All News articles – Page 459
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News
JR-West
BYLINE: Nariyasu MatsuokaChief Engineer, Rolling Stock DepartmentWest Japan Railway CoECONOMIC and financial circumstances facing JR-West mean that the Rolling Stock Department must give its highest priority to providing passengers with high-quality trains at low cost. Plans are well in hand to develop better trains for the Sanyo shinkansen (RG 5.97 ...
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Letters
Heavy haul bogiesSir - The Leader in your May issue (RG 5.97 p 267) concerning high axleloads for heavy haul railways mentions ’the unending search for the ideal wheel-rail interface’. This subject was addressed in detail in my paper titled Review of Freight Car Bogie Design and Performance presented to ...
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Market
Australia: Ove Arup & Partners is to study options for a 40 km rail link to serve the coastal resorts of Caloundra and Maroochydore north of Brisbane.Austria: ÖBB has ordered 1314 electronic door mechanisms from Faiveley, which is also supplying 120 doors to LHB for LINT railcars being built for ...
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Something old, something new
DESPITE the gloomy lessons of the past and the more recent financial problems of Río Negro province’s Sefepa venture, local initiatives to resurrect passenger trains continue to appear in Argentina. Under a one-year operating concession granted by the province of Tucum
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Northeast night trains revamped
AMTRAK introduced significant changes on July 10 to NortheastDirect services on the Boston - Washington DC - Newport News corridor. Improvements included the relaunch of the Night Owl as the Twilight Shoreliner, an overnight Boston - Washington DC service now including a new Viewliner sleeping car and a first class ...
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PR turned over
THREATS to put Pakistan Railways through the mill of change were imple-mented last month when the cabinet ruled that PR be separated from the railway ministry and its management board replaced. The announcement was timed to coincide with the start of a new financial year and marked the opening of ...
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Renfe spreads the risk
IN A BID to introduce new rolling stock without incurring further debt, while opening up the railway to market forces in a controlled manner, Spanish National Railways has decided to form ’train service provision’ ventures with manufacturers. A joint venture would lease vehicles from its parent manufacturer and operate them ...
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VHST shortlist
NEW SOUTH WALES Premier Bob Carr announced on July 3 that six groups had been shortlisted for the next stage of the planned Sydney - Canberra Very High Speed Train project. They have been given six months to prepare detailed proposals, after which the VHST Project Team will evaluate the ...
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Sidetrack
Oooh! Aaah! Eurostar?READERS of our regular Passenger Portfolio feature will no doubt be familiar with the continuing efforts of train operators worldwide to keep their business clintele supplied with the creature comforts that they have come to expect. Eurostar (UK) appears to have gone one better than at-seat video or ...
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Eurotunnel predicts profit in 2005
THE prospectus seeking shareholder approval for Eurotunnel’s financial restructuring, published on May 29, says that if the company’s objectives are achieved it will make a profit after tax in 2005 and pay a dividend in 2006. A more pessimistic scenario would delay the first dividend until 2010.The complex deal worked ...
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JR Freight helps to build intermodal landbridge across China
BYLINE: Shigeho NimoriPresident, International Freight Railway System Co Ltd*CONSIGNMENTS of freight moving to and from Japan will be accelerated thanks to a partnership between China Railway Foreign Service Corp and Japan Railway Freight Co. A formal agreement was signed with JR Freight by CRFSC Vice President Shi Yulin in February ...
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Peace will promote revival of Africa’s railways
PUBLIC LAUNCH of the Southern Africa Railways Association at a function attended by the Zimbabwean transport minister in Harare on May 22 is a hopeful sign. SARA was founded in April last year, and it counts among its 10 members the 1304 km Benguela Railway, reconstruction of which is getting ...
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High speed is high on CR’s development agenda
HANDOVER of Hong Kong to China on July 1 is of huge significance to Chinese Railways. The former colony’s role as a gateway city to the CR network is reflected in plans to develop Hong Kong’s already heavily used railways (p461), while completion of the Jing-Jiu line (p455) could hardly ...
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Bidders pick over AN’s bones
BIDDING for the remnants of Australian National closed on June 20 with decisions expected to be announced around the end of the financial year on June 30.Almost 50 groups had registered interest, many forming consortia or subsequently joining the 15 shortlisted bidders on May 6. Freight prospects attracted Toll Holdings-TNT, ...
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BA projects vie for attention
DIFFERENCES have emerged between the Buenos Aires city authorities and Subte concessionaire Metrovías over expanding the five-line metro network. Two lines are currently on the drawing board: a 10·8 km Line H from Retiro to Nueva Pompeya via Plaza Miserere and Jujuy, and a 7·6 km Line F from Plaza ...
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Barter to revive Benguela
RECONSTRUCTION of Angola’s 1304 km Benguela Railway is getting under way in the port of Lobito, following the signing of a barter deal between the government and Italian construction company Tor di Valle. Restoration of the corridor is expected to take 14 years, at a cost of US$500m, although trains ...
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The bottom line can’t be bought
INTRO: Reviewing industry developments in the rail market over the past decade, Andrew Saxe* finds that acquisitions have not boosted profits for the major suppliersBYLINE: * Andrew Saxe is an occasional commentator on the world railway supply industry for Railway Gazette International; he can be contacted in Boston, Massachusetts, at ...
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Isobar enhances disc brake performance
INTRO: German Railway’s ICE3 high-speed trains will have just two brake discs per axle, compared to four on earlier ICE generations. Use of advanced brake pads with an improved contact pattern offers lower noise and a 50% increase in energy absorptionBYLINE: Dr-Ing Xaver WirthSenior Manager, Design & DevelopmentKnorr-Bremse ...
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Budget cuts set the course
WHEN THE Italian government decided in May to cut 2800bn lire of state funds from this year’s budget for Italian State Railways, President Giancarlo Cimoli pointed out that if 1400bn lire in agreed transfers were not made at once, FS would quickly end up with a negative cash flow and ...