All News articles – Page 264
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News
Passenger News in Brief
On June 6 Connex will introduce another German inter-regional route, with the launch of daily through services from K
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Industry News in Brief
Alstom Transport announced on May 6 that it had acquired the rights to the Innorail surface-contact power supply technology developed for the Bordeaux light rail network by SPIE Industries.CAF has reported a pre-tax profit of €12·6m for 2002, up 1% from 2001, with turnover up 1·1% at €392·5m. The rolling ...
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Czech wagon builders consolidate
TRINITY Rail GmbH, a European subsidiary of US firm Trinity Rail Group, has announced it is to end production of wagons at the Thrall Vagónka Studénka workshops in the Czech Republic. Blaming ’weaker than anticipated demand’, Trinity Rail GmbH President Chris Schmalbruch said wagon building would be consolidated at Trinity’s ...
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FNM expands freight business
ITALIAN regional operator Ferrovie Nord Milano launched a new open-access freight service on April 18, linking Desio yard in Milano and the border station at Chiasso Smistamento. The train is operated under contract for SBB Cargo, pending the start of operations by Swiss Rail Cargo Italy which received a licence ...
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UK refines ERTMS business case
A PROGRESS report issued on May 19 by Britain’s Strategic Rail Authority and the new Rail Safety & Standards Board says there is now a sound business case for developing and installing the European Rail Traffic Management System across most of the 16666 km network. The capital cost (at current ...
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EuroNight sleeping car unveiled in Poland
PESA Bydgoszcz SA has unveiled a sleeping car ordered for use on PKP InterCity’s EuroNight services. It is designed to offer a high standard of comfort for passengers, with improved reliability for the operator.The vehicle can accommodate up to 28 passengers and one attendant. There are eight three-berth compartments, configurable ...
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Metro car joint venture
ON MARCH 19 Beijing Metro Operations Co launched a joint venture with Beijing Metro Car Plant, Changchun Rail Passenger Cars and Zhuzhou Times Electric Group to develop a range of metro cars using indigenous Chinese technology.The cars, which will feature AC drives, air-conditioning and passenger information systems, will cost an ...
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Carve-up in Wien
AUSTRIAN Secretary of State for Transport Helmut Kukacka published proposals on May 6 to break up Austrian Federal Railways. Legislation to implement the plans is intended to be in place by the end of this year so that restructuring can go ahead in 2004.The plans call for four subsidiary companies ...
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Catenary inspection at the speed of light
CATENARY geometry and contact wire wear can be measured at high speed using OptoCat, developed by Italian firm Selectra in co-operation with FS. A light source and camera unit can be attached to almost any rail vehicle. A beam of light is reflected from the lower surface of the contact ...
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Govia signs at South Central
ON MAY 12 the UK Strategic Rail Authority signed its second replacement franchise, under which the Govia joint venture of Go-Ahead and Keolis will operate the South Central network for up to seven years. The operation was due to be rebranded as Southern Railway when the franchise took effect on ...
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Rail’s chance to shape growing cities
HIGHLIGHT of the 55th UITP World Congress in Madrid last month was the signing at the closing ceremony of the association’s Charter on Sustainable Development. Described as a ’most important development’ by UITP President Wolfgang Meyer, the charter ’makes clear to everyone, including politicians, that sustainable development of our cities ...
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Madrid tunnel contracts let
THE SPANISH Ministry of Development has awarded two contracts to build a new cross-city tunnel in Madrid, which will carry suburban services between Atocha and Chamartín stations. Under a contract worth €79·7m Ferrovial-Agrom
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Electronic management in control
INTRO: Modern train management systems are increasing the scope for on-board monitoring, control and fault diagnosis. QR’s Cairns Tilt Trains use EKE-Trainnet to provide real-time status and control information collected from the whole train, including a log of track conditionBYLINE: Sauli Luoto Project Manager, EKE-Electronics LtdTWO TILTING trainsets are on ...
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Corridor start
WORK IS to begin this summer on the long-planned rail freight relief corridor through northeast France. The region of Lorraine has approved funding for its 35% stake in the €26·8m project, which will be matched by 50% from the government and 15% from RFF. The 150 km line between Longuyon ...
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Dieter
CAPTION: Frogs and snakes are being provided with escape routes to prevent them becoming trapped under the infrastructure of Sweden’s Botniabanan project. Construction workers building tunnels and other structures along the line had noticed that small animals were crawling into cracks in the cement, where they were becoming stuck, ...
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Engine sales up at MTU
DIESEL engine maker MTU reported a 16% growth in sales in the rail sector during 2002, with a total of 1010 engines and PowerPacks ordered. The most important contribution came from underfloor drive units for diesel multiple-units, with almost 400 PowerPack units supplied to Alstom, Bombardier and Siemens. 80 PowerPacks ...
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NewsRailbuses exploit Polish regional potential
HIGH operating costs and short, obsolete locomotive-hauled trains are features of many of the local and regional lines which form an important part of Poland's rail network. In an effort to reduce expenditure PKP announced plans to withdraw over 1000 services, but in March the threat of widespread strikes brought ...
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Moscow extends
THE 166th station on the Moscow metro network entered service on May 9, with the opening of a 4 km extension of the Arbatsko-Pokrovskaya line westwards from Kievskaya. The new terminus at Park Pobedy is claimed to be the deepest metro station in the world, with the platforms lying 97m ...
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Tranz Rail restructures to face the future
INTRO: New Zealand’s Tranz Rail has lived through two difficult years, but Managing Director Michael Beard believes that a focused reorganisation can turn the business round. The degree of success may depend on changes in the government’s transport policyDURING THE last two years Tranz Rail has withstood stock market uncertainty ...
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FEMU to the rescue
PROSPECTS for JR Freight's M250 freight EMU (RG 5.03 p265) look encouraging given that the Japanese government has decided to impose new regulations on heavy lorries from September, forcing road haulage companies to fit speed limiters which will cut fuel supply if they exceed 90 km/h. Intended to reduce the ...