All Railway Gazette International articles in January 2006 – Page 4
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News
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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News
Scunthorpe gets ready to roll
WORK is underway on a £130m project to build a mill at the Scunthorpe site of steelmaker Corus, capable of producing rails up 120m long. The company’s existing 40m mill at Workington will close in July, with production at Scunthorpe underway by the end of 2006.Existing Medium Section Mill buildings ...
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News
Valparaíso gets a metro
ON NOVEMBER 23 Metro Valparaíso was formally inaugurated by President Ricardo Lagos of Chile, marking the completion of a US$332m programme to upgrade the Puerto - Limache suburban route operated by EFE subsidiary Merval. As part of the upgrade, Alstom Transport has supplied a fleet of two-car X’Trapolis EMUs, each ...
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News
High speed go-ahead
FORMAL approval for construction of two high speed lines in Portugal was announced on December 13. Prime Minister José Sócrates said they would help to bind the country closer into the European Union and the Iberian peninsula.Detailed design is already well advanced, and civil works are expected to get underway ...
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Santiago metro keeps growing
ON NOVEMBER 15 President Ricardo Lagos of Chile announced the next phase of an extension programme which will take the Santiago metro to 104·5 km and 108 stations by the end of 2009. Work on the 4 km extension of Line 1 from Escuela Militar to Los Dominicos was due ...
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News
High speed partnership signed
ALSTOM and AnsaldoBreda have signed a strategic and industrial partnership for the production and marketing of single-deck high speed trains.Announced on November 23, the agreement covers very high speed trains for operation at 300 km/h and above, including the AGV now under development (RG 12.05 p763), and 250 km/h stock ...
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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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News
Tasmania's network in jeopardy
SHOCKWAVES from the bitter war between Toll and Patrick brought Tasmania's surviving 726 km 1067mm gauge network to the brink of permanent closure last month. Through a media statement, Pacific National Tasmania warned the state government in Hobart and the federal government in Canberra that without an injection of public ...
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News
Rebuild to uprate SA locos
NOW nearing completion in Transwerk’s Bloemfontein factory in South Africa is the prototype for a fleet of rebuilt Class 34 diesel locomotives. To be known as Class 39, the rebuilt Co-Co units will offer a 15% increase in available traction power to give a nominal rating of nearly 2500hp.EMD 16-645 ...
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News
Madrid - Valladolid makes progress
WITHIN a budget of €177·3m, bids have been invited for a contract to supply interlockings, train protection systems, telecommunications, GSM-R radio and a traffic control centre for the Madrid - Valladolid high speed line and its branch to Medina del Campo. A second contract worth up to €51·6m has also ...
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Market
Australia:BHP Billiton Iron Ore has ordered a further 10 SD70ACe 4300hp diesel locos from Downer EDI subsidiary EDI Rail, taking the mining firm’s total order to 24. They will be assembled in Canada by EMD for delivery during 2007.Belgium:SNCB has ordered a further 90 M6 double-deck coaches worth €166m for ...
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News
Passengers return to Puerto Montt
CHILEAN President Ricardo Lagos was on board EFE’s inaugural Victoria - Puerto Montt service on December 6, marking the completion of a $44m upgrade that has restored passenger services on the 388·8 km Temuco - Puerto Montt route (RG 9.05 p520). The service frequency was due to be increased to ...
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News
Trams return in New Orleans
LIMITED tram services resumed in New Orleans on December 18, four months after the city was devastated by Hurricane Katrina. Earlier estimates indicated it might take a year to restore the services, but RTA has come up with a compromise. The 35 historic Perley Thomas cars used on the St ...
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People
Roger Nober, Chairman of the US Surface Transportation Board, has announced his resignation with effect from January 3. Bremer Stra§enbahn CEO Georg Drechsler has been elected Chairman of the UITP Light Rail Committee, succeeding Raymond Hue of Rouen. Head of Public Transport at Dubai Municipality Abdul Aziz Malik ...
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News
Pointers
Plans to build an electrified heavy-haul railway across Namibia were announced by Falcon Resource Holdings in November. CEO Mike Gaomab said consultants had been appointed to undertake economic and environmental impact studies. The 1600 km Trans-Kalahari railway would link Morupule colliery in northeast Botswana with a new port at Shearwater ...
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Polish win
TWO coach modernisation contracts have been won by H Cegielski in Poznan. A 50m zloty contract covers 25 PKP Intercity cars, which will be modified for 200 km/h operation and gain air-conditioning, retention toilets and improved accessibility. Some compartments will be converted into ’managers suites’. A second contract worth 70m ...
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News
PPP upgrading
FINNISH infrastructure authority RHK has decided to undertake the upgrading of its eastern main line from Lahti to the Russian border at Vainikkala using a public-private partnership.Work on the 152 km route is due to start in 2007 as part of the Helsinki - St Petersburg high speed project, which ...
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News
Spie for sale
AMEC plc announced on November 24 that it has begun the process of selling AMEC Spie, following a review of the group’s options for long-term growth.The board believes that AMEC Spie would be best able to participate in industry consolidation outside AMEC. The sale will be completed in the spring, ...
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News
Spares services
BOMBARDIER is expanding its North American rail services business to encompass the supply of spare parts for passenger rolling stock from other manufacturers, a market which it values at US$500m annually.President of Bombardier Transportation, North America, William Spurr said part of the company’s life-cycle approach to fleet management is to ...
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Tram-train timetable set
MEETING in Mulhouse on November 26, the steering committee for the city’s pilot tram-train project agreed a target date of 2010 for opening the initial route between Mulhouse and Thann.Headed by the President of the Alsace regional council Adrien Zeller, the committee includes representatives from Mulhouse, Haut-Rhin and Alsace as ...