All articles by Railway Gazette International – Page 1255
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News
Asmara reconnected
AFTER a 10-year reconstruction programme, Eritrea Railways confirmed last month that it had completed the rebuilding of its 117 km main line linking the capital Asmara to the Red Sea port of Massawa (RG 2.01 p93). A formal inauguration ceremony is planned for later this year. Including 3·5% grades on ...
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Grant battle resumes
ON FEBRUARY 13 the US Congress passed a bill that included a grant to Amtrak totalling $1·05bn. Amtrak had sought $1·2bn (RG 2.03 p72 ) but said on the following day that this ’should be sufficient to operate the national system for the remainder of the fiscal year which ends ...
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WTC to become subway hub
RECONSTRUCTION of the subway maze around the World Trade Center site into a co-ordinated transport interchange will get underway next year, for completion by 2007, although the cost is likely to exceed the promised $4·5bn in federal aid. New York Governor George Pataki and Mayor Michael Bloomberg announced on February ...
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Reform bill clears hurdle
RUSSIA’s railways are finally set for three stages of restructuring after the fourth bill in the reform package was passed by the Federation Council on February 12. The bill covered property ownership issues, and the Council had rejected it on December 27 after finding that there were too many omissions ...
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Bordeaux study
PROPOSALS for the development of rail services around Bordeaux are to be drawn up over the next 12 months, following the award last month of two parallel study contracts to Systra, Erea and Ingerop. The first, awarded by the region of Aquitaine, covers the area west of the city. The ...
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Bowker trims UK spending
EMPHASISING the need to ’get a grip’ on runaway infrastructure maintenance and train operating costs in the short term to underpin ’a long-term vision’, Chairman & Chief Executive of the UK’s Strategic Rail Authority Richard Bowker unveiled his second Strategic Plan on January 30. He described it as ’a stepping ...
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Braking research centre
BECORIT has invested in a brake materials research and development facility at Recklinghausen in Germany. A purpose-built test hall accommodates three full-scale and two small-scale dynamometer test machines. Recent projects include working with ERRI to introduce a low-friction composition block material as an alternative to cast iron for freight applications. ...
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Serbian wagons for Brazil
EDUARDO Meireles, Director of Industry in the Brazilian state of Goias, signed a letter of intent on January 21 for the supply of 2300 railway wagons from a consortium including Serbia’s Kraljevo rolling stock factory and Gosa. The agreement is worth up to US$50m, and will require all capacity at ...
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Product News in Brief
Threshold Floorings is supplying Grid 200 mats with rubber infill to London Underground for refurbishment of the entrances to Elephant & Castle station.Next month Voith will begin series production of 180 drive packages for Alstom Minuetto diesel multiple-units being built for use in Italy. A pre-series T212bre turbo transmission and ...
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Passenger News in Brief
Austrian Federal Railways has opened first class lounges at Wien West and Süd stations. Available to members of the ÖBB frequent traveller programme plus first class, sleeping car and motorail ticket holders, the lounges offer free drinks and snacks, and office facilities. A similar lounge opens in Salzburg on March ...
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Industry News in Brief
Minnesota Rubber Europe is installing two multi-plate presses for micro-cellular products to double capacity at its rail sector factory at Pacy-sur-Eure in France.Following the voluntary liquidation of Bulgin Power Source, senior managers have led a buy-out by new firm Powertron Converters Ltd of DC-DC converter maker Powertron Ltd, which had ...
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Bush freezes transit budget
ON FEBRUARY 3 US President George W Bush unveiled his proposed budget for the 2003-04 financial year. This freezes the allocation for the Federal Transit Administration at the same $7·2bn as in the 2002-03 budget still making its way through Congress, compared to $6·8bn actually spent in 2001-02. The plan ...
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Vinck slashes SNCB budget
IF THE Belgian government had thought that Karel Vinck would be more docile than his predecessor as Managing Director of SNCB, the fired Etienne Schouppe, it may find itself largely mistaken. Against the express wishes of Transport Minister Isabelle Durand, the SNCB board has approved a plan to reduce spending ...
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DMU to Lao Cai
VIETNAM RAILWAYS began work last month at its Gia Lam works on a metre-gauge diesel trainset. Costing 90bn dong, the unit will have two end power cars enclosing 12 trailer vehicles. It is expected to be completed by the beginning of June, and to enter service on the Hanoi - ...
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Smart card deal
US operator WMATA has selected ERG Transit Systems and Northrop Grumman Information Technology to install and operate the SmarTrip¨ smart card fare collection system, which will cover 17 metro, rail and bus networks in Washington DC, Maryland and northern Virginia, subject to approval by Maryland Transit Administration. The $20m contract ...
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Customer care training
USA: Police officers belonging to Washington metro's Rail Anti-crime Target Squad have been sent on a crash course in customer service at Disney World, in a bid to reduce tension and prevent the escalation of minor incidents into major confrontations. All 357 officers will participate in a 6h course designed ...
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Cargo terminal saves space
RAIL Cargo Austria is testing advanced loading and sorting technology at an intermodal terminal at Wien-Nordwestbahnhof. Developed in partnership with ABC Consulting, Intermodal Corridor Network, Künz, Palfiger, Porr and seibersdorfer research, the pilot installation can handle all types of container in current use, as well as swap bodies, up to ...
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Cross-border chemicals
FEBRUARY 12 saw the operation of the first private-sector freight train across the German/Polish border, carrying oil products from Leuna to the Katowice region. A joint venture of German open-access operator rail4chem and Chem Trans Logistic Holding Polska SA plans to run a regular block train for chemicals traffic to ...
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China cools its metro rush
WHEN Guangzhou broke ground for its fourth metro line at the end of January (p120), it was a race against time. Barely two days later the construction of new metros in China was put on hold for the second time in a decade. With extensions and new lines underway in ...
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Sevilla circle revived
SPANISH Development Minister Francisco Álvarez-Cascos has unveiled a €112·4m programme to create a circular suburban route in Sevilla, building on earlier proposals developed by Renfe (RG 7.97 p434). The €57·3m infrastructure component of the Metrotrén Sevilla scheme includes €4·5m to build a 765m double-track electrified spur between the main line ...