Main line rail industry news – Page 1373
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News
Hillside EMU deal signed
VIVENDI-backed consortium Melbourne Transportation Enterprises confirmed on November 22 that it had awarded a contract to Alstom Transport to provide 58 new three-car EMUs for its Hillside Trains suburban franchise in the Victorian capital. Under the 900m euros package, Alstom will also refurbish 45 existing EMUs, and maintain the entire ...
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Nexus next as Broadway opens
British Prime Minister Tony Blair and Transport Minister Lord Macdonald launched Manchester Metrolink light rail services to Broadway in Salford Quays on December 6. The first half of a 7 km extension to Eccles due to be completed next year, the Salford Quays line is being built by a consortium ...
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EC tries again to revive rail freight
AS EXPECTED, the EU Council of Transport Ministers backed the Commission’s ’railway package’ when they met in Brussels on December 9 - 10. Even France voted in favour of a circumscribed form of open access; only Portugal abstained. Three draft directives, amending 91/440 and 95/18 and replacing 95/19, are now ...
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Brenner by 2015
ITALIAN State Railways and Brenner Eisenbahn GmbH have set up a joint venture called Brenner Base Tunnel EWIV to mastermind a two-year planning process that should culminate in a report setting out detailed design for the 54 km bore. Launched on November 17 in Brussels, the jv is based in ...
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Wiring foreshadows spending
SPENDING on infrastructure modernisation in France looks set to rise with a government statement in late November that Fr8·7bn will be allocated to rail during the period 2000-06 under ’contracts’ agreed with the regions. Among projects due to get under way this year is a two-stage modernisation of the 385 ...
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Berlin plans expansion and driverless running
MASSIVE expansion of the U-Bahn network has been proposed by the Berlin Senate. If the plans go ahead, nearly 32 km would be added to the present 143 km by 2025, with alignments reserved for a further 53 km after that.In the short term Line U5 will be extended by ...
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PEOPLE
Ms Mamata Banerjee has been appointed Minister of Railways in the new Indian government, with Digvijay Singh named as Minister of State for Railways.Gerard Gibot, Director of European Affairs at French National Railways, has been appointed Director of the President’s Cabinet in succession to Eric Beaudonnet who has taken charge ...
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WCML cost almost trebles
RAILTRACK finally announced on December 15 that its flagship project to modernise the West Coast Main Line linking London with Birmingham, Manchester, Liverpool and Glasgow by 2005 is going to cost £5·8bn. This is 176% more than the £2·1bn previously stated. The original total comprised £1·35bn of ’core investment’ (now ...
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Mehdorn makes his mark
THERE are plenty of juicy items on the agenda of German Railway Chairman Hartmut Mehdorn, who took office on December 16. DB has denied media speculation that Mehdorn intends to tear up the present structure of a holding group and independent subsidiaries, but it is clear that he plans to ...
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Swedes look south
THIS MONTH marks a turning point in the fortunes of Swedish State Railways. From January 10 SJ loses 65% of its passenger traffic, with handover of the Stockholm commuter operations to CityPendeln, the G
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Skytrain takes off with a bang
Fireworks, a baby elephant, dancers carrying a royal barge mock-up, and two Russian ballet dancers joined forces in a spectacular celebration to mark completion of the world's first modern metro network to be totally funded by the private sector.
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Nürnberg airport U-Bahn link opens
OBERBURGERMEISTER Ludwig Scholz and Bavaria’s Interior Minister Günther Becker were the guests of honour on November 27 when Nürnberg Transit celebrated the extension of U-Bahn Line 2 to the city’s airport. The 3·5 km extension northwest from Herrnhütte cost DM180m, including an intermediate station at Ziegelstein which lifts the network’s ...
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Cold clean carbodies
CAR BODY design is set for radical change. Since the earliest days of railways, rolling stock has been fabricated using ’hot and dirty’ manufacturing processes. Now the days of welding large metal structures are numbered, and they are set to give way to ’cold and clean’ processes like bonding, bolting ...
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Industry News
Australia: The Australian Railway Research Institute has been formed in Brisbane, run by Dr Wardina Oghanna with backing from Queensland Rail and Spoornet.Czech Republic: US investment group Bancroft Eastern Europe has taken a 70% stake in Bontrans, a joint venture with ZDB Bohumin that is to take over ZDB’s rail ...
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Berlin interchange renewed
ANYONE who visited Friedrichstraße station in Berlin before the Iron Curtain fell would barely recognise it today. Last month German Railway completed a four-year rebuilding programme of this major interchange, and the grim building where east and west were strictly segregated - with the eastern platforms only accessible under the ...
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Finance
China: Hong Kong MTR Corp has arranged an HK$3bn revolving loan facility with a 12-bank syndicate to fund capital investment and refinance debts over the next four years.France: On September 9 RFF launched another 250m euros issue of 10-year bonds retiring in April 2009, paying 5·6%. Great Britain: Angel Train ...
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Dieter
CAPTION: After almost six years English Welsh &Scottish Railway has finally been granted a safety case certificate to run Class 92 locos between Wembley and Crewe, where reed track circuits in Watford tunnel might be affected by three-phase traction harmonics. Dieter suggests there might have been an easier way to ...
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Letters
On rail breaksSir - I was very interested to read the Behind the News item on rail breaks in RG 6.99 p346, which contains fascinating figures regarding rail breaks and rail replacements on the Railtrack network. You report that Railtrack expects to replace only about 0·8% of its 32000 km ...
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Passenger in Brief
n Swiss Federal Railways and tour operator Kuoni have signed a co-operation agreement to develop rail tourism in Europe. SBB is to take a stake in Kuoni-owned Railtour Suisse and Kuoni will invest in the SBB subsidiary RailAway. To secure a larger share of the short breaks and leisure travel ...