Main line rail industry news – Page 1461
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People
Mr Amos Uzani has been named General Manager of Israel Railways. A lawyer, he moves from the Ports Authority, where he was Deputy Manager, Personnel.Mr Jerry Davis, President of Union Pacific Railroad has been elected Chairman of the Association of American Railroads; he will succeed Mr John W Snow of ...
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Intelligence
Australia: SRANSW opened the 1·6 km Cumberland line between Harris Park and Merrylands on November 2. The ’Y-Link’ curve west of Granville cost A$80m, and carries CityRail trains from Campbelltown to Parramatta and Blacktown.Queensland Rail and Venice-Simplon-Orient-Express Ltd have set up a joint venture to run a luxury tourist train ...
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Swedes to revive Zambia Railways
ZAMBIA’S Ministry of Transport & Communications announced on November 22 that agreement had been reached for Swedish consultants to take over the management of Zambia Railways for two years, in order to rescue the struggling company and allow bulk freight including export copper traffic to be switched back from road ...
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Barcelona agrees transport authority
ON NOVEMBER 4 the Catalan regional government, Ministry of Development, Barcelona council and local transport operator EMT signed an agreement to create a new metropolitan transport authority for the greater Barcelona area. When new legislation is in place, Autoridad del Transporte Metropolitano will be responsible for investment; the current contract ...
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Finance
Argentina: The World Bank is to provide US$150bn to replace 30 level crossings within the Buenos Aires city limits with road underpasses.Czech Republic: CD secured DM200m in state-guaranteed credit from Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau on November 25 for modernisation of the Breclav - Petrovice u Karviné line, and a further ECU200m ...
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Pointers
n Look for the Swiss government to authorise a further tranche of funds for the NEAT base tunnel works; SFr645m was requested on November 25.n Indian Railways is to invite international tenders shortly for the supply of advanced technology track maintenance machinery. n Watch for development in the United ...
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SNCF ups agents’ commission
January 1 saw an agreement between French National Railways and the national travel agents’ association SNAV come into force, with the immediate effect of increasing commission paid to agents by 0·4%. In an effort to boost sales of rail tickets, an identical rise is scheduled for January 1 1998, when ...
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Franchising starts on the final lap
ONE YEAR AGO we were writing about a legal battle delaying the award of the first of 25 franchises to run passenger services on Britain’s rail network. At the time we were deeply sceptical about the private sector’s willingness to enter the rail business. Yet, as we have chronicled in ...
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Smart cards: too much hype?
INTRO: With smart card ticketing being tested in London, Manchester, Paris and Hong Kong, the concept is generating considerable interest among transport operators. But investing in contactless fare collection has risks as well as benefits, suggest Matthew Lawson and Bill Steinmetz from the Railway Technology Strategy Centre at London’s ...
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New York megalopolis plans regional rail expansion
INTRO: The backlog of under-investment in New York’s urban railways has been made good, and they are now poised to expand. Integration to create a true regional network is seen as the way to support economic growth and enhance mobilityBYLINE: William D MiddletonWITH A population of nearly 20 million and ...
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Blue Tiger stalks world market
LOCOMOTIVE: Adtranz and GE Transportation Systems unveiled a prototype lightweight diesel at a spectacular premiere in Kassel on November 12. The two companies were also celebrating their first order: 30 locos with 3000hp engines will be built for Pakistan Railways for delivery in mid-1998. Development of the family of modular ...
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Commuter rail boosts mobility
INTRO: Opening of the Green Corridor route across central Madrid in 1996 concluded an important phase in a major investment programme that has transformed the Spanish capital’s commuter services. Construction of new lines to dormitory suburbs has been matched by rolling stock deliveries to create the most modern commuter train ...
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Six-axle car to power NS double-deck EMU
INTRO: Netherlands Railways unveiled its first Bo’Bo’Bo’ power car at Leidschendam on November 12; the 2·4MW vehicles will work with double-deck coaches in four or five car sets. Harry Hondius reportsBETWEEN 1992 and 1994, Netherlands Railways put into service 258 double-deck coaches for commuter operations in the Randstad region. Built ...
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S-Bahn expansion in full swing
INTRO: Despite changes in funding arrangements for investment in Germany’s already extensive S-Bahn networks, new construction and modernisation are forging ahead. Hubertus R Jäger assesses the state of playNEARLY ALL Germany’s S-Bahn networks are expanding. Funds are still flowing from federal sources under the Community Transport Financing Law (GVFG), which ...
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Tunnel fire offers important lessons
INTRO: Richard Hope examines the fallout from what could be the most costly accident in railway historyIN TERMS OF personal safety, Eurotunnel coped well with the major fire which raged through the rear half of a freight shuttle in the Channel Tunnel for several hours from 22.00 on November 18. ...
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Bright and light beneath two capitals
INTRO: Robert Preston reports on station design concepts on London Underground’s Jubilee line extension and the Paris Météor lineARCHITECTS and engineers working on major extensions to the metro networks in Paris and London have sought to create a better environment for passengers. In both cities the aim has been to ...
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Metropolitan to link Hamburg and K
German Railway is setting up a subsidiary called Metropolitan GmbH to operate a pilot service of limited-stop trains between Hamburg and K
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Smart card revolution under way at last
INTRO: Market developments are encouraging the long-awaited introduction of smart cards to a ticketing industry which has been dominated by magnetic stripe technology. Roger Ford looks at the technical and operational implicationsENCODED MAGNETIC stripes on tickets were seen as a key technology in combating fraudulent travel. In practice the forecast ...
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Fireproof cable protection
THIS month PMA of Switzerland plans to launch a range of ’banana-angle’ cable connectors. Developed primarily in response to demand from Adtranz, the connectors will be available in a range of sizes and materials.Later this year PMA will add to its range nylon-based cable protection conduits that meet the demanding ...