Main line rail industry news – Page 1448
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News
Industry
Australia: GE Transportation Systems and A Goninan & Co have signed a technical assistance and licensing agreement giving Goninan access to GE’s AC traction technology.China: MVA Group has set up MVA Beijing Transport Consultants Co Ltd as a joint venture with the Beijing Municipal Institute of City Planning & Design.Great ...
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Reform under scrutiny
APPOINTMENT of Communist transport minister Jean-Claude Gayssot (p438) under a left-wing government elected on June 1 is likely to require some intellectual and political acrobatics in French transport policy. The previous right-wing government put Claude Martinand at the head of the infrastructure company Réseau Ferré de France, whose board was ...
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Budget cuts set the course
WHEN THE Italian government decided in May to cut 2800bn lire of state funds from this year’s budget for Italian State Railways, President Giancarlo Cimoli pointed out that if 1400bn lire in agreed transfers were not made at once, FS would quickly end up with a negative cash flow and ...
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Public transport needs political will
FOR MANY YEARS suburban rail services in the Brazilian city of São Paulo suffered serious neglect. The metro, in sharp contrast, offers a high quality service. It has attracted considerable investment, allowing it to grow into a 44 km network, with extensions and new lines under construction. After years of ...
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Jing-Jiu trunk line boosts north-south capacity
As Hong Kong returns to China on July 1, completion of the final section of the Jing-Jiu Railway between Beijing and Kowloon is a major step that strengthens the ties between the former colony and the mainland. Since construction got under way in 1993, around 40bn yuan has been spent ...
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Finance
Denmark: The European Commission has granted a DKr1·6bn loan to Øresundskonsortiet and A/S Øresund.France: The Ministry of Transport is to invest Fr350m in intermodal freight development during 1997, with SNCF receiving Fr300m to improve services and Fr50m to upgrade terminals. State funding of Fr96m has been provided for a new ...
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Intelligence
CAPTION: Tokyo Metropolitan Government’s Transportation Bureau (Toei) took delivery last month of the first second-generation trainset for its small-profile linear motored metro Line 12. An update on progress with the construction of this line can be found in Developing Metros 1997, which is sent free to subscribers with ...
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Line H tender soon
THE MUNICIPALITY of Buenos Aires started public consultations at the end of May for the construction of the planned metro Line H. Secretary of Production & Communal Services Nicol
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RFF officially inaugurated
THREE decrees authorising the creation of the French railway infrastructure authority Réseau Ferré de France were published in the Journal Officiel on May 7, completing the legal process to launch the new body. Designated as an Etablissement Public Industriel et Commercial, RFF is a key part of the SNCF reform ...
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South West Trains places Juniper order
UK: Contracts were exchanged on May 9 for GEC Alsthom to supply Porterbrook Leasing Co with 30 four-car electric multiple-units for lease to South West Trains - both SWT and Porterbrook are Stagecoach subsidiaries. First delivery will be in September next year, and five sets will be available for the ...
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Merger precedes privatisation
PERUVIAN President Alberto Fujimori has announced that the railway operations of Empresa Minera del Centro de Peru will be handed over to the state railway company Enafer. This will include the 212 km standard-gauge network and rolling stock, apart from yard operations servicing the smelters and foundry, which will remain ...
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UP to take Pacifico-Norte
A CONSORTIUM of Union Pacific and two Mexican firms is likely to be sole bidder for a 50-year concession to manage and operate Mexico’s 6400 km Pacifico-Norte Railway. Jorge Silberstein, who is in charge of the FNM privatisation, said last month that no other tenders were expected by the June ...
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MTR unveils expansion strategy
HONG KONG’s Mass Transit Railway Corp has launched a 10-year expansion programme costed at around US$4bn, following forecasts that the increasingly congested three-line network will reach saturation point in 2006. As well as the branch to Tseung Kwan O now at the planning stage, MTR envisages two new lines and ...
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Multi-purpose smart cards
Schlumberger Electronic Transactions has unveiled the Easy range of smart cards for ticketing applications, available in two basic versions. The contactless version incorporating a Mifare 1 chip is readable in 100ms at a distance of 100mm through pockets, wallets or purses, and features a 1kB memory structured for multi-operator networks. ...
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Practicality first
Lazzerini has developed a modular seat design for inter-city, regional and urban applications that aims to reduce whole-life costs through simplified maintenance. Seat and backrest cushions are attached to an aluminium frame using pins that can be easily removed in the workshop, allowing cushions to be exchanged in a matter ...
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Products In Brief
The exterior and cab front design produced by Design Triangle for Hong Kong’s Airport Express and Tung Chung line trainsets is to be adopted for the refurbishment of MTRC’s existing fleet. Involving 759 EMU cars, the programme is scheduled for completion in 2001 (RG 12.96 p786).SNCF’s blue and grey TER ...
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In Brief
NS Stations has announced plans to site branches of the A&P supermarket chain at larger regional stations. The shops would offer products ranging from fresh fruit and vegetables to oven-ready meals.Great North Eastern Railway has introduced a loyalty programme for first class passengers known as Excel Portfolio. Points accumulated ...
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Industry
France: Knorr Bremse subsidiary Freinrail has relocated its activities to Reims.Great Britain: On April 28 Cubic Ltd completed the purchase of Thorn Transit Systems International, which becomes part of the Cubic Automatic Revenue Collection Group that includes WCL, Scanpoint and Southern Cubic.GEC Alsthom Diesels has bought diesel engine manufacturer Mirrlees ...
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At-seat entertainment
An at-seat entertainment system for rail vehicles has been developed by established airline supplier MBM Technology, in conjunction with seat manufacturer Compin and interiors and component specialist Transintech. In a prototype static installation presented to train operators, lessors and manufacturers, LCD video screens have been fitted to Compin first class ...
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Mushroom concept will transform Berlin
INTRO: Construction work to rebuild Berlin’s main line and S-Bahn networks is forging ahead at a furious pace. Murray Hughes reports from the site of Berlin’s future inter-city interchangeVISIT THE east end of the S-Bahn platforms at Lehrter Stadtbahnhof in the centre of Berlin, and you will see and feel ...