Main line rail industry news – Page 1177
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News
Sydney plans cross-harbour tunnel
NEW South Wales Premier Bob Carr announced on June 9 that A$8bn would be spent over the next 15 years on construction of a new deep-level north-south tunnel under Sydney’s central business district.The line would continue under the harbour to serve suburbs north of the city that currently rely heavily ...
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Monorail contract
AFTER NINE months of talks, Seattle Monorail Project announced on June 3 that it had agreed a draft contract worth US$1·6bn for construction of the 22·5 km Green Line between Ballard and West Seattle via the city centre.The privately-financed line is to be designed and built by the Cascadia Monorail ...
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Corridor study
THE MINISTRY of Development has called tenders for a preliminary study into creating a ’high performance’ route between the north coast of Spain and the Mediterranean Sea.The proposed route would connect with the high speed line between Barcelona and the French border as well as the proposed central rail crossing ...
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Eurotunnel closer to substitution
EUROTUNNEL’S Chairman & Chief Executive Jacques Gounon survived by a large majority an attempt to replace him with fellow director and former Chief Executive Jean-Louis Raymond at the AGM on June 17. But it was a close thing.It appears that Nicholas Miguet - the share tipster who held a large ...
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Alternative fuels on test
LAST MONTH, three railways unveiled projects intended to reduce the rail industry’s dependence on diesel fuel. On June 14, Brazilian industrial giant Companhia Vale do Rio Doce announced in Rio de Janiero that it will use biological fuel on its Vitória a Minas Railway, following positive tests with two locomotives ...
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ECP braking to roll out on coal route
SPOORNET is moving ahead with plans to introduce electronically-controlled pneumatic braking on its Ermelo - Richards Bay heavy haul coal line.A pilot train with cable-based ECP provided by Wabtec began running in July 2000, and the equipment was upgraded before tenders to equip the loco and wagon fleet were called ...
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Brazil's remarkable revival
WRITING in Companhia Vale do Rio Doce's 2004 annual report, CEO Roger Agnelli states boldly that CVRD 'has been responsible for the rebirth of the Brazilian railroad rolling stock industry'. This remarkable claim warrants further examination. Anyone attending the eighth International Heavy Haul Association conference in Rio de Janeiro will ...
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Slow progress through the Alps
A FIRE in the 12·8 km Fréjus road tunnel on June 4, in which two lorry drivers died, calls to mind the more serious fires in the 11·6 km Franco-Italian Mont Blanc tunnel in March 1999 and in the Gotthard motorway tunnel in October 2001.At the time several heavyweight names ...
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Power dive
TRAINS all over Switzerland ground to an untimely halt in the evening peak hour on June 22 when a short circuit in a transmission line triggered a chain reaction that cut all traction power supplies to the Swiss network.The original fault occurred at 17.08 on a transmission line between Amsteg ...
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Work begins on Docklands Light Railway's Woolwich Arsenal extension
UK: At a ceremony in Woolwich on June 13, Mayor of London Ken Livingstone and Transport Minister Karen Buck marked the start of work on the Docklands Light Railway extension from King George V to Woolwich Arsenal. The 2·5 km extension is to be built by the Woolwich Arsenal ...
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Real work starts at ERA
CEREMONIES were held in Valenciennes on June 16 to inaugurate the European Railway Agency, which was created last year to advise the European Commission as part of the Second Railway Package (RG 8.04 p449). ERA Executive Director Marcel Verslype said the event marked the end of the set-up phase and ...
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Congratulations from our readers
On learning that Railway Gazette would be celebrating its centenary this month, and marking 170 years of unbroken service to the railway industry, many of our readers have been kind enough to send their congratulations and good wishes.
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NewsNews in Brief
On May 22 Japanese Land, Infrastructure & Transport Minister Kazuo Kitagawa, and JR Hokkaido Chairman Shinichi Sakamoto participated in ceremonies at Shin-Hakodate to mark the start of work on the first phase of the Hokkaido Shinkansen, which was approved in December 2004. The government is covering two-thirds of the ´470bn ...
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Dubai metro contract awarded
ON MAY 29 representatives of Dubai Municipality and the Dubai Rapid Link consortium signed a 12·45bn dirham contract for final design and construction of the planned driverless metro in the United Arab Emirates' second largest city. The contract was signed by the Director General & Chairman of the Dubai ...
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Quetta expresses inaugurated
ON MAY 16 Pakistan Railways launched two daily inter-city express services from the western city of Quetta. The inaugural trains were flagged off by the Governor of Baluchistan, Owais Ahmed Ghani.Worked with new Chinese-built air-conditioned coaches, the accelerated Baluchistan Express between Quetta and Karachi now covers the 862 km in ...
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Spanish association expands
AS WELL as organising its own joint stand, the Spanish Association of Manufacturers & Exporters of Equipment & Services for the Railway Industry will be co-ordinating other Spanish exhibitors at the event.MAFEX has over 20 member companies, covering infrastructure, rolling stock, signalling, electrification, maintenance and consultancy businesses.Engineering firm Affix Electronics ...
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Thais talk tough
AT A MEETING in Bangkok on May 9, State Railway of Thailand Governor Chitsanti Dhanasobhon was given 30 days to report back to the transport and finance ministers with a plan to turn round SRT’s financial performance.Senior managers had put forward plans that envisaged SRT’s 44bn baht debt being written ...
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Metro maintenance matters
PLASSER & Theurer will be focusing attention on its track maintenance and measuring machines built specifically for use on urban railways.The 08 Metropolitan series of tamping machines is designed for use on tightly-curved lines with third-rail electrification, and features low-emission diesel engines and catalytic converters for use in tunnels. Examples ...
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Tracking machines across borders
DANISH infrastructure manager Banedanmark has ordered tracking equipment to monitor the location and utilisation of around 700 wagons and maintenance machines.The DKr4m contract for GSM-GPS tracking technology was won by Pivotex Oy, which will begin supplying its PivoTrack package this month. PivoTrack will work across national boundaries regardless of the ...
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EWS acquires bogie portfolio
BRITISH rail freight operator English Welsh &Scottish Railway announced on April 28 that it had acquired the assets of wagon suspension developer and supplier Probotec Ltd. The Cardiff-based company had been placed in administration earlier in the month.Formerly known as Powell Duffryn Rail, Probotec has 40 staff and offices in ...