Features & Analysis – Page 58
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NewsUK gives a cautious welcome to ERTMS
ERTMS remains the great hope for train control in the future, but costs must come down. Richard Hope talked to Clive Kessell, who believes that current trends which compromise true interoperability must be challenged if the real benefits are to be achieved
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Doing business in the Chinese metro market
Over the next decade 55 new metro lines totalling more than 1000 km are due to be built in 20 Chinese cities. The scale of work and the demand for advanced technology are opening up many opportunities for western suppliers and their local partners
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World Speed Survey 2005: The ones that got away!
MISSING a train can be traumatic, but sometimes there is a remedy. Missing the 8.55 Sunlander from Brisbane to Cairns in Queensland is no problem: the 11.00 Rockhampton Tilt overtakes it several hours down the track. Similarly, trains that were missed in my World Speed Survey 2005 (RG 11.05 p699) ...
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High speed lines will drive forward Refer's long-term strategy
Portuguese infrastructure authority Refer has launched a comprehensive review of rail's role in the national economy. This will guide development of the conventional network and the construction of standard gauge high speed lines
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Torino - Novara to carry Olympic traffic
SPECTATORS arriving in northern Italy for this month's Winter Olympics may get off to a flying start when Trenitalia opens the Torino - Novara section of its high speed line between Torino and Milano. All being well, trains are due to start running over the new line from February 1. ...
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Freight operators see good prospects if the market is truly open
Formation of the European Bulls alliance in January 2005 has helped its five partners to expand their open-access freight operations, but many political and technical barriers remain to be broken down before Europe can reap the benefits of a liberalised rail freight market
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Investment ramps up to overcome technical obsolescence
The Polish rail network requires considerable investment to improve the condition of both infrastructure and rolling stock. Andrzej Harassek finds that EU funding is allowing more projects to start, and high speed line plans are being revived
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EIB's funding portfolio backs TENs and upgrading projects
Ivan Pilip, Vice-President of the European Investment Bank, argues that better rail links are crucial for integration of the new member states into the European Union. In this interview with Murray Hughes, Pilip puts the focus firmly on upgrading and rehabilitation, although funding for rolling stock is growing in importance
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A network code for Europe
True interoperability demands much more than ERTMS and common operating rules. A unified code defining the rights and responsibilities of infrastructure managers and their clients is vital if Europe is ever to match the scale and efficiency of North American freight operators, says Tom Winsor
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Cross-city line will transform Praha
Now in full swing, construction of a high-capacity line joining the main stations in Praha promises major improvements for local and long-distance services
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Chinese EMUs take shape in Italy
Assembly of a fleet of 200 km/h trainsets for Chinese Railways has started in the Savigliano factory of Alstom Transport
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NewsBulgaria's ambitious plans hinge on reform
Krasimir Krastanov reports on a strategic plan designed to bring about modernisation of the Bulgarian rail network
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Emissions laws drive diesel innovations
EUROPEAN Union regulations setting stringent limits on exhaust emissions from diesel engines used in rail traction will start to come into force on January 1. From now on engines fitted to new diesel railcars or multiple-units must meet Stage 3A of the European emissions limits for off-highway vehicles, while new ...
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NewsNarrow-gauge tycoons revive Poland's regional lines
Originally established by railway enthusiasts, SKPL has grown into a significant commercial operator of regional services on narrow gauge networks closed by Poland's state railway
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Tracklaying reaches halfway in the Lötschberg base tunnel
Contractors are hurrying to install track, communications and train control equipment in the 34·6 km Lötschberg base tunnel as the civil engineers complete their task. Test trains are due to start running in early 2006
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Alstom to build 350 km/h AGV demonstrator
CONTRACTS for the first components of a seven-car ultra high speed demonstration train with distributed power have just been placed by Alstom Transport. Representing the next stage in the company's development of the Automotrice à Grande Vitesse, the AGV-7 demonstrator will be completed in 2007 and funded entirely by Alstom. ...
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Trans-Asian Railway network nears agreement
This month, an intergovernmental conference in Bangkok is due to finalise a draft agreement establishing the Trans-Asian Railway network, planned as a catalyst for railway development across Asia
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ERTMS drives change in the signalling market
Karl StrangSCI Verkehr GmbH INTRODUCTION of the European Train Control System and other new technologies is unlikely to bring radical changes to the signalling and train control sector over the next five years, but will start to open up the market to new suppliers, overcoming the natural boundaries caused by ...
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World Speed Survey 2005: France regains rail's blue riband
Running at a start-to-stop average speed of 263·3 km/h, a single TGV between Lyon-St Exupéry and Aix-en-Provence has nudged France to the top in our 2005 world speed survey, overtaking Japan's 261·8 km/h timing between Hiroshima and Kokura
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Three-stage programme puts Combino trams back on track
When higher than expected torsion forces caused cracking in some of the bolted aluminium bodyshells of the Combino fleet in 2002-03, Siemens decided to modify more than 450 trams. Harry Hondius MSc reports on progress with a three-stage programme to deal with the defects