All Railway Gazette International articles in May 2007
All articles published this month.
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News
Level crossings pose Europe-wide risk
MOST of the people killed in railway accidents in the European Union during 2005 were using level crossings or unlawfully entering railway property, according to statistics released by the European Railway Agency on May 31. The ERA report shows that 29% of the 1464 fatalities occurred at level crossings.There were ...
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News
Dubai metro Purple Line gets go-ahead
CHAIRMAN of Dubai's Roads & Transport Authority, Mattar Al-Tayer, announced the go-ahead for the 49 km Purple Line on May 23. A contract has been awarded to Parsons Brinckerhoff for initial design work on the express metro line, which will link the current international airport with the new Dubai International ...
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NewsHybrid High Speed Train unveiled
UK: On May 3 Hitachi Europe unveiled 'Hayabusa', which it says is Europe's first battery-assisted diesel-electric power car. The hybrid drive has been installed in a British HST power car to allow realistic trials of the prototype technology, which Hitachi and its development partners Brush Traction, Network Rail and Porterbrook ...
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News
Moving people, moving cities
Cities and regions can only be sustainable if they have dynamic and efficient public transport, but at the same time public transport can only be dynamic and efficient if it is fully integrated with urban policies, argues Hans Rat
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News
V150: Entente discordiale
ONE organisation seemed determined not to be impressed by the French speed record of 574·8 km/h attained by the V150 trainset on April 3. Not only that, but it actively set out to discredit the achievement in the UK media. The following briefing note was sent out to British journalists ...
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News
It's now or never for ERTMS roll-out
Intended to provide a single signalling and train control system across the continent, the European Rail Traffic Management System promises to increase the competitiveness and dynamism of the railway sector, bringing both cost savings and safety improvements. As such, it forms a key component of the European Union's strategy for ...
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News
Research underpins Korail’s drive to be a global player
‘KOREA is not an island’, emphasises Kang Gil-Hyun forcefully, adding that ‘we want to play a big role in the Asian railway sector and reconnect South Korea to the developing Eurasian railway network’. He points out that the choice of theme for next year’s World Congress on Railway Research - ...
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News
V150: Power-packed train proves AGV technology in record sprint
Laurent Charlier describes the record-breaking train that combined TGV and AGV traction technology
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News
V150: 574·8 km/h eclipses the 1990 world record
Supremely confident engineers from SNCF, RFF and Alstom pushed railway technology past known limits with a dramatic dash on April 3 that shattered the previous world speed record for passenger-carrying trains. Murray Hughes reports from France
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News
V150: Tweaking the track
The alignment of the test section on the eastbound track used for the record included 11 large radius curves where adjustments were made to the transitions. It was the passage through the transition curves which caused the greatest sensation of movement on board the train as it traversed them in ...
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News
Systra doing well
GROUPE Systra recorded a net income of k7m on turnover of k205?4m in 2006, up 20% on the previous calendar year. The engineering consultancy subsidiary of SNCF and RATP now employs around 1 300 people, and recorded ’favourable’ results at Systra SA, MVA in Britain and Asia, Systra Consulting in ...
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NewsSelf-service scanning
UK: As its mobile ticketing project gains in popularity, Chiltern Railways has installed two scanning devices on ticket gates at London's Marylebone station to allow passengers to validate tickets carried as barcodes on their phones. Chiltern says its three-month trial of mobile ticketing (RG 1.07 p31) has proved a great ...
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News
Zürich S-Bahn stock
TENDERS will be called shortly for 60 double-deck S-Bahn trains and a fleet of double-deck coaches to run in the existing fleet of 115 double-deck push-pull S-Bahn sets serving Zürich. Demand for travel on the S-Bahn is expected to rise by 80% by 2025, and Swiss Federal Railways announced on ...
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News
Rediscovering the value of rail
IF THERE had been any remaining doubts among investors about the financial health of the US rail industry, they would surely have been dispelled last month when Berkshire Hathaway revealed that it had taken substantial shareholdings in three Class I railroads.A spokesperson confirmed on April 9 that the investment group ...
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News
Progress in Venezuela
VENEZUELAN state railway IAFE announced on April 11 that civil works had been completed on 30 km of the 108·8 km Puerto Cabello - La Encrucijada route, now expected to open in 2011. Of the route's 15 tunnels, five totalling 23·7 km have been completed as well as 2·67 km ...
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NewsMobile radios on the move
AUSTRIA: Kapsch TrafficCom announced on March 12 that it was transferring its railway division to the newly-founded company Funkwerk Systems Austria GmbH. Mobile train radios represent a small percentage of Kapsch's activities, and Director Erwin Toplak said the sale forms part of a strategy to focus on its core business ...
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NewsStagecoach wins in Manchester
GREATER Manchester PTE announced on April 3 that it had selected Stagecoach Group as preferred bidder for a contract to operate the 37?km Manchester Metrolink network. Including infrastructure and rolling stock maintenance, the 10-year contract will also cover management of upgrading projects as well as operation of several planned extensions. ...
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News
Rubin project loses momentum
ROLL-OUT of Germany's first driverless metro has been delayed again, and commercial services on Line U3 of the Nürnberg U-Bahn are not now expected to start until early 2008. Contractor Siemens had intended to have the first segment of U3 ready for operator VAG to open in 2006, but the ...
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News
Lahar slides safely past
AN ESTIMATED 1?34?million cubic metres of volcanic mud, rock and water swept down the Whangaehu River valley on the morning of March 18, bringing peak river levels to 6?5?m at the Tangiwai Bridge, infamous as scene of New Zealand’s worst railway disaster.The ’lahar’ was caused when the rim of Mount ...