Main line rail industry news – Page 1043
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NewsRailroads agree PTC interoperability standards
USA: Union Pacific, BNSF and Norfolk Southern announced on October 8 that they had agreed to work together on establishing interoperability standards for Positive Train Control. They were joined the following day by CSX, paving the way for a wider implementation of PTC across the North American rail network. The ...
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Every little counts in fuel-efficiency fight
AUSTRALIA: Pacific National has introduced the Freightmiser route-optimisation software to help its drivers conserve fuel and maintain schedules on its long-haul intermodal services. The tool's developers now believe the concept is ripe for export, as Nick Kingsley explains.
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Cavity filling cuts noise
NOISE REDUCTION: The German Association of Railway Engineers held a symposium in Berlin to examine the Duraflex system of noise reduction for ballasted track developed by Frenzel-Bau, Bayer MaterialScience and Hennecke. Ballast cavities are filled with elastic polyurethane foam, preventing movement under the load of passing trains. This increases ...
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NewsNSW moves to abolish RailCorp
AUSTRALIA: The Labor administration in New South Wales has decided to abolish RailCorp and return the state’s rail nework to government control. Premier Nathan Rees said on October 8 that legislation would be introduced into the next session of Parliament to abolish the corporation’s management board and convert the organisation ...
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NewsCongress approves Amtrak funding bill
USA: Funding and safety legislation primarily benefiting Amtrak and other public transport operators received its final Congressional approval on October 1 with a veto-proof 74-24 majority which means President George Bush must sign the bill despite his administration’s general antagonism toward rail transit and long opposition to federal subsidies for ...
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NewsTrans-Korean reconstruction begins
NORTH KOREA: Ceremonies were held at the border station of Tumangan on October 4 to mark the start of reconstruction work on the first section of the Trans-Korean Main Line between the Russian border and the port of Rajin, where a new container terminal is to be built. Intended to ...
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NewsTrans-Eurasia Express to launch next year
GERMANY: Welcoming the arrival in Hamburg of a container train from China on October 6, DB Chairman Harmut Mehdorn confirmed that DB Schenker planned to launch a regular scheduled service following the Chinese new year in February 2009. Operating under the Trans-Eurasia Express branding, the dedicated container trains will initially ...
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NewsSix bids to build Polish high speed fleet
POLAND: Six companies had expressed interest in the tender to supply a fleet of 250 km/h inter-city EMUs to PKP Intercity, when the deadline for prequalification closed on October 2. PKP is looking to order 20 trainsets at an estimated cost of €400m. The six bidders are: CAF of Spain, ...
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NewsAlstom and Transmash bid for double-deckers
RUSSIA: Alstom Transport and Transmashholding have signed a memorandum of understanding to launch a strategic partnership, and agreed to set up a specialist joint venture company to deliver double-deck coaches for the Russian market. As well as providing for technical co-operation between the two firms, the MoU includes an option ...
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NewsFRA bans mobile phone use
USA: The Federal Railroad Admonistration issued an Emergency Order on October 2 prohibiting railroad crew members from using any private electronic communications devices in locomotive or control cabs. The order followed the release of preliminary information from the National Transportation Safety Board the previous day which indicated that the Metrolink ...
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NewsMarket reforms revitalise European rail freight
FREIGHT: Does competition between operators improve efficiency and is the separation of infrastructure from operations necessary to develop viable competition? Jeremy Drew compares the impact on customers of railway reforms in three European countries.
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Cheaper HVAC
HEAT PUMP: Train operators in central and northern Europe could save €1000 per coach per year in heating and cooling costs by using heap pumps, according to Faiveley. A compressor and two copper coils containing refrigerant extract heat from the outside air to heat the carriage interior. In warmer weather ...
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Police methods help catch delayed trains
USA: MTA New York City Transit plans to use a statistical analysis model similar to that employed by the police department to find out why trains are being delayed. The NYPD's system of tracking criminal activity, CompStat, will be adapted and applied to on-time performance. The average number of delays ...
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Warszawa confirms tram renewal
POLAND: Mayor of Warszawa Hanna Gronkiewicz-Waltz has approved a major investment to upgrade the capital's tram network, following her recent decision to postpone construction of metro Line 2 until after 2012. Faced with the prospect that the first phase of Line 2 would not be ready for the Euro ...
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Mumbai SPV on track
INDIA: The Rs23·56bn Mumbai Metro Line 1 project reached financial closure on October 3 after a consortium of banks sanctioned funds amounting to Rs11·94bn. Mmrda will provide a capital grant of Rs6·5bn while the remaining Rs5·12bn will be raised through equity. With construction activity in full swing, Mumbai Metro One ...
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NewsRZD signs funding accord
RUSSIA: On October 3 Russian Railways signed co-operation agreements with the Federal Agency for Rail Transport which will provide 45·6bn roubles of federal funding for two important infrastructure upgrading projects. Signed in Moscow by RZD President Vladimir Yakunin and the Head of Roszheldor Gennady Petrakov, the accord is the first ...
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NewsTrans-Pennine trains get greener
UK: A second tranche of energy efficiency measures has been implemented by TransPennine Express and Siemens to reduce further the carbon footprint of the Desiro DMUs operating regional and inter-city services across northern England and Scotland.
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NewsLima metro concession expected
PERU: This month is due to see the award of a 40-year concession to complete and operate Line 1 of the Lima metro. The government's private investment agency ProInversión announced in September that final bids were to be submitted by September 17, with the technical offers to be opened on ...
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NewsTHSRC extends market pricing
TAIWAN: Chief Executive of Taiwan High Speed Rail Corp Dr Ou Chin-Der announced on October 2 that the operator would be introducing two new off-peak ticket types with effect from November 1, expanding the range of fares available on the 345 km high speed line between Taipei and Kaohsiung. The ...
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NewsTram-trains bids invited
UK: Train operating company Northern Rail has issued an Invitation to Tender for the supply and maintenance of lightweight tram-train vehicles to operate on the Shefffied - Barnsley - Penistone - Huddersfield line during a two-year trial sponsored by the Department for Transport. Northern is looking to acquire a minimum ...