All Railway Gazette International articles in July 2004 – Page 3

  • News

    China chokes up

    2004-07-01T10:00:00Z

    THE EFFECTS of the booming economy in China have ricocheted around the world, inflating demand for iron, steel and raw materials. Ships are queuing to unload at Chinese ports, but it seems that the busy railway network is not keeping pace.Goods and containers awaiting rail transit to inland destinations are ...

  • News

    Ljubljana seminar examines the challenge of cost-effective freight

    2004-07-01T10:00:00Z

    INTRO: Murray Hughes reports from the rail freight seminar organised by the International Railway Congress Association in the Slovenian capital on May 27-29Strategic Plan promises a high returnSLOVENIAN Railways announced at the IRCA seminar details of its long-term strategic plan that runs to 2010. This envisages that freight traffic volume ...

  • News

    Capacity warning

    2004-07-01T10:00:00Z

    SURFACE Transportation Board Chairman Roger Nober sent a letter on June 10 to each US Class I railway asking for a report on its plans to handle the expected increase in traffic in the autumn. Nober said he recognised that railways were already carrying an extraordinary volume of freight while ...

  • News

    Making the business case to cut rolling contact fatigue

    2004-07-01T10:00:00Z

    INTRO: The cost to Britain’s national railway of damage from rolling contact fatigue has been conservatively estimated at £250m a year, and measures to limit RCF crack formation could cut that by 55%. Andy Doherty, who chairs the newly-established Vehicle/Track System Interface Committee, explains how co-operation between rail industry players ...

  • News

    Industry News in Brief

    2004-07-01T10:00:00Z

    Corus announced on June 15 that it will invest £20m in its Scunthorpe steelworks in the UK. Addition of a second degassing unit and a third ladle furnace will increase production of rail bloom to 500000 tonnes a year. All bloom for the company’s rail mills at Workington and Hayange ...

  • News

    Products in Brief

    2004-07-01T10:00:00Z

    Weighing 27 kg, the Weldbaby portable 40to 165A welder can be carried to a lineside worksite by one person. Its Honda four-stroke engine has an auto-idle facility and consumes around 1 litre of unleaded petrol per hour. In addition to welding, Weldbaby can be used to supply power to ...

  • News

    Walking Stick boosts inspection

    2004-07-01T10:00:00Z

    DEVELOPED to reduce the need to rely on engineering judgement when inspecting rails, ACFM Walking Stick is a self-contained electromagnetic probe which provides semi-automated ratings of the severity of rail defects.The Walking Stick has been developed by Technical Software Consultant and Balfour Beatty Rail Technologies, which is carrying out field ...

  • News

    Blue Line extends

    2004-07-01T10:00:00Z

    AT 06.00 on June 6 Metro Porto began revenue service on the final section of its light rail Blue Line between Trindade and Est

  • News

    Upgrade bids rejected

    2004-07-01T10:00:00Z

    THE MINISTRY OF Transport & Public Works is to invite new bids to upgrade 1114 km of Uruguay’s national network after the two received earlier this year (RG 4.04 p183) were rejected, one on technical grounds and the other on price. Officials hoped to call new bids by mid-July. National ...

  • News

    Belgrano bidding timetable

    2004-07-01T10:00:00Z

    THE ARGENTINIAN government was expected to launch officially on June 22 the bidding process for a 79% stake in metre gauge freight operator Belgrano Cargas (RG 5.04 p257). Outline tender documentation was to be made available on June 28, followed by more detailed information on July 18. Bids are to ...

  • News

    Beijing seeks metro funds

    2004-07-01T10:00:00Z

    UP TO 30% of the funding needed to expand Beijing’s metro network for the 2008 Olympic Games will be raised from the private sector. The city government’s Deputy Director-General of Development & Planning Liu Zhi revealed on May 25 that the city was looking to raise 14·5bn yuan in foreign ...

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    News

    Winning the RCF battle on the production line

    2004-07-01T10:00:00Z

    Faster and more frequent train services, higher axleloads and new generations of rolling stock have increased loadings on rails, particularly on curves. Improved manufacturing processes and product development are now focusing on rail head wear, internal fatigue defects and rolling contact fatigue

  • News

    Toll takes back passenger trains

    2004-07-01T10:00:00Z

    NEW ZEALAND rail operator Tranz Rail (renamed Toll NZ with effect from June 8) has agreed to buy back control of the country’s inter-city passenger business Tranz Scenic. The move follows an announcement by Toll Managing Director Paul Little that the company had ’changed its mind’ on passenger operations, and ...

  • News

    LA awards Gold Line contract

    2004-07-01T10:00:00Z

    LOS ANGELES Metropolitan Transportation Authority has awarded a $600m contract to Eastside LRT Constructors for construction of the 9·6 km East Los Angeles extension of the Gold Line. The deal was signed by MTA CEO Roger Snoble on June 1, following the approval of a $491m Full Funding Grant Agreement ...

  • News

    Athens gears up to face Olympic challenge

    2004-07-01T10:00:00Z

    Unprecedented levels of investment are being poured into four separate urban rail networks as the Greek capital prepares to host the 28th Olympiad next month. Artemis Klonos reports

  • News

    Estram arrives in Eskisehir

    2004-07-01T10:00:00Z

    The Turkish city of Eskisehir will get its first light rail services this month, with the opening of the 16·2 km Estram network

  • News

    Alstom ruling awaited

    2004-07-01T10:00:00Z

    The European Commission is expected to announce its verdict on Alstom’s restructuring plan on July 7, two days ahead of the company’s annual general meeting.Discussions on the restructuring of the company have continued since the basis of an agreement was brokered between French Minister of Finance Nicolas Sarkozy and European ...

  • News

    Airport line opened

    2004-07-01T10:00:00Z

    GERMAN Railway formally inaugurated its new station at K

  • News

    Supersite will advance techniques of wayside monitoring

    2004-07-01T10:00:00Z

    Developed by the Wayside Monitoring Alliance, the Supersite condition monitoring station is designed to provide comprehensive data on passing wagons, using root cause analysis and predictive maintenance to prevent small defects leading to major problems

  • News

    Bearing supplier in acquisitive mood

    2004-07-01T10:00:00Z

    ROLLER bearing manufacturer SKF is ’very interested in acquisitions’ at the moment, according to Gottfried Kure, Marketing Director of the Railway Business Unit. Having acquired bearing reconditioning specialist Rolling Stock Supply & Services in Australia in 2003, the company is looking for similar opportunities to expand.SKF is realigning its strategic ...