All Railway Gazette International articles in March 1998 – Page 3

  • News

    Third concession imminent

    1998-03-01T11:00:00Z

    THE CONCESSION to operate Mexico’s 1479 km Southeast Railway, linking Mexico City with the ports of Veracruz and Coatzacoalcos on the Gulf of Mexico, was due to go out to tender last month. The government announced on January 30 that two consortia had already expressed interest in the last of ...

  • News

    Konkan line completed

    1998-03-01T11:00:00Z

    JANUARY 26 saw the start of through passenger services between Mumbai and Mangao, marking the formal completion of India’s Konkan Railway. Launched in 1989, the 760 km coastal corridor serving the states of Maharashtra, Goa, Karnataka and Kuerla has been built by the autonomous Konkan Railway Corp using a mix ...

  • News

    CN to reach the Gulf

    1998-03-01T11:00:00Z

    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 ...

  • News

    WCML tilting trains closer

    1998-03-01T11:00:00Z

    BRITISH inter-city operator Virgin Rail announced on February 13 that it had chosen a preferred bidder to supply 225 km/h tilting trains for its West Coast main line between London, Birmingham, Manchester, Liverpool and Glasgow. Fiat Ferroviaria and GEC Alsthom will negotiate a £1bn package to provide around 60 seven-car ...

  • News

    Channel Tunnel Rail Link concession collapses

    1998-03-01T11:00:00Z

    In an emergency statement to the House of Commons late on January 28, Britain's Deputy Prime Minister, John Prescott, said London & Continental Railways had notified him at 20.00 that it could not finance the Channel Tunnel Rail Link to London. The day before, LCR had asked for a further ...

  • News

    Turnout carrier goes to Spain

    1998-03-01T11:00:00Z

    DESEC has supplied a TL70 tracklayer to infrastructure maintenance contractor TECSA, for track and turnout renewal work on the Renfe network in northern Spain. The TL70’s straddle carrier allows the correct geometry to be maintained when handling turnouts.DESEC Ltd, FinlandReader Enquiry Number 141

  • News

    Jernbaneverket buys multi-function recording car

    1998-03-01T11:00:00Z

    INTRO: Norway’s infrastructure authority is developing with MerMec a self-propelled car that can record track geometry and rail profiles at 200 km/h, as well as static and dynamic measurement of the catenaryBYLINE: Dr Tom Hultgreen Norwegian National Rail AdministrationOCTOBER 4 1998 sees the introduction of 200 km/h trains in Norway ...

  • News

    Flatter and brighter screen

    1998-03-01T11:00:00Z

    Ferrograph has entered into a partnership agreement with Fujitsu Electronics to supply plasma flat screen systems in Britain. The standard 21 inch panel has been joined by a 42 inch screen (right), offering a wider choice of configuration.Plasma screens last twice as long as cathode ray tube screens, having a ...

  • News

    Products In Brief

    1998-03-01T11:00:00Z

    AEA Technology has supplied its accelerometer-based RideMon ride monitoring system to British train operator South West Trains. On-board equipment uses GPS to record the exact location of track giving rise to poor ride quality, and passes the information to a control centre where maps to assist rectification are produced on ...

  • News

    In Brief

    1998-03-01T11:00:00Z

    n On January 29 the Panama congress formally approved the award of a 25-year concession to rehabilitate and operate the country’s railway, in exchange for 5% of gross revenue. A consortium led by Kansas City Southern plans to invest US$70m over the next two years to develop a trans-isthmus container ...

  • News

    Pollution rules boost costs

    1998-03-01T11:00:00Z

    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 ...

  • News

    Traffic surge and debt relief boost SNCF prospects

    1998-03-01T11:00:00Z

    INTRO: After several years in the doldrums, French National Railways is starting to improve its financial performance. Increasing traffic during 1997 has boosted the balance sheet, and the transfer of historic debt to RFF has relieved the interest burden. Jean-Paul Masse looks at the story behind the figuresON JANUARY 8 ...

  • News

    Spending boost

    1998-03-01T11:00:00Z

    NORFOLK Southern is to invest $903m on capital projects this year, compared to $781m in 1997. Of this, $149m will go towards the proposed Conrail acquisition. Major programmes include $279m for rail, sleepers, ballast and bridge replacement, up 4% from 1997, and $237m for rolling stock including 116 six-axle diesel ...

  • News

    Exports bolster Ganz-Hunslet

    1998-03-01T11:00:00Z

    SINCE being taken over by Oakdale Ltd, an international investment company based in Cyprus, Ganz-Hunslet has been striving to cope with a dearth of orders from its traditional customer, Hungarian State Railways, by revamping its product range and seeking more export business. Oakdale acquired Hungary’s principal rolling stock manufacturer from ...

  • News

    Turkish bids go in

    1998-03-01T11:00:00Z

    FINAL bids are due on March 3 for a contract to build the planned 3 km extension of the Istanbul heavy metro from Taksim to Unkapan?µ. Including a bridge across the Golden Horn, the extension is provisionally costed at 36 trillion lire.Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality has prequalified nine consortia for the ...

  • News

    Swiss transit deal may fund base tunnels

    1998-03-01T11:00:00Z

    YEARS of negotiations between Switzerland and the European Union about transit freight culminated on January 23 with heads of agreement being signed after a final 6h session. Often acrimonious discussions centred on the conflicting wishes of the Swiss to protect their environment and the EU to eliminate a bottleneck to ...

  • News

    Ottawa backs light rail

    1998-03-01T11:00:00Z

    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 ...

  • News

    UP starts the long haul back

    1998-03-01T11:00:00Z

    SPEAKING in Omaha on January 19, Union Pacific Chairman & CEO Dick Davidson said that operations on his 56000 route-km network were back to near normal apart from the problem-plagued line between Houston and New Orleans. Average train speed during the first week in January improved to 23·5 km/h, the ...

  • News

    Auto Trains get TSM brake upgrade

    1998-03-01T11:00:00Z

    Rockwell’s TSM Inc subsidiary has won a contract to equip Amtrak’s Auto Train fleet with its EABS

  • News

    Reform package authorised

    1998-03-01T11:00:00Z

    MEETING on January 29, the Cabinet of the Russian Federation government headed by Prime Minister Victor Chernomyrdin formally approved the package of structural reforms for the Russian Railways network (RG 2.98 p83). However, with the agreement of the Minister of Railways Nikolai Aksyonenko, a timescale has only been agreed for ...