Main line rail industry news – Page 1307
-
News
Electrification thresholds
Sir - I read with great interest the report ’Wires added to Russian network’ (RG 4.01 p210) regarding the electrification of RZD lines, and the setting of the threshold at which electrification is justified at 20 to 25 million gross tonne-km a year.The Indian Ministry of Railways has appointed a ...
-
News
Cutting rail noise
CURRENTLY on trial with SNCF are tuned steel bars bonded to the web and foot of a rail by a high-integrity damage- resistant polymer, to reduce radiated noise. The absorbers can be installed on existing track or when the rails are made.Corus Rail developed the technique with Southampton University, ...
-
News
Finance
Great Britain: Porterbrook Leasing has been selected as preferred bidder to finance 700 Electrostar Class 375 EMU cars for the South Central franchise, valued at over £600m (RG 10.01 p654).Kyrgyzstan: Asian Development Bank is to provide US$100m to fund repair and modernisation of the 350 km Lugovoy - Bishkek - ...
-
News
Developing a standard metro car
INTRO: As the number of metros in South Korea increases, the range of vehicle types in use has proliferated. Following extensive research, specifications have been developed for a future standard metro trainset BYLINE: Kwan-Sup LeeDirector General, Urban Transit Engineering Department, Korea Railroad Research InstituteNOW undergoing safety and reliability tests on ...
-
News
Europe follows Japan into friction stir welding
INTRO: Several hundred aluminium cars with non-fusion seams are operating in Japan, and rail vehicle manufacturers elsewhere are now grasping the economic benefits of a joining technique invented in 1991BYLINE: John Davenport, Stephan W Kallee and J Graham WyldeTWI LtdA DECADE ago, the joining technique known as friction stir welding ...
-
News
RWMS monitors quality of rail welding
THE QUALITY of rail welding work can be monitored and recorded with a computer-controlled Rail Welding Monitor System recently developed by Plasser American Corp. Running on a Microsoft Windows platform on a notebook computer, the software automatically records and analyses rail welding as it is carried out by Plasser machines.A ...
-
News
Hybrid shunter lowers costs and emissions
RAILPOWER Technologies Corp demonstrated its first ’Green Goat’ hybrid microturbine/battery electric shunting locomotive in New Westminster, British Columbia, on September 5. The 130 tonne loco offers a 50% to 90% reduction in nitrogen oxide and particulate emissions and up to a 35% reduction in fuel consumption compared with conventional shunters.Green ...
-
News
Wheelset association formed
ON SEPTEMBER 20 the European Railway Wheels Association was launched at the 13th International Wheelset Congress in Roma, at which 84 papers were presented. The association aims to promote improvements in wheelset technology, focusing on safety, reliability and economy. It will provide the industry and public with information covering product ...
-
News
Success in research demands railway-industry partnerships
INTRO: Research work is increasingly carried out by suppliers and industry, but railways still have an important role in co-ordinating innovation and the development of new ideas. It is vital that performance specifications incorporate railway experience of operations and maintenanceBYLINE: Dr Rainer SchmidbergerDirector of Research & Development,German RailwayTHE SHAPE of ...
-
News
Managing clients
Sir - I am a final year student on the University of Reading’s MBA course on Construction & Real Estate and I am in the early days of a dissertation entitled ’Managing the client in railway construction projects’.The hypothesis which I am seeking to prove is that the role of ...
-
News
Double-layer capacitors store surplus braking energy
INTRO: Electricity savings exceeding 20% have been recorded in tests on K
-
News
Hector and Hercules take over
LOWER exhaust emissions and quieter operation are among the benefits Austrian Federal Railways expects from two fleets of diesel locomotives now under construction. Both are four-axle designs, Hector a centre-cab unit for shunting and short workings, and Hercules a twin-cab loco for main line passenger and freight work.Siemens Austria won ...
-
News
EBA wins wider regulatory powers
INTRO: Legislative changes are set to grant Germany’s Federal Railway Office ’real teeth’, including the ability to intervene directly in negotiations over paths between operators and infrastructure company DB Netz. Murray Hughes asked EBA President Dipl-Ing Horst Stuchly about EBA’s activities, including its role as purseholder for DB’s infrastructure investment ...
-
News
Ensuring consistency and continuity
INTRO: Over the past six months, the stake-holders in the European Rail Research Institute have been reviewing its long-term role in the changing shape of railway researchBYLINE: Drs Gunnar GustafssonManaging Director,European Rail Research InstituteCHANGE has become a way of life for the world’s railways, sweeping through the industry for a ...
-
News
AGV becomes a reality
Running trials with the experimental Automotrice à Grande Vitesse began last month, and the train should reach 320 km/h on the Lille – Calais TGV line in early November
-
News
Istanbul tunnel and metro contracts to be signed
TURKEY: The Railway, Port & Airport Construction Directorate was expected to sign a contract with Eurasia Joint Venture by the end of October, covering consultancy and engineering services for the Marmaray Bosporus rail crossing. Preparation of tender documents for the construction work is expected to take eight months, and construction ...
-
News
Kyiv facelift
UKRAINIANRailways has completed the refurbishment of Kyiv Central station, which dates from 1927. The eight-month Hr500m project involved four contractors and 5000 workers from over 70 construction companies. In addition to the repair work carried out by Ukrzaliznytsya, a new aluminium and glass-fronted terminal building has been built by Kyivmisklbud, ...
-
News
‘You cannot live without research’
INTRO: One of the organisations influencing railway research in Europe is the Union of European Railway Industries. General Manager Drewin Nieuwenhuis feels ’the political winds are in favour of rail’, telling Murray Hughes in Brussels that he expected a positive response to UNIFE’s application for EU research fundsDURING THE late ...
-
News
Forstinger favours on-rail competition ...
SPEAKING at the IRCA-UIC World Railway Congress in Wien on September 25, held jointly with the European Conference of Ministers of Transport, Austrian Transport Minister Dipl-Ing Dr Monika Forstinger announced a 30-year National Transport Plan. Of a total spend of Sch644bn, as much as Sch400bn is earmarked for rail, although ...