Features & Analysis – Page 55
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High speed: TGV POS prepares to enter service
In readiness for the opening of TGV Est next June, Alstom is delivering multi-system TGV POS power cars equipped for operation in Germany and Switzerland. The latest addition to the TGV family features a powerful new transformer and regenerative braking. Laurent Charlier reports from Belfort
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Netherlands: Hanze Line construction ready to start
This winter work will begin on the Hanze Line, a 50 km link shortening the route from Amsterdam to the northern Dutch provinces. Peter Badcock describes the project, which under current government strategy will be the last new-build railway until 2020
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High speed: TGV Est set to hit the headlines in June
THE STAGE has been set for another chapter to be written in the 25-year history of France's TGV network. When the first 300 km of TGV Est between Vaires-sur-Marne and Baudrecourt opens on June 10, Strasbourg and around 20 other major towns and cities in eastern France will be connected ...
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High speed: Spanish network to grow by 500 km in 2006-07
During the course of 2007, high speed infrastructure is due to be brought into service to Barcelona, Málaga and Valladolid as investment continues at an average €7·7bn per annum, writes Robert Preston THE NEXT section of the high speed line between Madrid, Barcelona and the French border, comprising 82·5 km ...
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High speed: London joins the network on November 14
ON NOVEMBER 14 2007, London will finally be placed on Europe's rapidly-growing network of high speed railways. The opening of Section 2 of the Channel Tunnel Rail Link will take Eurostar trains at high speed into the heart of the capital, where they will terminate beneath Sir William Barlow's ...
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High speed: Germany pauses after a busy year
EAST of the Rhine, much of the action happened earlier this year with the opening in May of the Nürnberg - Ingolstadt high speed line. Nonetheless, the timetable change on December 10 sees DB recast its long-distance services to take full advantage of the latest addition to the Neubaustrecken network. ...
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High speed: Milano - Bologna is next to open on Italy's Big T
TRENITALIA has been operating limited services over the 300 km/h Roma - Napoli line for 12 months, stepping up the number of trains to seven a day each way from September 17. More are planned as the fleet of ETR500 trainsets with dual-voltage power cars is progressively equipped to operate ...
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High speed: Construction wave adds high speed lines in six states
Over the next 12 months segments of high speed line are set to open in six countries across Western Europe, reports Murray Hughes. France will launch 320 km/h services on TGV Est next June, and the French government has committed to add 900 km to the TGV network over the ...
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Better train seats justify the investment
‘Rolling stock builders are taking too large a risk at the start of projects’, warns Marc Granger, President of French train seat manufacturer Compin. Cutting corners today ‘will hit them later’, five to 10 years into the life cycle of the rolling stock.
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NewsBroad-gauge Velaro fleet relaunches Russia’s high speed programme
Siemens is to supply eight Velaro RUS high speed trains to Russian Railways for services from Moscow to St Petersburg and Nizhny Novgorod
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NewsModalohr plans Europe-wide expansion
A long-distance piggyback service between Perpignan and Bettembourg is due to start in March 2007, and Modalohr President Philippe Mangeard envisages an expanding network which will reach Trieste, Rotterdam and central Europe by 2012
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Taurus puts 1955 French speed record holders in the shade
A dramatic dash along the Nürnberg - Ingolstadt Neubaustrecke on September 2 put a Siemens-built Taurus locomotive in the record books when it touched 357 km/h. Murray Hughes reports
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Malaysia plans five years of rail growth
The Ninth Malaysia Plan outlines all aspects of the country's development framework for 2006-10. Rail investment will focus on increasing operational efficiency, and promoting freight, commuter and inter-city passenger traffic
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Direct Line will reshape the Finnish network
Opening of the Kerava - Lahti cut-off will reduce journey times by up to an hour, triggering a complete reshaping of the national timetable. Chris Jackson reports from Helsinki
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Identifying the key factors for long-term sustainability
In an era of ever-increasing globalisation, and competition between modes, railways need to identify and capitalise on the core strengths of their technology if they are to be sustainable in the long term, argues Dave van der Meulen
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Time to be realistic about railway privatisation
To keep up with increasing competition from road and air transport, and to remain a relevant mode, most railways need to improve efficiency and substantially increase their capital investment. Privatisation is often proposed as the solution, but David Burns suggests that it is not that simple
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Onboard friction control cuts noise and vibration
Bogie performance through curves can be improved by careful control of the friction between wheel and rail. A group of Japanese engineers has developed a friction control method for the Tokyo Metro using an onboard rail spray to control the friction coefficient and the friction characteristics of the wheel-rail contact ...
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DB Logistics builds a global business
In just three years, German Railway's freight business has expanded from a simple rail operator to one of the world's largest logistics and transport providers. Chris Jackson asked Board Member Norbert Bensel what lies behind this growth
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Charting the final chapter in Germany's rail reform
After 12 years operating in the form of a private company, DB AG is being groomed for a real transition to the private sector - should Parliament so decide. Decision time could be this month
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Hybrid wheelset cuts weight and noise
The EU-funded Hiperwheel research project explored the structural and fatigue life of wheelsets and developed a prototype composite design that offers a 25% weight saving and a reduction in radiated noise of around 6 dB(A)