Main line rail industry news – Page 1455
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News
Car orders
ANGLO-French rolling stock supplier GEC Alsthom announced in February that it had won two contracts to supply metro and commuter rail trainsets to South America.On February 11 GEC Alsthom won a Fr300m order to build a further 6 seven-car trains for Lines 1 and 2 of the Santiago metro. They ...
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Osaka opens cross-city link
MARCH 8 sees the inauguration of a 12·3 km cross-city rail link in the Japanese city of Osaka. Built by a public-private third sector company, the Katafuku line links existing JR West stations at Kyobashi and Amagasaki. The route includes 10·2 km in tunnel under the heart of the city. ...
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Intelligence
CAPTION: Metrolink operator Southern California Regional Rail Authority has been running a series of trials around Los Angeles with a Siemens-built RegioSprinter. On January 18 the lightweight articulated railcar made demonstration runs on a freight line between Arcadia (above) and Claremont in the San Gabriel valleyCAPTION: French National Railways ran ...
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Intelligence
CAPTION: Czech Railways has received the first series-built Class 943 driving trailers and Class 043 centre cars from MSV Studenka to operate with its Class 843 diesel-electric railcars. The 11 driving and 20 non-driving cars are all due to be delivered by the end of this yearCAPTION: Thorn Transit Systems ...
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Amtrak tries DMUs
PENNSYLVANIA’s Department of Transportation has been authorised to buy a fleet of diesel multiple-units for the 176 km ’Keystone Corridor’ from Philadelphia to Harrisburg. Governor Tom Ridge has approved a package combining $18·7m of federal and $4·7m of state funding.Costed at $1·5m per vehicle, the two or four car sets ...
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Ferrovías offers Atlantic concession
ON JANUARY 16 Colombia’s railway authority Ferrovías launched a competition for a 30-year concession to rehabilitate, maintain and operate freight services over its Atlantic network; bidding is due to close on July 16.The concession covers 1284 active route-km of 914mm gauge, formed by the Chiriguana - Dorada - Bogota - ...
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Composite trams
BASLER Verkehrsbetriebe has ordered 28 low-floor centre sections from Schindler Waggon AG at a cost of SFr16·4m, to enlarge its Be4/6 articulated trams delivered in 1990-91. This will increase their capacity by 30%, with 14 extra seats and space for wheelchairs or prams. The first car is due to be ...
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Siemens group takes Bursa light rail
CONTRACTS for construction of a 21·5 km light rail line in the Turkish city of Bursa were signed at the beginning of February. The municipality has selected a consortium led by Siemens Verkehrstechnik, together with Ansaldo Trasporti and three local firms. The deal is valued at DM500m.The first phase of ...
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Chinese sign research agreements
CHINA ACADEMY of Railway Sciences signed a co-operation agreement with Japan’s Railway Technical Research Institute on January 28 covering the joint development of automatic train control for a possible Chinese high-speed line. The ´150m project to equip the CARS test track near Beijing with ’digital ATC’ by August will be ...
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Gone mining
JUST AS the Russian Railways Ministry starts to implement its restructuring process which includes pulling out of non-core activities such as running towns and hospitals for railwaymen, comes news that it is to be granted the rights to mineral development along the Baikal - Amur corridor. Immediately after the BAM ...
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Central Asian upgradings funded
A CONSORTIUM of three Japanese suppliers has won a contract to assist with the upgrading of Kazakstan’s railway network. Choi Co, Kawasaki Steel Corp and Kawasho Corp will modernise KR’s telecommunications and reconstruct 350route-km of main line over the next four years. The aim is to boost capacity for the ...
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Industry
Brazil: Cobrasma has closed after deteriorating finances led to accumulated debt of at least R$400m; the firm only left receivership in 1994.Canada: Bombardier Inc has bought NorRail Inc of Buffalo to develop a wagon leasing business in North America as part of Bombardier Capital.Czech Republic: IFE AG of Austria has ...
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Metros
Canada: Vancouver city authority has bought part of a 1·5 km of right-of-way through CP’s False Creek yard for a proposed light rail line between SkyTrain at Main Street and Science World.Great Britain: London Underground has invited tenders for its Connect network-wide radio communications Private Finance Initiative; prequalified are Gensys, ...
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Investment boost
Norfolk Southern revealed on January 23 that it will spend $792m on capital projects in 1997, an $84m increase on 1996. A week later Union Pacific announced that its 1997 capital spending would total $2·2bn, including more than $500m to implement the merger with SP.NS has allocated over $100m towards ...
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On the way out
WHILST the Mercosur free trade zone may have revived freight traffic on Latin America’s railways, the same cannot be said for the residual passenger operations. Word reaches us from Uruguay that the pro-rail party in government since 1993 has been ousted by the administration which abandoned all services in 1988.Our ...
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The VAT lady sings
ENLIVENING the closing minutes of ICM's conference on Managing Privatised Railways in London on January 16 was a chilling dissertation by Celia Brennen of KPMG on the looming horrors of Value Added Tax. January 1 1997 saw the expiry of a derogation which legitimised a long-established practice in some European ...
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Market
Australia: SRANSW has called tenders for technical support in its timetable planning and train control activities over three years.Belgium: Siemens has won a DM28·5m contract to modernise marshalling yard control equipment at an Antwerpen yard, including MSR32 radio-control equipment for shunting locos.Brazil: CPTM and Renfe have signed a technical co-operation ...
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People
Mr Valeri J Kovalyov has been appointed Vice-Minister of Railways in Russia. Mr Michail P Likhachov has become President of Russian Railways’ Volga Region.Mr G K Malhotra has taken over as Chairman of Rail India Technical & Economic Services (Rites).Mr Christian Cochet has been named Director of the Cabinet of ...
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Tilt trains in prospect as final franchises awarded
ANNOUNCEMENTS on February 11 that Britain’s National Express Group had been chosen as preferred bidder for the ScotRail and Central Trains passenger franchises marked the culmination of the drive to transfer 25 ex-BR train operating companies to the private sector in little more than a year. The Office of Passenger ...
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Finance
Canada: CN reported a profit for 1996 of C$142m, compared to a C$1·1bn loss in 1995. Much of the 1996 fourth-quarter loss of C$166m was blamed on restructuring costs of C$365m to cover job losses. CN has announced plans to consolidate its four revenue management centres at a single Toronto ...