All Railway Gazette International articles in June 2003 – Page 2

  • News

    UK refines ERTMS business case

    2003-06-01T10:00:00Z

    A PROGRESS report issued on May 19 by Britain’s Strategic Rail Authority and the new Rail Safety & Standards Board says there is now a sound business case for developing and installing the European Rail Traffic Management System across most of the 16666 km network. The capital cost (at current ...

  • News

    EuroNight sleeping car unveiled in Poland

    2003-06-01T10:00:00Z

    PESA Bydgoszcz SA has unveiled a sleeping car ordered for use on PKP InterCity’s EuroNight services. It is designed to offer a high standard of comfort for passengers, with improved reliability for the operator.The vehicle can accommodate up to 28 passengers and one attendant. There are eight three-berth compartments, configurable ...

  • News

    Metro car joint venture

    2003-06-01T10:00:00Z

    ON MARCH 19 Beijing Metro Operations Co launched a joint venture with Beijing Metro Car Plant, Changchun Rail Passenger Cars and Zhuzhou Times Electric Group to develop a range of metro cars using indigenous Chinese technology.The cars, which will feature AC drives, air-conditioning and passenger information systems, will cost an ...

  • News

    Caribbean luxury on two decks

    2003-06-01T10:00:00Z

    ST KITTS Scenic Railway has put into service five custom-built double-deck luxury coaches. Probably amongst the largest 762mm gauge vehicles ever built, the Island Series cars are 12m long, 2·4m wide and 5·3m high measured over the canvas canopies. Each coach weighs 22 tonnes, and has four-wheel fully-sprung bogies. The ...

  • News

    Carve-up in Wien

    2003-06-01T10:00:00Z

    AUSTRIAN Secretary of State for Transport Helmut Kukacka published proposals on May 6 to break up Austrian Federal Railways. Legislation to implement the plans is intended to be in place by the end of this year so that restructuring can go ahead in 2004.The plans call for four subsidiary companies ...

  • News

    Catenary inspection at the speed of light

    2003-06-01T10:00:00Z

    CATENARY geometry and contact wire wear can be measured at high speed using OptoCat, developed by Italian firm Selectra in co-operation with FS. A light source and camera unit can be attached to almost any rail vehicle. A beam of light is reflected from the lower surface of the contact ...

  • News

    Govia signs at South Central

    2003-06-01T10:00:00Z

    ON MAY 12 the UK Strategic Rail Authority signed its second replacement franchise, under which the Govia joint venture of Go-Ahead and Keolis will operate the South Central network for up to seven years. The operation was due to be rebranded as Southern Railway when the franchise took effect on ...

  • News

    Rail’s chance to shape growing cities

    2003-06-01T10:00:00Z

    HIGHLIGHT of the 55th UITP World Congress in Madrid last month was the signing at the closing ceremony of the association’s Charter on Sustainable Development. Described as a ’most important development’ by UITP President Wolfgang Meyer, the charter ’makes clear to everyone, including politicians, that sustainable development of our cities ...

  • News

    Madrid tunnel contracts let

    2003-06-01T10:00:00Z

    THE SPANISH Ministry of Development has awarded two contracts to build a new cross-city tunnel in Madrid, which will carry suburban services between Atocha and Chamartín stations. Under a contract worth €79·7m Ferrovial-Agrom

  • News

    Electronic management in control

    2003-06-01T10:00:00Z

    INTRO: Modern train management systems are increasing the scope for on-board monitoring, control and fault diagnosis. QR’s Cairns Tilt Trains use EKE-Trainnet to provide real-time status and control information collected from the whole train, including a log of track conditionBYLINE: Sauli Luoto Project Manager, EKE-Electronics LtdTWO TILTING trainsets are on ...

  • News

    Corridor start

    2003-06-01T10:00:00Z

    WORK IS to begin this summer on the long-planned rail freight relief corridor through northeast France. The region of Lorraine has approved funding for its 35% stake in the €26·8m project, which will be matched by 50% from the government and 15% from RFF. The 150 km line between Longuyon ...

  • News

    RZD tackles its motive power crisis

    2003-06-01T10:00:00Z

    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

  • News

    Neihu line E&M deal signed

    2003-06-01T10:00:00Z

    TAIPEI City Government's metro construction subsidiary Department of Rapid Transit Systems has awarded contracts for construction of the 14·8 km automated Neihu line, serving the northeast of the city. The US$1bn design-and-build contract has been awarded to Kung Sing Engineering Corp, which has in turn subcontracted the E&M works valued ...

  • News

    Dieter

    2003-06-01T10:00:00Z

    CAPTION: Frogs and snakes are being provided with escape routes to prevent them becoming trapped under the infrastructure of Sweden’s Botniabanan project. Construction workers building tunnels and other structures along the line had noticed that small animals were crawling into cracks in the cement, where they were becoming stuck, ...

  • News

    Engine sales up at MTU

    2003-06-01T10:00:00Z

    DIESEL engine maker MTU reported a 16% growth in sales in the rail sector during 2002, with a total of 1010 engines and PowerPacks ordered. The most important contribution came from underfloor drive units for diesel multiple-units, with almost 400 PowerPack units supplied to Alstom, Bombardier and Siemens. 80 PowerPacks ...

  • tn_generic-tracks-cz_bdee15.jpg
    News

    Railbuses exploit Polish regional potential

    2003-06-01T10:00:00Z

    HIGH operating costs and short, obsolete locomotive-hauled trains are features of many of the local and regional lines which form an important part of Poland's rail network. In an effort to reduce expenditure PKP announced plans to withdraw over 1000 services, but in March the threat of widespread strikes brought ...

  • News

    Moscow extends

    2003-06-01T10:00:00Z

    THE 166th station on the Moscow metro network entered service on May 9, with the opening of a 4 km extension of the Arbatsko-Pokrovskaya line westwards from Kievskaya. The new terminus at Park Pobedy is claimed to be the deepest metro station in the world, with the platforms lying 97m ...

  • News

    Tranz Rail restructures to face the future

    2003-06-01T10:00:00Z

    INTRO: New Zealand’s Tranz Rail has lived through two difficult years, but Managing Director Michael Beard believes that a focused reorganisation can turn the business round. The degree of success may depend on changes in the government’s transport policyDURING THE last two years Tranz Rail has withstood stock market uncertainty ...

  • News

    FEMU to the rescue

    2003-06-01T10:00:00Z

    PROSPECTS for JR Freight's M250 freight EMU (RG 5.03 p265) look encouraging given that the Japanese government has decided to impose new regulations on heavy lorries from September, forcing road haulage companies to fit speed limiters which will cut fuel supply if they exceed 90 km/h. Intended to reduce the ...

  • News

    Finance

    2003-06-01T10:00:00Z

    Argentina: Under a presidential decree awaiting signature as of mid-May, provincial passenger operators FeMed (Córdoba), Sefecha (Chaco), UEPFP (Buenos Aires) and Sefepa (Río Negro) were due to receive a total of 6m pesos in emergency operating subsidy from the government in 2003, intended to cover higher fuel and spare parts ...