Main line rail industry news – Page 1450
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News
Intelligence
CAPTION: Amtrak has begun revenue operation of RoadRailer bimodal vehicles designed to run at 160 km/h. Attached to passenger trains, the RoadRailers carry US Mail trafficCAPTION: London Transport Chairman Peter Ford, Jubilee Line Extension Project Director Hugh Doherty and Minister for Transport in London John Bowis (right) rode one of ...
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Metros
China: Shanghai metro Line 1’s extension from Jinjiangleyuan to Xinzhuang opened on December 28. In conjunction with Monotraction Pty Ltd of Australia, a 13 km feeder costing US$300m is proposed from Xinzhuang to Shanghai’s Minhang suburb by 1998.Germany: Rhein-Main Verkehrsverbund has identified a Frankfurt outer ring route for development as ...
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Fed-up feds demand end to subway shambles
CONTROVERSY has never been far from the Red line metro in Los Angeles. Tunnel collapses, frequent delays and rows with contractors have all attracted attention. Things went from bad to worse in Decem-ber, and when LA Metropolitan Transit Authority CEO Joseph Drew announced his resignation, it was a sure sign ...
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Market
Australia: BHP Iron Ore has ordered a wagon dumper from Strachan & Henshaw valued at A$7m for its Port Hedland terminal.Bulgaria: A US$23·8m contract to refurbish 50 BDZ passenger coaches has been awarded to Adtranz and MAV DVJ Kft of Hungary.Czech Republic: Vodni Stavby AS has won a Kcs969m contract ...
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Intelligence
Austria: Work began on December 10 on the 6·5 km Siegberg tunnel on the 13·6 km Haag - St Valentin cut-off on ÖBB’s Wien - Linz main line.China: CR plans to introduce a Shanghai - Hong Kong express before the British colony reverts to Chinese rule on July 1. The ...
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1997 marks milestones for Øresund link
INTRO: Construction of the fixed road and rail link across the Baltic between Denmark and Sweden is well on course for opening in 2000.Chris Jackson took a look at progress TRACKLAYING is getting under way on the Danish approaches to the Øresund fixed link, which is due to provide road ...
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NSB chooses clamp locks
NORWEGIAN State Railways has chosen electro-hydraulic Clamp Lock point machines from Smith Industries Hydraulics Co for installation at Drammen near Oslo. NSB’s design demands meant that the original design used in Britain was enhanced by protection against harsh climatic conditions and addition of multiple secondary drives and detection, built into ...
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Sud-Est TGVs brought up-to-date
PASSENGERS on France’s Paris Sud-Est line are enjoying more space and a revised seating layout on the route’s TGV fleet. The first three sets refurbished by SNCF’s Bischheim works entered service at the end of last year, and the mid-life overhaul of a further 14 is due to be completed ...
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Tilburg Wadloper refurbishment
Netherlands Railways is to refurbish its ’Wadloper’ diesel multiple-units for 12m guilders under a programme scheduled for completion by the end of this year. NS says the investment demonstrates its commitment to local services in the Groningen/Leeuwarden area.The DMUs will undergo mid-life internal treatment including the replacement of bench seating ...
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People
Mr Emmanuel Hau has been named Director of Finance & Economics for French National Railways. He replaces Mr Jean-Pierre Leclerc who has become President of Groupe CTT Sceta.Mr Hau studied at the Ecole National d’Administration and joined Electricité de France in 1977. He became Director of Finance & Legal Affairs ...
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Intelligent use of rail grinding
INTRO: Profiling can prolong rail life, improve ride dynamics and cut maintenance costs if is done carefully; incorrect use of grinding can all too easily have the opposite effects to those intendedBYLINE: Dr Allan M Zarembski PEPresidentZeta-Tech Associates IncMODERN RAIL grinding techniques use carefully applied grinding patterns to profile the ...
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Quality initiatives bear fruit
On December 23 Jean Boutanquoi, Director of SNCF’s Ile-de-France commuter business, presented the first results of quality initiatives introduced last June after a survey of customer opinion. They are focused on personal safety, punctuality, passenger information and ticket retailing.At the end of December, the first 170 of 240 extra personnel ...
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Storebaelt reverts to ballasted track
INTRO: Although slab track was originally to have been laid in the Storebaelt tunnel, failure to optimise the choice of track with the diameter of the tunnel at the design stage led to a compromise using ballasted trackBYLINE: Palle ReenbergProject Manager, TrackDSB Banetechnik StorebaeltDANISH STATE Railways was appointed by A/S ...
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Shinkansen decisions postponed
Battle has raged since Japan’s general election last October over funding the next round of shinkansen construction, now that the mini-shinkansen from Morioka to Akita is about to open (p72), and work on the Hokuriku line as far as Nagano enters the final year of fitting out and commissioning. Members ...
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Diesel venture
INDONESIAN President Soharto joined ceremonies at Jakarta to mark completion of the first General Electric diesel locos to be built in Java. Three U20Cs assembled at Madiun (above) by joint venture company PT GE Lokindo were delivered on December 17.The joint venture between GE and Badan Pengelola Industri Strategis is ...
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Management concessioned
On January 1 a joint venture of SNC-Lavalin and Gesproex Inc took over maintenance and operation of the Deux-Montagnes and Rigaud commuter lines from the Montreal Urban Community Transport Commission. The city’s Agence Métropolitaine de Transport, which oversees the two commuter lines, announced award of a three-year contract to SNC-Gesproex ...
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Storebaelt link promises network benefits
THE LONG-awaited fixed link across Denmark’s Great Belt is on course to carry its first revenue-earning train on April 1. When the road and rail link between the islands of Zealand and Fünen was authorised in 1987, it was scheduled to open for rail services on September 15 1993 and ...
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Italians buy open procurement
AS PART of a three-year strategic plan announced last year, Chief Executive of Italian State Railways Giancarlo Cimoli is planning to change the way FS treats its suppliers. Head of procurement Mauro Moretti says standard contracts will be agreed, and the fragmentary approach to purchase of spares will give way ...
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Infrastructure maintenance becomes big business
INTRO: By contracting out every aspect of infrastructure installation, renewal and maintenance, Railtrack has given British companies a head start in exploiting a market worth US$30bn a year - if other operators follow suitBYLINE: David Fison MA CEng FICE,Managing Director of Balfour Beatty Rail Ltd, told Richard Hope why buying ...
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Gardermobanen on track to open next year
INTRO: Rails are going down on 66 km of new line that will put Oslo’s Gardermoen airport within 19min of the city’s central station when it opens on October 4 1998BYLINE: Arne SvensøyNSB Gardermobanen ASAS CIVIL WORKS approach completion on the new railway being constructed between Norway’s capital and the ...