Main line rail industry news – Page 1110
-
News
Freight competition
Sir - I am pleased that my modest observations (RG 1.07 p13) prompted such a lively response from Philip N Mortimer (RG 4.07 p196).A direct comparison of North American and European railway practices is pointless - the political, structural, geographical and historic differences are all too obvious. My observations stem ...
-
News
Victorian lines
Sir - A small correction is needed to the report on the vertical separation and renationalisation of track in Victoria (RG 5.07 p260). The Melbourne - Adelaide route and the lines in western Victoria were converted from 1 600?mm to standard gauge in 1995. This interstate line and the standard ...
-
News
FS business plan wins government backing
ITALIAN ministers have signed off a five-year business plan for Italian Railways (RG 4.07 p194). Submitted in February, the proposals will see Trenitalia order 1 000 new trains for local and regional passenger services by 2011 at a cost of k6?4bn.Approval came at a meeting on May 4 attended by ...
-
News
Intermodal expansion
SWISS intermodal group Hupac has launched a thrice-weekly rail service between Antwerpen and Perpignan, in partnership with Fret SNCF. Linking the port with the Novatrans terminal at Perpignan, the 1 200?km route is intended to be extended into Spain at a later date.Although Fret SNCF already operates into Belgium, its ...
-
News
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 ...
-
News
Commercial traffic enters Lötschberg base tunnel
REVENUE-EARNING traffic is due to start running through the Lötschberg base tunnel on June 19, with up to 48 freight trains a day routed through the 38 km bore. They will be followed in August by the first commercial passenger services. Cisalpino's ETR470 tilting trainsets are expected to use ...
-
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 installation ...
-
News
People June 2007
President Sarkozy has appointed Alain Jupp? as France's Minister for Ecology & Sustainable Development, replacing Minister for Transport, Infrastructure, Tourism & the Sea Dominique Perben. Dominique Bussereau is Secretary of State for Transport. Georgian Railways Deputy Director Guram Guramishvilli has been appointed head of the co-ordination council for the Baku ...
-
News
Inspecting the Subway
PLASSER & Theurer has developed a multi-purpose track inspection vehicle for use by MTA New York City Transit on the 371 km of subway route that it operates. The TGC-3 unit is tailored to NYCT's specific operating needs, with video inspection and lighting equipment designed to operate in the subway's ...
-
NewsRadar offers safer crossings
Level crossings in Israel are to benefit from radar protection under a US$12m contract awarded by Israel Railways to Scheidt & Bachmann. The contract will see 18 crossings on the network equipped with radar scanning devices to detect objects on the track between the barriers. If an obstruction is detected, ...
-
News
Signal failures in hand
A hand-held current analyser has been introduced by Tube Lines in an effort to reduce signal failures on the Jubilee, Northern and Piccadilly lines of London Underground.The device was developed by one of the infrastructure manager’s engineers to counter the effect of failed block joints. These insulating joints separate track ...
-
News
Closer to Barcelona
ON MAY 8 ADIF’s Talgo BT track recording train began verification runs over the Camp de Tarragona - Sant Joan Desp? section of the Madrid - Barcelona high speed line. Sant Joan Desp? lies 12?km from Barcelona, and the Ministry of Development is working to have the route open as ...
-
News
New line for Tenerife
PLANS TO BUILD an 80?km railway from Santa Cruz de Tenerife to Torvisca near Adeje were unanimously approved by a plenary session of the Tenerife island council on April 27. It is hoped that construction can begin in the second half of 2008 for completion in 2014-15.With 10% of the ...
-
News
Northeast France joins the high speed network
STRIDING ACROSS the hills and valleys of northeast France for 300?km between Vaires and Baudrecourt, the Ligne ? Grande Vitesse Est Europ?en is a very visible commitment to the future prosperity of the region it serves. Representing an investment of k5?5bn by the national and local governments, RFF and SNCF, ...
-
NewsPhase 3 agreed in Bordeaux
WITH WORK now well underway on Phase 2 of the city's light rail programme (RG 4.07 p188), the greater Bordeaux authority has agreed to call tenders for consultancy contracts worth up to €28m covering studies and project supervision for Phase 3. Expected to cost a total of €342m, this would ...
-
News
Regional tram-trains for SNCF
SNCF's long-standing plans for a sizeable fleet of tram-train cars have made further progress after the company placed an order for 31 Alstom Citadis Dualis dual-mode cars. The €100m order includes an option for a further 169 vehicles, which could ultimately take the value of the contract to €650m. Of ...
-
NewsSingapore plans fifth line
THE GOVERNMENT of Singapore has approved plans to build a fifth metro line, Transport Minister Raymond Lim announced at a Land Transport Authority seminar on April 27. Mostly running underground, the 40 km line is to be built in three phases at a cost of S$12bn, and is due to ...
-
News
Polish sell-off plans revived
PROSPECTS for the sale of PKP Cargo SA improved last month when reports surfaced that shares in the state-owned freight operator would go on sale in 2010. Rail freight in Poland is big business, with PKP Cargo handling around 150 million tonnes a year, much of it coal that moves ...
-
News
Pilot ERTMS project on course
DUE TO open in stages this year and next year, the Córdoba - Málaga high speed line will be equipped to operate with ETCS Levels 1 and 2. Contractor for the train control systems is Dimetronic Signals, sister company of Westinghouse Rail Systems. Both companies are members of the Invensys ...
-
News
Comboios do Portugal embraces best practice
‘WE ARE putting Portugal on the European railway map’, insists António Ramalho, President of the country’s state-owned train operator Comboios do Portugal. Recently elected to the board of the Community of European Railways, Ramalho wants to take advantage of his position to bring best practice to his distant corner of ...