Main line rail industry news – Page 1195
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News
Spoornet expansion plans marred by domestic woes
SPOORNET in South Africa continues to nurse ambitions for expansion elsewhere on the African continent, but these may well be hampered by trouble at home. During December, the Ministry of Public Enterprises indicated that Spoornet could be involved in two ambitious rail networks proposed in west and southern Africa. One ...
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NewsRubin moves into testing phase
Germany's first fully-automatic metro is on course to open in 12 months' time. After seven years of studies and development work, the first trainset has already started trial running in Nürnberg
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NewsIndustry divided by screen door debate
ONE OF THE biggest questions facing metro operators considering the conversion to automation is how to ensure safety at station platforms and/or detect obstructions on the track. The UITP metros conference in Nürnberg included a round table on the use of platform screen doors. Opening the debate, Holger Albert from ...
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Shenzhen opens two lines
CONFETTI-GUN salutes and loud cheers greeted the opening of China's latest metro on December 28, when Guangdong Party Secretary Zhang Dejiang inaugurated the first two lines in Shenzhen. Under construction since March 2001, the 21·8 km first phase has cost 11·5bn yuan. Line 1 runs east-west from the KCR border ...
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Automation by stealth
CHINA: This year Hong Kong MTR Corp will open its seventh line, and the first to be fully-automated. The 3·4km Disneyland Resort Line (DRL) will connect the Hong Kong Disneyland theme park at Penny’s Bay on the south coast of Lantau Island with the new Sunny Bay station on the ...
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News
Automation will meet the demands of the modern city
Raising line capacity on the Paris metro by 30% is the prime objective of a comprehensive modernisation programme that includes cutting headways to 90sec on many lines. Most ambitious of all is conversion of Line 1 to driverless operation
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News
Repowered by Deutz
OSTMECKLENBURGISCHE Bahnwerk has rebuilt a former German Railway V200.1 diesel-hydraulic locomotive for Würzburg-based operator EBW.Previously used by Prignitzer Railway, and before that Hellenic Railways Organisation, the 40-year old BB loco has had its Maybach engines replaced with two Deutz TBD620V12 engines with turbocharging and charge air cooling producing 1087 kW ...
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News
Sidetrack
Time to crossMOTORISTS in South Sioux City, Iowa, will soon be able to learn how long they will have to wait for passing freight trains to clear a level crossing on the busy Dakota Avenue. The federally-funded National Intelligent Transportation System is planning to study the behaviour patterns of waiting ...
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Passenger information news
DURING refurbishment of the 75 D78 trainsets used on London Underground's District Line, passenger information displays from Focon will be fitted to the six-car units. The company will also supply displays for use on the 47 eight-car trains to be built by Bombardier for the Victoria Line. On the D78 ...
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News
Winter warmer works on water
OIL-FIRED heaters designed to preheat diesel locomotive engines and protect them from damage in cold weather have been adapted for use as low-maintenance water heaters on passenger coaches.Manufacturer AST has modified the heaters so they can operate independently for periods of several weeks at extremely low temperatures. Air is taken ...
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Finance
Angola: Finance Minister Andre Luí Brandão has announced plans to spend US$4bn rehabilitating 2722 km of track in four phases over the next 11 years. The US$78m first phase is nearing completion, the second will see US$90m of modernisation work, and the third and fourth would involve extensions to neighbouring ...
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City News in Brief
On November 20 the US Congress passed a funding appropriations bill for the 2005 fiscal year, allocating $7·6bn for public transport, a 5·2% increase over FY 2004. This includes $3·3bn for capital investment, $1·4bn for new starts and $1·2bn for fixed guideway modernisation. The bill also provides $1·4bn for the ...
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Industry News in Brief
On November 29 Alstom announced it had agreed terms for the sale of its Valencia diesel locomotive works to Vossloh, subject to regulatory approval. Washington Group International and RATP Développement have formed an alliance to bid for passenger and light rail operations and maintenance work in the USA.Timken Co announced ...
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Publications
The Subterranean Railwayby Christian WolmarLONDON has the oldest underground railways in the world, developed in a piecemeal fashion by numerous companies. The growth of the network and the effect it had on the development of London are described in this book.The author looks at the history of the Underground from ...
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News
Investment delays will damage the future of railways in eastern Europe
RAIL’S historically high market share of freight and passenger traffic in eastern Europe is in peril. This threat comes not just from unfettered road competition buoyed up by government spending on motorways, but from the failure of governments to support their railways as they try to restructure into business entities.There ...
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Pointers
Toll NZ is considering plans to assemble locomotives in New Zealand and to develop its wagon construction business there. Local assembly of motive power would be cheaper and cut lead times, according to Chairman Mark Rowsthorn. Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki announced on December 12 that the Nepad alliance had agreed ...
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News
MÁV lays foundations to build a growing business
ZOLTÁN MÁNDOKI, General Director of Hungarian State Railways, gave details at the CEE Rail event of MÁV’s plans to develop its freight and passenger businesses and outlined progress being made towards establishment of a commercial railway conforming to EU directives.Provisional traffic figures for 2004 put freight volume on the 7729 ...
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Making progress across Europe
Seven case studies provide examples of the many ETCS projects now underway in different countries.