All Railway Gazette International articles in May 2011
All articles published this month.
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NewsProducts & Technology in Brief
The German Federal Ministry for Economics & Technology has approved funding for a 42-month research project into the use of composite materials to reduce noise caused by wagon brakes. TMD Friction and four other suppliers are to investigate the cost-effectiveness of retrofitting existing wagons with composite blocks, which can reduce ...
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NewsMagnetic separation
SAFETY: The use of temporary fences to protect worksites is becoming more common, as railways come under pressure to keep busy lines open during maintenance and upgrading work. Such fences are typically secured to spikes driven into the ground or clipped to adjacent tracks. The RSS magnetic safety fence is ...
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NewsBanedanmark awards track renewal contract
DENMARK: Infrastructure manager Banedanmark has awarded a joint venture of Strukton Rail and Aarsleff a contract to renew 38 km of track on the Bramming - Tønder route in southwest Denmark. The work to be undertaken from June to mid-August includes ballast cleaning and the renewal of 13 turnouts, which ...
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NewsWuhan metro continues to expand
CHINA: On April 21 the feasibility study for the second phase of Wuhan metro Line 4 was approved by a panel of experts in China. The Line 4 project involves construction of a 33·2 km east-west route with 28 stations connecting the districts of Hanyang and Wuchang. Total cost ...
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NewsWork progresses on Edmonton light rail extension
CANADA: May 2 marked the start of major construction work on the 3·3 km, three-station light rail extension in Edmonton, running from Churchill to the Northern Alberta Institute of Technology. The tracks will be at grade except for a 700 m long, 18 m deep tunnel between Churchill and MacEwan. ...
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NewsLombardia regional operator Trenord launched with €250m train tender
ITALY: The Trenitalia-LeNord joint venture created to run regional passenger services in Lombardia was officially branded as Trenord on April 29, marking the end of the 'experimental' phase which has seen the Lombardia division of national passenger operator Trenitalia merged with the LeNord services of long-established regional operator FNM. The ...
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News
VR-Group names Chairman
Finnish state-owned company VR-Group, which encompasses passenger and freight operations as well as infrastructure maintenance, has appointed Hannu Syrjänen as Chairman, succeeding Lauri Ratia who was holding the post on a temporary basis. Syrjänen was formerly CEO of media group Sanoma.Riku Aalto, head of Finland’s largest trade union Metalli, has ...
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NewsRelay rebranding
UK: Mors Smitt is to rebrand STS Rail Ltd as Mors Smitt UK Ltd, having acquired the Cradley Heath-based manufacturer of relays and train protection systems from Key Technologies plc with effect from April 28. STS Rail is now part of the MSN BV group. Mors Smitt produces N.S1 signalling ...
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NewsStadler Rail forms US subsidiary
USA: Swiss rolling stock manufacturer Stadler Rail has established subsidiary company Stadler US Inc in Westfield, New Jersey, to provide sales and support services for the North American passenger rail market. Announcing the formation of the subsidiary on April 29, Stadler Rail said its 'long-term commitment' is to enable 'rail ...
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NewsSecond cross-city line goes ahead
GERMANY: Preliminary works for construction of a second S-Bahn cross-city line in München are to start this year. This follows signature of an agreement on April 8 to fund the €1·77bn project which is due for completion in 2017 in time for the 2018 Olympic Winter Games, should München be ...
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NewsHeathrow PRT pod passenger trials underway
UK: The ULTra personal rapid transit system serving business car parking areas at London Heathrow Airport Terminal 5 has begun carrying air passengers on a limited trial basis, following a period of live testing with airport staff. 'Testing is going very well', a spokesman told Railway Gazette International on May ...
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NewsDeveloping markets drive Alstom rebound
ALSTOM: A 'strong commercial rebound' was seen in the last financial year, Alstom Chairman & CEO Patrick Kron announced on May 4. Demand is being driven by developing markets, which accounted for 60% of booked orders and 'demand is expected to continue to grow' in these areas, opening 'a new ...
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NewsKøbenhavn metro to be upgraded
DENMARK: København metro authority Metroselskabet has signed a framework agreement with Ansaldo STS to upgrade equipment supplied when the city’s metro network was built.The €33m upgrade forms part of Metroselskabet’s Capital Asset Replacement Programme to ensure that levels of service availability are maintained. The work involves replacement of ageing and ...
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NewsBusiness leaders push for faster liberalisation
FRANCE: Business leaders in Nord-Pas de Calais have expressed frustration at the slow rate of progress in expanding the European high speed rail network. Speaking to Railway Gazette International on May 3, Thierry Mabille de Poncheville, Managing Director of the Lille business promotion agency APIM, said that he was ‘very ...
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News1 200 tonne bridge launched at 7 mm a second
UK: A steel bridge 71 m long and weighing 1 200 tonnes was positioned across Borough High Street in central London on April 29-May 1. It forms part of a 507 m viaduct being built to remove a major rail bottleneck at the west end of London Bridge station. Network ...
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NewsCommission sets driver licensing deadline
EUROPE: Eight EU member states face a deadline of May 14 to transpose fully the directive on driver certification into national law. The eight states that have either failed to implement or have only partially implemented Directive 2007/59 are Belgium, the Czech Republic, Germany, Hungary, the Netherlands, Portugal, Slovenia and ...
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NewsEDI Rail-Bombardier selected for train maintenance contract
AUSTRALIA: The government of Western Australia has named EDI Rail-Bombardier Transportation (Maintenance) Pty Ltd as preferred bidder for a contract to maintain and clean Public Transport Authority's entire fleet of 1 067 mm gauge diesel and electric multiple-units. The contract covers 239 units and will replace the current arrangement whereby ...
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NewsEuropean Commission adopts TAP TSI timetable and fare standards
EUROPE: On May 5 the European Commission formally adopted the Telematics Applications for Passenger Services Technical Specifications for Interoperability, designed to ensure key timetable and ticketing information can be exchanged between EU rail companies and ticket vendors (RG 1.11 p61). TAP TSI requires the provision of computerised fare and timetable ...
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NewsGoldlinQ selected to build Gold Coast light rail
AUSTRALIA: Queensland Premier Anna Bligh and Transport Minister Annastacia Palaszczuk announced on May 6 that the GoldlinQ consortium had been selected to build and operate the A$1bn Gold Coast rapid transit light rail line linking University Hospital to Broadbeach. The GoldlinQ consortium includes KDR Gold Coast Pty Ltd, a joint ...
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News
Pompa Babbar
Pompa Babbar has been named Financial Commissioner of Indian Railways, following the retirement of Samat Jha. Babbar was previously General Manager of Integral Coach Factory in Chennai and has also held several senior positions at the Western, Central and Northern railways.