Features & Analysis – Page 59
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Two contracts and one competition
A contractual structure that separates infrastructre and operating risks has been developed for the Metro Mondego light rail project in Coimbra, on which work is expected to resume after municipal elections this month
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TransPennine Express DMU starts commissioning trials
Siemens is testing the first 160 km/h TransPennine Express Desiro DMU in Wegberg-Wildenrath before delivery to the UK
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Comparing the life-cycle costs of standard and head-hardened rail
Following research by German Railway and voestalpine Schienen GmbH concluding that head-hardened rail has better resistance to wear and rolling contact fatigue defects, further studies have examined the life-cycle cost of different types of rail
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Europe's fastest trains start trials
Destined to link Madrid with Barcelona at up to 350 km/h, two eight-car Velaro E trainsets are on test in Spain
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UK government wrests back control of rail policy and funding
With the UK's Strategic Rail Authority being wound up, the government is moving to regain control over railway finances. Murray Hughes reports
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A rail vision for the capital
Forecasting that peak demand on the UK capital’s commuter railways is set to grow by 30% over the next 20 years, Transport for London’s Managing Director, London Rail, Ian Brown explained to Robert Preston how a package of major projects, upgrades and smaller schemes should deliver the extra capacity
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Network expansion plan aims to reach 100 000 km by 2020
Chinese Railways' long-term expansion strategy includes development of duplicate corridors to segregate freight and passenger services, as well as new lines to open up the west of the country. Chris Jackson looks at the principal elements of the plan
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Haut-Bugey revival will speed TGVs
With aim of cutting the journey time by TGV between Paris and Genève, work is now underway to upgrade the 65 km between Bourg-en-Bresse and Bellegarde, including electrification and the re-opening of a 29 km section closed to traffic since 1992. Brian Perren reports
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High speed trainsets take shape
Chinese Railways has ordered three fleets of high speed trains for operation of 200 km/h regional inter-city services
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EFC to double from mine to port
More passing loops are being built and new motive power and wagons are on order for the Carajás Railroad as a prelude to double-tracking the entire 892 km line. Murray Hughes reports from northern Brazil
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MF2000 on test in northern France
RUNNING trials have started with the prototype MF2000 trainset (RG 2.04 p92). Expected to enter service on the Paris metro in 2006, the five-car pre-production set began a programme of tests at the Centre d'Essais Ferroviaires at Petite Forêt near Valenciennes on June 17. The tests began almost a year ...
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Hydrogen offers no alternative to main line electrification
FUEL CELLS combine hydrogen with oxygen in the atmosphere to produce water and electricity, eliminating local pollution. But as things stand, electrolytic production and delivery of H2 as a fuel would consume around four times more power than the fuel cells would actually produce on a train. In comparison, ...
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On-rail competition is still controversial
Strong views about the efficacy of competition as a tool to drive up the quality of European rail freight services were expressed at the EurailFreight conference in München on May 30
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Reform is imperative, but solutions must be flexible
The last 30 years have witnessed an assault on the mid-century template of state-owned national railways prevalent outside North America. Today, the pressure of globalised transport markets is forcing governments to find structures that allow rail to remain competitive without requiring unsustainable subsidies
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IDR2-Novum promises lower rail maintenance costs
This year four groups of French and German experts will complete a wide-ranging programme of theoretical and field research which suggests that a system approach to track-train interaction can cut rail maintenance costs
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Research holds the key to commercial success
Lower noise, higher speeds and lower costs rank among the top targets for today's research teams. Murray Hughes reviews current railway research activities
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Congratulations from our readers
On learning that Railway Gazette would be celebrating its centenary this month, and marking 170 years of unbroken service to the railway industry, many of our readers have been kind enough to send their congratulations and good wishes.
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Wayside monitoring with ATSI aids wagon maintenance
The first phase of the AAR's Advanced Technology Safety Initiative has enabled wagon owners to share data on wheels exceeding impact limits, giving them the opportunity to undertake maintenance when and where it is most efficient and economical to do so
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NewsSteel boom will drive MRS Logística past the 100 million tonne level
Several of Brazil's freight railway concessionaires have flourished since the federal railway network was broken up in 1996. John Kolodziejski looks at progress at two of them
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NewsBauhinia line will expand Queensland's coal exports
November should see completion of a 110 km addition to QR's extensive 1 067 mm gauge heavy haul network feeding the port of Gladstone. This is the major element in a A$335m enhancement of the Blackwater coal routes, and more investment will follow as demand rises for low-ash thermal coal