Main line rail industry news – Page 1276
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News
High Voltage Boosters can raise capacity on 25 kV lines
INTRO: Adding a thyristor-controlled static VAr compensator mid-way between substations is proving to be an economical way of boosting line voltage. SVCs enable existing transformers and catenary to deliver the higher power demanded by a more intensive or faster train serviceBYLINE: Malcolm Stuart BSc (Tech) CEng FIEE** Malcolm Stuart is ...
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Caspian corridor
RUSSIAN President Vladimir Putin has backed proposals for a north-south rail freight corridor linking the Baltic Sea with the Persian Gulf, via a Caspian Sea train ferry. A formal agreement to develop the corridor was signed in St Petersburg on May 21 by Russian Railways Minister Gennadi Fadeyev, Iranian Transport ...
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Torino trials
Sir - I was very interested to read the report about Torino in the latest issue of Metro Report (MR 02 p51). Unfort-unately, it contains a number of errors, and some expectations which I feel are unrealistic.The main error is that the southern end of tram Line 4 has never ...
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Remote monitoring improves locomotive availability
INTRO: Maintenance staff can now monitor the actual performance of diesel engines and other locomotive components working thousands of miles away thanks to on-board networked computers and radio links that make each locomotive a node on the internet. EMD began proof-of-concept testing last year with US railwaysBYLINE: Curt A SwensonDirector, ...
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Benguela revival in prospect
WE HAVE lost count of the number of attempts made to revive Angola’s 1302 km Benguela Railway that have foundered because of civil war. Once again, efforts are being mounted to rebuild the 1067mm gauge line from the port of Lobito inland towards the Democratic Republic of Congo, over which ...
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EMU joint venture
SIEMENS Transportation Systems confirmed on July 8 that it had signed contracts with Spanish National Railways setting up Nertus Mantenimiento Ferroviario SA to maintain electric multiple-units used in Barcelona (RG 2.02 p72). Siemens owns 51% of the joint venture and Renfe 49%. Two representatives from each company sit on the ...
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PEOPLE
The President & Chairman of Mozambique’s Board of Ports & Railways Rui Fonseca has been elected Deputy President of the Southern Africa Railways Association.Amtrak has appointed Jonathan Klein as Chief Mechanical Officer.Dieter Meile has been appointed interim General Manager of Switzerland’s Mittelthurgaubahn, following the departure of Peter Joss.Hans Amacker has ...
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Night stock enters service at last
TEN YEARS after they were ordered to operate overnight services between the UK and continental Europe through the Channel Tunnel (RG 3.92 p133), the first Alstom-built European Night Stock vehicles finally began carrying passengers on June 23. But not in Britain, or even in Europe.Rechristened as the Renaissance cars, the ...
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Paducah sold
NATIONAL Railway Equipment Co has acquired the assets of loco remanufacturer VMV Enterprises, which closed in April owing to a shortage of orders (RG 5.02 p269). NRE planned to restart production at the Paducah, Kentucky, works on July 8, but did not indicate how many of VMV’s 240 staff it ...
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Publications
Underground to EverywhereStephen HallidayThis entertaining social and economic history of the oldest and largest metro shows how what we now call Enronitis delivered wealth to some unscrupulous promoters but scant dividends to investors. Formation of the London Passenger Transport Board in 1933 brought public ownership and a flowering of reliable ...
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‘There are no quick fixes or short-term solutions’
Last month we reported David Gunn’s warning on June 20 that Amtrak was ’near the point of no return’. His blunt speaking secured a $100m short-term federal loan that will keep the trains running until September, but the long term is another matter. Murray Hughes asked Gunn what lies ahead
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Intelligence August 2002
Australia: Victoria's Minister for Ports Candy Broad has announced a A$20m project to reinstate rail access to Swanson Dock West in Melbourne, with a 1·5 km dual-gauge line. CityRail's first 130 km/h Millennium EMU entered public service in Sydney on July 1. Up to eight cars will be introduced each ...
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Railtrack agrees sale terms
UK RAILWAY infrastructure owner Railtrack Group confirmed on June 27 that terms had been agreed for the sale of its assets to Network Rail, the government-backed, not-for-dividend company limited by guarantee (RG 5.02 p242). This follows moves by the former Secretary of State for Transport Stephen Byers in October 2001 ...
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Funding deal
INDIAN Railways is to set up a Special Purpose Vehicle to raise funding for upgrading work on six main lines in the so-called Golden Quadrilateral linking Delhi, Kolkata, Chennai and Mumbai. These routes are expected to account for Rs120bn out of the railway’s current Rs260bn investment programme. The six lines ...
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Alpine motive power orders
SWISS Federal Railways has ordered 59 Type Am843 diesel-hydraulic locomotives from Vossloh Schienenfahrzeugtechnik, with an option for 37 more. For delivery from autumn 2003, they will replace SBB’s existing diesel loco fleet at a cost of SFr146m. The four-axle units will have a nominal rating of 1500 kW and a ...
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VR orders more
FINNISH Railways announced on June 26 that it had exercised two options to buy additional rolling stock from Alstom. The first, worth €115m, is for eight 220 km/h six-car Pendolino tilting trains to be delivered from spring 2004.The second is for a further 20 Class Sr4 suburban EMUs for operation ...
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Uruguayan rescue plan
AS THE GOVERNMENT considers options for the future of the Uruguayan railway network, including its transformation into a state-owned infrastructure company, AFE has submitted an investment plan to the office of the President which would see US$45m spent on upgrading a smaller network. AFE Vice-President Roberto Médica said that ’the ...
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Fast Rail contracts awarded
CONTRACTS to upgrade 500route-km in the Australian state of Victoria were signed on June 25. The A$550m project to expand regional passenger services covers four corridors, linking Melbourne to Geelong, Ballarat, Bendigo and Traralgon via the Latrobe Valley. The work to allow trains to operate at up to 160 km/h ...
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Jaén to join the high speed club
AS THE FIRST STEP towards creating a high speed route from Madrid to Jaén via Alc
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Connex wins Norrland routes
ON JUNE 25 Swedish transport authority Rikstrafiken announced that Connex Transport AB had been selected for a five-year contract to run passenger services to northern Sweden. The contract will start on June 15 2003, and includes an option for a three-year extension.Rikstrafiken is responsible for procuring uncommercial inter-regional services. The ...