All Railway Gazette International articles in November 2007 – Page 4
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News
Royal opening celebrates CTRL completion
AROUND 1 000 guests were invited to St Pancras on November 6 to watch Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II perform the formal reopening of the magnificently-restored terminus, along with Section 2 of the 109 km Channel Tunnel Rail Link that links it to Europe's expanding network of 300 km/h lines ...
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NewsSBB: Meyer has three mountains to climb
Surging passenger and freight traffic are putting pressure on the Swiss Federal Railways network, but funding for infrastructure enhancement is constrained. SBB Chief Executive Andreas Meyer tells Chris Jackson how he plans to tackle these issues and address continuing losses in the freight sector
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News
Funding for Lyon tram-trains
A JOINT agreement between the French government, Rhône-Alpes region, the département of the Rhône and the Greater Lyon authority together with SNCF and RFF paves the way for the renewal of three regional lines to the west of Lyon. The agreement, signed at a ceremony at Lyon Saint-Paul station ...
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News
Alstom to build Algerian trams
ALGERIAN urban rail construction agency Entreprise du Métro d'Alger has selected two consortia including Alstom Transport to undertake the turnkey construction of light rail lines in Oran and Constantine. The French supplier announced on November 13 that its share of the contracts totalling €660m was expected to be around €300m. ...
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News
Hong Kong merger unlocks expansion plans
A RAFT of railway expansion projects in Hong Kong which have been under discussion for several years looks set to move ahead rapidly in the next few years, following the consummation of the merger between the Special Administrative Region's two railways. December 2 is the date selected by the government ...
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News
Single brand formed
A SINGLE entity has been formed from buffer and drawgear makers Keystone Bahntechnik and Kamax, which merged two years ago. With effect from October 1 Polish business Kamax is known as Axtone Sp zoo, while Germany-based Keystone Bahntechnik is Axtone Bahntechnik and Wakomp is Axtone sro. Chief Executive Officer Achim ...
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News
Single main station forms centrepiece of Wien redevelopment
A €2bn redevelopment project in Wien will give the city a showpiece station with 10 through tracks replacing the Ostbahnhof and Südbahnhof termini. Target date for completion is 2013
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News
European Commission backs 'freight-oriented' network
ONCE AGAIN, the European Commission is seeking to inject fresh impetus into rail freight services. The torrent of legislation that led to the full opening of the rail freight market in January 2007 has brought modest success in some countries where tonnage is rising, but the Commission notes that rail's ...
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News
Mexican plant lease agreed
THE GREENBRIER Companies announced on October 1 that it had reached an agreement for a long-term lease of GATX Corp's wagon maintenance facility at Tierra Blanca in Mexico. The Gunderson Rail Services business unit will operate the Tierra Blanca shop to service wagons for GATX and other customers in Mexico. ...
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NewsKnorr-Bremse opens Suzhou factory
BRAKE manufacturer Knorr-Bremse formally opened a factory at Suzhou in China on October 11, increasing its local sales and production capacity. Up to 600 people will be employed at the plant, which replaces a smaller facility in the city 120 km northwest of Shanghai. Additional capacity was required under ...
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NewsMaxima locomotive finds a new home
Voith Turbo Lokomotivtechnik and HGK have signed a co-operation agreement to develop a central workshop for the Maxima and Gravita locomotive families, reports Achim Uhlenhut
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News
SNCF poised for more orders
PLANS to order two major fleets of passenger rolling stock are being finalised by SNCF. One order will be up to 500 multi-purpose trainsets suitable for regional and suburban services. Denis Martin, Senior Manager at SNCF’s Rolling Stock Department, said on October 9 at the launch of Bombardier's dual-mode dual-voltage ...
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News
Wagon maker insolvent
GERMAN wagon manufacturer WBN Waggonbau Niesky GmbH declared insolvency on October 17, citing liquidity problems from the increased costs of wheelsets rather than a lack of work. Employing 250 people at a 170-year old rolling stock and engineering plant at Niesky in Sachsen, the business was bought from Bombardier on ...
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News
Train builder Stadler keeps growing
STADLER Rail Group Chief Executive and majority shareholder Peter Spuhler cut the first sod on the site of a new office building in Bussnang on September 17, marking the start of work on a new headquarters which will be completed by April next year. Larger offices are needed to accommodate ...
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News
Narrow gauge stock roll out
SLOVAKIAN manufacturer ZOS Vrútky has rolled out the first Class 4680 driving car and trailer for push-pull operation on Austrian Federal Railways' 760 mm gauge Pinzgaubahn between Zell am Zee and Krimml. Three driving cars and two trailers were ordered in 2005, while Zillertalbahn ordered three driving cars and ...
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News
Barcelona 'rail bridge' to take on airlines
SPANISH national operator Renfe has unveiled plans to create a 'rail bridge' with the completion of high speed infrastructure between Madrid and Barcelona, basing its commercial strategy on that employed by airline Iberia currently offering an intensive service between the two cities. From December 21 rail passengers will be able ...
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News
Unfinished reforms frustrate Central and Eastern Europe operators
GOVERNMENT representatives from EU member states in Central and Eastern Europe were thin on the ground at Terrapinn's CEE Rail 2007 conference in Budapest on October 15-18. This was a pity, as several speakers drew attention to the collective failure of CEE governments to put the finances of their national ...
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News
Graz tenders follow trams
GRAZ operator GVB placed a €97m order for 45 low-floor trams with Stadler last month. The five-section standard-gauge Variobahn cars will be delivered from 2009 to 2015. In October Transport Minister Kristina Edlinger-Ploder announced that the Land would fund up to 25% of the €140m cost of 19 trainsets ...
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Spanish rail spend increasing
INVESTMENT and support for the national rail network from the Spanish government will total €8·15bn in 2008, up 5% on 2007 and representing 41% of total spending on transport. Renfe is to receive €1035m, of which €545m will be operating subsidy for suburban passenger operations. Investment in ...