Features & Analysis – Page 63
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SNCB prepares to move ahead
January 1 2005 may see Belgian Railways split into separate infrastructure and operations companies, but Chief Executive Karel Vinck told Chris Jackson that implementation of his four-year business plan is likely to take longer
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Tracklaying underway on Taiwan's first high speed line
Civil engineering is well advanced on the 345 km line between Taipei and Kaohsiung, and the first trainset is due to roll out at the end of this month
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NewsNürnberg - München in one hour
Germany's second 300 km/h route, now under construction between Nürnberg and Ingolstadt, opens in 2006. Ralf Roman Rossberg reports
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World Speed Survey 2003: Promises, promises!
In his biennial survey of the world's fastest start-to-stop timings, Dr Colin Taylor finds Germany has moved up the league table, but that many aspirations noted in the 2001 survey have yet to bear fruit
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World Speed Survey 2003
Promises, promises! In his biennial survey of the fastest point-to-point passenger train timings with start-to-stop timings at over 150 km/h, Dr Colin Taylor finds that Germany has moved up the league table, but Japan and France remain unchallenged at the top. Although Sweden climbs to sixth place, other changes ...
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Softly, softly under the city
Track in the long tunnels forming the approach to St Pancras of Section 2 of the Channel Tunnel Rail Link is being designed to minimise environmental noise and vibration as high speed trains pass below London
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West Coast Route Modernisation still faces tough choices
Richard Hope outlines the huge effort required since January 2002 to rescue critical elements of a project whose estimated cost has multiplied six-fold since delivery of 225 km/h operation with tilting trains was promised back in 1998
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Speed record foreshadows opening of UK's first high speed line
On July 30 a Eurostar trainset streaked through Kent on Section 1 of the Channel Tunnel Rail Link to set a UK rail speed record of 334·7 km/h. Murray Hughes rode the record-breaker
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Intensive inspection at high speed
Last month Network Rail launched a 200 km/h infrastructure measuring train designed to record the condition of the UK's busiest main lines at two-weekly intervals. The ultimate aim is to give track engineers data that is never more than 48h old
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NewsRealities and costs drive Kazakhstan's railway reform
The Kazakh government has integrated the three distinct rail networks it inherited at independence, and is now introducing reforms to encourage private-sector investment and reduce the need for domestic services to cross international borders, explains Gordon Feller
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NSW's largest tunnelling project gets underway
This month sees the launch of the first tunnel boring machine for the orbital Chatswood - Epping - Parramatta rail link connecting the northern and western suburbs of Sydney
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RZD tackles its motive power crisis
Russian Railways is planning to refurbish around 8000 locomotives over the next seven years, while designs are tested and international partnership contracts awarded for supply of a new generation of motive power
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A promise unfulfilled in Victoria
When National Express withdrew from its franchises in Melbourne last year, privatisation in the state of Victoria was called into question. John Kirk reviews what has happened and concludes that there are deep flaws in both state and federal policies
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NewsCondition-based decision-making minimises track costs
Stanislav Jovanovic explains how software developed by ERRI in 1991-98 is increasingly being used in Europe, North America and Australia to plan maintenance and renewal over long periods, based on the observed and forecast condition of track elements
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Tokaido upgrade to beat back air competition
Opening of Shinagawa station in Tokyo this autumn will boost the capacity of the Tokaido Shinkansen from 11 to 15 departures in the peak hour. Withdrawing older trains will allow fleet operation at 270 km/h, helping JR Central to win back market share in the world's busiest inter-city corridor
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Traction advances offer lower costs and higher capacity
As part of its strategy to develop advanced technology for tomorrow's high speed trains, Alstom is developing a new range of IGBT-based asynchronous drives and a permanent magnet traction motor that will be installed on derivatives of the AGV prototype
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TGV heads east
Civil works are now well underway on the first 300 km of new line between Paris and Strasbourg, due to open in 2007 when the best journey time between the two cities will be cut by almost half. Jean-Paul Masse reports on progress with the first high speed line project ...
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Competition is coming to the French network
Speaking to Murray Hughes in Paris, Transport Minister Gilles de Robien dismissed the previous government's target of doubling tonne-km hauled by rail by 2010 as 'completely unrealistic'. Whether the advent of open access competition from March 15 will generate more rail freight business remains to be seen, but de Robien ...
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High speed plans take shape
While a demonstration run with the Pudong airport maglev line in Shanghai on December 31 hogged the headlines at the turn of the year, Chinese Railways is making steady progress with development of conventional steel-wheel technology for high speed applications
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Balancing the risks in København
Bids were received last month for construction of Phase 3 of the København Metro. Andrew Grantham finds that the tendering process has drawn on the experience of the many different parties involved in the first two phases of the project