All articles by Railway Gazette International – Page 1205
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Alstom ruling awaited
The European Commission is expected to announce its verdict on Alstom’s restructuring plan on July 7, two days ahead of the company’s annual general meeting.Discussions on the restructuring of the company have continued since the basis of an agreement was brokered between French Minister of Finance Nicolas Sarkozy and European ...
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Estram arrives in Eskisehir
The Turkish city of Eskisehir will get its first light rail services this month, with the opening of the 16·2 km Estram network
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Athens gears up to face Olympic challenge
Unprecedented levels of investment are being poured into four separate urban rail networks as the Greek capital prepares to host the 28th Olympiad next month. Artemis Klonos reports
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LA awards Gold Line contract
LOS ANGELES Metropolitan Transportation Authority has awarded a $600m contract to Eastside LRT Constructors for construction of the 9·6 km East Los Angeles extension of the Gold Line. The deal was signed by MTA CEO Roger Snoble on June 1, following the approval of a $491m Full Funding Grant Agreement ...
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Toll takes back passenger trains
NEW ZEALAND rail operator Tranz Rail (renamed Toll NZ with effect from June 8) has agreed to buy back control of the country’s inter-city passenger business Tranz Scenic. The move follows an announcement by Toll Managing Director Paul Little that the company had ’changed its mind’ on passenger operations, and ...
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NewsWinning the RCF battle on the production line
Faster and more frequent train services, higher axleloads and new generations of rolling stock have increased loadings on rails, particularly on curves. Improved manufacturing processes and product development are now focusing on rail head wear, internal fatigue defects and rolling contact fatigue
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Beijing seeks metro funds
UP TO 30% of the funding needed to expand Beijing’s metro network for the 2008 Olympic Games will be raised from the private sector. The city government’s Deputy Director-General of Development & Planning Liu Zhi revealed on May 25 that the city was looking to raise 14·5bn yuan in foreign ...
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Belgrano bidding timetable
THE ARGENTINIAN government was expected to launch officially on June 22 the bidding process for a 79% stake in metre gauge freight operator Belgrano Cargas (RG 5.04 p257). Outline tender documentation was to be made available on June 28, followed by more detailed information on July 18. Bids are to ...
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Upgrade bids rejected
THE MINISTRY OF Transport & Public Works is to invite new bids to upgrade 1114 km of Uruguay’s national network after the two received earlier this year (RG 4.04 p183) were rejected, one on technical grounds and the other on price. Officials hoped to call new bids by mid-July. National ...
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Blue Line extends
AT 06.00 on June 6 Metro Porto began revenue service on the final section of its light rail Blue Line between Trindade and Est
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Walking Stick boosts inspection
DEVELOPED to reduce the need to rely on engineering judgement when inspecting rails, ACFM Walking Stick is a self-contained electromagnetic probe which provides semi-automated ratings of the severity of rail defects.The Walking Stick has been developed by Technical Software Consultant and Balfour Beatty Rail Technologies, which is carrying out field ...
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Industry News in Brief
Corus announced on June 15 that it will invest £20m in its Scunthorpe steelworks in the UK. Addition of a second degassing unit and a third ladle furnace will increase production of rail bloom to 500000 tonnes a year. All bloom for the company’s rail mills at Workington and Hayange ...
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Products in Brief
Weighing 27 kg, the Weldbaby portable 40to 165A welder can be carried to a lineside worksite by one person. Its Honda four-stroke engine has an auto-idle facility and consumes around 1 litre of unleaded petrol per hour. In addition to welding, Weldbaby can be used to supply power to ...
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Making the business case to cut rolling contact fatigue
INTRO: The cost to Britain’s national railway of damage from rolling contact fatigue has been conservatively estimated at £250m a year, and measures to limit RCF crack formation could cut that by 55%. Andy Doherty, who chairs the newly-established Vehicle/Track System Interface Committee, explains how co-operation between rail industry players ...
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Capacity warning
SURFACE Transportation Board Chairman Roger Nober sent a letter on June 10 to each US Class I railway asking for a report on its plans to handle the expected increase in traffic in the autumn. Nober said he recognised that railways were already carrying an extraordinary volume of freight while ...
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Ljubljana seminar examines the challenge of cost-effective freight
INTRO: Murray Hughes reports from the rail freight seminar organised by the International Railway Congress Association in the Slovenian capital on May 27-29Strategic Plan promises a high returnSLOVENIAN Railways announced at the IRCA seminar details of its long-term strategic plan that runs to 2010. This envisages that freight traffic volume ...
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China chokes up
THE EFFECTS of the booming economy in China have ricocheted around the world, inflating demand for iron, steel and raw materials. Ships are queuing to unload at Chinese ports, but it seems that the busy railway network is not keeping pace.Goods and containers awaiting rail transit to inland destinations are ...
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Cutting rail wear on the Circle Line
INTRO: A London Underground project team examined ways of improving rail lubrication on the Circle Line. Metronet Rail has adopted a focused approach as part of its preventative maintenance regime, delivering a major improvement in rail replacement ratesATTHE BEGINNING of May, work began on a major programme to relay the ...
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Five cities dedicate light rail lines
A SERIES of service inaugurations saw five North American cities open new or rebuilt light rail lines last month.Pittsburgh kicked off on June 2 by restoring service on the Overbrook line after a major rebuild costing $386m (MR04 p36). The whole route is now double-track with many curves eased, and ...