All articles by Railway Gazette International – Page 1171
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News
Mobile ticketing in Malaysia
MALAYAN Railway, mobile communications company Celcom and New Technology & Innovation Sdn Bhd launched My Info Train on June 2. The SMS mobile ticketing service allows passengers to obtain timetables and fares, then reserve and cancel inter-city tickets. A range of games and entertainment services is also available.’Not only is ...
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Metros
Canada:On June 27 Calgary city council approved the 3 km Northeast light rail extension from Whitehorn to Westwinds-McKnight (RG 1.05 p10). The C$75m route will open in 2007. The 3 km Northwest extension from Dalhousie to Crowfoot with one station will follow in 2008.On June 30 Ottawa municipality announced plans ...
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Mexico suburban to be re-tendered
THE MEXICAN government has reaffirmed its commitment to the capital’s proposed suburban rail link after both bidders were disqualified from the tendering process. Communications & Transports Secretary Pedro Cerisola insisted on July 11 that the project would not be cancelled, and said that new tenders would be called Civil engineering ...
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people
On June 28 the UIC General Assembly ratified the appointment of Luc Aliadière as Chief Executive. He took over from Philippe Roumeguère on July 1.At the general meeting on June 16 Wilhelm Patzner was elected to the board of UIRR, the International Union of Combined Road-Rail Transport Companies, following the ...
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PNR study
REHABILITATION of Philippine National Railways’ Main Line South from Calamba to Legaspi moved a step closer with the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding on July 6.Watched by President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and visiting Polish Prime Minister Marek Belka, PNR General Manager Jose Sarasola signed an accord with the President of ...
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Pointers
Tenders for Cargo Slovakia were due to be submitted by July 29 (RG 5.05 p241). Amongst the expected bidders is ÖBB subsidiary Rail Cargo Austria, which would become the third biggest carrier in Europe by volume after Railion and PKP Cargo if it added the Slovak company’s 50 million tonnes ...
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Renfe restructures
UNDER ITS new strategy to meet competition from other operators and achieve break-even by 2009, Renfe’s Freight business unit is to cut its workforce by 20%. Of the 500 posts, 400 will be transferred to other business units.At the same time, the loco fleet is to be reduced from 443 ...
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Roanoake revival
FREIGHTCAR America Inc inaugurated a new wagon manufacturing facility in Roanoke, Virginia, on June 9. The East End Shops have been leased from Norfolk Southern and extensively upgraded at a cost of $5·5m to handle the assembly of various different types of wagons.Virginia Governor Mark R Warner and NS Chairman ...
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Smart services
EAST JAPAN Railway passengers can now use Suica smart card tickets (RG 2.04 p103) to pay for an extensive range of services at stations in the Tokyo area. Currently accepted at around 1000 outlets, the card payment facility is being rolled out sequentially at all 36 stations along the Yamanote ...
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Substation signing
SECHERON and Rowe Hankins Components have announced an agreement for the development of DC substations in the UK.The deal marks an expansion into the trackside equipment market for the British supplier of on-train speed monitoring, circuit protection and event recording technology.Swiss-based Sécheron has supplied substation equipment to London Underground and ...
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Small transmission
VOITH TURBO has developed the L311 reV2 transmission for use on specialist rail construction and maintenance vehicles and small locomotives with input power ratings up to 600 kW.The L311 reV2 is specifically designed for use in very confined installation spaces. It offers eight power take-offs suitable for a wide variety ...
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Zimbabwe split
THIS MONTH is due to see the Zimbabwe government take over responsibility for ownership and financing of rail infrastructure, with the implementation of the Railways Amendment Act 1997.The Act provides for the transfer of NRZ-owned infrastructure and land to the state, leaving National Railways of Zimbabwe to focus on its ...
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Hydrogen offers no alternative to main line electrification
FUEL CELLS combine hydrogen with oxygen in the atmosphere to produce water and electricity, eliminating local pollution. But as things stand, electrolytic production and delivery of H2 as a fuel would consume around four times more power than the fuel cells would actually produce on a train. In comparison, ...
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Reporting on 100 years of key developments in the rail industry
1905UK: July 21. First edition of Railway Gazette published.Russia: Regular through operations begin on the Trans-Siberian Railway after completion of Circum-Baikal railway.1906Switzerland - Italy: January 25. First train runs through the Simplon tunnel.1907USA: July 24. New Haven electric services begin to use New York’s Grand Central Terminal, marking completion of ...
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IDR2-Novum promises lower rail maintenance costs
This year four groups of French and German experts will complete a wide-ranging programme of theoretical and field research which suggests that a system approach to track-train interaction can cut rail maintenance costs
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People in the News - July 2005
Vladimir Ivanovich Yakunin was appointed President of Russian Railways on June 15, replacing Gennady Fadeyev who becomes an advisor to Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Fradkov. Dr Bill Emery has been appointed Chief Executive of the UK's Office of Rail Regulation; he also becomes a member of the ORR board. UK ...
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2020 vision in green
AN ENTICING vision of attractive, sustainable and efficient public transport, contributing to a higher quality of life, was painted by speaker after speaker at the International Union of Public Transport’s 56th World Congress, which took place in Roma on June 5 to 9.Many of the factors needed to ensure high-quality ...
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X60 undergoes acceptance tests
INTRO: Harry Hondius MSc reports from SalzgitterSEPTEMBER is due to see the entry into revenue service of the first of 55 X60 low-floor EMUs, ordered in May 2002 by Storstockholms Lokaltrafik for use by Citypendeln operator Keolis. The contract with Alstom includes an option for 50 more sets. Total price ...
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Cross-border co-operation accord
A LETTER of Intent setting out terms for the operation of TGV Est Européen was signed in Strasbourg on May 23 by SNCF President Louis Gallois and DB Chairman Hartmut Mehdorn. Also present at the event were the then French Transport Minister Gilles de Robien and his German counterpart ...
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Slow progress through the Alps
A FIRE in the 12·8 km Fréjus road tunnel on June 4, in which two lorry drivers died, calls to mind the more serious fires in the 11·6 km Franco-Italian Mont Blanc tunnel in March 1999 and in the Gotthard motorway tunnel in October 2001.At the time several heavyweight names ...