Main line rail industry news – Page 1339
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Model guides metro expansion
By 2003 Madrid's metro network will have grown to 233 route-km, almost twice its size in 1995 when the first of two expansion programmes was started. Close management focus and an insistence on proven tunnelling techniques have kept these works to budget, while operating costs are falling as innovations help ...
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London's smart card draws nearer
IN MAY the TranSys consortium will be unveiling the branding for the contactless smart card system that passengers on London Underground and the city's buses will begin to use from August 17 2002. TranSys Marketing Director Nicole Carroll reports that the current proposition has been 'very well received' by focus ...
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Tunnel vision
ASIA: 'The construction is technically feasible, but the problem is money' said Japanese Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori, unveiling a US$80bn plan to end Japan's insularity with a 174 km tunnel between the island of Kyushu and South Korea. Japanese engineers built Korea's first railways, and Mori said the project is ...
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Marriage of convenience
SWITZERLAND: Swiss Federal Railways and the Mittelthurgau Railway announced a surprise tie-up on November 3 with the formation of the East Switzerland Regional Railway (Regionalbahn Ostschweiz, RBO). MThB took over passenger services on the Schaffhausen - Kreuzlingen - Romanshorn route in May 1998, taking delivery in September that year ...
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Thalys to topple the competition
NEXT summer Air France is proposing to withdraw its five daily flights between Paris and Brussels. For the moment nothing firm has been signed, and Air France says that it is still looking at the proposal. But with Thalys departures at half-hourly intervals during peak periods and hourly for ...
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Maintaining the West Coast fleet
INTRO: Through a train service provision agreement, the builders of the tilting fleet for Virgin Trains’ West Coast franchise now maintain the existing rolling stock. West Coast Traincare Managing Director Ron Temple reveals to Robert Preston his strategy for the new trains and the need to improve reliability of the ...
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NSB tests anti-noise
NORWEGIAN State Railway is planning to equip five of its locomotives with an innovative system to reduce noise in the driving cabs. The move follows a trial with a prototype developed by Silence International of Oslo, which was part-funded by NSB. This was tested for four months on a Di4 ...
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Design for image
INTERIOR design and concept styling for the Virgin Trains Pendolino fleet was undertaken by Jervis Hegarty Lossano. Key requirements were a Virgin image and a ’passenger-led’ focus whilst meeting safety, fire and crashworthiness standards. Among the innovations planned were an on-board shop replacing the traditional buffet for standard class passengers, ...
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Momentum makes its mark
CATERING contractor to Eurostar Group since June 1 this year (RG 8.00 p475), Momentum has introduced a number of changes to food service on the high speed trains linking London with Paris and Brussels. The new seasonal menu for first class passengers introduced on October 13 was accompanied by an ...
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Adtranz acquires Railcare jv
ON OCTOBER 2 Adtranz UK announced that it had signed a sales and purchase agreement with Babcock International plc and Siemens Transportation Systems Ltd, covering the acquisition of their British rolling stock maintenance joint venture Railcare Ltd, owned 60% by Babcock and 40% by Siemens. Regulatory approval for the transaction ...
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Dieter
CAPTION: To celebrate Britain’s National Poetry Day on October 5, and the local Norfolk & Norwich Festival which it sponsors, Anglia Railways engaged a team of poets to entertain passengers on its services between London, Norwich, Lowestoft, Great Yarmouth and Sheringham. Dieter suggests that the poets might help ...
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WCRM infrastructure suppliers
GeneralParsons Brinckerhoff has a seven-year framework contract covering programme management services.Multi-functional infrastructure consultants include CEDG, Mott MacDonald, Scott Wilson Railways and WS Atkins.TrackworkJarvis Rail - relaying 320 route-km of plain line *AMEC Spie Rail Systems - Manchester South remodelling *Balfour Beatty Rail Maintenance - London Euston remodelling *Carillion - Proof ...
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Island enterprise
REGIONAL and local lines are all too often dismissed by the management of large national railways as hopelessly uneconomic. And indeed, when they are left to rot, neglected but still overstaffed, they often are. But turn them over to local management, add simple, modern signalling and up-to-date rolling stock, and ...
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Franchises still pulling
BEFORE the soul-searching over the future structure of Britain’s railways began after the Hatfield derailment (p689), the process of firming up the existing arrangements was chuntering along steadily. On October 2 the Shadow Strategic Rail Authority unveiled the organisation it will assume once it has shed its shadow next January ...
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Finance
China: The Japanese government has announced an aid package that includes ´17bn largely earmarked for rail projects.Europe: Eurotunnel is supporting a tender launched by Dresdner Kleinwort Benson and Merrill Lynch on October 12, whereby Eurotunnel junior debt trading on the secondary market will be purchased with funds from an issue ...
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Metros
China: Berger Group of the USA has been selected to conduct a feasibility study of a 25 km light rail route linking the Shanghai metro network with the Songjiang development zone. One route option would run via Pudong airport.France: A new station on RER Line A at Val d’Europe-Serris-Montévrain is ...
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Driving force in the front line
INTRO: Murray Hughes joined Chris Green in the cab of a West Coast express for a first-hand look at the task aheadWHEN Chris Green was appointed to the top job at Virgin Trains early last year, he inherited a high-profile business that appeared to be heading rapidly downhill. But few ...
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Railtex show moves to new venue
RAILTEX: Halls 1 and 2 of the National Exhibition Centre near Birmingham will be hosting Railtex 2000 from November 21 to 23. Organisers Mack Brooks Exhibitions are expecting over 500 exhibitors at what has become Britain's largest rail industry event, which last year attracted a total of 8534 visitors. We ...
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Passenger in Brief
Following pilot projects with Spar at Leatherhead and Costcutter at Cooden Beach, Connex is looking to establish a joint venture with ’a major retailer’ to set up convenience stores at over 100 stations in southeast England. The 118m2 Cooden Beach shop is run by six Connex staff trained by Costcutter ...