Main line rail industry news – Page 1234
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Nordic Rail tackles politics and technology
INTRO: Both technical and political themes will be on the agenda at the Nordic Rail event in J
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Gangway designs hinge on modularity and wide access
GANGWAY design is changing as rolling stock manufacturers increasingly adopt modular vehicle construction methods. Commonality of components between different vehicle models is becoming standard practice in the industry, bringing a need for the clear division of responsibility between gangway subcontractor and the final assembler of the vehicle.Traditionally, manufacturers have incorporated ...
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Toulouse launches RER line
LINE C of Toulouse’s embryonic RER opened on September 1 between the dormitory suburb of Colomiers and an interchange with metro Line A at St Cyprien-Arènes, giving a journey time from Colomiers to central Toulouse of less than 30 min. Line C is the suburban section of SNCF’s Toulouse - ...
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Thais to boost rail investment
PLANS TO invest up to 900bn baht in rail projects over the next five years were announced by Thailand’s Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra on August 28. Following a meeting to consider national energy strategy, he said better rail transport would cut car use, saving the country an estimated 2500bn baht ...
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Tsubame takes to the rails in Kyushu
Series 800 trainsets for the Kyushu Shinkansen were due to start test running last month
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Backlog boosts Bombardier
According to results released by its parent Bombardier Inc on August 27, Bombardier Transportation recorded revenue of C$2·3bn in the second quarter to July 31, down from C$2·4bn in 2002 ’due to a lower level of activities as a result of the timing of the completion and start-up of contracts’. ...
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Minding the doors
MODERN trains and trams need doors which are intelligent. A passenger caught in a closing door can be injured, and even trapped clothing causes short delays while the doors are released. Systems are available to prevent doors trapping obstructions, but it is vital to reduce the number of false alarms.Siemens ...
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PEOPLE
South African Treasury Director-General Maria Ramos is to become Group Chief Executive of Transnet on January 1, when Mafika Mkwanazi will leave to take up a post in the private sector.Nick Newton has become Deputy Chief Executive of the Strategic Rail Authority. He will be Chairman of South Eastern Trains, ...
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intelligence
Angola: Work is expected to begin next month on the rehabilitation of the 23 km Bungo - Viana section of the Luanda railway.Argentina: Buenos Aires suburban operator Metropolitano was due to begin electric operation over the 6·6 km between Temperley and Claypole last month. Work to install 25 kV 50Hz ...
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Transwa railcars start TEST running
SEPTEMBER 8 saw the start of of a five-week programme of commissioning trials with the first of nine new diesel railcars for the Public Transport Authority of Western Australia. The cars are being built by United Goninan’s Broadmeadow plant in New South Wales to re-equip the state’s Prospector and ...
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UK franchises to be extended
ON SEPTEMBER 9 the UK Strategic Rail Authority announced that it was to start formal negotiations to extend four of the remaining first-generation franchises. The Wessex Trains and West Anglia Great Northern franchises currently held by National Express expire on March 31 2004, as does GOVIA’s Thameslink franchise. NEG’s contract ...
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Ore port link moves to study phase
PLANS to develop a new deep water iron ore port at Krishnapatnam on India’s east coast took a step forward in August. Technical and financial consultants have been appointed to develop the port and a 130 km rail link to serve it. Intended to handle ships up to 200000 dwt, ...
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Inn tunnel starts
AUGUST 12 saw the formal start of work on a 7·7 km tunnel between Terfens and Vomp in Austria, which will carry the new Lower Inn Valley line between Innsbruck and Wels. Being built by Brenner Eisenbahn GmbH on behalf of the Austrian, German and Italian governments, the 40 km ...
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German tenders re-called
GERMAN Railway announced on August 21 that it was to call tenders early next year for the supply of 203 diesel locomotives for its freight subsidiary Railion Deutschland (left). Options for a further 263 locos could lift the total value of the package to around €1·1bn. Contracts for the supply ...
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DB Cargo broken up
RAILION moved a step closer to becoming a pan-European rail freight operator on September 1, when the operating arm of German Railway’s freight business, DB Cargo, was renamed Railion Deutschland. The move is intended to put the German operations on the same footing as Railion Benelux (formerly NS Cargo) and ...
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Russian links to be improved
MEETING in Warszawa on August 20, railway officials from Germany, Poland, Belarus and Russia agreed details of a programme to improve passenger services on the Berlin - Warszawa - Minsk - Moscow corridor. Moscow - Berlin services are to run daily all year round, and the Moscow - K
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High speed light amid the gloom
173 YEARS and one day after the opening of the world’s first inter-city railway between Liverpool and Manchester, Britain finally entered the age of high speed railways. The opening of Section 1 of the Channel Tunnel Rail Link on September 16 came 20 years after France’s first TGV line was ...
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Perpignan - Figueres moves ahead
AS JOINT PROMOTERS of the project to build a new 45 km line between Perpignan and Figueres, the governments of France and Spain have set a deadline of October 30 for the selection of a preferred bidder. Under a second competition launched earlier this year, four consortia have prequalified for ...
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Ministers admit safety is crippling rail
LAST MONTH we reported on the staggering rise in infrastructure costs since Britain’s railways were fragmented and privatised in the 1990s (RG 9.03 p553). This owes much to relentless political, regulatory and even judicial pressure to spend unlimited sums and accept huge disruption of services in the name of safety, ...