All News articles – Page 318
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News
An inspector calls
AFICIONADOS of our Sidetrack column will not have missed the story in our January edition entitled ’Police state’ (RG 1.01 p15). Nor did the British Transport Police.On January 16 we received an aggressive phone call from a senior and somewhat irate police officer who was determined to put his view ...
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Change mooted in Canada
AN INTERIM REPORT commissioned by Transport Minister David Collenette into competition on Canada’s rail network has ruled out a suggestion that the tracks should be passed to a government-owned corporation. Published on January 10, the report was a response to calls from shippers for more competition, which could include some ...
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Canfranc study
SPAIN’s Ministry of Development has invited bids for consultancy work on the Zaragoza - Tardienta portion of the project to create a 1435mm gauge electrified route between Zaragoza and the French border at Canfranc. Part of the government’s 2000-07 Railway Infrastructure Plan, this project is costed at Pts60bn.With a total ...
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Railtrack invests in grinding capability
INTRO: Advice from international consultants following the Hatfield derailment has led Railtrack to move from corrective grinding to a preventative regime. A partnership contract will be awarded for the management and operation of an expanded fleet of high-capacity rail grinders BYLINE: Richard MiddletonTechnical DirectorRailtrack plcTHIS MONTH Railtrack expects to take ...
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Double-deck power cars expand EMU capacity
INTRO: Shoehorning power equipment and auxiliaries into the limited roof space available above the bogies on an EMU car with upper and lower saloons between vestibules was first achieved in Sydney. Now Europe is beginning to follow suitBYLINE: John Dunn *Transit Design Pty LtdGROWING CONGESTION on urban roads is forcing ...
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Nippon Sharyo shares in US commuter car deal
JAPANESE rolling stock supplier Nippon Sharyo clinched an important deal in December when it was awarded a role in a contract with Sumitomo Corp of America to supply 250 bi-level cars to Metra, Chicago’s operator of commuter services. The US$398·6m procurement funded from the Illinois FIRST public works investment programme ...
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IR centralises control
ON DECEMBER 2 Israel Railways called tenders for the construction and fitting out of a Network Management & Traffic Control Centre at Hof Ha-Carmel station near Haifa. The NMC will take over supervision and management of the entire rail network, whilst the TCC will assume direct control of operations on ...
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Railtrack counts the cost of Hatfield chaos
AS NORMALITY slowly returns to Britain’s railways in the wake of the unprecedented shambles of November and December, Railtrack and the Train Operating Companies are adding up the cost of the disruption. The problems are not over yet, and temporary timetables may last on some routes beyond the Easter deadline ...
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Chinese projects start to roll
PROMINENT AMONG the headline projects in Chinese Railways’ 2001-05 five-year plan is construction of the 1300 km Beijing - Shanghai high speed line, although a choice between maglev and steel wheel technology has still to be made (RG 1.01 p19). While this 100bn yuan scheme may attract most publicity, many ...
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Weight and comfort dominate seating strategies
INTRO: Quality improvements by rival modes are leading to growing demand from passenger train operators for higher standards of comfort. Marrying this pressure with the need to keep down vehicle weight is spurring innovation among seat manufacturers and component suppliersGREATER COMFORT, more space for passengers, lighter weight and lower cost ...
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Interstate standards coming into line
DESPITE the paucity of Federal funding available, Australia has moved a step closer to achieving uniform standards of speed and axleload on interstate corridors, thus helping freight operators to compete with road. Australian Rail Track Corp announced on December 2 that the two routes for which it is responsible in ...
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JR companies go commercial
THE THREE Japan Railways Group companies operating on Honshu became fully-fledged commercial companies on December 1, when a law change approved by the Diet on June 15 came into force (RG 7.01 p446). The law frees JR East, JR Central and JR West from many state controls, giving them the ...
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TRC concession tender
JANUARY 16 is the deadline for prequalification bids for a 25-year concession to operate the Tanzania Railways Corp network. The Presidential Parastatal Sector Reform Commission issued an initial invitation to tender on December 7, with further details available at www.psrctz.com. According to PSRC Executive Chairman John C Rubambe, prequalified consortia ...
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Suburban concourse open
French Transport Minister Jean-Claude Gayssot and SNCF President Louis Gallois joined ceremonies at Paris Nord on November 21 to mark the completion of a new suburban concourse. As part of a Fr257·5m programme to rebuild the suburban section of the station, work began in 1997 to dig a light well ...
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Marina line contract
A CONSORTIUM of Alstom and Singapore Technologies Electronics has been awarded the turnkey contract for supply of electrical and mechanical equipment on the initial section of Singapore’s Marina metro line. The Land Transport Authority hopes to expand the 5·2 km route into a 36 km E-shaped network over nine years, ...
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Regions gain control
LEGISLATION authorising the transfer of financial responsibility for French local rail services to the regions from January 1 was passed on November 28. Until now SNCF’s regional operations have been funded by central government, but this grant will now be paid to the regions, who will decide for themselves how ...
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Coradia order
TRENITALIA has selected Alstom to supply Coradia DMUs and EMUs for use on regional services across Italy. The initial contract covers 36 trainsets, and there are options for up to 110 more EMUs and 90 DMUs to a total value of 650m euros as part of the FS six-year investment ...
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Córdoba - M
ON DECEMBER 15 the Spanish cabinet gave its approval for tenders to be called for civil works on the first three sections of the 153 km Córdoba - M
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Gauge corner cracks
Sir - I suggest that the comparisons made between Europe and North America in the article ’Gauge corner cracking becomes a very dangerous beast’ (RG 12.00 p810) miss the mark in a number of respects. For example, Railtrack has no effective data on rail profiles, nor undertakes effective grinding programmes. ...
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Vertical integrationists emerge from cover
PUBLIC SKIRMISHING has broken out at the start of what promises to be a long battle with the European Commission over the reintegration of operations and infrastructure. The Commission’s policy is based on the premise of intra-modal competition, which presupposes separation to ensure fair access, so the chances of reintegration ...