Main line rail industry news – Page 1419
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LETTERS
BYLINE: Co-built by SkodaSir - You have twice mentioned (RG 11.97 p745 and RBR 98 p33) the new Class 471 double-deck EMU for Czech Railways, but unfortunately on both occasions the information was incomplete. MSV Studenka is not the only manufacturer involved in building these trains. There are two builders, ...
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Early sales yield huge profits
WHATEVER the ultimate outcome of privatisation in Britain, fortunes are being made by institutions and individuals - and especially by former British Rail managers who risked their own savings - as the original companies are sold on. March 6 saw bus operator FirstGroup agree terms to buy the 74·7% of ...
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Pointers
n The Gulf Co-operation Council has recommended construction of a US$30bn rail network linking the six partner states which have a combined population of 25 million. United Arab Emirates has launched its own study of the proposals.n The first of Polish State Railways’ Class EU43 dual-system electric locos is expected ...
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SIDETRACK
Going undergroundVisitors to Moscow have always been impressed by the Metro. Glass chandeliers hanging from cavernous painted ceilings, and walls and floors surfaced in polished marble and granite gave a feeling of extraordinary grandeur - dare one say, like the interior of a royal palace. But times have most definitely ...
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Rebuilt couchettes to offer a quieter ride
BY THE END of May Revisiebedrijf Haarlem will have completed renovation of 27 couchette cars for DB AutoZug GmbH, the German Railway subsidiary running motorail services. Built in 1967 by Linke-Hofmann-Busch for use in trains run by private travel agencies such as Scharnow, Touropa, Hummel and Dr Tigges, they are ...
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Bosporus tunnel project launched
TURKEY: Construction of a fixed link between the European and Asian parts of the Turkish rail network could get under way next year, according to Transport Minister Necdet Menzir. He was speaking at a seminar organised by the State Planning Office on February 23 to unveil the latest proposals to ...
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Czech branches back on the block
After five years of debate, plans to sell over one-third of the CD network go back to parliament later this month
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Georgian upgrading
PLANS are afoot to nudge the 1575 km Georgian Railway towards a commercial existence. With the help of a loan from the European Bank for Reconstruction & Development, GR is to be restructured with the aim of ultimately achieving the status of a joint stock company. Closely allied to this ...
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Pollution rules boost costs
FINAL RULES on exhaust emissions issued by the US Environmental Protection Agency are estimated to add $252000 to the whole-life cost of a locomotive - though the impact will be gradual as the tighter standards are phased in between 2000 and 2005.There are three levels, or tiers, of standards. Tier ...
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Procurement politics
WE SHOULD by now be seeing some evidence that European directives on public procurement are generating a positive effect, n’est-ce pas? Yet rolling stock procurement practice looks depressingly familiar. In Britain, nearly all orders in the last few months have gone to the local plants of GEC Alsthom and Adtranz, ...
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Industry News
China: Full production of wheelsets is expected to begin in April or May at Datong ABC Castings Co Ltd, a joint venture between ABC Rail Products Corp of the USA and the Ministry of Railways. Construction of the facility followed the signature of a joint venture agreement in March 1996.Metalastik ...
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Athens orders AC fleet
A GREEK-GERMAN consortium has been selected to supply 40 AC-motored EMUs for the Athens metro in time for the 2004 Olympic Games. Athens-Piraeus Electric Railways has awarded a DM300m contract to the consortium of Hellenic Shipyards, Adtranz and Siemens Verkehrstechnik. First deliveries are due in December 1999, with the last ...
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Safe and secure bridge access
THE Caretaker enclosure system developed by Designer Composites Technology has been designed to provide secure, permanent access to bridge undersides for inspection and maintenance. Fitted to road bridges over Railtrack routes at Bromley South and near the western entrance to the Severn Tunnel, the Caretaker enclosures remove the need for ...
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Ankara upgrade
TURKISH Minister of Transport & Communications Necdet Menzir announced on February 3 that tenders would be called shortly for a US$237m upgrading of TCDD’s main line between Ankara and Haydarpasa, cutting the journey time to 4h. He said this would be more immediate and cost-effective than completing the high-speed line ...
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Railcars rejected
A RATHER different tale involves a contract for 16 diesel railcars for Finnish State Railways. The contract was won by GEC Alsthom Transporte of Spain, which duly shipped the first car to Helsinki for evaluation and tests. It turned out to be too heavy, although we are told that performance ...
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Seattle makes a start
CENTRAL Puget Sound Regional Transit Authority has awarded a $23m contract for conceptual and preliminary engineering for Seattle’s planned Link light rail network (RG 1.98 p33). This will connect the communities of Seattle, Tukwila and SeaTac airport, with a separate route joining central Tacoma with Tacoma Dome commuter rail station. ...
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Private finance for high-speed link
THE French parliament has ratified a treaty signed with the Spanish government covering the construction of a high-speed line between Figueres and Perpignan. This includes an 8·2 km tunnel under the Pyrenees at Le Perthus, which is to be built with private finance; the tunnel concessionaire will charge users a ...
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Ottawa backs light rail
TRAMS could be running in the Canadian capital before the millennium, if a fast-track plan adopted in January goes ahead. The regional government’s transportation committee unanimously backed the proposals to develop an initial network by December 1999. The project has also been endorsed by 11 of the city’s 19 regional ...
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CN to reach the Gulf
CANADIAN National announced on February 10 that it had agreed a US$2·4bn merger with US railroad Illinois Central, in a move to create ’a seamless north-south network from all major markets in Canada through Chicago and Detroit to the Gulf of Mexico.’ CN President & CEO Paul Tellier said the ...