All Railway Gazette International articles in March 2002 – Page 5
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News
Saudi BOT bid launched
JEDDAH-based construction company LAM has lodged the first expression of interest for BOT concessions to build three new railways in Saudi Arabia, which are costed at around 10bn riyals in total. In February LAM signed a memorandum of understanding with China Civil Engineering Construction Corp to provide technical assistance. According ...
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International best practice takes root in Europe
INTRO: The first privatisation of a former Soviet railway sees the Baltic Rail Services Consortium bringing international experience and best practice to Estonia. Investment and management changes are transforming the outlook for Estonian Railways’ transit freight businessBYLINE: Ed Burkhardt and Henry Posner III*BIG-TIME RAILROADING has long been the name ...
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Lightweight batteries
FRENCH battery specialist SAFT has launched a new range of compact lightweight batteries for on-board applications in LRVs and suburban EMUs. Marketed as Matrics (Mass Transit Integrated Compact Rail System), the MRX family offers a smaller and lighter alternative to rechargeable nickel-cadmium batteries for emergency lighting, air-conditioning, door controls and ...
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Pajares base tunnel contract
GIF has awarded Ineco and Geoconsult a €5·18m contract to design a 50 km high speed line running between La Robla and Pola de Lena on the Madrid - Oviedo main line. The new alignment includes a 25 km twin-bore base tunnel under the Pajares pass that is intended to ...
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Barcelona LRT
BIDSHAVE been invited to build, finance and operate two light rail routes from the centre of Barcelona to Sant Adrià de Bes
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Report backs Sydney metro
THREE heavy metro routes, two suburban lines and up to 80 new stations are recommended in a plan for the Sydney area unveiled on February 25. Compiled last year for Transport Minister Carl Scully by former SRA administrator Ron Christie, the Long Term Strategic Plan for Rail says investment of ...
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STB backs DM&E link
THE US Surface Transportation Board has approved the Dakota, Minnesota & Eastern Railroad’s ambitious proposal to serve the Powder River coalfield. Officially authorised on January 31, the $1·4bn project will enable DM&E to compete with Union Pacific and Burlington Northern & Santa Fe.DM&E plans to build 450 km of new ...
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Austrians debate separation
ARGUMENTS over separation of infrastructure and operations continue to dominate the rail policy agenda in Austria. Last month Austrian Federal Railways’ Director General Rüdiger vorm Walde defended the concept of the integrated railway in response to comments from newly-appointed Transport Minister Matias Reichhold about the need for ÖBB to stay ...
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Rail tops Austrian investment
RAIL projects will account for two-thirds of the Austrian government’s transport investment over the next decade, under the terms of a plan unveiled by Transport Minister Monika Forstinger on January 29. This envisages a total spend of €17·3bn, of which up to €8bn will be allocated by October 2003.Of the ...
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Australian suburb wired
MELBOURNE’S suburban electrified network was extended by 6 km from January 27, when services began running from St Albans to a new station in Sydenham. Following an official opening ceremony on January 23, the St Albans line has been renamed the Sydenham line.The A$44m electrification project began in October 2000. ...
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Atocha expands
Spanish National Railways has allocated €4·5m to the first phase of works to increase capacity at Madrid Puerta de Atocha station prior to opening of the high-speed line to Lleida in 2003. This involves reconstruction and enlargement of the concourse above the platforms, where new refreshment facilities, shops and a ...
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News
Desiro UK demands a pit stop approach
INTRO: As part of its £1·5bn contract to supply 785 Desiro UK EMU cars to South West Trains, Siemens will be responsible for maintenance of the fleet for 20 years under a complex performance regime. Key to this task will be a purpose-built maintenance depot now taking shape near ...
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News
Commander managesstation announcer
CALGARY-based Interalia supplies a range of passenger information systems to urban and main-line rail operators around the world, including on-board and station announcement systems and vehicle monitoring equipment. The digital Commander station announcement system has been installed at London Underground’s busy interchanges at Oxford Circus, Bank/Monument, Embankment and Earls Court, ...
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No tools left in Amtrak’s box
TESTIFYING to the Congress House Appropriations Committee in a hearing about the future of Amtrak, President & Chief Executive Officer George Warrington said ’we’ve run out of tools in the toolbox to keep the service together’. Shortly afterwards, on March 7, he resigned (p176).Warrington joined Amtrak in the mid-1990s to ...
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Ammendorf plant survives
BOMBARDIER has revised its European manufacturing strategy following Deutsche Bahn’s December announcement of a €10bn rolling stock investment programme (RG 2.02 p64).The ex-DWA plant at Ammendorf, which had been proposed for closure (RG 12.01 p859), will be retained for vehicle final assembly. As orders now underway are completed, the factory ...
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Beware the low-cost airlines
EUROPE’S low-cost airlines, mainly based in Britain, are a growing threat to inter-city passenger rail services. These airlines are currently enjoying an unprecedented boom in traffic and are nurturing ambitious expansion plans.When a large number of landing and take-off slots became available at Paris Orly airport recently, easyJet, Go, Ryanair ...
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Utah plans ahead
ON JANUARY 17, the Utah Transit Authority board ratified a $185m deal with Union Pacific which paves the way for commuter rail services from Salt Lake City to Ogden, Brigham City, and eventually Payson. UTA is buying 281route-km from UP, including the main line between Payson and Brigham City and ...
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Adtranz value in dispute
MONTRéAL-BASED Bombardier Inc announced on February 14 that it had notified DaimlerChrysler that it will file a claim for damages of around €1bn in connection with its takeover last year of Adtranz, formally known as DaimlerChrysler Rail Systems GmbH. Bombardier said that discussions with DaimlerChrysler AG in Germany had failed ...
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Final act nears in Amtrak epic
IN THE FACE of unrelenting political opposition, the National Railroad Passenger Corp has proved a remarkable survivor since its inception in 1971. Whether a national network of passenger trains in the USA will exist at all next year is now a major question, as the December 2002 deadline approaches for ...
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NECMS keeps Acela rolling
DESPITE the uncertainty over the future of US passenger services, Amtrak is continuing to expand the number of high speed trains in its Northeast Corridor. Further Acela Express diagrams were introduced on January 28, giving 13 trains/day each way between Washington DC and New York, and nine per day each ...