All News articles – Page 300
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News
More capacity in Mumbai
Every day, the 302 route-km Mumbai suburban rail network operates as a surface metro carrying 6·1 million passengers in 1985 trains. To say that the network is heavily overloaded is an understatement, with as many as 4600 people travelling in, and on, nine-car trains during the morning peak hours. Plans ...
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Higher capacity has priority in huge IR investment programme
INDIAN RAILWAYS has announced an unprecedented programme of investment to raise capacity across the network. Under newly-appointed Chairman I I M S Rana, the Indian Railway Board is proposing to spend Rs260bn on new lines, further gauge conversion, double tracking and resignalling over the next seven years (p322).On May 16 ...
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Metro car orders
NEW YORK’S Metropolitan Transportation Authority has exercised a further option with Bombardier for 352 M-7 EMU cars, valued at C$941m. MTA now has a total of 678 M-7s on order for the Long Island Rail Road and Metro-North commuter networks. It will shortly commission the first cars of the initial ...
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CFCO concession
NEXT MONTH is due to see the completion of prequalification for a concession to operate the 1115 km Congo-Ocean Railway in the Republic of Congo. On May 13 CPCS Transcom confirmed that 23 groups had expressed interest following publication of prequalification documents in April. These include African, European and North ...
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In-town check-in
SPANISH Prime Minister José María Aznar officially opened the latest addition to the Madrid Metro network on May 21, the 5·9 km extension of Line 8 from Mar de Cristal to Nuevos Ministerios. Serving one intermediate station at Colombia, the new line enables passengers to reach Barajas Airport in 12min ...
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Phones chipped
EAST Japan Railway and NTT DoCoMo Inc are developing proposals to equip mobile telephones with Suica microchips, which are currently being used in the railway’s contactless smart cards (RG 2.02 p99). Passengers could then use a Suica-fitted telephone to reserve seats on trains, and to pass through ticket control barriers ...
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La Robla reopening closer
SPANISH metre gauge operator FEVE has started work on the last phase of a programme to reopen the whole of its León - Bilbao route to passenger traffic. Under a €12·87m contract expected to take 11 months to complete, Tecsa is relaying the 42 km between Cordovilla and Arija with ...
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Coasting in Portugal
DELEGATES to a TradePartners UK seminar on May 15 were warned of a likely slowdown in major railway projects in Portugal. The government that took office in March has indicated that it is reassessing major schemes, and it now seems that the upgrading of track and signalling on the trunk ...
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Leasing companies gain foothold in Europe
INTRO: One undoubted success stemming from Britain’s turbulent rail privatisation programme was the creation of a trio of Rolling Stock Companies. As all three expand into Europe, Roger Ford analyses their progressCOMPETITION was a key driver in the privatisation of British Rail. In the case of the passenger railway, this ...
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TSIs must cover safety too
DIRECTIVE 96/48 mandating interoperability on high speed lines in the European Union was transposed into British law on May 16. After a three-month grace period, Technical Specifications for Interoperability will apply to designated routes, even though they will not come into force until November at the earliest. In the meantime, ...
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Cross-border revival starts
LEBANESE Prime Minister Rafik Hariri and his Syrian counterpart Mustafa Miro attended ceremonies at Riyaq on April 18 to mark the start of work to restore the 1050mm gauge railway between the two countries. Other participants included Lebanon’s Public Works & Transport Minister Najib Mikati - who has been advocating ...
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GIS crossing location
ENSCO has been selected by the Federal Railroad Administration to incorporate a Geographical Information System into the US level crossing Emergency Notification System. Road signs at crossings provide a unique inventory number and a free telephone number for the public to call if there is a problem or potential emergency. ...
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DART heads north
ANOTHER 5·6 km of light rail line opened in the northeast suburbs of Dallas on May 6, bringing the network to 43·4 km. The Blue line extension from White Rock to LBJ/Skillman runs through White Rock Lake Park on a 1430m bridge. Services run every 15min, and every 10min at ...
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DB expands ICE-T fleet
GERMAN Railway announced on May 13 that it was ordering a further 28 ICE-T tilting high speed trainsets at a cost of €420m. Due for delivery between June 2004 and February 2006, the seven-car Class 411 units will join DB’s existing fleet of 43 sets, designed to operate at up ...
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Desiro UK on the test track
INTRO: Chris Jackson reports from the Siemens test centre at WildenrathAYEAR to the day after Angel Trains ordered a fleet of Desiro UK EMUs for lease to Stagecoach’s SouthWest Trains franchise, Siemens Transportation Systems unveiled the first completed Class 450 at its Wildenrath test track. Among over 200 guests invited ...
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President digs in
NAMIBIAN President Sam Nujoma has decided to put his free time to good use, by helping to build the TransNamib Northern Railway Extension from Tsumeb to the Oshikango free trade zone and the Angolan border.’I have decided to use some of my spare time to go and voluntarily participate in ...
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Mandurah EMUs
WESTERN Australia’s government has placed an A$437m order for 31 three-car 130 km/h EMUs with a joint venture of Bombardier and EDI Rail. Deliveries are scheduled for mid-2004 to 2006, and there is an option for a further 10 units. The commuter trains will be used on the southern leg ...
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UK maps a rational ERTMS strategy
INTRO: A study by 50 train control experts concludes that premature installation of ETCS Level 1 could cost up to £6bn as well as cutting network capacity. As Richard Hope reports, the preferred option is to develop Level 2 fully over the next six years, allowing most key routes to ...
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International routes expand
ESTONIAN international passenger operator EVR Ekspress is to introduce direct Tallinn - St Petersburg and Tallinn - Minsk services with the summer timetable change on June 2. In the first quarter of this year EVR Ekspress reports a 10% increase in patronage on the existing Tallinn - Moscow service compared ...