Main line rail industry news – Page 1266
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News
Italferr plans a bright future
IT IS ALMOST exactly one year since Riccardo Bonasso took over as Chief Executive of Italferr, after working in the construction industry for over 30 years. He feels that the FS-owned engineering consultancy is well placed to pick up business as investment in the national rail network expands.New legislation that ...
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The human face of interoperability
INTRO: Much of the discussion surrounding cross-border operation of passenger and freight trains is focused on technical issues of traction supply and signalling. Lesley Hodsdon* reports on the related need for training staff to deal with foreign languages, differences in rulebook principles and route knowledgeTHE RATIONALE for interoperability is to ...
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High horsepower demonstrators planned
ALSTOM Transport and the Electro-Motive Division of General Motors are to build two high horsepower diesel-electric demonstrator locomotives aimed at the European freight market. To be completed in mid-2004, the six-axle units will be derived from Alstom’s Prima design supplied to Israel Railways.With a UIC rating of 4300hp, the loco ...
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Publications
Freight Railways: Sustainable Mobility for Economy & SocietyThis fifth volume in the Blue Books series from the Association of German Transport Undertakings covers issues of interest to freight railway operators. In addition to state-owned DB Cargo there are around 165 active public freight operators in Germany, and a further 850 ...
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Czech Pendolino on test
LAST MONTH saw the start of static testing with the first Class 680 Pendolino car for Czech Railways at the Alstom Ferroviaria plant in Savigliano. Two vehicles for the first seven-car trainset are now on their bogies, and fitting out of the rest of the set is well advanced (above). ...
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PEOPLE
Dr Manfred Stolpe has replaced Kurt Bodewig as German Federal Minister for Transport, Building & Housing.Jean-Marie Bertrand was appointed Director General of Reséau Ferré de France on October 7, succeeding Jean-François Bénard.Katsuhiko Ichikawa has become General Manager of Central Japan Railway Corporate Planning Division’s International Department. Kaoru Umemoto continues as ...
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Passenger Portfolio in Brief
With effect from December 15, SNCF is to withdraw smoking provision from first class in all TGVs. The move follows the success of a pilot ban on TGV Atlantique introduced on June 16.To mark the introduction of a half-hourly Thalys service between Paris and Brussels on September 2, the Director-General ...
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Talgo double-decker offers gangways on both decks
FINNISH company Talgo Oy is offering a novel design of double-deck EMU to Finnish Railways and Swiss Federal Railways. Describing the design as ’the first real double-decker’, Talgo says that its concept makes better use of space than conventional double-deck trains. Traction equipment would be supplied by Elin of Austria.Of ...
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RailNetEurope launched
JOINT MARKETING of international freight train paths across Europe was initiated on September 24, when representatives from 18 infrastructure managers signed a co-operation agreement at InnoTrans in Berlin. The symbolic launch of RailNetEurope foreshadows the start of open access on the Trans-European Rail Freight Network in March 2003. Role models ...
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Nacala boost
INTERNATIONAL donors have agreed to fund repairs to a critical section of the Nacala Railway in Mozambique, which connects Malawi with the Indian Ocean. The 77 km between Cuamba and the border at Nanyuci is in poor condition, although the 538 km from Nacala to Cuamba was rehabilitated over the ...
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SBB picks Flirt
SWISS Federal Railways announced on September 26 that it has ordered 42 low-floor EMUs from Stadler Bussnang AG for €330m. First deliveries are scheduled for autumn 2004, beginning with 12 sets for S-Bahn services around Zug. The other 30 for the Basel S-Bahn will start to arrive in mid-2005. The ...
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Reverting to regions
ON OCTOBER 1 Amtrak restructured its Operating Department, abolishing the ’product line’ management based on Special Business Units in favour of a geographical organisation of regions and divisions. The Western Region has three divisions, Pacific, Southwest and Central, whilst the Eastern Region has four: Southern, Mid-Atlantic, New York and New ...
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Network Rail takes over
OCTOBER 1 saw the formal lifting of the Railway Administration Order served on Railtrack plc last year, following a 6h hearing in the High Court in London. This cleared the way for the sale of the infrastructure company to the government-backed ’not-for-dividend’ company Network Rail, which was completed at 07.00 ...
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Work starts on Brenner link
SIX YEARS of preparation and planning culminated on October 2 when work began on a 40 km double-track main line along Austria’s Lower Inn valley. Infrastructure Minister Mathias Reichhold and General Manager of Brenner Eisenbahn Gesellschaft Dipl-Ing Hans Lindenberger jointly launched the project at the western portal of a 10·6 ...
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SLR looks north
THESRILANKA Ministry of Transport and Sri Lanka Railways have commissioned a detailed study for reconstruction of lines in the north of the country, following the presentation of a feasibility study last month. This concluded that many bridges and stations needed to be rebuilt, and signalling and communications should be replaced ...
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Russian private line opens
SIBERIAN-Urals Aluminium Company held a ceremony on September 20 to open its 158 km railway linking the Middle Timan bauxite deposits with the RZD network. The line is the first privately-owned railway in Russia since the 1917 revolution. Over 3000 people were involved in construction works on the route, which ...
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IR zones go live
INDIAN Railways Minister Nitish Kumar joined ceremonies at Hajipur in Bihar on October 1 to mark the formal inauguration of the East Central Railway. IR Board Secretary R R Jaruhar handed over a commemorative authorisation to General Manager S C Gupta.Indian Railways is pressing ahead with the creation of seven ...
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TEDA plans automated metro
CONTRACTS have been awarded for construction of an automated metro in the Chinese province of Tianjin. The 50 km Binhai New Development Area Rail Rapid Transit is expected to open in 2005. It will connect the city centre with the Tianjin Economic-Technological Development Area (TEDA) on the coast near Tanggu, ...
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Tehran plans four more lines
PROPOSALS for expansion of the Tehran metro were unveiled last month by the Chairman & Managing Director of Tehran Urban & Suburban Railway Co Hashemi Bahramani. He confirmed that TUSRC expects to complete its initial five-line network by March 2005.Two urban metro lines and the suburban route to Karaj are ...
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Boom may be short-lived
SINCE restructuring its Montevideo - 25 de Agosto suburban service on July 1 to provide more stops at Progreso, Uruguayan state operator AFE has seen a dramatic increase in passenger traffic. In June 2001 the trains carried 17000 passengers, and AFE Vice-President Roberto Médica told Ultimas Noticias that with a ...