Main line rail industry news – Page 1084
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News
Freight crosses the Korean divide
DECEMBER 11 saw the first commercial freight service cross the Demilitarised Zone between North and South Korea when a train loaded with construction materials from Munsan in the south reached an industrial complex at Kaesong in the north. It returned south carrying footwear and clothing. Operation of the train followed ...
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NewsChina rolls out 300 km/h trainset
THE FIRST Chinese-built high speed trainset capable of 300 km/h operation was rolled out at Sifang Locomotive works on December 22. The design is derived from East Japan Railway's E2-1000 Shinkansen trains, and follows from a batch of 60 CRH2 sets developed by a Kawasaki-led consortium and assembled by Sifang ...
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Railion brand dropped
GERMANY'S national rail operator launched a fresh identity for its freight, passenger and infrastructure businesses last month. The Railion brand has been discarded in favour of DB Schenker, which more accurately reflects the organisation of the freight and logistics business. Passenger services will operate under the DB Bahn brand, while ...
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ETCS software error led to Lötschberg derailment
A FULL service of passenger and freight trains began operating through the 34·6 km Lötschberg base tunnel using ETCS Level 2 on December 9, marking another milestone in the protracted history of Europe's interoperable train control system. The tunnel had been formally opened on June 15, when authority was granted ...
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Patriot Rail Corp buys third railway
USA: Short line and regional freight line operator Patriot Rail Corp announced its purchase of Utah Central Railway on January 3. This is the third railway acquired by Patriot, which now owns and leases 400 km of rail line in Tennessee, Alabama, Montana and Utah. Established in 1995 to use ...
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Electro-diesel loco offers flexible traction
Spanish rolling stock builder CAF has developed its Bitrac dual-mode locomotive for the domestic market
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Amsterdam workshop ready
THE DUTCH High Speed Alliance may be some way from launching services on HSL-Zuid (RG 11.07 p688), but at least its trains now have somewhere to live. In November the Mayor of Amsterdam Job Cohen formally opened the newly-built Nedtrain workshop at Amsterdam Watergraafsmeer which will maintain locomotives and high ...
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Constant guardian protecting bridge
THE SAFETY of trains crossing a major waterway in the western USA is being enhanced with the deployment of a $380 000 Collision Alert Monitoring & Impact Analysis system developed by Florida-based Duos Technologies. A bank of vibration and acceleration sensors detects any impact along the bridge, while a series ...
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NewsEWS promises Channel Tunnel 'revolution'
EWS announced on November 22 that its Euro Cargo Rail subsidiary will be launching 12 intermodal services through the Channel Tunnel during 2008, connecting 'the key UK economic regions' with terminals in France, Italy, Spain, Belgium, Germany and Switzerland. The first is due to start at the end of January ...
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NewsHS1 for sale
LONDON & Continental Railways, owner of the £5·2bn Channel Tunnel Rail Link and the UK share of Eurostar, is to be separated into three businesses, UK Rail Minister Tom Harris announced on November 20. The recently-completed 109 km high speed line between London at the Channel Tunnel will be sold ...
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Railway Gazette team strengthened
TWO FURTHER members of staff joined the Railway Gazette journal team in November as part of an expansion strategy for the DVV Rail Media portfolio. To strengthen the editorial team under Editor Chris Jackson, Robert Preston has been promoted to Deputy Editor with special responsibility for the expanding newsletter business; ...
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Demonstrating the power of hydrogen
A pan-European consortium aims to demonstrate a hydrogen fuel cell powered passenger train in Denmark during 2010
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East Coast franchise handover
NATIONAL Express Group began operating the UK's prestigious InterCity East Coast franchise on December 9, replacing Great North Eastern Railway which had held the previous franchise until the operator and its parent company hit financial difficulties. The new agreement covering 200 km/h services between London, Yorkshire and Scotland via the ...
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Quick stop after derailment
THE TIME lag from the moment a derailment occurs to the moment the train stops can be crucial in minimising the damage which results, making it important to apply the emergency brake as soon as the wheels leaves the rail. The Sicode inertial derailment detector provides a quick brake application ...
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Bridal Belle
PAKISTAN Railways was expecting to launch a dedicated wedding coach into service during December. The special vehicle is available for charter by wedding parties, and will be attached to inter-city trains for travel to and from ceremonies. The air-conditioned coach has a bridal suite and five bedrooms providing sleeping accommodation ...
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Industry News in Brief
Faiveley Transport has begun exclusive negotiations to acquire the sintered brake pad business of Carbone Lorraine. A plant at Gennevilliers near Paris employs 80 staff and reported 2006 sales of €17·1m.Vossloh and Nanjing Iron Steel Co formally opened a rail fastening factory at Kunshan outside Shanghai in a ceremony on ...
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Alstom announces maintenance deal
SPANISH national rail operator Renfe and train builder Alstom announced the formation of train maintenance joint venture Irvia Mantenimiento Ferroviario on November 28. Alstom has a 51% stake in the Madrid-based joint venture, and the board will be nominated equally by the two partners. Irvia will initially maintain 80 ...
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TKL Rail bought by Vossloh
VOSSLOH announced on November 20 that it had signed an agreement to purchase the assets of TKL Rail, the Australian turnout business of Flowserve Corp subsidiary Thompsons Kelly & Lewis Pty Ltd. The companies did not disclose the price of the deal, which was expected to be completed in mid ...
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UP relies on Reliability Teams
UNION PACIFIC has learned that reporting a bad-order locomotive can be relatively easy. However, finding and fixing the problem efficiently and getting the loco back on the road can be another matter. To this end, the railroad has formed Reliability Teams at each of its 13 major locomotive repair shops ...
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Network Rail sends in the robots
IN RECENT months British train operators have suffered from massive disruption from fires close to their routes when acetylene gas cylinders were involved, or were suspected of being involved. Acetylene is unusual in that there is risk of explosion even after the fire is out, leading to the emergency services ...