All articles by Railway Gazette International – Page 1167

  • News

    Transperth opens Thornlie Spur

    2005-09-01T10:00:00Z

    A FIFTH suburban rail service in Perth was introduced on August 7, when Western Australia’s Premier Geoff Gallop inaugurated the Thornlie Spur.The A$75m branch serves a new bus/rail interchange with park-and-ride facilities for 450 cars. It diverges from the Perth - Armadale line south of Cannington, and includes a short ...

  • News

    Trams from Oregon

    2005-09-01T10:00:00Z

    DEFENCE contractor Oregon Iron Works is planning to build under licence trams similar to the Czech-made Astra vehicles in operation in Portland and Tacoma. Based in the Portland suburb of Clackamas, Oregon Iron Works has established a partnership with the Inekon Group, which manufactures the Astra in the Czech Republic. ...

  • News

    TEA-LU passes

    2005-09-01T10:00:00Z

    A SIX-YEAR bill to fund US transport investment projects was approved by Congress on July 29 in the final session before the annual August recess. With lawmakers repeatedly unable to agree on a new measure, a series of 11 temporary extensions had been needed to keep the previous TEA-21 legislation ...

  • News

    People

    2005-09-01T10:00:00Z

    Tium Tekie has been appointed Chief Executive Officer of Ethio-Djibouti Railway, replacing Abraham Habtezgi.Teresa Zwiernik has succeeded Grazyna Liberadzka as board member for EU Co-Financed Projects at Polish infrastructure manager PKP PLK. Jozef Jezewicz becomes board member for Operations, replacing Krzysztof Szwed who has stepped down for health reasons. Member ...

  • News

    Polish plant plan

    2005-09-01T10:00:00Z

    HAVING taken over a rolling stock plant from bankrupt manufacturer Wagon, the Europejskie Konsorcjum Kolejowe Wagon consortium is planning to restart the production of freight vehicles at the site in the Polish town of Ostrów. ’We plan to invest 14m zloty annually starting in 2006’, said Chairman Marek Woloch. ...

  • News

    Pointers

    2005-09-01T10:00:00Z

    Minister of Public Works & Transport Randall Quirós announced last month that the government of Costa Rica is planning to reactivate the country’s rail network to carry freight as part of a programme to save fuel. Trial movements had been conducted for a commuter service across San José from Pavas ...

  • News

    World Railways Today

    2005-09-01T10:00:00Z

    Book review

  • News

    Suburban renewal

    2005-09-01T10:00:00Z

    THE INDONESIAN government expected to sign last month a memorandum of understanding for modernisation and operation of the Jakarta suburban network. Transport Minister Hatta Radjsasa announced on July 20 that South Korean engineering consultancy Sam-An Corp had been selected to revitalise the capital’s railways, which will be separated from national ...

  • News

    Safer spraying

    2005-09-01T10:00:00Z

    VEGETATION control on the Tyne & Wear Metro relied on handheld strimmers, cutting and spraying equipment, until Avondale Environment Services was awarded a contract to carry out the work with a specialised road-rail vehicle.A two-man team remains within the Mercedes Benz Unimog’s air-conditioned and filtered cab during spraying. Six integral ...

  • News

    Sensors on show

    2005-09-01T10:00:00Z

    STRAINSTALL will be demonstrating the latest version of the TrackAlert wheel defect, vehicle weight and track force sensors (RG 11.04 p765).The company’s Bridge StrikeAlert will also be on show at Infrarail, and visitors will be able to see how control centres are notified when a bridge is hit by a ...

  • News

    Sidetrack

    2005-09-01T10:00:00Z

    To promote rail travel to potential passengers who currently fly, Swedish operator SJ has commissioned advertisements cut into crops visible from aircraft using nearby airports

  • News

    Network expansion plan aims to reach 100 000 km by 2020

    2005-08-01T10:00:00Z

    Chinese Railways' long-term expansion strategy includes development of duplicate corridors to segregate freight and passenger services, as well as new lines to open up the west of the country. Chris Jackson looks at the principal elements of the plan

  • News

    Delhi Metro completes Line 2

    2005-08-01T10:00:00Z

    CEREMONIES were held on July 2 to mark the completion of the second metro line in the Indian capital. The 7 km section from Kashmere Gate to Central Secretariat was inaugurated by Sonia Gandhi, Chair of the United Progressive Alliance party.The first 4 km of Line 2 from Vishwavidalaya to ...

  • News

    MF2000 on test in northern France

    2005-08-01T10:00:00Z

    RUNNING trials have started with the prototype MF2000 trainset (RG 2.04 p92). Expected to enter service on the Paris metro in 2006, the five-car pre-production set began a programme of tests at the Centre d'Essais Ferroviaires at Petite Forêt near Valenciennes on June 17. The tests began almost a year ...

  • News

    Market August 2005

    2005-08-01T10:00:00Z

    Angola: Rites has won five contracts totalling US$40m for staff training and the supply of rolling stock and workshop equipment for the rehabilitation of the CFN line between Menongue and Namibe. Australia: United Goninan has completed delivery to QR National of nine heavy haul diesel-electric locomotives and 310 coal wagons ...

  • News

    UK now plans to install ERTMS in 2011-38

    2005-08-01T10:00:00Z

    THE LATEST report from the UK's National ERTMS Programme Team revealed on June 23 that plans to fit all lines where the speed exceeds 160 km/h by 2015 have been scrapped. The new strategy sees development continuing, mainly on the single-track Cambrian lines in rural mid-Wales, but even that project ...

  • News

    D78 stock gets a fresh look

    2005-08-01T10:00:00Z

    Robert Preston samples the first of 75 six-car London Underground trainsets to be refurbished

  • News

    Freight accords

    2005-08-01T10:00:00Z

    COMMITMENTS to improve service quality on key European intermodal corridors are to be put in place by the end of this year, under the terms of an agreement between the International Union of Railways and the intermodal operators’ forum UIRR announced on July 5.UIRR member companies have been increasingly critical ...

  • News

    Adding value

    2005-08-01T10:00:00Z

    BOMBARDIER Transportation has adopted analytical tools from Intellectual Capital Development Ltd to manage its sales processes.Specialised audit processes are needed because of the long sales cycle of six to 24 months between the start of planning and the submission of a tender, and the average delivery time of 30 months. ...

  • News

    Bulgarian wagons rolling again

    2005-08-01T10:00:00Z

    SEEKING to regain market share lost to road transport while avoiding the costs of purchasing new rolling stock, Bulgarian State Railways is placing contracts for the refurbishment of 3260 wagons with specialist outside suppliers. VRZ-Karlovo is rebuilding Eaos open wagons to as-new condition, ensuring compliance with RIV and UIC standards ...