All Railway Gazette International articles in October 2000 – Page 3

  • News

    RegioCom improves DB connections

    2000-10-01T10:00:00Z

    Following successful trials in northern Bavaria, DB Regio is to roll out the RegioCom system for all its conductors across Germany by May 2001. Developed by the DB consultancy arm TLC, RegioCom is a GSM-based communications system which enables on-train staff to notify a control centre of delays. It also ...

  • News

    Metrorail concession

    2000-10-01T10:00:00Z

    AT THE END of August, South African Rail Commuter Corp signed its long-awaited concession agreement with operating contractor Metrorail, setting an annual subsidy of about R800m. Under discussion since 1995, the deal has been delayed by concerns over job losses.By moving from deficit-support to a fixed price contract, the agreement ...

  • News

    Three-stage reform lays the foundations of competition

    2000-10-01T10:00:00Z

    INTRO: A phased programme of structural reforms of Russia’s railways will culminate in the launch of independent companies that will compete for passenger and freight traffic against a national state-owned operator to be known as RZD Ltd. Boris Lukov reports from MoscowOn August 16 the Board of Russia’s Ministry of ...

  • News

    KRC sale closer

    2000-10-01T10:00:00Z

    Finance Minister Chrisanthus Okemo announced on August 29 that six consultancy groups had been shortlisted to advise the government on the privatisation of Kenya Railways Corp, which is due to be completed by the end of 2002. Approved by the World Bank, the six are:

  • News

    Climbing the stairs

    2000-10-01T10:00:00Z

    THIS YEAR’S edition of our annual supplement Metro Report included a cautionary tale about Line 3 of the Manila light rail network. Traffic was well below expectations because, to save construction costs, the design had been pared to the bone, with access to most of the elevated platforms only by ...

  • News

    RER C extended

    2000-10-01T10:00:00Z

    ON AUGUST 28 French National Railways inaugurated a 9 km extension of Paris RER Line C from Montigny-Beauchamp to Pontoise, with intermediate stations at Pierrelaye and St-Ouen l’Aum

  • News

    S-Bahn stock builder picked

    2000-10-01T10:00:00Z

    AUSTRIAN Federal Railways has chosen Bombardier and Elin as preferred suppliers for a fleet of three-car trainsets for the Wien S-Bahn. They are intended to replace existing stock and to provide more frequent services on an expanding network, including the S7 route to Schwechat airport now being revamped.The number of ...

  • News

    Passenger News in Brief

    2000-10-01T10:00:00Z

    VIA Rail Canada has launched VIA eSchedule, an electronic timetable suitable for use on PCs and laptops as well as hand-held devices using the Palm

  • News

    Industry in Brief

    2000-10-01T10:00:00Z

    Canada: Stella Jones International is to buy up the remaining 30% of sleeper manufacturer Stella-Jones Inc that is currently in public ownership. Shareholders will be offered C$3·10 in cash for each share.Czech Republic: The government was expected to approve last month a restructuring plan for engineering group Skoda, which would ...

  • News

    Products in Brief

    2000-10-01T10:00:00Z

    An anti-graffiti film that can be applied to glazed and smooth surfaces is being offered to train and station operators by CPFilms. Llumar GraffitiShield protects windows and surfaces from malicious or accidental damage by pens, paint and even sharp objects. The coating is visibly marked so the vandal believes the ...

  • News

    City News in Brief

    2000-10-01T10:00:00Z

    Guangzhou Metro Corp has ordered 26 six-car trains for Line 2, which is due to open in 2003-04. To be built by a joint venture of Adtranz and Changchun Car Co, they will use the Adtranz Movia modular design, with aluminium bodies and 1·5 kV DC IGBT inverter drives. Under ...

  • News

    Bridge inspection platform

    2000-10-01T10:00:00Z

    THE BCR 100 bridge inspection and repair platform provides ready access to the underside of multi-track spans, avoiding the need for hanging scaffolding, or permanent rails supporting a travelling platform for inspecting each structure. The machine was designed specifically to meet a requirement set by substantial new bridges being erected ...

  • News

    Blue line partnership

    2000-10-01T10:00:00Z

    BANGKOK Metro Co Ltd has selected the Nippon-Euro Subway Consortium as a partner in its 25-year concession to build and operate the city’s Blue line heavy metro. Tunnelling is already well advanced for the 20 km line between Hualampong and Bang Sue, which is scheduled to open in 2004. The ...

  • News

    Four bidders in HSL Zuid race

    2000-10-01T10:00:00Z

    AS SOON AS registration closed at 15.00 on September 15, Netherlands Transport Minister Tineke Netelenbos confirmed that four consortia had applied for the concession to operate services on HSL Zuid. The four groups were given until 10.00 on October 2 to submit formal qualification documents.The international field includes a mix ...

  • News

    Better productivity would help

    2000-10-01T10:00:00Z

    REPEATED cries from German Railway Chairman Hartmut Mehdorn about the poverty of his company have brought a favourable response from Transport Minister Reinhard Klimmt. Speaking at the opening of the InnoTrans exhibition on September 12 in Berlin, Klimmt confirmed that he would be allocating additional investment funding to DB worth ...

  • News

    Asturias triangle

    2000-10-01T10:00:00Z

    VISITING Gijón in August, Spanish Minister of Development Francisco Álvarez Cascos, Renfe President Miguel Corsini and his Feve counterpart Eugenio Damboriena unveiled plans for a regional and commuter network designated Metrotrén de Asturias.Designed to reduce road congestion in the triangle linking Gijón, Oviedo and Avilés, the scheme envisages closer integration ...

  • News

    AEA buys NSTO

    2000-10-01T10:00:00Z

    AEA Technology Rail of Great Britain announced on August 25 the purchase of Nederlandse Spoorwegen Technisch Onderzoek, the technical research division of Netherlands Railways. AEA is paying 3m guilders for NSTO, which is based in Utrecht and has 125 staff. The company is to be renamed AEA Technology Rail BV ...

  • tn_us-amtrak-acela-bombardier_12.jpg
    News

    Acelas to roll on Amtrak high

    2000-10-01T10:00:00Z

    USA: This month is expected to see the start of Acela Express high-speed services between Boston, New York and Washington, almost a year later than planned. On August 30 Bombardier spokesman Gilles Pagé announced that the first trainset in full revenue service condition would be delivered at the end ...

  • News

    RailWorks takes AAI rail

    2000-10-01T10:00:00Z

    On September 6 RailWorks Corp of the USA announced that it had purchased the Transportation Systems Group of United Industrial Corp, owner of AAI Corp. The AAI plant in Maryland is to be leased by RailWorks, which has assumed the four contracts worth a total of US$200m currently being undertaken ...

  • News

    Madrid network to top 300 km

    2000-10-01T10:00:00Z

    PROPOSALS to build a further 68 km of metro lines in the Spanish capital, taking the network to over 300route-km, were unveiled by the Consorcio de Transportes de Madrid at the end of August. The strategic plan for 2003-10 focuses mainly on the northern and eastern parts of the city.Together ...