Main line rail industry news – Page 1287
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News
Freight trains running on Alameda Corridor
SECRETARY of Transportation Norman Mineta and California Governor Gray Davies joined ceremonies in Los Angeles on April 12 to mark the formal opening of the Alameda Corridor. Around 1000 guests, including Mayor of Los Angeles James Hahn and his counterpart from Long Beach Beverly O’Neill, watched as senior project executives ...
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TGV traffic still rising
FRENCH National Railways’ policy to win passengers to its Grandes Lignes long-distance inter-city business is paying off. The number of journeys is 35% higher than five years ago, with turnover up by 62%.This year SNCF plans to increase TGV traffic by over 10%. By March 23 the number of journeys ...
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Drive data logging
GERMAN Railway VT611 and VT612 Regio Swinger DMUs are using a data logger developed by Voith Turbo and Augsburg-based Dalog GmbH. Permanently installed on the final drive, the logger provides a comprehensive picture of the causes of problems.Using integrated GPS, diesel-hydraulic drives in almost any location can be monitored from ...
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LUAS operator
CONNEX has been selected as preferred bidder for a five-year franchise to run the LUAS light rail network in Dublin. Minister for Public Enterprise Mary O’Rourke has cleared the way for the Railway Procurement Agency to award the operating contract under the Transport (Railway Infrastructure) Act 2001.Following a tendering competition ...
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Victoria regauging begins
WORK IS to start this month on the first projects to regauge around 2000 km of freight lines in the Australian state of Victoria. The state government has allocated A$96m towards the five-year programme costing A$140m, which was announced a year ago (RG 6.01 p367), and formally approved last September. ...
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Sharon backs IR ’new deal’
ISRAEL is planning to invest US$4bn in rail over the next five years, according to Transport Minister Dr Efrayim Sne. He announced in mid-March that Prime Minister Ariel Sharon had approved in principle the 2002-06 plan which will be funded by a mix of public and private investment. A seven-year ...
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Perpignan - Figueres bids
THE INTERGOVERNMENTAL Commission developing the cross-border rail link between France and Spain has confirmed that all six shortlisted consortia had submitted bids by April 2 for the concession to finance, build and operate the45 km link. The six were shortlisted on November 30 2001 (RG 1.02 p6).Meeting in Madrid on ...
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Branch concessions
Spoornet has started to lease out lines with limited traffic, as part of a strategy to restore its General Freight Business to profitability. GFB accounts for around 70% of the company’s annual revenues. According to CEO Zandile Jakavula, a task force has been set up to look at the viability ...
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US high speed bidding starts
FLORIDA Department of Transportation has received 10 responses to its Invitation to Prequalify for a public-private partnership to develop a high speed railway connecting the state’s major cities. No public funding has yet been allocated for the project, although voters passed a constitutional amendment in November 2000 mandating that the ...
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Theme park branch opens
A DOUBLE-TRACK branch 15·3 km in length between Pinto and San Martín de la Vega south of Madrid has been officially opened by Alberto Ruiz Gallardón, President of the regional government. Forming Route C-3a of Renfe’s Madrid suburban network, the new electrified line has cost €85m to build, including one ...
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Costa Blanca LRT
VALENCIA regional government in Spain has awarded two contracts to upgrade and electrify 10 km of FGV’s Alacant - Dénia route between Finca Adoc and Salesianos, as part of a project to introduce dual-mode LRT services as far as Altea (RG 2.02 p66). A consortium of Azvisa, Contra and Mancobra ...
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INTELLIGENCE
Bangladesh: The first 60 vehicles of an order for 100 air-braked 75 km/h container wagons built in India at a cost of US$2·7m have entered service.Brazil: Ferronorte planned to inaugurate the 90 km line from Alto Taquari to Alto Araguaia during April.China: Vietnam Railways opened an office in Beijing on ...
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Galicia launch
SPANISH DEVELOPMENT Minister Francisco Álvarez-Cascos joined Manuel Fraga, President of the Galicia regional government, on April 1 to mark the official start of work on the first sections of the A Coruña - Vigo corridor to be upgraded. On the 6·6 km Santiago - Berdia and 10·2 km Santiago - ...
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Laval extension underway
ON MARCH 20 the Prime Minister of Québec Bernard Landry inaugurated work on the extension of Montréal’s rubber-tyred metro to the neighbouring municipality of Laval. Other participants included Transport Minister Serge Ménard, Laval Mayor Gilles Vaillancourt and the Managing Director of Agence Métropolitaine de Transport Florence Junca-Adenot. Due to open ...
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Bilbao grows
REVENUE services were launched on the first section of Bilbao Metro Line 2 on April 13. Running from a junction with Line 1 at San Inazio to Urbinaga, the 5·8 km initial section of Line 2 tunnels under the Nervión river to reach the intermediate stations at Gurutzeta Cruces, Ansio, ...
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Cross-city tunnel funded
GERMAN Railway is to go ahead with plans to build a 4 km cross-city tunnel in Leipzig. An agreement securing state and Land funding was signed in mid-March by Transport Minister Kurt Bodewig, DB Chairman Hartmut Mehdorn, Land Minister Dr Kajo Sommer and Leipzig Mayor Wolfgang Tiefensee. Total cost of ...
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Platte Valley celebration
DENVER Regional Transportation District formally inaugurated its 2·9 km Central Platte Valley Spur on April 5. Public services began the following day, with celebrations at the Union Station terminus. Branching off the initial route near 10th & Osage, the $46m branch serves the area west of the city centre. It ...
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West Side study
NEW YORK MTA called bids by May 1 for consultants to design a proposed extension of its Flushing subway, Line 7. The idea is to extend the existing two-track tunnel southwest from Times Square to the Jacob Javits Convention Center on 11th Avenue between 34th and 39th Streets. The project ...
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Bay Area projects boom
CONSTRUCTION of the planned 35 km BART extension from Fremont to Warm Springs and San Jose moved a step closer on April 4, when the California Transportation Commission approved a grant of $717m as part of a state-wide traffic congestion relief programme. Financial support has also been promised by Alameda ...