Main line rail industry news – Page 1407
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IC2000 arrives next year
INTRO: Through the introduction of tilting trainsets, Renfe’s Long Distance Business Unit is looking to cut its best journey time on the Madrid - Valencia route to 3h 30min and increase traffic by 11% BYLINE: Enrique Fern
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Eurotunnel tries on-board fire suppression
INTRO: Sprinklers inside freight shuttle wagons are the favoured option for protecting the Channel Tunnel from the costly damage caused by the November 1996 fire. Richard Hope watched a full-scale test in a specially constructed wind tunnelPERCHED INCONGRUOUSLY on a concrete apron behind Darchem Engineering’s works in Stillington, County Durham, ...
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WCML upgrade boosts Manchester show
INTRO: With Railtrack forecasting unprecedented levels of investment in Britain’s rail infrastructure, the multi-disciplinary Infrarail 98 exhibition and related seminars are attracting record numbers of suppliers and delegatesHOUSED in the former Manchester Central station, with over a century of railway heritage, the G-Mex exhibition centre is well placed to host ...
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INSIDE INDUSTRY
Canada: Class B shares in Bombardier Inc began trading on Germany’s Frankfurt - am - Main stock exchange on September 3. The shares are also traded in Montréal, Toronto and Brussels.Finland: Under the restructuring of the Transtech rolling stock business, Rautaruukki has sold its Taivalkoski works to Telatek Oy.Great Britain: ...
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Derailment detectors
BACK in 1994 Swiss Federal Railways had two lucky escapes. The first was in March when a broken axle caused a train of petrol wagons to derail and catch fire at Zürich Affoltern. Five houses were burnt down and petrol leaking into sewers exploded, blasting manhole covers into the streets; ...
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High Speed Rail & Tilting Trains 1999
FROM June 28 to July 1 1999 Railway Gazette International and AiC Worldwide will be staging the High Speed Rail & Tilting Trains 1999 conference in London. Expected to attract engineering specialists and world experts on high speed trains, the conference will feature high level presentations and authoritative speakers. Venue ...
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West from Sydney
EFFORTS are being made to rescue Sydney’s 3·6 km embryonic light rail line from oblivion. Right from the start, success depended on the route being extended north into the city centre. But opposition from shop owners to trams along the Pitt Street pedestrian mall has prevented approval for the extension, ...
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NDX wound up
INTERNATIONAL joint venture freight operator NDX is to be wound up, following the transfer of its operations to German Railway’s intermodal subsidiary Transfracht International (TFGI) on September 1. NDX was set up in 1996, with DB holding a 50% stake, Netherlands Railways 25% and CSX 25%. It launched its first ...
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Information meets passenger needs
INCREASED internet use is revolutionising access to pre-journey information, but passengers still need a wide range of media providing details to guide them through the journey.SNCF is about to expand its internet service to include the ability to make seat reservations direct. The website (www.sncf.fr) requests journey details, which are ...
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Castles in the air
THIS MONTH’S trawl of new line proposals produced one or two unlikely candidates. We have noted in the past the enthusiasm of various Central American countries for new lines linking ports on the Atlantic and Pacific coasts, but the latest Trans-Isthmus project is truly ambitious. Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras ...
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Outsiders to help FS restructure
CONSULTANTS are due to submit bids on October 8 for a contract worth up to 2·5bn lire to help Italian State Railways with restructuring. Whoever wins this enviable little task will have their work cut out, but as a consultant they will have the benefit of being one step removed ...
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Series 700 goes into production
BYLINE: Kazuhiro Igarashi and Tsuneo Maruyama *BYLINE: * Kazuhiro Igarashi is Chief Engineer in the Technical Research & Development Division of Central Japan Railway, and Tsuneo Maruyama is Chief Manager of the Technical Development Promotion Department at West Japan Railway NEXT MARCH will see the launch of revenue services ...
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Tilting trains hold the key to Virgin’s ambitious franchise
INTRO: Virgin Rail’s order for 54 tilting trains for its West Coast franchise is the largest contract for Pendolino technology. It is also the most difficult application. Roger Ford reports on how Alstom and Fiat are facing up to the challengeWHEN Virgin Rail received two bids for its new fleet ...
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High speed on conventional lines
INTRO: Raising the maximum speed on conventional lines to 225 or 250 km/h is now feasible, depending on investment resources, the technology available and the legislative background. Much of the technical knowledge is in place to make the required advance, but translating it into a coherent overall package is proving ...
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ICE3 enters the test phase
INTRO: Due to enter service at the end of 1999 on international services between Germany and the Netherlands, the ICE3 will start trials at Siemens’ Wegberg-Wildenrath test centre at the end of the year. Operational requirements including four-system capability have led to a radical departure from previous ICE designsBYLINE: Dr ...
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Kohl to open Hannover - Berlin
INTRO: Opening of the Berlin - Hannover high speed lineon September 15 puts the German capital on Europe’s high speed network. Ralf Roman Rossberg reportsCHANCELLOR Helmut Kohl was due to preside at the formal inauguration of the 263 km Berlin - Hannover high speed line on September 15. Commercial services ...
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Prime contractor manages pilot section of Nürnberg - Ingolstadt line
INTRO: German Railway has handed management of the construction programme for the first section of the 88 km Nürnberg - Ingolstadt high speed line to civil engineering specialists Leonhard Weiss. Murray Hughes reports from NürnbergTUCKED away in the southeast suburbs of Nürnberg is a busy railway construction site. Managed from ...
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Sokol prototype starts test programme
WHILE construction of the high speed line from St Petersburg to Moscow (RG 8.98 p510) looks certain to be postponed indefinitely, the prototype Sokol high speed train built to run on the 650 km route has begun its test programme. President Boris Yeltsin’s revocation of the decree authorising construction of ...
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Advanced relayer to speed West Coast upgrading
INTRO: A high-output track renewal train able to work in short overnight possessions will help speed the infrastructure element in Railtrack’s £2·1bn upgrading of Britain’s principal inter-city corridorBYLINE: Andrew DowBusiness Development Director, Jarvis RailNEXT YEAR will see the delivery of Britain’s first high-output track relaying machine, ordered from Fairmont Tamper ...
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Facing up to fresh challenges
INTRO: Finding ways to fund high speed services is one of the toughest issues facing delegates to the Eurailspeed congress. Read on for a guide to high speed plans and projects worldwideAS DELEGATES gather in Berlin at the end of this month for the Eurailspeed 98 congress, there is every ...