Main line rail industry news – Page 1453
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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 ...
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Heathrow Express completes commissioning trials
INTRO: Murray Hughes rides the first three-car Heathrow Express set on the Velim test track in the Czech RepublicSTREAKING through the birch forest on the circular test track at Velim northeast of Praha, the first train for Britain’s Heathrow Express service was clocking 160 km/h as part of an intensive ...
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Leasing explosion demands registration
IN THE LAST five years there has been an astonishing increase in the amount of leased rolling stock running on Europe’s railways. Much of the impetus has come from the US, where cross-border leasing brings substantial tax avoidance benefits. Michael Kershaw of HSBC International told a Frankfurt conference on Commercialising ...
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Amtrak in focus
Metroliner upgradeAmtrak has started upgrading 90 loco-hauled Amfleet coaches in a bid to increase ridership on the Northeast Corridor Metroliner trains between Washington and New York. In the year to September 30 1996 the Metroliners carried 2 million passengers and earned $155·7m in revenue, 10% up on 1995.Two refurbished seven-car ...
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Intermodal expansion
SWISS intermodal operator Hupac inaugurated a terminal at Singen on November 15, replacing its site at Rielasingen. The yard took 18 months to build, and is designed to cope with projected traffic growth for the next 10 years.Described as a hub for southern Germany and a gateway for the transalpine ...
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Trinity Express starts
JANUARY 20 sees the start of revenue operation on the Trinity Express commuter rail line from South Irving to Dallas Union Station, where it interchanges to the city’s light rail line (RG 10.96 p639). Trains were to begin on December 30, but without all 13 rehabilitated Budd diesel railcars, restricting ...
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Skirmishes over Conrail turn to war
THE BATTLE raging for the control of Conrail has hotted up, with the alarums and excursions of the early weeks changing to a full-scale war in the courts. On November 20 a federal judge denied Norfolk Southern’s request for a preliminary injunction to halt the first step in CSX’s attempt ...