All Railway Gazette International articles in March 2000 – Page 2

  • News

    Mindanao fast track

    2000-03-01T11:00:00Z

    THE PHILIPPINES government has decided to fast-track part of the long-planned Mindanao rail network, with the aim of getting the first section open during the presidency of Joseph Estrada. Chairman of the Presidential Committee on Flagship Projects & Programmes Roberto Aventajado announced at the end of January that the government ...

  • News

    GO expansion plan

    2000-03-01T11:00:00Z

    A MASSIVE expansion of Toronto’s commuter rail services is envisaged as the backbone of improved public transport in a strategic plan unveiled by the new Greater Toronto Services Board at the end of January. Closer integration with metro and streetcar services is recommended, together with the construction of ’gateway’ park-and-ride ...

  • News

    Dual-system S-Bahn

    2000-03-01T11:00:00Z

    AN 11 km extension of Hamburg’s S-Bahn from Neugraben to Buxtehude is envisaged as the first stage in a major expansion of the city’s urban rail network. Hamburger Verkehrsverbund announced the scheme in January as part of a regional development plan for 2010 being drawn up by the city and ...

  • News

    Driverless metros poised to expand

    2000-03-01T11:00:00Z

    The high off-peak frequency and flexibility to meet demand surges which unmanned trains offer may lead to conversion of existing lines in Paris or Berlin. Tom Parkinson and Ian Fisher believe the caution displayed by operators and safety regulators is no longer justified

  • News

    Integration drive

    2000-03-01T11:00:00Z

    MOSCOW City Government has launched a campaign for better integration of railway, metro, tram and bus operations in the Russian capital. Gibb Rail has been appointed to help with developing a long-term transport strategy, and Project Implementation Director Ekaterina Popova visited the firm in January to discuss ways of raising ...

  • News

    Delhi metro tenders go in

    2000-03-01T11:00:00Z

    FEBRUARY 23 was due to see the submission of bids to supply rolling stock for the initial two lines of the Delhi metro network. This will be followed on March 9 by the bids for the signalling & telecommunications contract, with tenders for electrification & power supplies due on March ...

  • News

    Integral deal

    2000-03-01T11:00:00Z

    CZECH RAILWAYS finally signed an agreement with Fiat Ferroviaria on January 31 amending the contract for Class 680 tilting trains. Negotiations had been under way for much of 1999, following the bankruptcy of CKD Dopravní systémy, which had intended to assemble the trains in co-operation with Fiat and Siemens. CD ...

  • News

    LRT conversion

    2000-03-01T11:00:00Z

    PITTSBURGH’s Port Authority Transit awarded a $36·2m contract to A&L Inc on January 28 for reconstructing 3·2 km of the Overbrook tram line as a light rail route. It is the first of three contracts covering the 8·9 km route between Castle Shannon and South Hills Junction, which was closed ...

  • News

    GIF lets wiring contracts

    2000-03-01T11:00:00Z

    SPANISH high speed construction authority GIF has awarded two contracts worth a total of Pts23·8bn to a consortium of Adtranz, Cobra, Semi, Emte and Elecnor, covering the installation of overhead electrification and traction power supply equipment on all but 20 km of the 450 km Madrid - Lleida route. The ...

  • News

    Nacala concession signed

    2000-03-01T11:00:00Z

    ON FEBRUARY 10 representatives of Mozambique’s national railway & port administration CFM and a consortium led by Pittsburgh-based Railroad Development Corp initialled the formal concession contract covering operation of the country’s Nacala Railway for the next 15 years. Subject to final approval by the government, the consortium expects to take ...

  • News

    Momentum wins Eurostar catering

    2000-03-01T11:00:00Z

    ON FEBRUARY 7 Eurostar Group announced that it had awarded a three-year contract to provide onboard catering to Momentum, a new joint venture of Cremonini SpA of Italy (51%) and Granada Food Services of Great Britain (49%). Starting on June 1, the new contract is worth £40m in turnover a ...

  • News

    A Trojan horse called Effort

    2000-03-01T11:00:00Z

    TO JUDGE from her keynote speech to The Economist freight conference in Brussels on January 28, the EC’s new Transport Commissioner Loyola de Palacio is every bit as determined as her predecessor to drive through reforms needed to correct rail’s seemingly intractable failure to compete for international traffic. ’Governments still ...

  • News

    Success builds on solid foundations

    2000-03-01T11:00:00Z

    INTRO: Switzerland’s major programme of infrastructure upgrades is being implemented on the basis of market-driven projects, carefully tailored to contribute to an overall improvement in the speed, capacity and ease of use of the rail network. Paul Moser, SBB’s Manager, Major Projects, revealed to Reinhard Christeller why the SFr7·4bn Bahn ...

  • News

    Passenger In Brief

    2000-03-01T11:00:00Z

    VIA Rail Canada is to introduce The Enterprise, an overnight service between Toronto and Montréal offering both seats and sleeping cars equipped with shower facilities. The company is also offering PRIVA, a group business travel service ranging from private cars to special trains.German Railway has opened lounges for first and ...

  • News

    Products In Brief

    2000-03-01T11:00:00Z

    Following successful trials on the Florida East Coast Railway and BHP Iron Ore’s Mount Newman line, GE Harris Railway Electronics has launched an improved version of its EPx direct braking system. This uses an air-powered smart valve, eliminating the need for individual axle generators and batteries on each wagon. The ...

  • News

    Wires to Boston at last

    2000-03-01T11:00:00Z

    US NATIONAL passenger operator Amtrak inaugurated electric operation between Boston and New Haven on January 31 with the introduction of its Acela Regional service. The first southbound electric train was scheduled to depart from Boston at 06.15, but left 20min late owing to a fouled pantograph; arrival at New York’s ...

  • News

    Cross-city boost

    2000-03-01T11:00:00Z

    RECOMMENDATIONS for improving rail services in the Tokyo region were submitted to Japan’s transport ministry on January 27. They include new suburban lines and subway routes and construction of key links to open up more through routes on both suburban railways and the metro network by 2015. Cost of implementing ...

  • News

    Swiss duo blow hot and cold

    2000-03-01T11:00:00Z

    THERE has been much head-scratching in the Swiss capital recently as debate rages over a suggestion made in November by Swiss Federal Railways President Thierry Lalive d’Epinay that BLS L

  • News

    Berlin firms up tram extensions

    2000-03-01T11:00:00Z

    THIS MAY is due to see the opening of a second tram route serving West Berlin, following the delivery of the first bi-directional low-floor cars to Berliner Verkehrsbetriebe last year (RG 2.00 p70). BVG currently has 12 tram extensions in development, all due for opening by 2006.First will be a ...

  • News

    Smart cards encircle the Bay

    2000-03-01T11:00:00Z

    INTRO: San Francisco’s public transport operators have launched a programme to introduce contactless smart card ticketing which will ultimately cover 24 metro, tram, ferry and bus networks. Julian Wolinsky looks at the technology and at the planned expansion into electronic purse functions LATER this year, passengers using selected public transport ...