On December 12 public transport operator Bernmobil inaugurated its Tram Bern West project, a 6·8 km Y-shaped extension of the city’s light rail network from Kaufmännischer ...
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NewsEMUs fitted with electric meters
UK: Energy meters are being fitted to 25 kV 50 Hz electric multiple-units in service with UK operator London Midland, enabling the company to pay for actual rather than estimated energy use and monitor individual train consumption anywhere on the network. The equipment is being supplied by FAR Systems of ...
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NewsFalse start for tram line T1 in Toulouse
FRANCE: Industrial action by trade unions representing drivers at local transport operator Tisséo led to the cancellation of the opening celebrations for tram line T1 in Toulouse on November 27-28.Revenue services on the 10·9 km, 18-stop line finally got underway on December 11. The line links the Arènes stop on ...
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NewsGlattfest celebrates Glattalbahn completion
SWITZERLAND: Project promoter Zürcher Verkehrsverbund and concessionaire Verkehrsbetriebe Glattal organised a day of festivities to celebrate the opening of the final Auzelg — Stettbach section of the Glattalbahn light rail project north of Zürich on December 11. The completed route runs from Stettbach to Zürich Airport via Wallisellen, Auzelg and ...
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NewsLight rail contracts awarded in Kuala Lumpur
MALAYSIA: Public transport authority Syarikat Prasarana Negara Bhd has awarded the first construction contracts for the 7bn ringgit Kelana Jaya and Ampang light rail expansion project in Kuala Lumpur. Both routes will eventually meet at Putra Heights, creating a ring around the city.The Kelana Jaya Line extension from its current ...
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NewsScottish cities reconnected
UK: A fourth direct route between Edinburgh and Glasgow came into operation on December 12, following the completion of a £300m project to reconnect the Glasgow – Airdrie and Edinburgh – Bathgate branch lines. The work re-establishes a through route which had been truncated for passengers in 1956 and closed ...
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NewsGetting data faster
IRELAND: Iarnród Éireann has taken delivery of two Calipri handheld optoelectronic gauges for non-contact measurement of wheelsets, brake discs, rail profiles or any complex shape. The Irish national operator had previously used mechanical gauges, with details logged manually and then entered onto a computer system. The Calipri system from Austrian ...
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NewsRoyal opening for Madrid – Valencia
SPAIN: The Madrid to Cuenca and Albacete section of the high speed line to Valencia was formally inaugurated by the Prince of Asturias and his consort on December 15. The section from Cuenca to Valencia will follow on December 18. The completion of a further 438 km of high speed ...
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News
Catharina Elmsäter-Svärd
Catharina Elmsäter-Svärd has been named as Minister for Infrastructure in the new Swedish government.