Main line rail industry news – Page 1354
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News
The Øresund fixed link: a job well done
BYLINE: Sven LandeliusManaging Director, Øresundsbro KonsortietFollowing a five-year construction period, the Øresund fixed link between Denmark and Sweden will open on July 1 2000. It is with great satisfaction that my colleagues and I can look back on a job well done. We have managed to plan, construct and finish ...
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Image processing checks wheels
ENGINEERS at the Taiyuan Railway Research Institute of Science & Technology in China have developed a system that uses image processing to measure wheel profiles in motion at speeds between 3 km/h and 6 km/h. Activated by a photoelectric switch, the trackside system illuminates the wheel with a slit light ...
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Fledgling MThB spreads its wings
INTRO: Using open access rights available under the 1999 Swiss railway reform, Mittelthurgau Railway is rapidly expanding its freight activities in partnership with other railways and businesses. Its innovative and flexible approach has taken competitors by surpriseBYLINE: Dr Ursula WidmerDeputy Director, Mittelthurgau RailwayWHEN THE Swiss Parliament promulgated laws authorising the ...
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Publications
Rolling contact fatigue of railway wheelsby Anders EkbergHigher speeds and axleloads have tended to increase the forces acting on railway wheels. At the same time, reductions in curvature and bogie optimisation have tended to shift the main causes of wheel rim damage from wear to fatigue. In his doctoral thesis, ...
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Roger 1000 ready to roll
NORWEGIAN rail infrastructure authority Jernbaneverket has taken delivery of its Roger 1000 track and overhead line recording car from MerMec of Italy (RG 3.98 p169). The Roger 1000 is a key element in the authority's programme of network upgrading to accommodate tilting trains. It is carried on ETR470 Pendolino bogies, ...
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Rolling room with a view of the Alps
INTRO: Rhaetian Railway has launched panorama cars on its Bernina Express routeMORE THAN half the passenger fleet on Switzerland’s metre-gauge Rhaetian Railway is over 30 years old. The railway’s express services are very popular, and RhB is acutely aware of the need to raise comfort standards.RhB has made a start ...
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FEVE launches second Transcant
SPANISH metre-gauge operator FEVE has introduced a second rake for its Transcant
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Pacific Surfliner rides the rails
INTRO: Julian Wolinsky reports from Los AngelesON JUNE 1 Amtrak West unveiled its Pacific Surfliner service, which is to replace California’s present San Diegans as new stock is phased in over the next year. A 558 km ceremonial run from San Diego to Los Angeles and Santa Barbara marked ...
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Refurbished Corail cars finish the tour de France
ON JULY 7 a French National Railways demonstration train formed of five refurbished Corail coaches (RG 4.00 p209) will complete a tour of 39 cities. The last call will be Lyon after a four-month itinerary that took the train all over France, including three days visiting Paris termini at the ...
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INTELLIGENCE
Australia: Australian Wheat Board Ltd has selected Wisconsin Central subsidiary ATN Access to haul 300000 tonnes of grain from its new Dimboola terminal to Melbourne’s Appleton Dock. Four L Class locos will haul 44 grain hoppers being delivered from China. ATN is establishing a servicing depot at McIntyre Loop outside ...
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TEE alliance plans tilting fleet
TENDERING is expected to start within the next three months for a fleet of around 130 tilting trainsets to operate international services between Germany, Switzerland and Austria, at an estimated cost of DM3bn. Due to enter service in 2005, the trains are to be ordered and operated by a tripartite ...
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NS restructures
NETHERLANDS Railways is to restructure its senior management with effect from August 1, when Chairman Rob den Besten retires. He will be succeeded by a five-strong directorate, comprising new Chairman Hans Huisinga and directors for Commercial, Operations, Finance, and Internal & External Relations.The Commercial sector will be responsible for marketing ...
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New York freight tunnel favoured
CONSTRUCTION of a rail tunnel under New York harbour has been recommended by a study into improved freight links around New York City. The study also recommended the revival of car floats to carry wagons across the harbour. Only one barge operation remains, and its market share is tiny. Much ...
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Customer centre opens
FASTER, BETTER and more cost effective management of freight services was promised by Swiss Federal Railways President Benedikt Weibel on May 25, when he inaugurated SBB Cargo’s new customer service centre (KSC) at Freiburg. Built at a cost of SFr22m, the centre will provide a single point of contact for ...
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Japanese sign THRSC agreement
TAIWAN High Speed Rail Corp signed a Memorandum of Understanding on June 13 with the Taiwan Shinkansen Consortium for the NT$95bn E&M systems contract to equip the Taipei - Kaohsiung high-speed line. The deal was signed by THSRC Senior Vice-President Lee Kuo-hsiung and TSC representative Yoshiyuki Yokota. 'By signing this ...
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Tilt TGVs to Toulouse
FRENCH National Railways is set to introduce tilting TGV services in 2005 on the Limousin route from Paris to Toulouse via Orléans and Limoges, following the signing of a financing agreement with the government and local regions. The deal was announced in Limoges on May 30 by Minister of Public ...
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AVE link plan
PUBLIC consultation began at the end of May for construction of a direct link between the Sevilla and Barcelona AVE lines in the southern suburbs of Madrid. The Ministry of Development has also commissioned an environmental impact study for its preferred route as part of the public enquiry process. The ...
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SSRA backs freight ideas
ON JUNE 13 Britain’s Shadow Strategic Rail Authority announced that three groups would share grants totalling £6m for development of innovative freight and logistics services.Blue Circle, Babcock Rail and Metalair Feldbinder have been awarded £2·9m to fund a two-year trial moving cement from Hope to Ipswich in 16 W6A gauge ...
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Island link restored
GERMAN Transport Minister Richard Klimmt joined celebrations in Wolgast on May 26 to mark the reconnection of the Baltic island of Usedom to the national rail network after a gap of 55 years. Also on board the special train were the President of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern Harald Ringstorff and German Railway’s Board ...