All Railway Gazette International articles in May 2011 – Page 4
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NewsEast London Line to Clapham Junction underway
UK: TfL announced on May 19 that its contractor Birse Metro had begun work to build the 1∙3 km of new track, using a disused alignment, that will enable East London Line services to reach Clapham Junction. The new corridor will run from south of Surrey Quays station to join ...
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NewsSwitch sensor
SENSOR: Sensonics has developed a robust eddy-current proximity probe capable of accurately measuring the relative positions of the switch and fixed rails at turnouts. It offers high linearity, with minimal temperature drift. The probe can detect long-term drift of the switch rail away from the initial calibrated position as result ...
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NewsCurved concrete castings
USA: Oldcastle Precast is supplying concrete platform sections for the rebuilding of Boston's Morton Street station as part of Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority's $37m Fairmount commuter rail rehabilitation project. Each of the 47 platform sections for Morton Street is 9·7 m long by 3 m wide. The station is situated ...
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NewsRabat - Salé tram network launched
MOROCCO: King Mohammed VI visited Rabat-Salé on May 18 to inaugurate the 19·5 km tram network with 31 stops and the 1·2 km Hassan II Bridge which carries the shared central section over the Bouregreg river. The ceremony was attended by local officials, including Lemghari Essaki, Chairman ...
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NewsConstruction begins on Chinese rail projects
CHINA: Construction of a 250 km/h Passenger-Dedicated Line between Chongqing, Qianjiang, Zhangjiajie, Changde and Changsha is set to start this year for opening in 2015, Chongqing Municipal Development & Reform Commission has announced. Meanwhile, construction of the 256 km Dezhou - Dajiawa line in Shandong province has now begun, ...
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NewsMalawi ore corridor agreement
AFRICA: Brazilian mining company Vale signed a memorandum of understanding with the Malawian government in April covering construction of a 100 km rail link from Blantyre to the Moatize coalfields in neighbouring Mozambique. This would provide a 900 km rail corridor from the mines, through Malawi, to the port of ...
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NewsWest Yorkshire DMUs sold to Porterbrook
UK: Porterbrook Leasing announced on May 23 that it had completed the purchase of the seven two-car Class 155 diesel multiple-units and 10 Class 144 DMU centre cars from Metro, the West Yorkshire Passenger Transport Executive. The vehicles are currently leased by Northern Rail which will continue to operate them ...
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NewsOttawa O-Train extension proposed
CANADA: The Ottawa Transit Commission approved C$200 000 for a study into a southern O-Train extension to Leitrim Park & Ride and Riverside South at a meeting on May 18. The line would use the corridor designated for the proposed north-south LRT line that was scrapped by City of Ottawa ...
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NewsHigh Speed in the UK: Making the Case
UK: With the government embarked on an extensive programme of public consultation for the proposed High Speed 2 between London, Birmingham, Manchester and Leeds, Railway Gazette International will be holding a live debate on Wednesday June 8 to discuss the prospects for high speed rail development in ...
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NewsTramino and Moderus Beta trams go into service in Poznan
POLAND: The first series-build Solaris Tramino for Poznan was handed over to city transport operator MPK on May 23, and is expected to enter service this week. 'Poznan's passengers will experience one of the most comfortable trams in Europe', said Krzysztof Olszewski, founder of bus manufacturer Solaris which has ...
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NewsLaos cross-border freight hopes
ASIA: A senior official at State Railway of Thailand has raised hopes that freight services may be introduced later this year over the Friendship Bridge to the Laotian railhead at Tha Na Laeng. 'Hopefully this year we can run the first freight service', Voravuth Mala, Director of Marketing at SRT ...
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NewsPassenger trains return to Jamaica
JAMAICA: Passenger services are set to restart in the first week of July, following an inaugural train from May Pen to Linstead on April 16 which carried 200 guests including schoolchildren enjoying their first train ride. Transport & Works Minister Michael Henry cut a ribbon to mark ...
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NewsAlstom enters 'second tier' Chinese metro signalling market
CHINA: A joint venture of Alstom and CASCO announced contracts totalling €85m for the supply of Urbalis CBTC signalling equipment for metro projects in Shanghai and Kunming on May 24. The contracts are 'important milestones', according to Ling Fang, Managing Director of Alstom Transport China, as they demonstrate that Alstom ...
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NewsInvensys Rail awarded Salisbury - Exeter resignalling contract
UK: Invensys Rail announced on May 25 that it had been awarded Network Rail's Salisbury to Exeter Signalling Recontrol contract, covering replacement of life-expired signalling equipment on the 145 km route with three Solid State Interlockings and the transfer of control to the Basingstoke Area Signalling Centre. Control of ...
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NewsPhosphate trial marks completion of North-South line
SAUDI ARABIA: Completion of the initial phase of the North-South Railway was announced by Minister of Finance and Chairman of the Public Investment Fund Dr Ibrahim Al-Assaf on May 24. Trial operations on the 1 392 km 'Mineral Route' section of the NSR had begun the previous day, with ...
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NewsSumatra coal railway on course for 2014 opening
INDONESIA: Joint venture company Bukit Asam Transpacific Railway has launched the land acquisition process for its 307 km coal railway in southern Sumatra, Special Advisor to the Board Dr Julison Arifin told the Modern Railways conference in Bangkok on May 24. Intended as a heavy haul railway to move coal ...
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NewsHanzeboog open for traffic
NETHERLANDS: A replacement bridge over the IJssel at Zwolle has been built as part of the €1bn Hanzelijn project for a new Zwolle - Lelystad line to improve links from Amsterdam to the northeast from late 2012. Designed by Quist Wintermans Architekten and built by Wellink Züblin, the ...
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NewsTracklaying begins on Northern Missing Link
AUSTRALIA: Tracklaying has begun on the 69 km Northern Missing Link in central Queensland, QR National announced on May 24. The A$385 connection between the existing 1 067 mm gauge Goonyell and Newlands coal networks is being built as part of the A$1·1bn Goonyella to Abbot Point expansion project, which ...
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NewsOne on, one off
GUINEA: Construction of a 650 km railway linking planned iron ore mines at Simandou to a new port near Matakang is set to go ahead, after Rio Tinto’s Simfer subsidiary signed a US$700m mining agreement with the government on April 22. The current administration is reviewing all ...
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NewsChuo maglev project endorsed
JAPAN: Central Japan Railway announced on May 27 that it had received a directive from Transport Minister Akihiro Ohata 'to proceed with construction' of the planned 550 km Chuo Shinkansen maglev line between Tokyo and Osaka. Under discussion since the early 1970s, this is now expected to cost in excess ...