All News articles – Page 220
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News
NS spending rises
NORFOLK SOUTHERN announced on December 2 that it planned to invest $938m during 2005, compared to $810m in 2004 and $798m the year before. The biggest single element, $438m, will fund track renewals and bridge maintenance. Another $23m will go on signalling and communications, $22m on track maintenance equipment and ...
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Pointers
Toll NZ is considering plans to assemble locomotives in New Zealand and to develop its wagon construction business there. Local assembly of motive power would be cheaper and cut lead times, according to Chairman Mark Rowsthorn. Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki announced on December 12 that the Nepad alliance had agreed ...
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Publications
The Subterranean Railwayby Christian WolmarLONDON has the oldest underground railways in the world, developed in a piecemeal fashion by numerous companies. The growth of the network and the effect it had on the development of London are described in this book.The author looks at the history of the Underground from ...
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Sidetrack
Time to crossMOTORISTS in South Sioux City, Iowa, will soon be able to learn how long they will have to wait for passing freight trains to clear a level crossing on the busy Dakota Avenue. The federally-funded National Intelligent Transportation System is planning to study the behaviour patterns of waiting ...
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Sydney still suffering
’BLOODY ATROCIOUS’ were the words chosen by New South Wales Premier Bob Carr to describe suburban rail services in Sydney on November 22. On that day, Carr had been goaded into arranging a day of free travel on the extensive CityRail network, in an attempt to mollify commuters enraged by ...
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More tilt traumas
YET AGAIN we are obliged to return to the sorry saga of German Railway’s tilting train fleets. In August last year a routine inspection revealed a crack in one axle of a VT612 two-car diesel trainset, prompting temporary withdrawal from service while urgent checks were made on all 192 units ...
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Winter warmer works on water
OIL-FIRED heaters designed to preheat diesel locomotive engines and protect them from damage in cold weather have been adapted for use as low-maintenance water heaters on passenger coaches.Manufacturer AST has modified the heaters so they can operate independently for periods of several weeks at extremely low temperatures. Air is taken ...
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DB AG stock market listing postponed
IN OUR September edition we asked whether German Railway was fit to be privatised with a stock market listing. DB AG’s half-year results published in mid-August included encouraging figures for freight traffic with a 7% rise in tonne-km to 41·6 billion and a small increase in passenger-km to 33·9 billion.However, ...
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NewsUpdate from Myanmar
Due to open this month, the Thanlwin River bridge will help to complete a missing link in Myanmar's rail network. Despite international isolation, the railway continues to expand, reports Dieter Hettler, a mechanical engineer who has been involved with the delivery of diesel locomotives to Myanma Railways
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NewsEurostar on track to hit market share target
Launched 10 years ago next month, Eurostar is reaping the benefits from Section 1 of the Channel Tunnel Rail Link with rising traffic and record punctuality. Chief Executive Richard Brown briefs Murray Hughes on Eurostar's future plans
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Hong Kong trams reach 100 years
HONG KONG Tramways celebrated its centenary by inviting three local artists to decorate six of its double-deck trams with cartoons and paintings of birds and flowers.Artist Mary Pandora Cheung designed the ’Lush’ and ’Petal Songs’ trams, saying she wanted ’people to feel like they are sitting in a moving garden, ...
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Japanese Railways Annual 2004
Nenkan Nihon no TetsudouThe latest edition of this Japanese-language review from Railway Journal Inc includes a month-by-month review of developments on Japan’s many public and privately-owned railways during 2003. There is also a special section previewing forthcoming events in 2004, including the opening of the Kyushu Shinkansen, and articles giving ...
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NewsInnoTrans 2004 is the biggest ever
INNOTRANS: Held every two years, InnoTrans is now established as a major international showcase for the railway industry. This year's event will be the largest yet, and over 1200 exhibitors are booked to attend. More than 35000 visitors from around 35 countries are expected at the Berlin trade fair grounds ...
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New York plans $27·3bn capital spend
’PROGRESS that MTA has made in the last 20 years to restore and maintain the core system must not and cannot be eroded’, emphasised New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s Executive Director Katherine N Lapp on July 29, unveiling investment proposals for the agency’s fifth five-year capital programme. MTA hopes to ...
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Spoornet close to Ghana accord
A CONSORTIUM led by South African rail operator Spoornet is reported to have been selected as preferred bidder for the concession to modernise and operate the rail network in Ghana.CPCS Transcom is advising the government on the privatisation process. A ’rolling concession’ will start with an initial 20-year period followed ...
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Portec acquires Salient Systems
PORTEC Rail Products Inc announced on July 21 that it is to acquire 100% of the outstanding shares of Salient Systems for a combination of stock and cash, valued at $12·4m to $14·0m, depending upon Portec Rail’s stock price prior to closing. The deal includes an earn-out provision for 2004-06 ...
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Links across the Andes
ARGENTINA’s Under-Secretary of Transport Julio Montaña has formally approved tender specifications for the project developed by Tecnicagua to restore the rail link between Mendoza and Los Andes in Chile, expected to cost in excess of US$200m (RG 12.02 p726). Once the scheme has been agreed with Chilean bodies including state ...
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Low-floor wagons add height in the transalpine intermodal market
SWISS intermodal operator Hupac is taking delivery of two fleets of new wagons aimed at increasing the company’s share of transalpine freight. One design is a low-floor wagon for high-cube containers and swap bodies, the other is an ultra-low-floor rolling motorway wagon with small wheel bogies.Delivery of 120 Mega II ...
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Advanced bogie
IFV Bahntechnik will be displaying the first prototype Leila wagon bogie (RG9.02 p563), which has been developed to cut noise and wear caused by freight trains.The Leila-DG research project aims to reduce life-cycle operating costs by developing a bogie which is lighter, quieter, more reliable and track-friendly than designs which ...
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Monorail advances wireless CBTC
INTRO: Use of open-standard data communications links and overlapping free-space radio coverage offers cost-effective low-maintenance automatic train controlOPENED on July 15, the 6·4 km Las Vegas Monorail is the first fully-automated line-haul rapid transit route in the USA to use wireless Communications-Based Train Control. Running along the Strip district, it ...