Main line rail industry news – Page 840
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NewsRailway supply industry news in brief
Consultancy Canarail has opened a subsidiary in Ulaanbaatar, where it is working with Energy Resources Rail on new lines to serve mining developments. Polish firm Nasycalnia Podkadów has opened a 1·5m złoty production hall equipped with a modern CNC driller which will enable it to produce wooden turnout bearers with ...
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NewsCCTV adapts frame rate to reduce storage needs
BRAZIL: Rio de Janerio metro operator MetrôRio chose IndigoVision and its local partner Setha Prosegur to supply an IP-based video security system incorporating an activity controlled frame rate feature. This reduces data storage requirements by regulating image capture rates according to motion observed. When there is no activity, video is ...
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NewsLight rail plan included in Canberra agreement
AUSTRALIA: The development of a light rail network in Canberra is included in a parliamentary agreement by which the Green Party’s Shane Rattenbury has agreed to support the Labor Party’s Katy Gallagher in the formation of a government for the Australian Capital Territory. The agreement signed on ...
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NewsRussian Railways Logistics to cut two days from China - Europe timings
INTERNATIONAL: The YuXinOu (Chongqing) Logistics joint venture has despatched its first container train from China to Europe using the CIM/SMGS Common Consignment Note. Using documentation meeting the legal requirements of both OTIF's CIM and OSJD's SMGS rules reduces costs to shippers, as there is no need to issue new notes ...
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NewsAlstom to refit Boston fleets
USA: Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority has awarded Alstom Transport two rolling stock modernisation contracts with a total value of €170m. The work is to be undertaken at Alstom's plant in Hornell, New York, with at least 80% US content. The first of the contracts announced on November 1 covers the ...
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NewsChina Northern wins TasRail wagon contract
AUSTRALIA: TasRail has awarded China Northern's CNR Australia subsidiary a contract to supply 191 wagons from mid-2013. The order covers 36 ore wagons, 17 coal wagons, 18 for cement traffic and 120 for containerised freight on the 1067 mm gauge network. Announcing the deal on October 24, Tasmania's state owned ...
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NewsMorgan Sindall to build North West operating centre
UK: Construction company Morgan Sindall has been awarded a £15·9m contract to build Network Rail's North West regional operating centre. Scheduled for completion by December 2013, the facility at Gorton in Greater Manchester will be one of 14 controlling operations on the national network. The three-storey steel-framed building is to ...
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NewsBogie Technical Centre construction begins
GERMANY: The foundation stone for Bombardier Transportation's €10m Bogie Technical Centre was laid at the company's Siegen plant on October 30. Intended to foster co-operation between customers, suppliers and academics, the technical centre is scheduled to begin operations by mid-2014. The Siegen site is to be Bombardier's bogie headquarters, bringing ...
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NewsFeature articles in the November 2012 issue of Railway Gazette International
Articles in the November 2012 issue of Railway Gazette International magazine Comment A history lesson on closures Analysis UK: Franchising programme unravels France: SNIT review gets underway Indonesia: Four-tracking in West Java Rolling stock HEMU 430X heralds higher speeds: Running trials are in progress ...
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NewsRedesigned signalling power supply cuts copper costs
UK: Infrastructure manager Network Rail says it has reduced the amount of copper needed for signalling power supply projects by a third through a three-year project to enable two-core unarmoured class 2 cables to be used in place of armoured class 1 cables containing two live wires and an earth ...
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NewsMexico City's Gold metro line opens
MEXICO: President Felipe Calderón attended the opening of Mexico City metro Line 12, the Gold Line, on October 30, saying it 'rivals the best in the world'. Travel is free until November 4. Line 12 runs for 25 km from Mixcoac on Line 7 to Tláhuac in the southeast, an ...
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NewsAlger metro extension contract awarded
ALGERIA: A consortium of Colas Rail and local firm KOU.G.C has been awarded a contract to extend Alger metro Line 1 by 4 km. The extension from Haï El Badr to El Harrach-Centre with new stations is scheduled to open in November 2014. The 23-month construction contract announced on ...
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NewsFrench reforms will focus on streamlining infrastructure management
FRANCE: Speaking at celebrations in Paris on October 30 to mark the 75th anniversary of SNCF, Transport Minister Frédéric Cuvillier outlined his thinking on the forthcoming reform of the rail sector, following the ‘national debate’ held last year. Structural reforms to create ‘a French model’ are explored in a ...
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NewsChinese loan agreements revive trans-Laos project
LAOS: Vientiane has agreed to accept US$7bn of loans from China to restart construction of the stalled 420 km north-south railway linking the capital to China’s Yunnan province via Phônhông, Vangvieng, Luang Phabang, Oudomxay and Louang Namtha. The cross-border project dates back to 2009, when an agreement ...
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NewsADB reviews Myanma Railways' needs
MYANMAR: As part of its re-engagement with Myanmar after ceasing operations there in the 1980s, the Asian Development Bank has published a report recommending a restructuring of the 'complex and overlapping institutional structure' which it believes is impeding effective management of rail, road water and air transport. ADB says Myanma ...
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NewsSuperVia orders 60 suburban EMUs
BRAZIL: The governor of Rio de Janeiro state signed a US$306·5m firm order for 60 four-car electric multiple-units on October 24. The 3 kV DC air-conditioned units are scheduled to be delivered from June 2014 for use SuperVia suburban services. The contract was signed with a consortium of China National ...
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NewsIndia plans inter-city EMUs to raise speeds
INDIA: The Ministry of Railways is developing plans to procure electric multiple-units to raise average speeds on Indian Railways' premium inter-city routes under a strategy to provide 'safer, faster, cleaner and comfortable' passenger trains The EMUs would be suitable for running at speeds of 130 to 160 km/h on Shatabdi ...
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NewsWelding school established
NETHERLANDS: Infrastructure contractors Strukton Rail and VolkerRail have jointly established a rail welding school to train and recertify welders to work on the ProRail network. According to the two firms, there are insufficient numbers of rail welders in the country to justify a centrally-managed government scheme, but equally a significant ...
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NewsUniversities to study cutting train life cycle costs
UK: Three projects to investigate ways of reducing whole-life rolling stock costs have been approved by the Rail Research UK Association, and £100 000 of funding has been awarded by safety and standards body RSSB. Funding has also been awarded for a studentship co-funded by government research agency EPSRC and ...
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News550 tonne tunnel boring machine lowered into Crossrail shaft
UK: A 550 tonne tunnel boring machine was lowered into a 40 m deep shaft in east London on October 25, ahead of the start of tunnelling for the 8·3 km Limmo Peninsula - Farringdon section of the Crossrail project. Weldex International supplied one of the largest cranes in Europe ...