Main line rail industry news – Page 1167
-
News
Market
Australia: As part of BHP Billiton’s US$575m Rapid Growth Project 2 to expand the capacity of its Pilbara iron ore operations from 110million tonnes per annum to 118million tonnes by the end of 2006, Barclay Mowlem’s Rail Group will extend tracks from Bing Siding to Nelson Point Yard and modify ...
-
News
Interface launch
NEWLY acquired by Siemens (p574), Transmitton will be launching an interface between its Cromos control software and the OnTrack package from ADT Rail Systems.The interface provides infrastructure reporting into third-party software, making it simpler to see the current status of an asset. Remote access allows faults to be diagnosed while ...
-
News
Water and logs
RUNNING water will be used by Balfour Beatty Rail Technologies to demonstrate the way its XiTrack geocomposite ballast treatment forms a three-dimensional polymer cage around ballast.It does not fill the voids, so allowing water to drain through. The polymer accepts track movement under passing trains, rapidly returning to the desired ...
-
News
Sensors on show
STRAINSTALL will be demonstrating the latest version of the TrackAlert wheel defect, vehicle weight and track force sensors (RG 11.04 p765).The company’s Bridge StrikeAlert will also be on show at Infrarail, and visitors will be able to see how control centres are notified when a bridge is hit by a ...
-
News
Thermal imaging
FLIR SYSTEMS will be demonstrating the ThermaCAM E320 themal imaging camera at Infrarail. The mid-range model is designed for customers who do not need the full flexibility of its P-Series cameras.The ThermaCAM E320 has a 320 x 240 pixel detector with 80mK sensitivity, and interchangeable optics.FLIR imaging equipment is being ...
-
News
Monitoring tools
ROWE HANKINS will show its trackside power and safety monitoring technology.The company has invested in DC test equipment for accurately calibrating high-speed circuit breakers, discriminating between breakers on the same circuit.Rowe Hankins distributes LEM products, and will be showing Relaysenz and Pointsenz, which give early warning of problems with signals ...
-
News
Polish plant plan
HAVING taken over a rolling stock plant from bankrupt manufacturer Wagon, the Europejskie Konsorcjum Kolejowe Wagon consortium is planning to restart the production of freight vehicles at the site in the Polish town of Ostrów. ’We plan to invest 14m zloty annually starting in 2006’, said Chairman Marek Woloch. ...
-
News
Shell assembly
SIEMENS Transportation Systems is to take back construction of steel shells for its SD series of light rail vehicles from contractor Bozankaya. Siemens’ Sacramento plant will be remodelled at a cost of $6·5m to undertake construction of 33 SD160 vehicles for Calgary and 34 for Denver. In May Siemens had ...
-
News
Filling a hole
RETRACTABLE steps can help passengers with mobility problems negotiate the gaps between trains and platform edges, making access possible for wheelchair users.The AGC multiple-units under construction for SNCF are fitted with passenger-operated ’gap fillers’, partially-moving steps to improve access. Pushing the button to open the door also deploys the step, ...
-
News
Vossloh buys track
BY THE END of this month Pfleiderer AG expects to complete the sale of its Track Systems division to Vossloh AG. The companies have not disclosed financial details of the August 2 transaction.The sale of its concrete sleeper and slab track business completes a strategic realignment at Pfleiderer, which is ...
-
News
Cooler work
FIVE cooling sets are being delivered to Vossloh España by Voith Turbo each month, for use in the construction of 160 four-axle 1000 kW shunting locos for SNCF.The packages include the cooler, fan, hydrostatic drives, hydrostatic drive motor fan, compensation tank and complete control technology. The double-circuit cooling systems include ...
-
News
Trams from Oregon
DEFENCE contractor Oregon Iron Works is planning to build under licence trams similar to the Czech-made Astra vehicles in operation in Portland and Tacoma. Based in the Portland suburb of Clackamas, Oregon Iron Works has established a partnership with the Inekon Group, which manufactures the Astra in the Czech Republic. ...
-
News
Safer spraying
VEGETATION control on the Tyne & Wear Metro relied on handheld strimmers, cutting and spraying equipment, until Avondale Environment Services was awarded a contract to carry out the work with a specialised road-rail vehicle.A two-man team remains within the Mercedes Benz Unimog’s air-conditioned and filtered cab during spraying. Six integral ...
-
News
In and out of China
BEIJING ECI International will be exhibiting at Infrarail for the first time. The Chinese firm will be highlighting the range of products it is able to supply to export customers, and explaining how it can help provide access to the expanding Chinese market.Products on offer run from castings and forgings ...
-
News
Albuquerque and Nashville set to join US commuter club
INTRO: Commuter rail expansion continues in the USA, with trains due to begin serving the cities of Albuquerque and Nashville within the next few months. Julian Wolinsky reportsAlthough no starting date has been officially announced for two new commuter rail projects taking shape in the USA, Rail Runner Express in ...
-
News
Specialised sleepers combat sand
INTRO: Trials in Namibia have proved that using specialised sleepers to elevate the rail foot above the ballast bed can keep the rail head free of wind-blown sandBYLINE: Prof Dipl-Ing Dr techn Klaus RießbergerGraz University of Technology, AustriaWessel SwanepoelChief Engineer, TransNamibTRADITIONAL ballasted track was not designed for use in the ...
-
News
Network Rail accepts a pair of High Output Ballast Cleaners
INTRO: The first of two RM900RT High Output Ballast Cleaners underwent a series of demanding checks and tests to obtain an Engineering Acceptance Certificate for use on the UK networkBYLINE: Peter Howells CEng FIMechE and Dr Bernhard Lichtberger*BYLINE: * Peter Howells was Principal Executive Consultant, AEA Technology Rail until June ...
-
News
Sibelit enters rail freight arena
PLANS to launch an international joint venture to improve the competitiveness of rail freight in the Antwerpen - Basel - Milano corridor were unveiled by four European national railways in August.Fret SNCF, B-Cargo, CFL and SBB Cargo agreed in Paris on August 8 that forming a new company would be ...
-
News
Smart card hold-up
ALLISNOT well, it seems, with the smart card intended for use on most public transport across the Netherlands. The OV-Chipkaart project is being led by the Trans Link Systems consortium grouping Netherlands Railways, the transport operators in Rotterdam, Amsterdam and Den Haag and regional bus operator Connexxion. A contract worth ...