Main line rail industry news – Page 1205
-
News
Bleak outlook at embattled SNCF
OFFICIAL confirmation of the disarray threatening the smooth operation of the French national railway came on July 8 with the publication of Train de Réformes, a highly critical parliamentary report drawn up for the Commission des Finances.SNCF is not having a good summer. Recent weeks have seen computer malfunctions cripple ...
-
News
Five go in search of capacity
THE STB IS WORRIED. The shippers are worried, and the railroads are worried. Capacity is the word on everyone's lips, as a buoyant US economy is driving up business faster than the rail industry can handle it. On June 10 Surface Transportation Board Chairman Roger Nober wrote to ...
-
News
Georgia on the road to reform
DAVID ONOPRISHVILI has a new challenge. Appointed as Chairman & Managing Director of Georgian Railway at the beginning of June, he is tasked with turning the network around and restructuring it for privatisation. As the country's former Finance Minister, and a member of the economic reform policy committee, Onoprishvili has ...
-
News
RZD faces funding challenge
INTRO: Improving the profitability of passenger services is one of the major challenges facing Russian Railways, which has set itself the ambitious target of ensuring that the cost of commuter operations is fully covered by fares and subsidy by 2010BYLINE: Dipl-Ing Boris E LukovFirst Deputy General Secretary,International Co-ordinating Council for ...
-
News
Letter from InnoTrans
35 countries represented in BerlinInnoTrans strengthens its presence in the international market From the 21st to the 24th September 2004, the leading firms from the world’s railway industry will be displaying their latest products and services at the Berlin trade fair ground. With foreign companies accounting for 45% of exhibitors, ...
-
News
Steam sell-out
DELAYED briefly pending the clarification of Sachsen state legislation on railway privatisation and open access, the sale of German Railway’s last steam-operated line was completed in mid-June.On July 21 DB handed over responsibility for the 750mm gauge L
-
News
Data processing holds the key to high speed monitoring
THE PROSPECT of rail flaw detection at line speed was one of several innovations in condition monitoring and infrastructure assessment held out to delegates at this year’s Railway Engineering conference in London on July 6-7, sponsored by Railway Gazette International.Rachel Edwards and Steve Dixon of Warwick University have been looking ...
-
News
Commission backs Alstom deal
ALSTOM SHAREHOLDERS voted to accept resolutions allowing the company to implement its amended financing plan at an Ordinary and Extraordinary Meeting held in Paris on July 9.Two days previously the European Commission had confirmed its agreement to a May 26 plan (RG 7.04 p435) for the French state to participate ...
-
News
BAM spending boosted
VISITING Tynda to join celebrations marking the 30th anniversary of the start of work on the Baikal - Amur Magistral, RZD President Gennady Fadeyev announced on July 9 that the railway expected to invest more than 30bn roubles in the Siberian trunk route over the next few years.Among the priority ...
-
News
BC Rail absorbed
CANADIAN National confirmed on July 14 that it had completed its C$1·1bn takeover of BC Rail under a ’partnership agreement’ with the British Columbia government. The deal had been cleared by Canada’s Competition Bureau on July 2.Under the agreement announced on November 25 2003 (RG 1.04 p6), CN is acquiring ...
-
News
Serco takes Northern as DB pulls out of ICEC
A PARTNERSHIP of Serco Group and NedRailways BV has been selected as preferred bidder to operate the UK's Northern rail franchise, the Strategic Rail Authority announced on July 1. Northern will take over from First North Western and Arriva Trains Northern in October, employing 4000 staff and 265 trainsets to ...
-
News
Chinese expansion strategy
CHINESE Railways expects to start work later this year on a 1500 km rail link between Shanghai and Hong Kong, as part of the government's next five-year plan. Vice-Minister of Railways Hu Yadong announced on July 1 that by 2020 the government expected to build 12000 km of dedicated passenger ...
-
News
New ERA dawns
THE FORMATION of the European Rail Agency reached a milestone on July 15 when the first meeting of the board of directors was held in Valenciennes.Based in Valenciennes and Lille, ERA has been set up ’to contribute technically to the implementation of community legislation aimed at ameliorating the competitive position ...
-
News
Inter-city DMUs
IARNRÓD Éireann announced on July 9 that it will place a record order for new inter-city vehicles later this year. IE plans to buy a fleet of 120 'high-specification' diesel multiple-unit cars suitable for 160 km/h operation. Expected to cost over €300m, they will be funded under the Irish ...
-
News
Ben Gurion International Airport link ready
ISRAEL Railways has set September 4 as the official opening date for the rail link between Tel Aviv and Ben Gurion International Airport. There will be 32 trains each way per day, covering the 8 km from the city centre in 10min. To mark completion of the US$83m single-track branch, ...
-
News
Crowds flock to Blue line
HUGE CROWDS jostled to sample Bangkok’s first underground metro line on July 4, taking advantage of cheap introductory fares on the 22 km Blue Line. This links Hualampong and Bang Sue, serving 18 stations.Promoted by the Mass Rapid Transit Authority, the Blue Line is operated under a concession by Bangkok ...
-
News
Lea moves ahead
CONSTRUCTION of the 14·7 km Lea tram route in Lyon is on course to start in September, following the award of the formal Declaration of Public Utility by the Préfet of Rh
-
News
PATH calls car bids
TENDERS have been called for the first stage of a programme to renovate and renew the PATH metro operating between Newark, Jersey City and Manhattan.Port Authority of New York & New Jersey issued a request for proposals in June for 246 new cars, together with alternative bids for the mid-life ...
-
News
Airport beckons
OFFICIALS from the Praha city transport department have backed plans to extend metro Line A to the international airport at Ruzyne, and endorsed private-sector proposals to upgrade an existing heavy rail line to carry airport express services.On June 17, the city transport committee approved plans to develop an airport station ...
-
News
Elevated launch
VIETNAM’s Ministry of Transport announced last month that it expected to start work next year on two elevated railways through the centre of Hanoi.The bigger project is reconstruction of a 24·6 km section of DSVN’s main line between Yen Vien and Ngoc Hoi (RG 3.04 p124). By 2010 this will ...