All News articles – Page 319
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News
Lightweight structures meet tougher crashworthiness standards
INTRO: Aluminium alloy is now the preferred material for passenger coach bodyshells, but recent high-profile accidents have led to concern about its performance in high impact collisions. Both steel and aluminium bodies can meet today’s crashworthiness specifications, but in a high energy collision serious damage cannot be avoidedBYLINE: Simon Leutenegger, ...
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Tunnel freight still crippled
INTERNATIONAL rail freight between Britain and continental Europe is ebbing away as a result of severe restrictions on use of the Channel Tunnel (RG 12.01 p812). These became necessary because large numbers of illegal immigrants were boarding trains waiting to depart from Fréthun yard near the Tunnel portal. Combined Transport ...
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Managing the critical wheel/rail interface
INTRO: Research into the root causes of the Hatfield derailment indicates that the interaction between wear and rolling contact fatigue is the key issue in managing the wheel/rail interface for optimum lifeBYLINE: Ajay Kapoor, Felix Schmid and David Fletcher *OVER THE PAST 20 years, substantial progress has been made in ...
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News‘The situation in Holland is critical’
Seven years after the separation of infrastructure and operations, the punctuality on Netherlands Railways hit a post-1995 low, fuelled by labour and rolling stock shortages. Chris Jackson spoke to NS and the ministry of transport about their recently-agreed five-year recovery plan, which provides for a 23% growth in passenger traffic. New legislation will see the formation of a state-owned infrastructure management company and the award of long-term operating concessions, in a bid to restore quality and support high levels of investment in the rail network.
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Cross-city links
ON HIS second day in office, Strategic Rail Authority Chairman Richard Bowker launched construction work on the Edinburgh Crossrail project on December 4. Joined by Scottish Minister of Transport Wendy Alexander, he participated in ceremonies at Newcraighall station southeast of the capital (below).Backed by £8·5m of Scottish Executive funding, the ...
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Loco support deal
GENERAL MOTORS-EMD has signed an agreement with Häfen & Güterverkehr Köln AG to provide support services to operators using JT42CWR (Series 66) diesel locomotives in mainland Europe. According to GM-EMD’s Director of Maintenance Services in Europe, Jim Lindsay, the partnership ’will harness GM-EMD’s international technical expertise and HGK’s local knowledge’.GM-EMD ...
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Transrapid deal struck
HAVING HAWKED its magnetic levitation technology around the world for 20 years, Transrapid has finally found a buyer. A contract was signed on January 23 between Transrapid International and a consortium led by Shanghai City Council for a 30 km maglev line from Longyang Road in the southeast suburbs of ...
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Towards a total journey design
INTRO: As Netherlands Railways struggles to implement its service recovery plan, attention is focusing on investment in stations and trains to improve the quality of customer service’AS A COMPANY, we have a major challenge’, admits Anton Valk. As Managing Director of the International Business Group at Netherlands Railways, he is ...
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NY design study
CONSTRUCTION of New York’s long-planned Second Avenue subway line is expected to get underway in 2004, following the MTA board’s award of a US$200m engineering design contract to DMJM + Harris on November 27. Taking up to 15 years to build, at an estimated cost of US$12bn, the 12·9 km ...
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Eritrea's rail renaissance takes an international dimension
As work to re-open the route between the Eritrean capital Asmara and the port of Massawa continues, studies for a new line across the border from Kassala in Sudan are now under way. Peter Badcock reports
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Loco renewal spearheads freight drive
INTRO: As Fret SNCF prepares to double its annual traffic, new electric and diesel locos will be delivered at the rate of five a month. Chris Jackson reports from BelfortOVER THE next five years, French National Railways’ freight business is planning to invest almost Fr8bn in over 600 new locomotives. ...
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SJ picks Duplex
jUST 15 DAYS after it came into existence on January 1, Swedish passenger operator SJ AB ordered a fleet of double-deck EMUs from Alstom. The 200 km/h units will operate inter-regional services from Stockholm to Uppsala, Västerås, Eskilstuna and Nyk
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Dynamic Tamping Express on show in Köln
On November 29 Plasser & Theurer demonstrated its09-3X Dynamic Tamping Express to WCRR delegates in Köln. The machine combines a continuous-action three-sleeper tamper with a dynamic track stabiliser, allowing track to be returned to use after a single possession in a condition where controlled ballast settlement has taken place after ...
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VIA’s eastern renaissance
CANADIAN Transport Minister David Collenette joined VIA Rail Chairman Jean Pelletier in Toronto on November 16 to unveil the first of 21 General Electric P42-9DC diesel locos being bought for C$80m. The 177 km/h P42s will replace VIA’s last seven LRC power cars, and allow expansion of services in the ...
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Effluent removal
First Great Western has taken delivery of a mobile controlled emission toilet bowser from Wesurail, part of the Washtec Group. According to the company, the bowser ’improves environmental performance while maintaining all the technical and operational features of a fixed site CET facility, yet without the cost and structure implications ...
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Mandurah EMUs
ON DECEMBER 8 Western Australia’s Minister for Planning & Infrastructure Alannah MacTiernan announced in Perth that a consortium of EDI Rail and Bombardier Transportation (Australia) had been selected to supply and maintain 31 three-car EMUs for the South West Metropolitan Railway under construction between Perth and Mandurah.The A$300m contract is ...
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NSB’s regional EMUs on trial
INTRO: Norwegian State Railways is testing the first of a fleet of EMUs for regional services. Built in Italy, they have pairs of linked single-axle trailer bogies between the cars. Harry Hondius MSc reportsNOW ON TRIAL with Norwegian State Railways are the first of 32 four-car EMUs for regional services. ...
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Lyon trams enter service
LAST MONTH saw the start of revenue services on the two light rail lines in the French city of Lyon. Inauguration ceremonies for the 18·7 km network were held on December 18, with Transport Minister Jean-Claude Gayssot participating, but public operation did not begin until January 2.Costing Fr2·6bn, the light ...
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ERRAC launched
THE EUROPEAN Rail Research Advisory Council was launched on November 26 at the 5th World Congress on Railway Research in Köln. Philippe Busquin, the European Commissioner responsible for research, said ERRAC would have representatives from the Commission, EU member states, and major stakeholders in the rail industry. These include manufacturers, ...
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Ethiopia outlines international network
LANDLOCKED Ethiopia has launched plans for new rail links to ports on the Red Sea and Indian Ocean, to reduce its dependence on the existing rail corridor to Djibouti. Details of the Railway Development Initiative were announced on January 9 by Transport & Communications Minister Dirrir Mohammed. Two routes are ...