All Railway Gazette International articles in May 2004

All articles published this month.

  • News

    Taxing tickets

    2004-05-01T10:00:00Z

    Letter to the Editor

  • News

    Sitram starts tracklaying

    2004-05-01T10:00:00Z

    JEAN-MARIE Bockel, Mayor of Mulhouse, took part in a ceremony on March 16 to weld one of the first rails on the city’s tram network. The event was staged at La Porte Jeune, site of the future interchange between the two lines of the planned 19·75 km network.Work on the ...

  • News

    Sidetrack

    2004-05-01T10:00:00Z

    Steaming out, and backGERMAN Railway expects to run its last regular steam-hauled service during May, on the 750mm gauge L

  • News

    A satisfactory start

    2004-05-01T10:00:00Z

    INITIAL results have been published for Metronet Rail’s performance during the first year of the London Underground PPP. In April 2003 the firm assumed responsibility for maintaining and upgrading the infrastructure and rolling stock on nine of LU’s 12 lines. Bonuses and penalties are payable for good or poor performance.Metronet ...

  • News

    Septa retenders

    2004-05-01T10:00:00Z

    AMID charges of favouritism and political interference, Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority on March 19 cancelled a $236m order for 104 stainless steel commuter cars from the Rotem-led United Transit Systems consortium.Septa board Chairman Pasquale Deon blamed the potential cost of defending a lawsuit brought by Kawasaki Rail Car, one of ...

  • News

    PUBLICATIONS

    2004-05-01T10:00:00Z

    Transport Projects, Programmes & PoliciesEvaluation needs and capabilitiesEditors: Alan Pearman, Peter Mackie and John NellthorpForming part of the Contemporary Trends in European Social Sciences series, this volume collects together selected papers from international specialists in the application of economic evaluation to the transport sector. These were presented at a workshop ...

  • News

    Upgrading programme

    2004-05-01T10:00:00Z

    AN INFRASTRUCTURE improvement programme for the Montréal metro costing C$309·4m was announced on March 22 following approval by the federal, provincial and city governments.Forming part of the Infrastructure Canada-Québec 2000 Programme, the work includes replacing 41 escalators and two moving walkways in the initial 26-station network. Other elements in the ...

  • News

    Profits up

    2004-05-01T10:00:00Z

    ENGINEERING company Balfour Beatty reported a 10% increase in pre-tax profits to £130m for the year to December 31 2003, including provision for anticipated costs arising from the ’surprising and disappointing’ termination of its three Network Rail maintenance contracts.The order book grew 14% to £5·8bn.Balfour Beatty’s share in two of ...

  • News

    Praha refurbishment

    2004-05-01T10:00:00Z

    A CONSORTIUM including ING Real Estate Development, Supod Praha and Moravka Centrum is to refurbish Praha’s Masarykovo station at a cost of up to KC8m.CD has taken an initial 51% stake in the consortium, in exchange for providing the buildings and land. As the other partners fund the refurbishment, the ...

  • News

    Pointers

    2004-05-01T10:00:00Z

    Phillippine National Railways and Siemens are to carry out a 100m peso feasibility study for the Mindanao railway project, which would link Butan, Davao and General Santos.A consortium of local industries and broad gauge operator Nuevo Central Argentino is reported to have expressed interest in acquiring a stake in Belgrano ...

  • News

    PEOPLE

    2004-05-01T10:00:00Z

    Magdalena Álvarez Arza has been named as Secretary of State for Transport in the new Spanish government.A government reshuffle in France sees François Goulard appointed as Secretary of State for Transport under Gilles de Robien. who remains as Transport Minister.RFF Director-General Jean-Marie Bertrand was elected Chairman of the European Rail ...

  • News

    Yarra Trams takes over

    2004-05-01T10:00:00Z

    At 03.01 on April 18 Yarra Trams became the new name for Melbourne’s entire privatised tram network when the company assumed responsibility for the former National Express Swanston Trams franchise operated under the M>Tram brand.Yarra Trams Chief Executive Hubert Guyot drove the first tram, a Siemens Combino low-floor car, from ...

  • News

    Nusantara Tunnel plan unveiled

    2004-05-01T10:00:00Z

    PROPOSALS to develop a fixed link between Sumatra and Java were unveiled by Indonesia’s National Development Planning Agency at the end of March. The aim is to start construction next year, with opening envisaged in 2008.The plan is to build a twin-bore tunnel between Banteng and Lampung, through which electric ...

  • News

    Mitropa sold

    2004-05-01T10:00:00Z

    SELECT Service Partner, the international concessions arm of catering services business Compass Group, is to acquire Mitropa AG from German Railway for a net consideration of €17·6m.Now separated from DB’s on-train catering business, Mitropa has catering concessions at more than 60 German railway stations. It reported sales of around €115m ...

  • News

    Market

    2004-05-01T10:00:00Z

    Argentina:Under a contract worth 1·3m pesos, Luis Carlos Zonis has begun work to repair track on the network operated by Buenos Aires port authority AGP.Austria:ÖBB has awarded Kapsch TrafficCom a five-year contract to implement a train management and telephone communications system using its Mulitmedia Access IP Dispatcher technology. Bulgaria:Koncar Ellok ...

  • News

    SBB ticket machines

    2004-05-01T10:00:00Z

    LATER this year SBB will begin replacing portable ticket machines used for on-train sales with 2000 almex.mobile portable ticket machines from Höft & Wessel. Up to 1GB of data on available tickets and fares can be stored in the almex.mobile terminals, and a radio link can be used to obtain ...

  • News

    Minuetto leads regional revival

    2004-05-01T10:00:00Z

    Minuetto leads regional revivalINTRO: Styled by Giugiaro Design, the Minuetto is intended to bring a note of elegance to regional services in Italy. Alstom Transport is due to deliver 70 electric and 67 diesel multiple-units by December 2005ONE OF the most recent additions to Alstom’s Coradia family, the Minuetto is ...

  • News

    KTZ starts on Trans-Asian link

    2004-05-01T10:00:00Z

    KAZAKHSTAN Railways has started work on an ambitious US$3·5bn project to build a 1435mm gauge railway linking Asia and Europe, paralleling the broad gauge Trans-Siberian corridor in Russia. According to KTZ First Vice-President Kanat Zhangaskin, the standard gauge Trans-Kazakhstan Railway between China and Iran would cut journey times by up ...

  • News

    La Réunion plans inter-urban link

    2004-05-01T10:00:00Z

    LYON-BASED consultant Semaly has won a contract to study and design an inter-urban ’tram-train’ project on the French island département of La Réunion in the Indian Ocean.Leader of a consortium with Scetauroute, Thales and Dubus Richez, Semaly is already working on preliminary studies and expects to complete an assessment of ...

  • News

    Intelligence

    2004-05-01T10:00:00Z

    Australia:Mining company Xstrata has announced that it will go ahead with a planned open-cast coal mine west of Rolleston in Queensland, which will include a 110 km rail link (RG 4.03 p183). To be built by QR, Abigroup, John Holland and Connell Wagner at a cost of A$230m, it ...