Main line rail industry news – Page 1368
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News
Driverless metros poised to expand
The high off-peak frequency and flexibility to meet demand surges which unmanned trains offer may lead to conversion of existing lines in Paris or Berlin. Tom Parkinson and Ian Fisher believe the caution displayed by operators and safety regulators is no longer justified
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NewsLondon's PPP promises fresh thinking on asset management
London Underground has embarked upon a course of radical change that will see infrastructure and rolling stock managed, maintained and upgraded by the private sector under three contracts each lasting up to 30 years. Robert Preston reports on the drive to secure long-term funding through the Public-Private Partnership
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Still dark in Iraq
NO-ONE should be surprised that Iraqi Republic Railways is ekeing out the most precarious existence. Official information is hard to come by, but an intrepid traveller recently reported to the Berliner Kurier that all is far from well. The passenger service is apparently down to three trains a day between ...
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Industry News
Czech Republic: Siemens has signed a letter of intent with Konsolidacni Banka, now in control of CKD Dopravni systémy as its largest creditor, to establish a joint venture with the train builder. This would allow production to continue without Siemens assuming CKD’s debts.Denmark: Modulex A/S has acquired ScanAcoustic A/S which ...
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Dutch rethink on ticket sales
NETHERLANDS Railways confirmed on December 16 that it intends to push ahead with controversial plans to eliminate staffed booking offices at most stations. The proposals had been on hold for three months pending consultation with consumers’ organisations. NS Reizigers will move to a three-level strategy by 2003. However, it has ...
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News
New northwest line leads Uzbek projects
ON December 31, Uzbekistan Railways (UTY) inaugurated the first 115 km of its new cut-off line serving the country’s isolated northwest. Starting from the existing Chardzhou - Astrakhan line at Sultanuizdag, near Nukus, the line currently reaches Miskan. Eventually the route will run 362 km to the existing terminus at ...
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Greenbrier takes Adtranz wagon business
ON JANUARY 11 Adtranz announced that it had agreed to sell its Freight Wagon Division to The Greenbrier Companies of the USA. Under a transaction expected to be completed within 30 days, Greenbrier will acquire ’a comprehensive portfolio’ of wagon designs approved for European operation. The order book is worth ...
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Integral to the rescue
SEVERE storms swept across parts of France, Germany and Switzerland over the Christmas period, causing immense damage. Lines were blocked by fallen trees or washed out in many parts of France, and SNCF estimates the loss of traffic will knock Fr200m off its 1999 revenues.Meanwhile, a storm called Lothar wreaked ...
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Passenger In Brief
The International Union of Railways has added a European timetable search facility to its website (www.uic.asso.fr). After entering the country their journey starts in and that of their destination, users are presented with links to the journey planning pages of the relevant member railways.Cubic Transportation Systems has developed the Tri-Reader, ...
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Sidetrack
Millennium steam 1Just as many US cities maintain a reserve fleet of obsolete buses for use during severe winter weather, when passenger numbers can increase substantially at short notice, some railways have mothballed steam locos ready to be pressed into emergency service. Tea-kettles regularly help out in electricity-starved Ukraine, but ...
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Ministers seek safety in audits
IN THE WAKE of the fire in the Mont Blanc road tunnel on March 26 last year in which 39 people died, the French Ministry of Transport commissioned a safety audit of all tunnels over 300m long, both road and rail. France has 1300 rail tunnels, of which 116 are ...
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Metros
Argentina: Buenos Aires city council has begun consideration of a bill granting powers to build metro Line H from Retiro to Nueva Pompeya. The first section to be built is likely to be Hospitales - Plaza de Miserere.China: Looking to award a contract in May, Guangzhou Metro has called tenders ...
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Products In Brief
Mors Smitt Relais has launched a range of plug-in relays for safety functions, available in standard voltages and rated up to 8A. Mechanical construction prevents the contacts from bridging, even when the power supply to the coil is twice the rated value.Genesee & Wyoming Inc has ordered MultiRail¨ service planning ...
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PEOPLE
Robert E Mortensen, Chief Executive Officer of Central East African Railways, has been appointed Managing Director, Africa, for Railroad Development Corporation, leader of the consortium which took over operation of CEAR at the end of last year.Intercontainer-Interfrigo has appointed Pia Ljunggren as Manager of the North-South Division of its Combined ...
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Market
Australia: SAB Wabco D&M Engineering of Great Britain is to supply complete braking systems for the 80 double-deck EMU cars of Millennium stock being built for Sydney suburban services by Clyde Engineering (RG 3.99 p161).State Rail Authority of New South Wales is to order three cars for Countrylink’s Sydney - ...
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News
Ballast evaluation using ground-penetrating radar
Capable of surveying long sections in a short time, ground-penetrating radar can detect trackbed anomalies earlier than is possible with visual inspection methods. Maintenance can therefore be prioritised to reduce unnecessary cost and increase effectiveness
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News
EMSAT track recorder
AN EMSAT track recording car supplied by Plasser & Theurer has been deployed on German Railway’s high speed network to measure long-wave faults in height and alignment on plain track and switches. Equipped with three measuring axles, the EMSAT has an average output of 2·5 km/h and takes measurements every ...
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Fault detection by thermal imaging
TO detect current leakage and other faults in traction power supply systems, British infrastructure maintenance contractor AMEC Rail has acquired a FLIR Systems 570 thermal imaging camera. Equipped with a GPS unit, video recorder and remote microphone to record voice commentary, the camera is to be used to check for ...
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Compact fire suppression
FOR RAILWAY applications such as engine compartments and equipment cubicles, Brush Traction is distributing Pyrogen, a fire suppressant derived from solid fuel developed for the Russian space programme. When activated by an electrical signal or a pyrotechnic fuse, the Pyrogen canister produces an aerosol of potassium carbonates in carbon dioxide, ...
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Kim inaugurates KTX test section
PRESIDENT Kim Dae-jung of South Korea formally opened the initial test section of the Seoul - Pusan high speed line on December 16. Now known as Korea Train Express (KTX), the project has been rescheduled so that Korea High Speed Rail Construction Authority launches 300 km/h services between Seoul and ...