Main line rail industry news – Page 1297
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Shinkansen reservations
East Japan Railway planned to launch an English-language website on January 21. Located at www.world.eki-net.com it will allow overseas customers to reserve seats on all shinkansen and Narita Express airport services up to one month before travelling. A Japanese-language site has been in operation since April last year.Passengers need ...
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Simple heating
COLD spots in coaches, including vestibules and toilets, can be eliminated using Taipale Flex-El, a 0·2mm thick heating film developed in Finland. This is powered by the vehicle’s electrical supply. It requires no maintenance, and can be installed unobtrusively behind panels or under the floor. Flex-El can raise the ...
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NewsFire suppression
EUROTUNNEL is installing water mist fire suppression from Fogtec Brandschutz on seven HGV shuttle trains. Each vehicle is to be fitted with 30 Fogtec water nozzles, spaced at 1m intervals. Activated by infra-red sensors, the nozzles do not have moving parts, and are modular for ease of servicing. Wind tunnel ...
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Hand-held readers on test
TRIALS of a hand-held portable smart card ticket reader are to begin on Northern Ireland Railways this summer.NIR is introducing smart card ticketing as part of a £6m Translink scheme to integrate the province’s trains and buses. Rather than equip stations with barriers, NIR is to issue on-train staff with ...
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Passenger News in Brief
Delta Airlines and SNCF have agreed a code-share deal on TGV services from Paris Charles-de-Gaulle Airport to Angers, Le Mans, Lille, Lyon Part-Dieu, Nantes, Poitiers, Rennes and St Pierre-des-Corps (Tours).Swissair Group has formally confirmed its agreement to sell its Restorama and Rail Gourmet catering subsidiaries to Compass Group, along with ...
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Alicante bidding
SPAIN’S Valencia regional government called bids on January 21 for construction of three sections of the Alicante - Benidorm - Altea light rail line, valued at €66·1m. Work on the Campello - Villajoyosa section and a bridge over the Río Amadorío began in December.The line will run underground from the ...
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Easy electrical contacts
FOLLOWING trials at a number of locations in Switzerland, Swiss Federal Railways has approved the use of newly-developed contact discs and strips to ensure good electrical connections to rails.Kago discs and strips are intended for use at locations where welding is prohibited or drilling is impossible because of restricted space, ...
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PATHstudies integrated ticketing
PORT Authority Trans-Hudson commissioners voted on December 13 to adopt a fare collection system which will accept both smart cards and New York City Transit MetroCards. It is hoped the PATH smart cards will eventually be accepted on all rail and bus lines throughout the New York and New Jersey ...
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Siemens to take over ICE depot
SIEMENS Transportation Systems has signed a letter of intent with German Railway and the Land of Bavaria to keep open the Nürnberg ICE maintenance facility. DB had planned to close the depot as part of a workshop rationalisation strategy. It is now to be taken over by Siemens, on undisclosed ...
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LIRR commissions first M7 cars
The first of 326 Bombardier M-7 EMU vehicles purchased by the Long Island Rail Road for $700m are due to begin acceptance testing in March. The cars are brighter and more colourful than the current fleet of M-1s and M-3s, dating from the 1960s and 1970s. Following suggestions by customer ...
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Co-ordination is key to subway resignalling
INTRO: New York City Transit has embarked on a 20-year programme to resignal its entire 370 km subway network using Transmission-Based Train Control. Parsons Transportation Group is providing engineering and programme management services to NYCT, and Chris Jackson discussed the state of progress with Parsons Vice-President Alan Rumsey DECEMBER 4 ...
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Tseung Kwan O Extension prepares to open
INTRO: Civil engineering and tracklaying is now complete on Hong Kong Mass Transit Railway’s HK$20bn Tseung Kwan O extension. A critical part of the project has been interfacing the new line with existing infrastructureBYLINE: David SortonProject Manager, Hong Kong MTR CorpINSTALLATION of power supplies and signalling is well advanced on ...
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Building up worn wheels
WORN wheel profiles can be restored using an automatic welding station supplied to Ghana by ESAB. Filler material is welded in place, then the wheel ground to its original profile. Unlike reprofiling with a lathe, unworn material is not lost, and so there is no reduction in wheel diameter.Both wheels ...
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Metro refurbishment pays dividends
INTRO: Private sector concessionaire Metrovías has let contracts worth US$700m under a comprehensive investment programme designed to win back passengers to the metro network in Buenos Aires. Traffic has grown by 78% since the concession beganBYLINE: Juan OrdoñezExecutive Vice-PresidentMetrovíasTURNING what had traditionally been a loss-making activity into a profitable and ...
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Expansion programme includes 11 km new line
BYLINE: Alejandro Nazar AnchorenaPresident, SubteSubterr
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High spending DB tidies up its structure
GERMAN Railway announced on December 21 that it had ordered a further build of 40 Class ET425 EMUs from Bombardier and Siemens for €184m. Due for delivery between April and November 2003, they will be used on the Rhein-Neckar S-Bahn network scheduled to open at the end of that year. ...
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SkyTrain Line 2 opens
BRITISH COLUMBIA Rapid Transit inaugurated revenue services on the first section of Vancouver’s second SkyTrain line on January 5, serving two stations at Braid and Sapperton. The segment was handed over by the city’s Rapid Transit Project Office on December 17, allowing 10 days of trial operation before the launch. ...
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Cubic wins smart card contracts
PASSENGERS in Maryland and Chicago are to use smart cards supplied by Cubic Transportation Systems following the award of two separate contracts.Maryland Transit Administration has awarded Cubic a $38·3m contract to supply smart card ticketing across the state. The cards will be valid on metro and light rail services in ...
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Early birds catch cheap tickets
INTRO: Ralf Roman Rossberg analyses German Railway’s future fares structure which has been designed to harness the benefits of market pricingON DECEMBER 15 German Railway will implement a long-heralded change to its fares structure. Gone will be the formula of set prices for each kilometre travelled, with reduced fares ...
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ÖBB fits radio remote control
FITTINGof Redacom radio remote control to 20 Austrian Federal Railways Class 1044 locomotives began in December, and another 70 units may be equipped later. Redacom was developed to meet the need for improved radio control of remote locomotives in tunnels without the need to install repeater stations or other fixed ...