All News articles – Page 216
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News
More gauge conversion in Spain
SPANISH Development Minister Magdalena Álvarez has unveiled a Strategic Infrastructure & Transport Plan (PEIT) for the period from 2005 to 2020.The plan anticipates total investment of €241·4bn, of which €103·4bn would be spent on rail. From the 1031 km of high speed infrastructure currently in service, PEIT aims to create ...
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Cross-city tunnel holds the key to Leipzig S-Bahn project
INTRO: After many years of delay, the long-planned cross-city tunnel in Leipzig is finally under construction. The 4·3 km twin bores serving four stations will be used by S-Bahn and regional express services. Ralf Roman Rossberg reportsIT HAS BEEN a long wait. But now, after more than a century of ...
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Dropper tool to cut delays
CORROSION failure of the droppers supporting 25 kV 50Hz contact wires has been a cause of delays to trains on Network Rail’s East Coast Main Line. The engineers responsible for overhead line maintenance are now using a tool that allows a man standing on the track to replace droppers ...
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DB tightens the screws
GERMAN RAILWAY has not given up its ambition for a stock market listing in 2007 or later, but turning in the necessary robust financial performance looks certain to mean a sustained policy of strict cost control for the next few years, with ambitious investment plans kept on hold.DB management reached ...
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Siemens signs Russian deal
DECEMBER 21 saw the signing of a formal agreement between Russian Railways, Siemens Transportation Systems and New Transport Technologies setting up a joint venture to build high speed trains for the RZD network (RG 12.04 p812).RZD President Gennady Fadeyev and NTT President Alexei Lamanov participated in the discussions with Siemens ...
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The freight debate
THE GOVERNMENT agency responsible for renegotiating Argentina's freight railway concessions, Uniren, is pushing ahead with the process. A public hearing was due to be held last month to consider the latest proposals for Fepsa, and Uniren also expected to sign letters of understanding with NCA and ALL by the ...
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Delhi goes underground
INDIAN Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh formally opened the first section of Delhi Metro’s underground Line 2 on December 19, when he was presented with the first copy of a new book commemorating construction of the network over the past six years.Delhi Metro Rail Corp began revenue services on Line ...
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Spoornet expansion plans marred by domestic woes
SPOORNET in South Africa continues to nurse ambitions for expansion elsewhere on the African continent, but these may well be hampered by trouble at home. During December, the Ministry of Public Enterprises indicated that Spoornet could be involved in two ambitious rail networks proposed in west and southern Africa. One ...
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Gauge-convertible electric loco
AT THE end of December, Patentes Talgo unveiled a prototype for the series of 44 gauge-convertible electric locos that Renfe has ordered to operate through services off its AVE network. To be designated L-9202, Virgen del Buen Camino is 19·4 m long and weighs 74 tonnes. It is equipped with ...
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Singapore extends
ON DECEMBER 29 Singapore’s Land Transit Authority announced the go-ahead for a further extension of the island’s existing east-west metro line.Serving the Jurong West town area and Tuas industrial estate, the 3·8 km Boon Lay Extension will be elevated throughout. There will be two new stations at Jurong West Street ...
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Fares in San Francisco
CUBIC Transportation Systems announced a $3·4m expansion of its fare collection contract with the San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit District on November 9.Cubic will embed its Tri-Reader smart card readers in BART access gates and ticket vending machines, allowing passengers to use and top-up the TransLink stored value smart ...
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Stock firms merge
DERBY-based spot hire, fleet management and engineering firm Fragonset Railways and train operating and planning business Merlin Rail announced on December 7 that they were merging to form Fragonset Merlin Railways with immediate effect. FM Rail has a combined turnover of £7m, and an operational fleet of 20 locomotives and ...
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Free riders
FROM the start of this year private-sector companies throughout Belgium have been allowed to set up arrangements for their employees to travel to and from work without charge. This option had previously been open only to public-sector enterprises.As many as 500 firms signed agreements with the transport ministry in January ...
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Past linked to future
THE CITY of Toulouse has awarded Ascom a contract worth €24m to supply a replacement ticketing system for the VAL metro and local buses, and Norwegian train operator NSB A/S has awarded the company a contract for smart card ticketing at 159 stations. The biggest challenge of the French project ...
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Still growing
SHANGHAI Metro Corp opened the northern extension of Line 1 on December 28, adding 12·4 km and nine stations.Linking Shanghai Main station to Gong Fu Xin Cun, the line runs underground for the first 4·2 km serving three stations, and then on elevated alignment. SMC offers 3min headways on the ...
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High speed line programme
PLANS TO build 3000 km of high speed line have been unveiled by China’s Ministry of Railways. The ministry is seeking bids from foreign consultants to advise on the development of lines for operation at between 200 and 300 km/h.According to Vice-Minister of Railways Lu Dongfu, the high speed network ...
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Panel laminates
GE ADVANCED Materials is to work with Schneller to produce coach interior components which combine Schneller’s Indura GTform decorative laminates with the Rail-Lite composites made by the Azdel joint venture of GE and PPG Industries.The Indura GTform fluoropolymer laminates will be used in the production of window masks, ceiling panels, ...
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Trams to Lancy
DECEMBER 12 saw the opening of a further extension of the Genève tram network and the introduction of a new route.Serving six stops, the 2·1 km branch diverges from the existing network at Plainpalais and runs along the Route des Acacias to the SBB station at Lancy-Pont-Rouge, where interchange will ...
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Work starts on trans-Andean link
THEARGENTINIAN province of Neuquén has started work on the first 13 km of a route from Zapala that it hopes will form part of a 220 km southern rail crossing of the Andes to Lonquimay in Chile. Construction is being undertaken by Patagonia Ferrocanal SA, formed and funded by the ...
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Logistics terminals
INDIAN Railways confirmed last month that it was drawing up plans for public-private partnerships to improve and operate many of its 7000 freight depots.Under the proposal, IR would lease its existing yards and goods sheds to private developers who would build and operate state-of-the-art logistics terminals. The railway believes that ...