Main line rail industry news – Page 1406
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News
Glatt valley to get light rail
PROPOSALS have been published for a 17 km three-line light rail network serving towns in the Glatt valley and the northern sector of the Zürich conurbation. Announcing the results of nine years of planning, Project Manager Andreas Fleury unveiled a project that should see light rail services running on the ...
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People
Pakistan Railways has designated Managing Directors for the three business units which are being formed as part of a restructuring ahead of privatisation (p500). Chaudhry Abdul Qayyum has been named head of the Passenger business, with Chaudhry Mohammad Aslam as head of Freight and Nasir Amin as head ...
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Sidetrack
All steamed upOne of the world’s most famous railways now has its own international support group. The Darjeeling Himalayan Railway Society has been established with the support of Indian Railways to help keep trains climbing 2135m up the 88 km, 610mm gauge line. Each monsoon season results in numerous trackbed ...
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Track rules revised
THE US Federal Railroad Administration has revised its track safety regulations to incorporate the latest data on dynamic performance of vehicle and track systems. Major changes include new standards for installation and maintenance of continuous welded rail, with related staff training.More frequent inspection of track for internal flaws will see ...
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Marina line to go ahead
CONSTRUCTION of a fourth metro line in Singapore will get under way in 2000, following a government decision in June to push ahead with the 13 km Marina line to serve the New Downtown area taking shape on reclaimed land around Marina Bay. First proposed as a light rail line ...
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WestRail bids out
LAST MONTH Kowloon - Canton Railway Corp invited prequalification bids for 12 construction contracts on Hong Kong’s WestRail link to Tuen Mun. According to project director James Blake, the five packages into which the route was split for design have been subdivided to provide more opportunities for local contractors to ...
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Yauza enters service
MOSCOW metro has started revenue trials with a prototype Yauza metro trainset developed at Mytischchy car works. Designated Class 81-720 for the driving cars and 81-720 for non-driving, the prototype set had earlier been tested at the Shcherbinka test track (RG 12.94 p805.The stainless-steel bodied train was launched by Metro ...
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LRT becomes SkyTrain 2
VANCOUVER’s planned east-west light rail line is to be built as a second fully-automated SkyTrain route, compatible with BC Transit’s existing Waterfront - New Westminster - Surrey line. The change of policy was confirmed on June 24, when Bombardier announced that it had signed a memorandum of understanding with the ...
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Madrid opens Line 8
THE King and Queen of Spain officially opened the first section of Madrid Metro’s Line 8 on June 24. Built at a cost of Pts8·9bn, the 2·6 km route runs from Mar de Cristal on Line 4 to Campo de las Naciones, serving the Madrid fair grounds and the Juan ...
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Paris projects
IN A CEREMONY at Madeleine station on June 24, Paris Transport Authority President Director General Jean-Paul Bailly officially launched the construction of the second phase of the Météor automated metro Line 14. He was joined for the event by Ile de France and Paris Préfet Jo
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Transnet still in trouble
Further improvement in the financial position of South Africa’s transport holding group Transnet has increased the prospect of partial or complete privatisation. The multi-mode corporation is being focused into business groups, with restructuring likely to lead to sweeping job cuts across many sectors, including senior management. So drastic have the ...
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‘Effetto bang’ kills Milano - Genova
THINK OF A reason for abandoning plans to build a high speed railway, and you will find it among those cited by Italian Environment Minister Edo Ronchi for cancelling the 135 km line from Milano to Genova. Announcing his decision on July 15, Ronchi produced a 20-page ruling that referred ...
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Mine the gap
LAST MONTH saw the start of work on the second phase of reconstruction of Angola’s 1304 km Benguela Railway, following a 15-year closure because of the civil war. Italy’s Tor di Valle company is just over a year into its barter deal to undertake a US$500m 14-year renovation for 37500ha ...
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ICEs to replace short-haul flights
’GERMAN Railway and Lufthansa are agreed that rail will in the future largely replace domestic air services.’ Speaking on July 13 after signing a strategic co-operation agreement with Lufthansa chief Jürgen Weber, DB Chairman Dr Johannes Ludewig was highlighting a policy change that could have a major impact on ...
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SJ seeks opportunities at home and abroad
Director General of SJ Daniel Johannesson described to Andrew Hellawell his plans to strengthen the railway’s role as the driving force of reform among Europe’s railways, to expand beyond its existing domestic market, and to exploit changes which have wiped out track access charges
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Concessionaire prepares to launch the Arlanda Express
The first four-car Arlanda Express train is on trial in Sweden, and private-sector concessionaire A-Train is on schedule to launch services on the shuttle route next year. Andrew Hellawell toured the project site
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NewsSpace Train to boost Tube capacity
Richard Hope examines a plan to lift peak throughput on London Underground’s Victoria line to 60 000 passengers an hour
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Links drive Danish upgrading
Within a couple of years Banestyrelsen will form the key section of an unbroken rail corridor between Scandinavia and mainland Europe. Director General Erik Elsborg told Andrew Hellawell how he plans to expand capacity for growing domestic and international traffic while encouraging both new and established rail operators
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Greenbrier to boost Polish production
NORTH AMERICAN rolling stock supplier The Greenbrier Companies has launched a drive to break into the European freight wagon market. This follows the group’s purchase on March 9 of a majority stake in the Polish wagon builder Fabryka Wagonów Swidnica SA, which is to be relaunched this month ...