Main line rail industry news – Page 1434
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News
Kumamoto low-floor car enters service
AUGUST 2 saw the start of revenue operations with Japan’s first 100% low-floor tram in the city of Kumamoto. Ordered in June 1996 from Niigata Engineering and Adtranz, the two-section car was delivered for commissioning trials in April and was approved for operation by the Japanese Ministry of Transport in ...
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Kuala Lumpur seeks integrated network by 2000
INTRO: Three privately-promoted light metro lines are under construction to augment Malaysian Railways’ electrified commuter rail networkIN EXACTLY ONE YEAR, the Malaysian capital Kuala Lumpur will host the 1998 Commonwealth Games, at a new stadium taking shape south of the city. The start of the games on September 14 1998 ...
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Inchon on course to open in 1999
BYLINE: Cho, Ai-KyoungOperations Planning ManagerInchon Municipal GovernmentSubway Construction HeadquartersCONSTRUCTION is pushing ahead on the first metro line in the South Korean port of Inchon. Started in 1993 and now expected to open in 1999, the 24·6 km Line 1 is the first of five routes in a planned 125 km ...
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Tigers invest in urban rail expansion
Urban rail development is proceeding apace in an arc of the Pacific Rim from Singapore to South Korea. Chris Jackson looks at some of the projects which are setting the pace
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Toronto turns the clock back
INTRO: On July 27 Toronto Transit Commission officially opened its Spadina Avenue light rail extension. William D Middleton was there Chinese dragon dancers, a festival atmosphere the length of lower Spadina Avenue and an estimated 32000 riders were all at hand when the Toronto Transportation Commission celebrated the opening of ...
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People
Messrs Eric Gissler and Jean-Pierre Pronost have been appointed Directors-General for French infrastructure authority Réseau Ferré de France.Dr Manuel Frasquilho has been confirmed as President of Portuguese infrastructure authority Refer. Eng Raul Vilaca e Moura has been appointed Vice-President. Other board members are Messrs M Fernandes, C Reis and E ...
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Talgo curving trials
The US Federal Railroad Administration has allowed Amtrak and Burlington Northern Santa Fe to test a Talgo 200 Pendular trainset at higher speeds on curves between Portland, Oregon, and Blaine, Washington, just south of the Canadian border. During the three weeks of trials, which began on August 5, the train ...
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Pointers
n Indian Railway Construction Corp is negotiating for a five-year contract to refurbish and maintain 15 Malaysian Railways Class 22 diesel locos of 1750hp, following an earlier contract to refurbish 12 of the class.n Research consortium GasRail USA is to equip a Los Angeles Metrolink F59PHI diesel loco ...
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Russians implement cost saving programme
SWEEPING proposals to reduce the cost of operating Russia’s 87469 km rail network are being implemented under an ’anti-crisis programme’ agreed at a board meeting of the Ministry of Railways in July. Recently appointed Railways Minister Nikolai E Aksyonenko said that the restructuring of Russian Railways (RG 3.97 p149) was ...
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Spoornet steps back from the brink
AUGUST 4 did not bring the cataclysm that South African analysts had expected. Instead of Transnet’s losses for the year ending March 31 mounting to a predicted R750m from R253m last year, the state-owned transport group increased turnover and cut its operating deficit to R170m, much to the relief of ...
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No reason to celebrate
SWISS Federal Railways’ sesquicentenary celebrations this summer were marred by a series of unhappy events ranging from the suicide of Personnel Director Jean-Pierre Kalin on July 29 to a clutch of failures by the high-profile Cisalpino tilting trains. Arguments over who should take responsibility for the Cisalpino problems spawned much ...
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Sidetrack
Intermodal airportLanding his single-engined aeroplane at Fort Worth’s Alliance Airport on July 29, a bemused pilot found when he touched down that the inviting runway was actually the concrete apron of a ramp track at Burlington Northern & Santa Fe’s Intermodal Hub Centre, 3 km from the airport. Alert employees ...
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Last chance to catch the night train
MANY long-distance passenger trains outside Europe and Japan must by nature run overnight, with seating accommodation convertible to sleeper berths or bunks. In Europe, daytime inter-city trains predominate, with high speed services taking a steadily growing share of the business. This intense focus on high speed has left many of ...
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Franco-Dutch mouse takes on Netherlands Railways
ANNOUNCEMENT by Compagnie Générale d’Entreprises Automobiles on July 4 that it had acquired a 70% stake in the independent Dutch operator Lovers Rail confirms beyond all doubt that the French company is seeking to become a major player in providing contracted rail passenger services across Europe.From humble beginnings running branch ...
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Hotel train power
GREAT Scottish & Western Railway Co, operator of The Royal Scotsman land cruise, has taken delivery of two ex-British Rail MkIII sleeping cars purchased from Porterbrook Leasing and converted by EMC (International) Ltd at Carnforth. Each 41·5 tonne vehicle now houses a 160 kW Volvo diesel generator set to meet ...
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Cruising through the Rockies
AMERICAN Orient Express ran a series of three-day luxury rail cruises through the Rocky Mountains between Denver and Salt Lake City in July and August, hauled by two Genesis locos provided by Amtrak. On each of the 14 scheduled trips, a maximum of 100 passengers were carried in 15 refurbished ...
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Rail Gourmet buys ERC
ON JUNE 29 the SAirRelations division of SAirGroup (formerly Swissair Group) signed a purchase agreement with the management of British-based European Rail Catering. The new acquisition will be integrated with Rail Gourmet, thereby more than doubling its revenue and increasing its European market share from 6 to 11%, according to ...