All News articles – Page 355
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News
3rd Street LRT under way
GROUNDBREAKING ceremonies were held in San Francisco on September 27 for Phase I of the city’s $500m 3rd Street Light Rail Project. This will extend the Muni Metro network by 8·7 km into the south-eastern suburbs. Mayor Willie Brown and Muni General Manager Michael Burns wielded the shovels at the ...
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São Paulo signs Line 5 turnkey
BRAZILIAN suburban rail authority Companhia Paulista de Trens Metropolitanos announced in October that it had selected the Sistrem consortium to equip the 9 km section of São Paulo metro Line 5 between Capão Redondo and Largo Treze. Due to be completed by 2002, the line is being built by CPTM ...
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C5 to Humanes
ON SEPTEMBER 29 the Spanish government approved the award of a contract for extension of Madrid suburban line C5 from Fuenlabrada to Humanes. The 6·2 km extension is costed at Pts4·6bn. The work includes double-tracking, electrification and resignalling of the single track line forming part of the Madrid - Valencia ...
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Mark IV group absorbs Focon
DANISH information systems supplier Focon Electronic Systems A/S announced on October 2 that it had signed a strategic co-operation agreement with the Canadian-based Mark IV Industries. With effect from September 28, the Focon shares held by Sandma Holding A/S were transferred to Mark IV.Based in Sønderborg, with around 100 staff, ...
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Adtranz acquires Railcare jv
ON OCTOBER 2 Adtranz UK announced that it had signed a sales and purchase agreement with Babcock International plc and Siemens Transportation Systems Ltd, covering the acquisition of their British rolling stock maintenance joint venture Railcare Ltd, owned 60% by Babcock and 40% by Siemens. Regulatory approval for the transaction ...
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ACTS goes metre-gauge
THIS AUTUMN, Switzerland’s metre-gauge Rhätische Bahn is taking delivery of the first of 21 transporter wagons designed to carry ACTS roll-on roll-off containers. Developed for the RhB by Josef Meyer Waggon AG of Rheinfelden, the SI7751 series have a tare weight of 18 tonnes and can carry two 21 tonne ...
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Africans seek Chinese aid
THE RWANDA government is seeking Chinese assistance with construction of a 400 km rail link from Kigali to Isaka in Tanzania. Rwandan Ambassador to Tanzania, Zephyr Mutanguha, said last month that the government was confident of finding donors to fund the line. Import and export traffic for Rwanda is currently ...
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Praha extends again
CZECH Prime Minister Milos Zeman and the Mayor of Praha Jan Kasl ceremonially laid the foundation stone for an extension of metro Line C on September 21. Running 3·9 km north from N
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Track Alliance aims to beat the clock
INTRO: The WCRM Track Alliance is using high output and conventional machines to relay the fast lines between London and CreweNOT FOR NOTHING did Richard Branson name a West Coast Main Line locomotive ’Mission Impossible’ when Virgin took over the InterCity West Coast franchise in March 1997. The ...
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Testing time at Alstom
INTRO: The first pre-series Pendolino Britannico trainset is nearing completion at Alstom’s Washwood Heath works in Birmingham. With a high profile roll-out scheduled for February, there is no time to lose in completing a demanding test programmeVIRGIN TRAINS has staked its commercial future on the success of its Class 390 ...
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Ankara extension bids in
BIDS for infrastructure and electromechanical works on three additions to the Ankara urban rail network were submitted on September 21. Seven consortia of local civil engineering firms have bid for the 18 km metro extension from Batikent to Sinkan and T
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NSB tests anti-noise
NORWEGIAN State Railway is planning to equip five of its locomotives with an innovative system to reduce noise in the driving cabs. The move follows a trial with a prototype developed by Silence International of Oslo, which was part-funded by NSB. This was tested for four months on a Di4 ...
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Sentinel guards Euston approaches
CONDITION monitoring equipment has been installed on the approaches to Euston station as part of the current remodelling. The Euston Alliance of Railtrack, Balfour Beatty and Westinghouse Signals awarded a contract to CDS Rail in August 1999 to supply a turnkey package based on its Sentinel monitoring system.Condition monitoring is ...
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AVE tenders go in
ON SEPTEMBER 29 Spanish National Railways received three bids to supply high speed trains for the Madrid - Barcelona route, from Alstom/CAF, Siemens, and Talgo/Adtranz. Although shortlisted, AnsaldoBreda declined to submit a final bid. Renfe intends to order between 26 and 40 trainsets capable of 350 km/h before the end ...
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Balfour Beatty buys wiring unit
BALFOUR BEATTY of Great Britain announced on September 20 that it was to acquire the Adtranz Fixed Installations business for 153m euros (RG 10.00 p636). Supplying electrification and traction power supply systems, this business unit has 1400 employees. Profit before interest and tax was 16·2m euros last year on sales ...
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Béziers line boosted
FRENCH Transport Minister Jean-Claude Gayssot joined RFF President Claude Martinand and SNCF President Louis Gallois at Saint-Chély d’Apcher on October 13 to mark the start of work on upgrading the Clermont-Ferrand - Neussargues - Béziers line. Participating in a renewal programme running from September 4 to October 20, the minister ...
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EVR bidding hots up
FINAL BIDS are due this month for the 66% stake in Estonian National Railways currently up for sale, and the government hopes to select the winning bidder by the end of the year. Bidders are being asked to offer an initial payment and commitments to network upgrading totalling around ...
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Congress boosts rail funding
ON OCTOBER 6 the US Congress approved a total of $58bn in funding for the Department of Transportation during the 2001 fiscal year starting on October 1. The package includes $6·3bn for the federal transit programme, 8·2% more than last year in line with TEA 21 commitments. There will be ...
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Passenger in Brief
Following pilot projects with Spar at Leatherhead and Costcutter at Cooden Beach, Connex is looking to establish a joint venture with ’a major retailer’ to set up convenience stores at over 100 stations in southeast England. The 118m2 Cooden Beach shop is run by six Connex staff trained by Costcutter ...
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Industry in Brief
Europe: The Railcert BV subsidiary of TÜV Süddeutschland and Holland Railconsult has been approved by the Netherlands Ministry of Transport as a Notified Body able to certify compliance with EU Directive 96/48 on the interoperability of high speed rail systems.The European Commission has approved the takeover by Siemens of three ...