Main line rail industry news – Page 1438
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News
PUBLICATIONS
Conference Papers: ÖVG Convention on Optimising Railway TrackAt this conference in Graz in September 1997 subjects discussed ranged from capacity management and track maintenance strategy on the home railway ÖBB to track inspection and maintenance planning in New York, further development of heavy load switches on Union Pacific, development of ...
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Traincatcher extraordinary
ONE of Railway Gazette International’s regular authors - compiler of our biennial review of World Train Speeds, Dr Colin Taylor - knows a lot about timetables. That is just as well.In April, Dr Taylor and his nephew Ross begin a rail journey of 17611 km from Vila Real in Portugal ...
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Metros
Australia: Queensland is to build a 15 km light rail line from the Royal Brisbane Hospital to the University at St Lucia as a A$200m public-private project . Austria: Wiener Linien has ordered 10 more three-section low-floor cars worth Sch168m from Bombardier Transportation for light metro Line ...
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From economic necessity to financial return
INTRO: The XXVII th session of the International Railway Congress Association is being held in Marrakech on October 6-10, in conjunction with the International Union of Railways. Host railway ONCFM is no stranger to the main theme of the congress, with profitability achieved through restructuring INTRO: XXVIIth IRCA-UIC Congress, Marrakech, ...
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PKP monopoly to end
OPEN ACCESS operators will be able to use the tracks of Polish State Railways from October 14, when PKP’s automatic monopoly of rail traffic is abolished. The legislation to open up the network has been signed by President Aleksander Kwasniewski, as the first stage of a restructuring programme which could ...
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Nagano Shinkansen opens
EAST JAPAN Railway formally inaugurates the first stage of its Nagano Shinkansen between Takasaki and Nagano on October 1, with the launch of Asama super-express services from Tokyo. The 126 km branch diverges from the existing Joetsu Shinkansen, and is designed for operation at up to 260 km/h.The line was ...
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Istanbul orders Caracas cars
ROLLING STOCK for the first stage of the Istanbul heavy metro is to be supplied by GEC Alsthom’s Valenciennes works in northern France. On September 2 the company announced that Istanbul Ulasim ve Ticaret AS had awarded a 7400bn lira contract for an initial build of 32 cars.The vehicles will ...
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Quarry Bay contract awarded
HONG KONG MTR Corp announced on September 4 that it had awarded an HK$1·1bn contract to Nishimatsu Construction for civil engineering work on the Quarry Bay Congestion Relief Works. This includes a 1·75 km extension of the Kwun Tong line westwards to North Point station where there will be cross-platform ...
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Atlantico bids called
COSTA RICAN rail administration Incofer invited bids on August 22 for a 25-year concession to restore and operate the 300 km Ferrocarril del Atlantico (RBR97 p52). Bidders have been given three months to inspect the property and submit final tenders by November 28. Various firms are in discussion with Incofer, ...
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Desert Express rolls out in April
TRANSNAMIB’S Windhoek workshops are currently rebuilding coaches for the Desert Express landcruise that is scheduled to be launched in April. Also available for private hire, the Desert Express will depart from Windhoek on a 21h round trip to Swakopmund on Sundays, Tuesdays and Fridays. With passengers eating and sleeping on ...
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GNER orders Pendolini
BERMUDA-based shipping group Sea Containers is to order tilting trains from Fiat Ferroviaria for its British train operating franchisee Great North Eastern Railway. The signing of heads of agreement covering two trains was announced on September 9, at a price believed to be around £15m each. There is an option ...
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In Brief
n Turkish Transport Minister Necdet Menzir has announced proposals to restructure and privatise TCDD. The government is to initiate a review of railway operations and start modernisation of TCDD workshops ready for their sale to the private sector. n September 30 is the closing date for bids to supply nine ...
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Metropolitan plans go firm
GERMAN Railway has completed plans for its Metropolitan business trains. Two seven-car push-pull formations and a Class 101 loco will launch the service next summer between Hamburg and K
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Russians boost rail spending
PRIVATISATION of the Russian rail network has been ruled out by First Prime Minister B E Nemetsov, despite the drastic cost-saving programme imposed in July (RG 9.97 p575). Emphasising that ’the economy of Russia will fully depend on whether or not the railways function efficiently’, he insisted the railways ...
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Products In Brief
Loronix Information Systems has developed CCTVWare Transit, a video security system for passenger vehicles that records images from up to five different cameras onto a removable disk drive for retrieval using a standard Pentium PC. Designed for mounting on any flat surface, the 50mm x 50mm Loronix Moving Eyeball camera ...
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Market
Australia: NSW Rail Services Authority has won a contract to fit out the tunnels on the New Southern Railway Sydney Airport Link, including track, signalling, electrification and communications.Belgium: De Lijn has exercised part of its option to order six more single-direction LRVs for Antwerpen and three bi-directional LRVs for Gent ...
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Through running diesels
GERMAN regional rail operator Regental Bahnbetriebs-Gesellschaft has reached agreement to run its Vogtlandbahn services into the centre of Zwickau over the tracks of the local tram network. The company’s eight RegioSprinter low-floor diesel railcars are to be fitted with direction indicators, brake lights, warning bells and electric point actuators for ...
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Remote sensing at crossings
Burlington Northern Santa Fe has teamed up with communications companies Kansas Cellular, Open Cellular Systems, and BellSouth to provide remote monitoring equipment for level crossings, using existing communications links. Commissioning is due to be completed by the end of next year.BNSF staff will be alerted to a range of equipment ...
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In Brief
VIA Rail Canada has awarded a three-year contract to Cara Operations Ltd for provision of on-board meals for trains in the Windsor - Québec corridor. From November 1, Cara will provide 400000 meals a year from food preparation centres in Toronto and Montréal.Iarnród éireann and Northern Ireland Railways will formally ...
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Regulator demands better service
BRITAIN’S Rail Regulator John Swift announced on August 15 that he was proceeding with enforcement action against Train Operating Companies over poor performance of the National Rail Enquiry Service, the network of telephone enquiry bureaux accessed by a single number since August 1996. All 25 TOCs participate in the NRES ...