Main line rail industry news – Page 1417
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News
Maintenance focus at Strasbourg expo
Organised by the Union of European Railway Engineer Associations (UEEIV) in conjunction with the French Railways Engineers & Executives Association (AFFI), the Rail 21 congress and exhibition took place in Strasbourg between May 19 and 22.Rolling stock and other vehicles on display at SNCF’s Cronenbourg freight terminal included infrastructure maintenance ...
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Embedded rails for quieter running
Next month will see the first installation of Infundo¨ resilient embedded track on a ferro-concrete bridge, over the River Ammer near Herrenberg in southern Germany. This summer will also see the system used on the first track laid for Britain’s newest tramway in Croydon. On München’s existing tram network, Line ...
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INTELLIGENCE
Argentina: UEPFP is to introduce Talgo rolling stock purchased from Renfe to the 399 km Buenos Aires - Mar del Plata route by the end of this year. Infrastructure improvements allowing a 2h 50min journey time include curve easements, welded rails and resignalling by Siemens.Ferrocarril General Belgrano is testing a ...
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Anglia unveils fresh look
Britain’s Anglia Railways franchise launched its first refurbished inter-city train set for London Liverpool Street - Norwich services on June 9.A Class 86 locomotive and a push-pull set of MkIIf coaches have been turned out in a bright turquoise livery with a cream stripe. The Forward Trust-owned stock was refurbished ...
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STB approves Conrail split-up
SEPTEMBER 1 is set to see the disappearance of another US Class I railroad with the formal break-up of Conrail and its merger into Norfolk Southern and CSX Transportation. The $10bn deal was ’unanimously and enthusiastically’ approved by the Surface Transportation Board on June 8 (map RG 5.97 p271). Announcing ...
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Prescott deal rescues CTRL
An ingenious rescue package unveiled by Britain's Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott on June 3 could see the Channel Tunnel Rail Link completed to London St Pancras by 2007. Provided the European Commission approves the package by September 30, work will begin in October on the 68 km Phase 1 ...
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Private sector to fund HSL Zuid
JULY 13 is the deadline for anyone interested in financing the development and construction of the proposed Amsterdam - Antwerpen high speed line to respond to a consultation document issued by the Dutch government at the beginning of June. The Ministry of Transport’s high-speed line office has appointed Cameron McKenna ...
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CR raises top speeds
CHINESE Railways is to increase the maximum speeds on its five trunk routes with effect from July 1, paving the way for the introduction of a new national timetable in October. The three main lines from Beijing to Guangzhou, Shanghai and Shenyang, currently limited to 120 or 140 km/h, will ...
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TAV funding released
THE EUROPEAN INVESTMENT Bank has awarded a loan of 700bn lire to the Italian high-speed project company TAV SpA as the first tranche of an agreed total of 3 200bn lire. Repayable over 25 years with interest at 5·44%, the money will speed construction of the Roma - Napoli and ...
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IR wins budget boost
INDIAN Prime Minister A B Vajpayee has approved a 10% increase in the Railways Ministry budget for 1998-99, which will total US$2 454m compared to US$2 155m in 1997-98. Railways Minister Nitish Kumar says the increase will help to to boost IR’s capital investment under the 1997-2002 five-year plan.The budget ...
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Corridor accords
UPGRADING of two strategic rail corridors in Eastern Europe moved a step closer in May with the signing of two multilateral agreements.On May 13 representatives from Polish State Railways, Austrian Federal Railways and Czech Republic Railways met in Wien to sign a Memorandum of Understanding for the modernisation of the ...
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Railtrack invests
INVESTMENT in the British rail network rose by 30% in 1997-98 compared to the previous year, according to the Railtrack annual results presented on June 3. In the year to March 31 spending on asset renewal and network enhancement rose steeply to £1 254m, the highest rate in real terms ...
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Oil line study
MALAYSIAN national oil company Petronas has appointed Canarail to undertake design of an 80 km industrial railway along the country’s northeast coast. Scheduled to open in 2001, it would link processing plants around Kerteh to the port of Kuantan. Last year Canarail completed an initial feasibility study for the link, ...
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Ottawa takeover
CANADIAN passenger operator VIA Rail reached agreement on June 10 to take over parts of Canadian National’s network in the Ottawa Valley, forming part of its key Montreal - Ottawa route. CN’s Alexandria Subdivision runs from Coteau, Québec, to Hawthorne, Ontario, a distance of 92 km. Excluded from the deal ...
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Branches reopen
CEREMONIES attended by the Czech Transport Minister Petr Moos and CD General Manager Vladimír Sosna marked the launch of private operations on the 9 km Sumperk - Sobotín line on May 1. Part of CD’s Desn
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LDZ to split by 2002
THE LATVIAN government is to introduce a bill in November to split the national railways into five business units, following the passing of legislation in April enabling the partial privatisation of the LDZ network. Following studies of rail restructuring in Sweden, Germany and Great Britain, Latvian transport minister Uldis Petersons ...
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PEOPLE
Claude Boutté, Head of the UIC’s East-West Working Group, was elected President of the Union of European Railway Engineer Associations (UEEIV) on May 20 for a three-year term.Michael P Pracht has been named Vice President, Marketing and Sales for Siemens Transportation Systems Inc. Norberto Achille has been named President of ...
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RATP opens Line 13 extension
ON MAY 20 Paris Transport Authority opened a 1·3 km extension of metro Line 13 to St Denis-Université. The terminus is designed as a multi-modal interchange with a bus terminal, bicycle storage, and a 300-space car park.The extension from St Denis-Basilique is expected to attract around 14000 passengers a day. ...