All Railway Gazette International articles in June 2007 – Page 2
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News
ECP brakes for Pilbara
Following news that electronically-controlled pneumatic brakes are to be tested in revenue service by Norfolk Southern and BNSF (RG 5.07 p248), New York Air Brake has won a contract to supply similar equipment to Fortescue Metals Group in Australia. The ECP brakes are to be deployed on Fortescue's planned iron ...
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News
Into the blue
LAST MONTH South Africa's state-owned transport holding companmy Transnet invited expressions of interest for the privatisation of its luxury Blue Train. Transnet CEO Maria Ramos says she is looking for an investor with 'a vision for the business, and not necessarily one with rail experience'. Prospective buyers are required to ...
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News
IHHA comes to Kiruna
THE INTERNATIONAL Heavy Haul Association's Specialist Technical Session on June 11-13 is being hosted in northern Sweden by LKAB, which produces and transports iron ore and pellets to the ports of Narvik and Luleå, and Banverket, the national rail infrastructure manager responsible for the track that carries LKAB's trains. ...
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GEIE formed for Corridor C
Karel Vinck was present in Luxembourg on March 16 to witness CFL President Jeannot Waringo, Infrabel CEO Luc Lallemand and RFF President Hubert du Mesnil sign the memorandum of association for a European Economic Interest Group covering Corridor C between Antwerpen to Basel and Lyon. The GEIE has been ...
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Industry News in Brief
Minsk Railway Carriage Repair Works has formed a new production unit with the capacity to assemble up to 60 coaches a year. The plant is currently completing work on its first accessible coach with an electric wheelchair lift for Belarusian Railway, as well as a prototype air-conditioned vehicle.As part of ...
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News
Serco supports lease fleet data
ROLLING stock leasing firms HSBC Rail and Angel Trains have awarded Serco Assurance two data management contracts totalling £250 000. Under the first contract Serco will manage asset data and documents supporting the overhaul and maintenance of HSBC Rail's UK leasing fleets. In the second contract, Angel Trains has ...
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Swiss accreditation
DURING April the Swiss Accreditation Service approved Sconrail as a product certification and inspection body for the rail industry. Sconrail was founded in February 2006 as joint venture of Prose, Enotrac and TÜV Rheinland Intertraffic. Based in Winterthur, the company plans to become a notified body as soon as Swiss ...
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News
Green risk to residual value?
THIS MONTH German organisation Allianz Pro Schiene will unveil a project to develop a tool which will assist banks and other financial institutions in analysing the long-term risks associated with changing environmental rules governing rail vehicles. The project is being funded by the German Ministry for Environment, Nature Conservation & ...
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News
Sales increase at Faiveley
FAIVELEY recorded net sales of €619·3m for the year to March 31 2007, in line with company's forecasts and up 8·9% on the €568·9m reported for 2005. Adjusting the figures to reflect changes to the group structure in the past year gives an increase of 7·4%, or 7·7% at ...
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Profits growing at Movares
MOVARES has reported consolidated operating revenue of €142m for 2006, slightly up on the 2005 figure of €140·8m. Pre-tax profit totalled €6·8m, up from €6·2m and demonstrating that new business is being found to replace the work on the Betuwe Route and HSL-Zuid which is now coming to an end. ...
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News
Wagon maintenance take-over
WATCO Companies announced the take-over of Millennium Rail Inc on May 1, with the rolling stock maintenance and repair business becoming a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Pittsburg, Kansas, based shortline operator and loco maintenance group. MRI has eight workshops in the USA, where it undertakes general repairs and speciality wagon ...
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News
Market June 2007
Brazil: CVRD has ordered a 96-stone rail grinder from Harsco Track Technologies for the 1 600 mm gauge Carajás iron ore line. The deal includes two years of training and support after delivery early next year. China: On May 21 the Ministry of Railways and Harsco Track Technologies signed two ...
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News
Metros June 2007
France: Test running of Alstom Citadis trams began on the first phase of Nice tram Line 1 in early May. Opening of the 8·7 km line between Pont-Michel and Comte-de-Falicon is planned for September. Hungary: On May 4 Siemens delivered the last of 40 Combino Plus 54 m long trams ...
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Protectionist instinct dies hard
AS WE HAVE reported, rail freight traffic through the Channel Tunnel has fallen sharply since the end of the Minimum Usage Charge agreement between Eurotunnel and the British and French governments on November 31 2006. One shipper still using the route revealed last month that SNCF had announced an ...
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News
Fortress buys Florida East Coast
FLORIDA EAST COAST Industries announced on May 8 that it had agreed a $3·5bn merger with the private equity Fortress Investment Group, which recently acquired RailAmerica. Unanimously approved by the FECI board, the deal is expected to be completed in the third quarter of 2007. The 565 km Florida East ...
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News
Philippine Main Line South upgrade
WORK IS expected to start this month on upgrading of a 60 km section of Philippine National Railways' Main Line South, permitting the expansion of suburban services to the south of Manila.PNR General Manager Jose Maria Sarasola announced on May 2 that track strengthening, bridge reconstruction, station works and the ...
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News
Israeli national resignalling
ISRAEL Railways suspended all train services on May 11-12 to permit the commissioning of a new national signalling and train control system.ISR has adopted the Command 900 Safe Desk technology supplied by Thales from Germany. Formerly marketed by Alcatel as NetTrac 6653, this is a vital remote control system for ...
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News in Brief
Central Japan Railway President Masayuki Matsumoto confirmed on April 27 that the company hopes to launch revenue services on the first phase of the Chuo maglev line between Tokyo and Nagoya by 2025, with the planned Nagoya - Osaka section to follow. JR Central has allocated ¥6bn in its 2007 ...
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News
US safety in the spotlight
PROPOSALS for a radical reform of railway safety legislation were introduced into the US Congress on May 1 by James Oberstar, Chairman of the House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee. The Railroad Safety Improvement Act envisages redesignating the FRA as the Federal Railroad Safety Adminstration, with a specific objective to reduce ...
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WCRR debates capacity and sustainability
Roy Allen is President of Transportation Technology Center Inc, the research subsidiary of the Association of American Railroads, and Chairman of the WCRR organising committee. As Vice-President, Operations & Regulatory Affairs, at the Railway Association of Canada, Mike Lowenger is Chairman of the WCRR Montréal planning committeeTaking place in Montréal ...