Main line rail industry news – Page 1427
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News
Adtranz Portugal broadens the product base
Production of carshells and finished passenger vehicles in stainless steel is widely recognised as the speciality of the former Sorefame plant at Amadora on the western edge of Lisboa. Recent contracts obtained by what is now Adtranz Portugal point towards the development of a broader product base, with orders obtained ...
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Kazaks move to market model
’KAZAKSTAN RAILWAYS has overcome the crisis’ declared Transport Minister E Kaliyev on January 29. The minister, who is also Director-General of Kazakstan Temir Zhoby (KTZ), was reviewing the railway’s results during the first year following the merger of the ex-Soviet Alma-Ata, Tselinnaya and West Kazakhstan railways at the end of ...
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Products In Brief
Cattron has added a speed control feature to its MP96 line of portable radio remote control systems, allowing train speed and bulk handling equipment to be controlled by one person during loading. An axle impulse device installed on the locomotive allows speed to be calculated in 0·05 km/h increments.Cam-Tech (UK) ...
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Marketplace
China: CSEE Transport of France has been awarded a HK$150m contract to supply a station management system for MTR Corp. CSEE will act as main contractor in association with KM Luk and MITS Ltd.Fujitsu General Ltd of Japan is supplying 120 Plasma Vision panels for MTR Corp’s Airport Railway in ...
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Mexican sales spur progress
TENDERING for the 50-year concession to operate Mexico’s 1480 km Sureste Railway began on February 18. Connecting Mexico City with the Gulf coast ports of Veracruz and Coatzacoalcos, the line carries almost 9% of the country’s rail freight. The government has set June 11 as the deadline for submitting bids, ...
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INTELLIGENCE
Argentina: The government has insisted that the Unión Ferroviaria trade union finds a foreign partner before taking on a 30-year operating concession for the 1000mm gauge Ferrocarril Belgrano (RG 9.97 p560). The government would grant 40m pesos a year for five years for infrastructure work, but the 10m pesos annual ...
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PEOPLE
Rafael Mosura has been appointed General Manager of Philippine National Railways.Polish Minister of Transport & Maritime Economy Eugeniusz Morawski appointed a new PKP Council on February 6. The President is Wojciech Wardacki, with Janusz Kawecki as Vice President. Other members are Zbigniew Boniuszko, Marek Borecki, Waldemar Chyczewski, Stanislaw Kogut, Kazimierz ...
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Jorritsma plans to break up NS
NETHERLANDS Railways faces the prospect of having to surrender half its passenger services to rival operators from 2010 under proposals to introduce competition to the Dutch rail network drawn up by Transport Minister Annemarie Jorritsma. A discussion paper proposing a phased programme to dismantle much of NS was presented to ...
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LETTERS
BYLINE: Co-built by SkodaSir - You have twice mentioned (RG 11.97 p745 and RBR 98 p33) the new Class 471 double-deck EMU for Czech Railways, but unfortunately on both occasions the information was incomplete. MSV Studenka is not the only manufacturer involved in building these trains. There are two builders, ...
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Early sales yield huge profits
WHATEVER the ultimate outcome of privatisation in Britain, fortunes are being made by institutions and individuals - and especially by former British Rail managers who risked their own savings - as the original companies are sold on. March 6 saw bus operator FirstGroup agree terms to buy the 74·7% of ...
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Pointers
n The Gulf Co-operation Council has recommended construction of a US$30bn rail network linking the six partner states which have a combined population of 25 million. United Arab Emirates has launched its own study of the proposals.n The first of Polish State Railways’ Class EU43 dual-system electric locos is expected ...
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SIDETRACK
Going undergroundVisitors to Moscow have always been impressed by the Metro. Glass chandeliers hanging from cavernous painted ceilings, and walls and floors surfaced in polished marble and granite gave a feeling of extraordinary grandeur - dare one say, like the interior of a royal palace. But times have most definitely ...
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Rebuilt couchettes to offer a quieter ride
BY THE END of May Revisiebedrijf Haarlem will have completed renovation of 27 couchette cars for DB AutoZug GmbH, the German Railway subsidiary running motorail services. Built in 1967 by Linke-Hofmann-Busch for use in trains run by private travel agencies such as Scharnow, Touropa, Hummel and Dr Tigges, they are ...
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Bosporus tunnel project launched
TURKEY: Construction of a fixed link between the European and Asian parts of the Turkish rail network could get under way next year, according to Transport Minister Necdet Menzir. He was speaking at a seminar organised by the State Planning Office on February 23 to unveil the latest proposals to ...
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Czech branches back on the block
After five years of debate, plans to sell over one-third of the CD network go back to parliament later this month
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Georgian upgrading
PLANS are afoot to nudge the 1575 km Georgian Railway towards a commercial existence. With the help of a loan from the European Bank for Reconstruction & Development, GR is to be restructured with the aim of ultimately achieving the status of a joint stock company. Closely allied to this ...
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Pollution rules boost costs
FINAL RULES on exhaust emissions issued by the US Environmental Protection Agency are estimated to add $252000 to the whole-life cost of a locomotive - though the impact will be gradual as the tighter standards are phased in between 2000 and 2005.There are three levels, or tiers, of standards. Tier ...
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Procurement politics
WE SHOULD by now be seeing some evidence that European directives on public procurement are generating a positive effect, n’est-ce pas? Yet rolling stock procurement practice looks depressingly familiar. In Britain, nearly all orders in the last few months have gone to the local plants of GEC Alsthom and Adtranz, ...
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Industry News
China: Full production of wheelsets is expected to begin in April or May at Datong ABC Castings Co Ltd, a joint venture between ABC Rail Products Corp of the USA and the Ministry of Railways. Construction of the facility followed the signature of a joint venture agreement in March 1996.Metalastik ...