All News articles – Page 375
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VSFT aims to corner Europe's diesel market
BOUGHT by Vossloh from Siemens in 1998, the former MaK diesel locomotive plant in Kiel is back in the loco business in a big way. Now known as Vossloh Schienenfahrzeugtechnik, the company has won two major orders that secure its place in the traction market. First on the order books ...
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Ground level air route
CONTRACTS for construction of the substructure of HSL-Zuid in the Netherlands were expected to be signed by May 1 following a ceremonial start of work on March 27. Presiding at the event near Breda, Transport Minister Tineke Netelenbos was joined by her Belgian counterpart Isabelle Durant to underline the international ...
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Airport line ready to open
THIS MONTH will see the formal inauguration of the 10 km New Southern Railway in Sydney, which is due to open on May 21. Built over the last six years by a private-sector consortium of Transfield and Bouygues, it has cost A$900m, of which A$200m was funded by the state. ...
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Digital alignment optimisation
SAVING on the cost of construction can make the difference between a project going ahead or being scrapped. Australia’s government scientific agency SCIRO has developed with Quantm Ltd an advanced computer-based tool to define the most cost-effective alignment, and this is already being put to use on the West Angelas ...
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All change in Italy
RESTRUCTURING of Italian Railways has moved a step forward with the announcement of plans to complete the long-proposed separation of infrastructure management and operations. Responsibility for infrastructure will lie with the state-controlled Rete SpA company, with operations coming under the control of FS group subsidiary Italia Trasporto Ferroviario.The change requires ...
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Parcels alliance
FRENCH National Railways and the French Post Office plan to form an alliance for express freight and parcels traffic. Proposals put to the boards of both organisations on March 30 envisage that the ensuing alliance would have an annual turnover of Fr38bn.The proposals will end competition between the two organisations ...
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Tilting diesels will trim timings along the Queensland coast
QUEENSLAND Railways and Walkers Pty Ltd are putting the finishing touches to the design of a pair of diesel-powered tilting trains, intended to work premium services over the 1680 km between Brisbane and the northern tropical resort of Cairns. The first underframes have been laid down, and the 1067mm gauge ...
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Alstom buys Traxis
ALSTOM Transport announced on April 4 that it had acquired Traxis from Royal Begemann Group. Based in Ridderkerk near Rotterdam, Traxis currently employs over 200 people. It has an annual turnover of 35m euros, with an order book that is expected to see a significant increase this year.In addition to ...
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Has the promise of North American rail mergers failed to deliver?
INTRO: The proposed merger between Burlington Northern Santa Fe and Canadian National has been put on hold pending a review of the industry situation by the US Surface Transportation Board. Some recent mergers went smoothly, but others brought serious disruption which has raised questions over whether mergers offer real benefits ...
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Mail & Express drives Amtrak growth
INTRO: Tasked with eliminating operating subsidies by the end of 2002, America’s national passenger operator has abandoned its long-standing policy of cutting costs in favour of growing revenue. Backed by computer models showing widespread benefits, Amtrak has launched an ambitious strategy to boost passenger and freight revenue by increasing services ...
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Montréal extensions approved
THE GOVERNMENT of Québec announced on April 11 that it plans to spend C$1·6bn on rail expansion over the next 10 years. Included are extensions of the rubber-tyred metro network to Laval, Anjou and Longueuil, and a fourth commuter rail route from Central station to Mont-Saint-Hilaire. The scheme will add ...
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MetroSur contracts awarded
ON APRIL 6 the Madrid regional government awarded contracts totalling Pts155·5bn for construction work on the MetroSur ring line in the city’s southern suburbs (RG 2.00 p70). The work has been split between seven construction groups, and tunnelling is expected to get under way this summer.A consortium of ACS and ...
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Porterbrook sold to bank
ON APRIL 3 bus and rail operator Stagecoach Holdings confirmed that it was selling its rolling stock leasing company Porterbrook to British banking group Abbey National for £1·4bn. The deal was subject to approval by the Stagecoach shareholders, who were to vote before the end of the month. Abbey National ...
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Bidders line up in high speed race
ON MARCH 28 the board of Spanish National Railways approved the start of tendering for between 26 and 40 high speed trainsets to be deployed on the Madrid - Barcelona route and its continuation to the French border. Potential bidders had 40 days from the publication of the tender notice ...
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Products In Brief
A production version of the BridgeGuard system developed by Ferranti Technologies is due for release by mid-2000, following two years of trials on five Railtrack structures. BridgeGuard uses accelerometer-based sensors to detect overheight road vehicles hitting rail bridges, with a microprocessor monitoring unit providing an assessment of likely damage.The Silentbloc ...
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Passenger in Brief
The state governments of Victoria and South Australia have agreed to subsidise the Melbourne - Adelaide Overland operated by Great Southern Railway to the tune of $A1·5m a year. From this month the frequency has been cut from five to four days a week; with the journey time reduced to ...
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Californian mega-spend
California GOVERNOR Gray Davis unveiled on April 6 a $15bn Traffic Congestion Relief Plan for the state’s principal cities. Most of the money is earmarked for highway maintenance and improvements, but a surprisingly large amount is proposed for rail projects, some of which are unexpected.Among the proposals is $760m to ...
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CarGoTram go
DRESDENER Verkehrsbetriebe has ordered two freight LRVs to haul automotive components to a Volkswagen car plant in the city centre (RG 11.99 p698). Contracts for the so-called CarGoTrams were signed in March at a ceremony in the plant. The vehicles will be supplied by a consortium led by Schalker Eisenhütte ...
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Rotterdam Centraal revamp
ON May 11 Rotterdam city council is to decide the way forward for redevelopment of Centraal station for its new role as an international terminal, prior to publication of a master plan scheduled for October. A public-private partnership formed between the council, Netherlands Railways, Amvest Vastgoed and ING Vastgoed is ...
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EU regulations will force policy changes
IN ITS DRIVE to compel Europe’s railways to change course to avoid what it perceives to be a disastrous future, the European Commission is drawing up a raft of proposals that will bring about radical alterations in practice and policy. Both governments and railways will be required to implement policy ...