Main line rail industry news – Page 1278
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Austrian lesson
ALL TOO OFTEN urban authorities bemoan the low share of traffic moving by public transport. For an example of a city where the reverse is true, look no further than the Austrian capital. Figures released by Wien city council last month show that a record 729 million passengers rode public ...
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Industry News
Europe: Société Industrielle du Hanau has signed an agreement to sell the French trackwork supplier Cogifer Group to Vossloh AG of Germany. Vossloh is to sell its interests in VAE of Austria.France: SNCF has decided not to exercise its option to purchase the 49·99% of Telecom Développement held by Cegetel. ...
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The cost of being profitable
Rail freight rates in North America are not merely the lowest in the world, but they have been falling steadily since deregulation over 20 years ago. Independent consultant David Burns asks how the US railroads have been able to charge such low rates and still show a positive balance sheet
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Railway sector is 'not considered strategic'
Andrew F Saxe takes his annual look at the railway supply industry, and finds that prospects for profitability are being dented by poor performance among rail operators
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Northern Ireland invests
UK: New stock for Translink's Northern Ireland Railways and a rapid transit network in Belfast are the key rail elements in a 10-year Regional Transportation Strategy announced by regional development minister Peter Robinson last month. As part of the government's 25-year Regional Development Strategy, £1·4bn is to be invested ...
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JR East to go fully private
THE Japanese government is to sell its remaining 12·7% stake in East Japan Railway. JR-East runs 12 220 trains a day, carrying 16·2 million passengers on a network totalling 7 538 route-km. Around 500000 shares owned by Japan Railway Construction Public Corp are to be sold, raising an expected ´300bn. ...
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Ministry buys carriage plant
RUSSIA’S Ministry of Railways has bought 49% of the shares of the Demikhovo commuter train manufacturing plant. The ministry plans to buy a further 2%, which would give it a majority shareholding. ’We have always been trying to get the Ministry of Railways as one of the major shareholders of ...
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Italians lift up and away
ACCESSIBILTY specialist Bestgroup Industrie has developed MoDiLift, a battery powered on-board lift which can be fitted to vehicles during refurbishment. Two prototypes are currently undergoing tests on Spanish National Railways regional trains, and MoDiLift will be used on 10 trainsets being refurbished by Magliola & Figli for services between Italy ...
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More trains, better tea
TRANSPORT Minister John Spellar joined ceremonies at London King’s Cross on June 5 to launch a more intensive inter-city service between London and Leeds. GNER has added 11 trains a day, equivalent to 6000 extra seats, giving 27 northbound and 26 southbound services. 18 trains have been accelerated, the fastest ...
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Road excavators take to the rails
ROAD-RAIL maintenance vehicles offer contractors great flexibility, being suitable for tasks including excavation, vegetation cutting and spraying, rail lifting and rail clip insertion and removal.JCB estimates that 750 road-rail vehicles are in use in the UK. The company’s JS175W (right) has recently been launched for the European market. Each rail ...
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Interior suppliers integrate
FINTEN, a marketing and product development alliance of six Finnish railway suppliers, is planning to boost its members’ order books by seeking international contracts for integrated passenger carriage interiors. Members produced components for 92 double-deck vehicles built for VR by Talgo, the last of which rolled off the production line ...
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Pointers
n South African Transport Minister Dullah Omar announced on June 7 that design work for the 4·4 km extension of Cape Town’s suburban rail service to Baden-Powell Drive is to be completed this year; construction will begin in 2003.n Government officials are now preparing legislation to privatise AFE, according to ...
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Metros
Australia: The Victorian government has reached a settlement with OneLink, supplier of Melbourne’s troubled automated ticketing system, under which the company will receive up to A$65m towards claims of A$360m relating to alleged late changes in the initial contract. A revised contract based on performance is to be signed.Belgium: Tenders ...
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Industry News in Brief
TransNamib Chairman Klaus Dierks is seeking German and South African partners to help fund and build a locomotive manufacturing plant in Usakos, first proposed in 1999. Diesel and electric locos would be built for export, generating additional revenue for the railway operator. Titan Rail has been formed by PML Group, ...
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Bids invited
GEORGIA’S Ministry of State Property Management has invited bids for the 75% government stake in the Elmavalmshenebeli electric loco plant in Tbilisi. Bids will be opened on July 26. The successful bidder will be required to increase production by 30% and salaries by 20%, and to modernise the plant.
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Czech results mixed
US-owned Czech wagon builder Thrall Vagonka lost KC23m on revenues of KC1·17bn in 2001, but restructuring and consolidation reduced the loss from the previous year’s figure of KC203m. Meanwhile, CKD Vagonka recorded a net profit of KC60m on sales of KC273m. Brake manufacturer DAKO-CZ achieved a gross profit of KC36m, ...
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Finance
Chile: Investment bank IM Trust has been commissioned by Grupo CB to examine options for raising up to US$15m of investment funding for freight operator Fepasa. This may involve CB selling all or part of its controlling interest in the company.Czech Republic: CD recorded a loss of KC4bn in 2001, ...
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Market
Australia: Global Technology is to supply Queensland Rail with its Metify business cost management software.The Queensland government has called for expressions of interest to operate the weekly Savannahlander railcar service between Cairns and Forsayth currently run by Queensland Rail.Belgium: Thales e-Transactions has been awarded a €4·5m contract to supply fleet ...
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Beating graffiti
DUPONT Performance Coatings has developed an anti-graffiti paint, distributed by Standox. The clear polyacrylic hard protective coat is applied to the vehicle, sign or other surface to be sealed for protection from chemical and mechanical damage. A biodegradable, water-based anti-graffiti cleaner is sprayed on to vandalised areas, and graffiti can ...
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Point battery
DMS Technologies has received Railtrack acceptance for its Cyclon 5Ah 120VDC point switching battery. The DMS 57 cell unit can operate up to seven point switches simultaneously. It is also suitable for use as a standby back-up supply to run signalling equipment during power failures.The spiral-wound lead acid cells are ...