All Railway Gazette International articles in March 2007 – Page 3

  • News

    Dubai auto-couplers

    2007-03-01T11:00:00Z

    VOITH Scharfenberg is to fit auto-couplers to a fleet of 87 metro cars for Dubai being built by Kinki Sharyo. The couplers will be fitted with shock absorbers to protect the driverless vehicles in a low-speed collision. The couplers, like the vehicles themselves, are being designed to cope with the ...

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    News

    World railway market is 'robust and attractive'

    2007-03-01T11:00:00Z

    A study commissioned by UNIFE from Roland Berger Strategy Consultants puts the value of the world railway market at over €100bn a year. Growth is predicted at 1·5% to 2% a year for the next decade.

  • News

    Second high speed line for Argentina?

    2007-03-01T11:00:00Z

    ON FEBRUARY 8 President Néstor Kirchner launched tendering for the second high speed line planned in Argentina, linking Buenos Aires with Mar del Plata. It is hoped to complete tendering this August, including the award of contracts for civil works, tracklaying, electrification, signalling and telecommunications as well as the ...

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    News

    BDZ separation plan approved

    2007-03-01T11:00:00Z

    BULGARIA: The cabinet approved a plan to further restructure Bulgarian State Railways on January 18, following the creation of financially independent passenger, freight and traction divisions of the national operator on January 1 (RG 12.06 p764). Transport Minister Peter Mutafchiev plans to create separate telecoms, rolling stock management, maintenance ...

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    News

    Pendolino deal falls apart

    2007-03-01T11:00:00Z

    THE SURGE of passengers riding Virgin's tilting Pendolinos after the UK's West Coast Main Line was upgraded for 200 km/h operation has created an urgent need for two extra vehicles in each of the 53 nine-car trainsets. Under a 'handshake deal' valued at around ?158m, reached on January ...

  • News

    Restructuring announced at Tognum

    2007-03-01T11:00:00Z

    TOGNUM announced a restructuring on February 5, creating two divisions which Chief Executive Volker Heuer says will provide ’clear structures of responsibility and allow us to implement our growth strategy more effectively.’ The new Engines & After-Sales division is centred on MTU’s rail, marine and heavy industrial engine manufacturing ...

  • News

    United Streetcar to enter American tram market

    2007-03-01T11:00:00Z

    ON JANUARY 26 Oregon Iron Works announced a $4m contract to produce a prototype modern low-floor light rail vehicle for the North American market at its Clackamas plant in the USA. United Streetcar LLC has been established as an OIW subsidiary to produce the vehicle, which will be based on ...

  • News

    Bangkok growth goes ahead

    2007-03-01T11:00:00Z

    A 165bn baht programme for expansion of Bangkok’s metro network has been approved by the government of Thailand. The latest package calls for construction of five routes totalling 118?km. The government’s final decision comes after the Cabinet gave its backing to the scheme at a meeting in November (RG 12.06 ...

  • News

    Records fall as the French forge ahead

    2007-03-01T11:00:00Z

    AN UNOFFICIAL world rail speed record of 554?3?km/h was set in France on February 13 during trials on TGV Est. This comprehensively beats the 515?3?km/h rail record that SNCF established on May 18 1990 and surpasses the 552?km/h achieved by the Japanese experimental maglev trainset MLX01 at Yamanashi on April ...

  • News

    Combino Plus takes off after false start

    2007-03-01T11:00:00Z

    AT 82 MILLION passengers a year, the Grand Boulevard in Budapest is probably the busiest tram route in Europe today. It handles no less than 22 8% of the 357 million passengers moved by the Hungarian capital's transport authority BKV each year. Tracks on the 8 km semi-circular ...

  • News

    Two cities adopt smart tickets

    2007-03-01T11:00:00Z

    TICKETING: Affiliated Computer Services announced on February 12 that it had won a US$14m three-year contract from Marseille Provence Metropole to implement a multi-operator and multi-modal contactless ticketing system across the city. ACS will deploy its Atlas multi-operator system in partnership with Spie. Implementation will allow a single smart card ...

  • News

    ADIF awards

    2007-03-01T11:00:00Z

    SPANISH infrastructure authority ADIF has awarded contracts for civil works on three sections of the high speed line between Madrid and Valencia, all lying between the capital and Cuenca. A joint venture of Constructora San Jos? and Arci?n is building the 21?5?km Oca?a - Villarrubia section under a contract worth ...

  • News

    Madrid action plan

    2007-03-01T11:00:00Z

    ON JANUARY 22 a package of measures to ease overcrowding and improve service reliability on Madrid Metro Line 6 was announced by Elvira Rodr?guez, Minister for Transport & Infrastructure in the Madrid regional government. On the busiest section of Line 6 between Plaza El?ptica and Avenida de Am?rica, 50 staff ...

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    News

    Open access high speed bid

    2007-03-01T11:00:00Z

    BIDS ARE due to close around February 28 for supply and maintenance of a fleet of 25 high speed trains, with an option for up to 10 more sets. A group of four leading Italian businessmen is planning to launch services on three domestic routes in competition with Trenitalia. ...

  • News

    Napoli metro Line 6 opens

    2007-03-01T11:00:00Z

    ITALY: Prime Minister Romano Prodi attended an inauguration ceremony for Napoli metro Line 6 on January 11, in advance of the start of passenger services on February 4. A successor to various long-delayed tram and light metro schemes, the 1·9 km first phase of Line 6 runs from Mostra to ...

  • News

    Santiago Line 5 grows

    2007-03-01T11:00:00Z

    PRESIDENT Michelle Bachelet of Chile joined Transport Minister Sergio Espejo and Santiago Metro President Blas Tomic on January 25 to mark the start of work on a 14·2 km extension of Line 5 from Quinta Normal to Plaza de Maipú. Running for 10·2 km in tunnel and 4 km on ...

  • News

    Market March 2007

    2007-03-01T11:00:00Z

    Angola: ÅF Group's SwedeRail business has been appointed to provide the National Railway Institute with technical assistance for the restructuring of railway legislation. Australia: Union Switch & Signal has won a contract to supply signalling and other asset protection systems for the Lang Hancock Railway in Western Australia. The ...

  • News

    Metros March 2007

    2007-03-01T11:00:00Z

    Argentina: Alstom has been awarded a contract to provide signalling and a control centre for the 3·6 km extension of Buenos Aires metro Line A from Primera Junta to Nazca. Under a two-stage programme, work on the extension is scheduled for completion by December 2008. Canada: Toronto Transit Commission ...

  • News

    People March 2007

    2007-03-01T11:00:00Z

    Michael Clausecker took over as General Manager of Unife on February 1, replacing Drewin Nieuwenhuis who agreed to leave under a mutual understanding' with the board. Clausecker became Chairman of Waggonbau Niesky in 1993, before joining Siemens in 1999 with worldwide responsibility for locomotives. In 2001 he was appointed General ...

  • News

    Rail cuts CO2 emissions by 20%

    2007-03-01T11:00:00Z

    UK OPERATORS have been criticised in recent years for buying trains that are heavier and use more energy per seat-km than those they replace. Key factors have been crashworthiness, retention toilets, air-conditioning and the need to accommodate wheelchairs. This, it is claimed even by transport ministers, has increased kWh/seat-km and ...