Main line rail industry news – Page 1248
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News
UK refines ERTMS business case
A PROGRESS report issued on May 19 by Britain’s Strategic Rail Authority and the new Rail Safety & Standards Board says there is now a sound business case for developing and installing the European Rail Traffic Management System across most of the 16666 km network. The capital cost (at current ...
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Standard gauge switch
PROPOSALS for a second stage of rail restructuring in Switzerland are being drawn up for discussion by the Bundesrat later this year, with a view to placing draft legislation before Parliament in 2004. Dr Max Friedli, Director of the Ministry of Transport, has proposed that ownership of 1 435 mm ...
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CIE break-up planned
IRISH Transport Minister Seamus Brennan is expected to place proposals for breaking up state transport holding company CIE before the Irish Cabinet in the next few weeks. CIE's three existing business units - Iarnród Éireann (Irish Rail), Bus Éireann (the national bus operator) and Bus Atha Cliath (Dublin Bus) - ...
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Knowledge loss follows fragmentation
NEARLY A DECADE has passed since the Railways Act 1993 instigated the world’s most dramatic break-up of a national railway. Having witnessed at first hand the chain of events that followed the destruction of British Rail, we believe it is important that other railways heed the lessons learnt so painfully.The ...
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Neihu line E&M deal signed
TAIPEI City Government's metro construction subsidiary Department of Rapid Transit Systems has awarded contracts for construction of the 14·8 km automated Neihu line, serving the northeast of the city. The US$1bn design-and-build contract has been awarded to Kung Sing Engineering Corp, which has in turn subcontracted the E&M works valued ...
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A promise unfulfilled in Victoria
When National Express withdrew from its franchises in Melbourne last year, privatisation in the state of Victoria was called into question. John Kirk reviews what has happened and concludes that there are deep flaws in both state and federal policies
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Dublin’s DASH for growth
DUBLIN'S hard-pressed suburban services will gain a 30% increase in capacity at a cost of €170m under Phase I of the DART & Suburban Enhancement (DASH) project announced by Iarnród Éireann on March 24. Platforms at 23 stations will be increased from six to eight-car length, and two other stations ...
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News
Drains become piles
MEMBRA vertical pipes normally used to drain surface water through a clay layer to permeable material below have been adapted by Cobra to form piles supporting 28 km of track in Malaysia. The company is hoping for an order covering a further 50 km on KTM’s Kuala Lumpur - Padang ...
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News
KCS and TFM to merge
ONAPRIL 21 Kansas City Southern and Grupo TMM of Mexico announced that they had reached agreement to merge their three railways, KCSR, Texas Mexican Railway and TFM SA de CV, under the control of a single holding company, NaftaRail, which will be quoted on the New York StockExchange. The deal ...
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Industry News in Brief
Czech rolling stock builder CKD Vagonka has reported sales worth KC760m last year, up from KC273m the previous year. A significant contribution came from a KC850m order to supply 16 DMU cars to Finland’s VR by 2006.Holland LP’s Railroad Mechanical Group has opened five M-Bar-D wagon repair and inspection facilities, ...
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News
EMU refurbishment agreed
GOVIA has signed a £20m contract with rolling stock leasing firm HSBC Rail for the refurbishment of 184 inner-suburban EMU vehicles operated on the South Central franchise. Work on the Class 455 four-car units will start this month, and will be completed within three years. Each train will be taken ...
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News
Dieter
CAPTION: Canadian Pacific was given the task of transporting an all-glass squash court from Chicago to Edmonton in time for this month’s Canadian Championships. Worth C$225000, the 1 tonne court belongs to the Women’s International Squash Players’ Association and is hired out for televised matches. The court was dismantled and ...
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News
Amey recommends cash offer
SPANISH construction and services group Ferrovial Servicios has made a cash offer of £0·32 per share for Amey plc. The directors of Amey have unanimously recommended acceptance of the ’fair and reasonable’ offer, and Ferrovial has received irrevocable undertakings to accept the offer in respect of 32·6% of Amey’s shares. ...
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News
Revenue up at ’recession-resistant’ Transportation
BOMBARDIER Inc reported consolidated revenues of C$23·7bn for the year ended January 31, up 8·5% from the previous year. The increase came from a higher level of activity in the Transportation business, mainly in Europe, and a full year’s contribution from Bombardier Transportation GmbH (Adtranz), compared to eight months the ...
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Passenger News in Brief
Venice Simplon-Orient Express and Queensland Rail are to suspend services of the Great South Pacific Express luxury train from June 8, blaming a downturn in the international tourist market.Hellenic Railways real estate wing GaiaOSE has appointed Planet Ernst & Young to advise on the development and management of its real ...
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Products in Brief
Peguform GmbH is using Araldite AW2101/HW2951 two-part epoxy adhesive from Vantico to bond moulded sheet components to aluminium rails during the assembly of electrical equipment housings for Bombardier-built S-Bahn trains for Berlin.HAR1000 is the first in LEM’s range of low-power consumption open loop principle Hall-effect current transducers for traction applications. ...
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Finance
Angola: Transport Minister Andre Luis Brandao has announced plans to invest US$4bn on railway rehabilitation. Spoornet has submitted a bid to undertake the work and manage the network; US and European companies are also reported to have expressed interest.Argentina: Under the rescue package agreed in February (RG 4.03 p190), Metrovías ...
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POSS to monitor 1000 ’most critical’ points
CONTINUOUS analysis of the current drawn by 150 point motors at key locations near Amsterdam (right) has reduced train delays by more than 60% during trials, and ProRail has now approved a plan to install the equipment at over 1000 sites across the Dutch rail network.POSS, which translates as Strukton ...
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Ugandan affair
ENABLING legislation has been drafted for the privatisation of Uganda’s rail network, and the government hopes to issue an information memorandum in August. Minister of State for Privatisation Prof Peter Kasene told the Trans Africa 21 conference in London on March 31 that formal bids for a 25-year concession, renewable ...
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Metros
Bulgaria: Sofia has called tenders for the construction of a 2·3 km extension of the city’s metro to the World Trade Centre, financed by a US$104m loan from JBIC.Canada: The city of Niagara Falls has invited expressions of interest in building and operating a 10·3 km circular peoplemover serving the ...