All Railway Gazette International articles in November 2003
All articles published this month.
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News
Schlumberger sells
ON SEPTEMBER 22 Schlumberger Ltd announced that it had signed a binding agreement with IT services provider Atos Origin for the sale of the majority of the SchlumbergerSema businesses, including Transport which incorporates the former British Rail Business Systems.If approved by Atos shareholders the transaction is expected to close in ...
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News
Wheel works roll-out
NEDTRAIN officially opened its upgraded running gear refurbishment plant in Haarlem on September 5. Life-expired machinery has been replaced to ensure reliability and improve productivity at the works, which processes around 4000 wheelsets every year. The decision to upgrade the wheelset and bogie plant was taken in 2001, and all ...
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News
PEOPLE
Jirí Klutvor has been appointed Deputy General Manager, Commerce & Operations, at Czech Railways following restructuring on September 1 (p682). Vlastimil Nesetril becomes Deputy General Manager, Infrastructure. Vladimir Filip has been named Director of Finance, with Stanislav Brablík as Director of Economic Management, Josef Sedivy as Director of Accounts & ...
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News
Overbrook revival
PITTSBURGH light rail operator Port Authority Transit started test running last month on its 8·8 km Overbrook line, following a 10-year closure for rebuilding from tram to light rail standards. A diesel-hauled test train ran on September 15, after which the overhead line was energised to permit trial running from ...
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News
Toll takes over Tranz Rail
ON OCTOBER 10 Australian transport and logistics group Toll Holdings declared its bid for New Zealand's Tranz Rail unconditional. Toll already holds a 50% stake in Australia's Pacific National. The company confirmed that it now had a majority of directors on the Tranz Rail board, and announced that Mark Rowsthorn ...
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News
Second SCC opened
ITALIAN infrastructure manager RFI put into service its second SCC traffic control centre on September 22. Located in Bari, the new centre controls the 650 km Adriatica main line between Bari and Bologna, including 77 stations. The route currently handles around 600 trains/day.Linked to existing local interlockings, the control equipment ...
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News
Rhein-Neckar ready to open
THE TIMETABLE change on December 14 will see the launch of Germany’s latest S-Bahn network. Following a €260m infrastructure upgrading programme, S-Bahn Rhein-Neckar will take over four routes radiating from Mannheim, Ludwigshafen and Heidelberg with a total length of 240 km. Major works in the project include the construction of ...
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News
ÖBB to be restructured
AUSTRIAN Federal Railways is to be restructured next year into a state-owned holding company and five independent subsidiaries, under proposals announced by the government on October 2. Separate business units will be created to manage passenger services, freight, infrastructure construction, network operation and maintenance, and personnel.Two days earlier Finance Minister ...
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News
OAO RZD up and running
ON October 1 Russian Railways was formally launched as a state-owned joint stock company, responsible for all operations and commercial activities formerly undertaken by the Ministry of Railway Transport. The handover followed a week of frantic activity, which began on September 23 with a special decree appointing Minister of Railways ...
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News
NSW subsidy squeeze threatens passengers
THE RELEASE in September of an interim report from the inquiry into sustainable transport in New South Wales poses the threat of a substantial reduction in the current level of subsidy for Sydney’s CityRail commuter trains, and perhaps even more so for Countrylink’s skeletal passenger services. Together, the trains consume ...
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News
Patience needed
ALSTOM plans to offer a 3·2m wide version of its AGV high speed train with distributed power in the bidding for the Beijing - Shanghai project. At the moment it is not clear whether Alstom will be bidding alone or as part of the EuroTrain consortium formed with Siemens to ...
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News
Metros
Canada:Montréal Harbour Authority has put forward proposals for a light rail link from Berri-UQAM metro station through Old Montréal to Jean Drapeau Park as part of a revitalisation of the historic port district.Chile:Santiago Metro has awarded Siemens Transportation Systems a US$26m order to provide power supplies for Lines 4 and ...
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News
Market
Czech Republic:Dress & Sommer AG of Stuttgart has been appointed to co-ordinate the planning for the KC10·5m remodelling of Brno station.Estonia:UVZ & AVR’s Ahtme assembly plant delivered its first 50 tank wagons to EVR on September 15.Europe:All four prequalified consortia (RG 8.03 p475) have submitted bids to build and operate ...
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News
Letter: Speeds in Israel
Sir - An error has crept into the entry for Israel in the 2003 World Speed Survey (RG10.03 p661). Table III should refer to Tel Aviv's newer University station, not Merkaz. The distance to University is 81·7 km, not the 84·4 km shown, which is the distance to Merkaz. ...
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News
Vanløse link inaugurated
PHASE 2b of København’s automated metro was opened on October 12, extending Lines M1 and M2 west from Frederiksberg to Vanløse (RG 1.03 p31). The inauguration comes five months after completion of Phase 2a between Nørreport and Frederiksberg, which was opened by Queen Margrethe on May 29.The latest 2·8 km ...
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News
HZ upgrade
CROATIAN Railways plans to put into service next month the last of a fleet of 12 first class coaches being refurbished by TZV Gredelj. The vehicles are being completely rebuilt, retaining only the original bodyshell and Wegman 26 bogies.On completion of the work, each of the 47 seats will have ...
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NewsNürnberg - München in one hour
Germany's second 300 km/h route, now under construction between Nürnberg and Ingolstadt, opens in 2006. Ralf Roman Rossberg reports
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News
North to Gulu
AFTER a suspension of 15 years due to civil unrest and insurgency, Uganda Railways Corp is planning to restore passenger and freight services on its 509 km Northern line between Tororo and Pakwach. Acting Managing Director Bugeni Buwolya announced in mid-September that work had begun to clear bushes, earth and ...
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News
Shanghai network keeps growing
ON OCTOBER 7 Alstom Transport confirmed that it had won a €184m contract to build 28 six-car Metropolis trainsets for the Yangpu metro line in Shanghai. They are due to be delivered between October 2005 and the end of 2007. Being built by Shanghai Mass Transit Yangpu Line ...