Main line rail industry news – Page 1330
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No monkey business
Police have broken up a racket at Indian Railways’ main terminus in Kolkata, arresting 25 porters and 28 monkeys. The porters had previously been caught occupying unreserved seats on trains and selling them on to passengers. After being arrested for breaking railway by-laws, the porters recruited the monkeys to ...
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Croatian DMU deal
ADTRANZ and HZ subsidiary TZV Gredelj signed a general agreement for future co-operation in the construction of Regio Swinger tilting diesel multiple-units on February 28. Following an audit and positive technical appraisal by Adtranz, the Croatian vehicle component manufacturer is to produce parts for Adtranz, who are supporting the modernisation ...
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Specialist cabling
ON February 12 Railtrack granted approval for network-wide use of Brand-Rex’s RT/E/PS/00005 standard thermoplastic A4 signalling cable, the firm’s first trackside product. The compact lightweight cable was developed for use with the Train Protection &Warning System and will replace rubber based designs.Brand-Rex has also extended its X-treme Rail product range ...
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Finnish seats
Sir - In your Passenger Portfolio seating review (RG 2.01 p98), you include a photograph of our Rica Basic seat. Unfortunately, there is no reference to our company in the article, but only to another Finnish manufacturer. I am concerned that this might lead to a possible misunderstanding among your ...
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Gas insulation
THE Griebnitzsee switching station that Siemens Transportation Systems is building for DB Netz is to use inert SF6 gas-insulated switchgear, rather than traditional air insulation.Gas insulation has previously been used by Amtrak, Kowloon - Canton Railway and Hungarian State Railways, but this is the first application in Germany. The ...
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Crossing tested
Canadian Pacific Railway has given a positive review to ARS Networks’ Crosslogix advanced warning system for level crossings. Testing has been under way on CPR’s main line west of Toronto since last autumn, and an external third party auditor will be appointed to ensure that Crosslogix meets the criteria for ...
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Toulon tram route
PUBLIC transport operator Sitcat has confirmed plans to build an initial 17 km tram route in the French city of Toulon. Due to open in 2005, the line will run from La Seyne-sur-Mer eastwards to La Garde, with 26 intermediate stations. The route was agreed in an urban transport programme ...
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Tram security monitoring
FOUR static cameras have been provided at 17 Utrecht tram stops, along with Adpro Axiom Video Motion Detection and Fast Scan III transmission equipment. This provides integrated monitoring of the public transport network, aiming to reduce crime and vandalism, and reassure passengers.Adpro Axiom looks for specific targets within its viewing ...
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Cameras catch vandals
FREIGHT operator Direct Rail Services is undertaking trials using train-mounted Sonitrol CCTV cameras to catch vandals. If the tests are successful, other companies may adopt the scheme. In 1999-2000, malicious acts caused 55% of reportable ’train incidents’ in Britain. As well as endangering lives, this cost the industry over £250m. ...
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Balfour Beatty expands in US
ON FEBRUARY 26 Balfour Beatty announced the acquisition of the Rail Systems Division of US industrial group ABC-NACO for a total of US$21·5m. The railway signalling, control and communication services business will be renamed Balfour Beatty Rail Systems Inc. Operating across the USA, but focusing on the northeast, southeast and ...
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Industry News
Spain: CAF has reported a gross profit of Pts1·9bn for 2000, up 3·3% from the year before. Turnover was up 20% at Pts61·2bn, of which 54% was generated by export orders. The company’s gauge-changing Brava bogie for motor and trailer applications has been tested at speeds up to 275 km/h.USA: ...
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Rail-air link takes off
ON MARCH 1 German Railway introduced its long-planned service for airline passengers between Stuttgart and Frankfurt Airport, in conjunction with the national airline Lufthansa. There are initially six daily ICE services in each directionAir travellers can now check their luggage through to their destination airport from Lufthansa desks at Stuttgart ...
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Are double-deck EMU power cars possible on Japan’s 1067mm gauge?
INTRO: Professor Satoru Sone of Kogakuin University examines the possibility of using compact power electronics to create a fully double-deck trainset within the constraints of a tight loading gaugeIN HIS ARTICLE on the development of double-deck power cars (RG 2.01 p107), John Dunn refers to the difficulty of accommodating traction ...
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Spoornet rethinks its loco fleet
INTRO: Faced with an ageing and increasingly unreliable motive power fleet, South Africa’s national railway has launched a major programme of upgrading and renewal. Bids are being called for new high-tech locomotives which will give Spoornet the ability to overcome a legacy of different electrification systems BYLINE: Leo Petkoon and ...
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SNCB sails into rough waters
Belgian National Railways' next 10-year investment strategy is due to be approved shortly, but renewal of the operating contract agreed with government in 1991 has become mired in political disagreement. Harry Hondius takes stock of the situation
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Silk Road link moves to engineering design
INTRO: On February 5 the President of Kyrgyzstan signed legislation promoting the development of rail links between Central Asia and China. Chris Jackson asked the State Directorate on New Railroad Construction about the state of progress AT THE END of March, a Chinese study team is due to complete a ...
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Alsop puts the station at the heart of Rotterdam
INTRO: This month Alsop Architects is due to present its master plan for the redevelopment of a 20ha site around Rotterdam Centraal station. Incorporating the city’s gateway to the European high speed network, a major transport interchange has been designed to extend its presence into the urban fabricThe arrival of ...
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Driverless trains hit legal barrier
Sir - You reported last year (RG 12.00 p798) that the Federal Railway Office had signalled the end of its reservations against driverless operation in Germany. EBA section chief Hans Heinrich Grauf had explained to a seminar of the Deutsche Verkehrsforum that the office no longer saw any legal restrictions.This ...
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Skoda breaks into the urban market
INTRO: Better known as a supplier of electric locomotives to the former Comecon bloc, Czech builder Skoda Plzen has established a second product line in urban rail vehicles. Milan Sramek reports on two significant orders completed in MarchON FEBRUARY 20 Skoda Transportation Systems completed the first low-floor trams for the ...
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Publications
Railway ReformEuropean Conference of Ministers of TransportThis report was presented to Ministers of Transport at the Praha Council in May 2000 as a basis for discussion of the key issues for regulatory reform of rail freight services. It examines railway regulation and attempts to promote the efficiency of railways and ...