Main line rail industry news – Page 1313
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Industry News in Brief
Siemens has negotiated a framework agreement to take over Praha-based rolling stock maker CKD Dopravní, currently controlled by state banking company Konsoldiacní Banka (RG 4.00 p253). An agreement to buy 61% of the shares for KC750m is expected to be signed by the end of September. Trams and metro cars ...
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Inter-city refurbishment
UKRAINE’s state railway company Ukrzaliznytsya has completed the refurbishment of a Lotsman 10-car inter-city train for use on Simferopol - Dnipropetrovsk services. The Hr1·25m refurbishment was carried out in Dnipropetrovsk by Mezhdunarodnoye Delovoye Sotrudnychestvo.The train offers first and second class accommodation, and has been fitted with improved seats and on-board ...
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On-board fire fighting
HALON gas fire-suppression equipment on British High Speed Train power cars is being replaced with Inergen fire suppression systems supplied by ADT Fire & Security. This uses nitrogen, argon and carbon dioxide to deplete the oxygen around a fire to prevent combustion, but there is no ozone depletion potential. An ...
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Sheremetyevo gets airport link
CONSTRUCTION work is due to get under way next year on a rail link to Moscow's Sheremetyevo Airport, following the signing of an agreement in July between Russian Railways Minister Nikolai Aksyonenko, the Vice-Premier of the Moscow City Government Iosif Ordzhonokidze and Aeroflot Director-General Valery Okulov. The decision to connect ...
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Not commercial
Sir - In ’Maglev all the rage again’ (RG 8.01 p504), you described Shanghai’s Transrapid as ’the world’s first commercial maglev project’. Surely, this depends on how you define commercial.The maglev peoplemover at Birmingham Airport was ordered 20 years ago, inaugurated in 1984, and is now being converted to cable ...
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Station upgrades brought forward
GERMAN Railway is to accelerate its planned 20-year upgrade of stations to take place over 10 years, according to board member for Property & Passenger Stations Dieter Ullsperger. He says DB will invest DM1bn/year in station improvement work. The investment is intended to increase the revenue from commercial space at ...
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Metros
Canada: Toronto Transit Commission put Alcatel’s SelNet System Management Control into revenue service on the Scarborough Rapid Transit line in July.France: Alongside a programme to increase capacity at Toulouse Matabiau station, SNCF is discussing with local authorities a 15 km ’tram-train’ (RG 7.01 p467) route to Blagnac Airport, north of ...
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Pointers
n Kowloon-Canton Railway Corp submitted proposals to the Hong Kong regional government on July 13 for the proposed HK$30bn cross-Kowloon rail link connecting the new East Rail terminus at Tsim Sha Tsui and West Rail at Nam Cheong Street. KCRC and MTRC were due to present proposals for the 15 ...
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Swiss progress
CEREMONIES were held at Langenthal on August 2 to mark the mid-point in the construction of Swiss Federal Railways’ Mattstetten - Rothrist line. SBB Major Projects Director Paul Moser confirmed that the benefits of the SFr5·9bn Bahn 2000 investment programme would become apparent in December 2004, when a major ...
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Lighter wagons
A new range of high-strength steels developed by SSAB Swedish Steel offers the promise of significant savings in wagon tare weights, with improved payload and lower operating costs. The company is proposing to adopt designs based on automotive engineering, using hot-rolled Domex steel which has a yield strength of up ...
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Software upgrade
Bentley Systems has released version 8.2 of its InRail track layout and 3D design software, which includes German, Danish and US standards. Enhancements include information management integration with ProjectWise, and remote access capability. Emch + Berger of Switzerland is using InRail to produce a precise three-dimensional digital terrain ...
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LTA rebrands
ON July 31 Singapore’s Land Transport Authority introduced a new identity and signage for public transport. The S$3·9m branding aims to create a strong visual image with a common identity across all trains, buses and taxis.Citigate Lloyd Northover produced comprehensive design guidelines for the new identity. A unique typeface has ...
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Catering swap
SWISSAIR Group’s railway catering contractor Rail Gourmet and station catering company Gourmet Nova are to be transferred to the Compass Group under the terms of a recently-signed asset exchange agreement. The non-binding understanding will see Swissair’s rail operations transferred to Compass in exchange for airline catering business Eurest In-flight. There ...
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Passing the motivation test
ON AUGUST 2-3 Southern Africa Railway Association held a workshop on track maintenance awareness, motivation and leadership in Lubumbashi. SARA reports immense enthusiasm among the delegates from Congolese National Railways, who were clearly inspired by a thirst for knowledge.Many of the Congolese delegates travelled considerable distances to attend the event. ...
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Wabtec sells to GE
WABTEC Corp is to sell a number of its railway business units to GE Transportation Systems for US$240m in cash. Subject to regulatory approval, the transaction is expected to close this month.The sale includes Wabtec’s motor coil manufacturing, engine systems and distribution units, formerly part of Motive Power Industries ...
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Harbin electrified
AUGUST 8 saw the official completion of 25 kV 50Hz electrification on the 550 km route linking the cities of Shenyang and Harbin in northeast China. Regular electric services were expected to start by the end of the month. Electrification of the 400 km Shenyang - Dalian section is due ...
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Infra-red door monitoring
FOLLOWING a successful one-year trial, 150 suburban multiple-units in Hamburg are to be fitted with in-cab CCTV to allow drivers to monitor station platforms and close doors without the presence of platform staff. Supplied by Plettac, two FAC838 cameras and transmitters suitable for use in poor lighting conditions will be ...
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Mk II heavy maintenance contract
ALSTOM Transport Service is to overhaul 120 Mk II coaches leased to Anglia Railways by HSBC Rail (UK). The £3m three-year contract is the first to be awarded by a train operator rather than the rolling stock leasing company.The programmes will involve underframe improvements and full overhaul of the bogies, ...