All Railway Gazette International articles in March 2009
All articles published this month.
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NewsLoubinoux to lead UIC headquarters
INTERNATIONAL: The current Managing Director of SNCF International, Jean-Pierre Loubinoux, has been selected as the first Director-General of Services at the International Union of Railways. The appointment was decided at an assessment meeting in Paris on March 30, ahead of a special meeting of UIC’s General Assembly on March 31. ...
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NewsAlstom takes stake in Transmash
RUSSIA: Alstom Transport agreed on March 31 to take a 25% plus one share stake in Transmashholding. The move builds on an existing partnership between the two companies that has seen the Alstom-TMH joint venture selected by RZD as a strategic partner to supply 1 210 double-deck passenger cars. ...
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NewsMehdorn to step down from DB
GERMANY: The controversy over accusations that Deutsche Bahn had undertaken covert surveillance of its own staff claimed its most high profile victim on March 30, when Chairman & CEO Hartmut Mehdorn tendered his resignation. Although by the end of the day Mehdorn’s offer had not been formally accepted, it was ...
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NewsUtrecht hosts Rail-Tech show
NETHERLANDS: The seventh Rail-Tech Europe exhibition is being held at the Royal Dutch Jaarbeurs in Utrecht on March 31 to April 2.
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NewsVoestalpine buys US track component maker
LEADING EDGE ENTERPRISES: The VAE Nortrak North America subsidiary of Voestalpine has acquired Leading Edge Enterprises, a US supplier of specialist track materials including injection moulded plastic, cast ductile iron and manganese steel parts. Leading Edge's plant at Decatur in Illinois will operate under the VAE Nortrak brand. Voestalpine ...
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NewsRecife South Line completed
BRAZIL: The final stretch of Recife Metro's South Line between Tancredo Neves and Cajueiro Seco was opened by Brazilian president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva on 23 March. The 6·7 km extension has five stations and links the city centre with Recife's international airport and mainline rail services at Cajueiro ...
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NewsTighter times ahead
UK: Economic recession is starting to put strains on the UK rail industry, after steady growth in the years following privatisation. Stringent efficiency targets have been set for Network Rail over the next five years, and concerns are emerging that some franchises may not meet ambitious revenue projections.
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NewsEuskoTren to the airport
SPAIN: Tendering will begin shortly for the first phase of a €36·9m extension of the EuskoTren network to Bilbao Airport, comprising a 3·1 km double-track alignment from Matiko to La Ola with 1·9 km in tunnel. Matiko station would be rebuilt and the railway covered over, ‘improving pedestrian routes ...
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NewsAdvisors sought for national rail plan
JORDAN: The government will shortly appoint financial, legal and technical advisers to assist with the development of a national rail network. On January 26 Transport Minister Alaa Batayneh told the Petra news agency that he expected to see detailed cost figures within 10 months, paving the way ...
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NewsTransportable desktop trainers
FRANCE: Campus Veolia Environnement has recently purchased six Simolia portable simulators from Oktal to train its freight drivers on the RFF network. Instead of sending staff to the supplier’s premises for training, the compact desktop units are supplied in a free-standing box which is installed at the customer’s facilities. ...
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NewsMRS Logística switches to CBTC
BRAZIL: This month will see the start of commercial operation using a new communic ations-based train control system as MRS Logística replaces its existing CTC with the equivalent of ETCS Level 2.
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NewsAFRA lobbies for French rail operators
FRANCE: A lobby group to represent new entrants in the French rail sector was formally launched on March 18. Association Française du Rail is intended to bring together 'all the actors who believe that the French railway sector will not achieve its full and sound development without an open competitive ...
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NewsNorthern Ireland Railways orders CAF DMUs
UK: A £105m order for 20 three-car diesel multiple-units was signed by Northern Ireland transport operator Translink, the Department for Regional Development and manufacturer CAF on March 25. The first of the Class 4000 trains will enter service at the end of 2011, with all 20 in traffic by ...
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NewsTransnet Class 39-200 locomotive rolls out
SOUTH AFRICA: The first of 50 Class 39-200 diesel locomotives being assembled for Transnet Freight Rail by Electro-Motive Diesel and Transnet Rail Engineering was rolled out of TRE's plant at Koedoespoort on March 23. Designated GT26CU-3, the 3 000 hp Class 39s are the first new diesel locomotives to ...
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NewsTrack components flown in
IRAN: When Tehran Urban & Suburban Railway Co urgently needed some track components, it arranged for three sets of switches with a total weight of 50 tonnes to be flown from Austria to ensure just in time delivery to the work site. Voestalpine has been supplying track components to ...
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NewsTram arrives in Alger
ALGERIA: Minister of Transport Amar Tou was present on March 18 to welcome the arrival of the first of 41 Citadis trams being supplied by Alstom for the light rail line now under construction in Alger. Built at Alstom's La Rochelle plant in France, the tram was shipped via ...
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NewsHSBC sells continental European fleet
BEACON RAIL: Leasing firm HSBC Rail (UK) Ltd has sold its continental European rail freight assets to Beacon Rail Leasing, a subsidiary of BTMU Capital Corp. HSBC Rail (UK) Chief Executive Mary Kenny said the sale announced on March 24 was 'an important step as part of our strategy to ...
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NewsLocomotives shipped to Saudi Arabia
SAUDI ARABIA: This month China Northern shipped five DF10DDB diesel locomotives to Saudi Arabia for use on railway construction projects. According to the manufacturer the Co-Co locomotives have a Chinese-made 12V240ZJD engine, and are rated at 1 880 kW with a top speed of 100 km/h.