Main line rail industry news – Page 1415
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News
‘Effetto bang’ kills Milano - Genova
THINK OF A reason for abandoning plans to build a high speed railway, and you will find it among those cited by Italian Environment Minister Edo Ronchi for cancelling the 135 km line from Milano to Genova. Announcing his decision on July 15, Ronchi produced a 20-page ruling that referred ...
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Mine the gap
LAST MONTH saw the start of work on the second phase of reconstruction of Angola’s 1304 km Benguela Railway, following a 15-year closure because of the civil war. Italy’s Tor di Valle company is just over a year into its barter deal to undertake a US$500m 14-year renovation for 37500ha ...
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ICEs to replace short-haul flights
’GERMAN Railway and Lufthansa are agreed that rail will in the future largely replace domestic air services.’ Speaking on July 13 after signing a strategic co-operation agreement with Lufthansa chief Jürgen Weber, DB Chairman Dr Johannes Ludewig was highlighting a policy change that could have a major impact on ...
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SJ seeks opportunities at home and abroad
Director General of SJ Daniel Johannesson described to Andrew Hellawell his plans to strengthen the railway’s role as the driving force of reform among Europe’s railways, to expand beyond its existing domestic market, and to exploit changes which have wiped out track access charges
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Concessionaire prepares to launch the Arlanda Express
The first four-car Arlanda Express train is on trial in Sweden, and private-sector concessionaire A-Train is on schedule to launch services on the shuttle route next year. Andrew Hellawell toured the project site
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NewsSpace Train to boost Tube capacity
Richard Hope examines a plan to lift peak throughput on London Underground’s Victoria line to 60 000 passengers an hour
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Links drive Danish upgrading
Within a couple of years Banestyrelsen will form the key section of an unbroken rail corridor between Scandinavia and mainland Europe. Director General Erik Elsborg told Andrew Hellawell how he plans to expand capacity for growing domestic and international traffic while encouraging both new and established rail operators
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Greenbrier to boost Polish production
NORTH AMERICAN rolling stock supplier The Greenbrier Companies has launched a drive to break into the European freight wagon market. This follows the group’s purchase on March 9 of a majority stake in the Polish wagon builder Fabryka Wagonów Swidnica SA, which is to be relaunched this month ...
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Crime wave targeted
THE FREEDOM that followed the demise of the Soviet empire in eastern Europe has brought unwelcome fellow travellers. Crime and corruption have become rampant, with unscrupulous groups and individuals perceiving rail freight and passengers as easy targets. Statistics released by Hungarian State Railways show that the incidence of theft from ...
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Vacuum excavator
Clearing drains and cleaning ballast following tracklaying on Norway’s Gardermobanen is the latest task to be completed by the innovative vacuum excavator developed by Disab.With only two operators, Railvac 16000 can move along the line to its required position and within 2min be ready to work. Because Railvac uses powerful ...
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Storming to success
FIGURES released by French and Belgian National Railways suggest that the Paris - Brussels Thalys service has been a spectacular success. Back in 1994, rail’s market share on the inter-capitals route was just 24%. Although the final 71 km of high speed line into Brussels opened only in December, ...
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ILTIS to set routes at Vinh
VIETNAM: The third largest city, Vinh, is getting the latest in network management systems under a contract with Siemens Integra Verkehrstechnik to install power signalling covering the station area. Vinh is 319 km south of Hanoi on the main coastal trunk line. ILTIS provides supervision from computer workstations of all ...
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INTELLIGENCE
CAPTION: This month is due to see the start of overnight piggyback parcels services between London and Glasgow, using low-height trailers built for Parcelforce and two prototype four-spot Eurospine wagons operated by English Welsh & Scottish Railway. At a launch ceremony on May 18 EWS Marketing Director Randy Henke announced ...
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Track in the swamp
JULY 1 sees the formal launch of the Australian Rail Track Corp, the 'one-stop' infrastructure access body being set up following negotiations between the federal and state transport ministers. It will initially control the trans-Australia routes from Broken Hill and Wodonga (Victoria) to Kalgoorlie and Alice Springs, and market paths ...
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Spending mandated
BRITAIN’s rail operators face the prospect of substantial capital investment for unquantified safety benefits. On May 21 the Health & Safety Executive issued for consultation Draft Railway Safety Regulations which would require widespread installation of the Train Protection & Warning System (RG 1.98 p55) and withdrawal or modification of MkI ...
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Focus on quick depot turnround
Throughput is what it’s all about. And for minimal cost. Manufacturers of equipment for passenger rolling stock depots are being asked to provide installations capable of processing a fleet of trains quickly, typically overnight, using less energy and manpower, but delivering a higher quality end finish.Meeting these demands is a ...
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PASSENGER PORTFOLIO
CAPTION: German Railway marked the completion of its DM300m refurbishment of Berlin’s 8·8 km cross-city Stadtbahn with an inaugural ICE2 special on May 22. With effect from the May 24 timetable changes, ICE services to Berlin were extended from Zoo to the modernised Ostbahnhof via Alexanderplatz (above)CAPTION: EAO has designed ...
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BART tries a different approach
SAN Francisco’s Bay Area Rapid Transit District is another North American operator that has embarked on an ambitious TBTC programme. It will have some significant differences from the New York City approach.BART began its Advanced Automatic Train Control System (AATC) development early in 1994 under an unusual joint project with ...
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Sidetrack
Line BeePassengers on a Den Haag - Scheveningen tram route this spring had a nasty surprise at one of the stops. A swarm of bees had gathered around the waiting shelter, and as each tram stopped the bees poured in through the open doors.When operator HTM’s control staff realised what ...
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FS to adopt
INTRO: Italian State Railways has awarded contracts for the installation of automatic train protection equipment on 150 route-km between Milano and Torino, and on the Milano Junction, based on the latest European data transmission standards BYLINE: Mario PoggioHead of On-Board Systems EngineeringAnsaldo Segnalamento FerroviarioFACED WITH increasing difficulties in the construction ...