All Railway Gazette International articles in July 2008 – Page 4
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NewsMadrid tunnel opens
SPAIN: Suburban services began using the 8·5 km Atocha - Chamartín tunnel under the centre of Madrid on July 9. Testing of the new route, which has cost €550m to build, had begun on May 23. The route has two intermediate stations, of which Nuevos Ministerios is due to open ...
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NewsPrima goes modular to tap new markets
LOCOMOTIVES: As well as Europe's changing freight market, Alstom has China, India and Russia in its sights as targets for the latest addition to its product range. Laurent Charlier reports from Belfort.
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Rail rehabilitation complete
MOZAMBIQUE: Work to reconstruct the 80 km branch of the Sena line from Inhamitanga, 175 km north of the port of Beira, to Marromeu on the Zambezi River has been completed. The main traffic on the re-opened line will be sugar for export. Limestone is already being moved 100 km ...
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NewsCities must learn to 'love their trams'
AUSTRALIA: Yarra Trams Chief Executive Dennis Cliche wore this simple message on his lapel at a recent light rail conference, where he outlined how the Melbourne operator is taking positive measures to manage increasing congestion and surging ridership.
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NewsIndustry News in Brief
Knorr-Bremse has selected Budapest as the site of a new factory which will produce braking and air supply systems for rolling stock and other applications from the end of 2009. Production at the company's existing plant in the city will also be moved to the new site. Faiveley is negotiating ...
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NewsFirst Gautrain EMU unveiled
SOUTH AFRICA: Premier of Gauteng province Mbhazima Shilowa visited Bombardier's Derby factory in the UK on July 8 to witness the unveiling of the first electric multiple-unit for the Gautrain commuter line. Dramatic sounds, lighting effects and dancing heralded the roll-out of the completed trainset. Jerome Govender, Chief Executive of ...
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World rolling stock market July 2008
Austria: Voestalpine company Logistik Service has ordered two Siemens Eurosprinter ES 64 U4 electric locomotives equipped for use in Austria and Germany. Bosnia: On June 12 Bhzjk signed a €5·3m contract with Croatian manufacturer Koncar for the production of a prototype low-floor 25 kV 50 Hz EMU for regional passenger ...
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NewsNorthern Ireland upgrade
UK: An £86m upgrade of the Belfast - Londonderry line was announced last month by Translink, the holding company which runs Northern Ireland Railways. Tenders will be called in early 2011 and the work is to be completed in 2013, cutting 30 min off the 2 h 15 min journey ...
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NewsGautrain from dream to reality
SOUTH AFRICA: The Gautrain rapid rail link between Johannesburg and Tshwane is taking shape, with the first section on course to enter revenue service before the two cities host the 2010 football World Cup.
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Left in the dark
ROMANIA: A financial problem over outstanding bills has seen power cut off at railway premises in the south of the country. Infrastructure manager CFR reportedly owes €160m to various electricity companies, including €44m to the local subsidiary of Czech supplier CEZ. CFR blames a shortfall in state funding, which meant ...
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NewsCarrying commuters in comfort
SOUTH AFRICA: Bombardier's proven Electrostar EMU family is being customised for South Africa, giving a powerful demonstration of modern high-quality rail services.
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Testing takes train into Laos
LAOS: State Railway of Thailand began running test trains over the recently-completed rail link into Laos on July 4. SRT plans to operate two test trains a day until July 15, with passengers carried free of charge but unable to alight in Laos until customs facilities are completed. The railway ...
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NewsA long haul on the Lunatic Express
KENYA: Barely 18 months after the Rift Valley Railways consortium finally took control of the 900 km Kenya-Uganda railway on November 1 2006, pressure is growing for the 25-year concession to be cancelled. RVR is clearly having a tough time, with the railway linking Mombasa with Nairobi and Kampala having ...
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Banks agree train lease venture
RAILPOOL: This month HSH Nordbank and KfW IPEX-Bank are to launch Railpool, a joint venture to lease rolling stock to private operators. München-based Railpool plans to place orders for locomotives and passenger and freight vehicles once the company is formally established. 'The aim is to create the first one-stop ...
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London - Cornwall Night Riviera revamped
UK: First Great Western relaunched its London - Penzance Night Riviera service with modernised rolling stock on June 23. The 18 Mk III sleeper and seating cars have been refurbished by Wolverton-based Railcare at a cost of £2m, with Michael Rodber acting as design consultant. FirstGroup said it had worked ...
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NewsOver the top
SWITZERLAND: The first of 13 four-car EMUs being built jointly by Alstom and Bombardier for BLS local services on the original Lötschberg route was rolled out in May. The silver and grey livery is enhanced with images of the Bern - Brig line to highlight the appeal to tourists of ...
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Products & Technology in brief
CNR Changchun has completed in-service testing of a CW720 bogie developed for New Zealand's 1 067 mm gauge network. Toll had awarded a contract for the supply of 50 air-sprung bolsterless bogies in March 2007. Manusa has updated its platform screen door range with the addition of the ...
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NewsCAF wins Saudi passenger train order
SAUDI ARABIA: On July 4 Spanish rolling stock manufacturer CAF announced it had signed a €104·9m contract to supply Saudi Railways Organisation with eight 200 km/h passenger trainsets. Each set will be formed of a diesel-electric locomotive and five steel-bodied coaches, designed to operate in desert conditions and ...
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NewsPointers July 2008
Transport Minister Michael Henry has announced a three-year project to revive the moribund rail network in Jamaica, starting with the main lines linking Kingston, Spanish Town and Montego Bay. A loan from the Chinese government is expected to cover 85% of the US$354m cost, with Chinese manufacturers to supply five ...
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DB sacked over S-Bahn quality failings
GERMANY: A dispute erupted in the Ruhr area on June 12 when local transport agency Verkehrsverbund Rhein-Ruhr announced that it had decided to cancel its S-Bahn operating contract with DB Regio Nordrhein-Westfalen with immediate effect. An extraordinary resolution to do so had been approved during a meeting of VRR's contracting ...