All articles by Railway Gazette International – Page 1342
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News
DART goes west
DALLAS Area Rapid Transit extended its Trinity Express commuter rail service from 16 to 43 km on September 18. Four new stations have been opened at West Irving, CentrePort, Hurst/Bell and Richland Hills. Services run hourly from Dallas as far as CentrePort, where a shuttle bus connects to Dallas/Fort Worth ...
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Track lease deal
BANGLADESH Railways awarded its first private-sector track maintenance contract in August, to come into operation from October 1. The deal covers the 40 km line from Jessore to Benapole, which forms part of the broad-gauge rail link between Bangladesh and India. The line has recently been rehabilitated at a cost ...
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UITP debates light rail renaissance
INTRO: With several Australian cities planning to invest in expansion, modernisation or revival of their tram and light rail networks, there will be much to discuss at this month’s UITP light rail conference in MelbourneBYLINE: Hans Rat and Peter Moore *LIGHT RAIL is increasingly recognised as a superb transport mode, ...
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Iran orders express DMUs
ON SEPTEMBER 12 Austrian trade minister Dr Bartenstein and his Iranian counterpart Dr Schafei attended a contract signing ceremony for the supply of 20 inter-city diesel trainsets for Iranian Islamic Republic Railways. The four-car units will be supplied by Siemens Austria under a deal worth Sch1·37bn, which was signed by ...
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Watching paint dry faster
REPAINTING of French National Railways’ refurbished TGV Sud-Est trainsets has been speeded up by the development of a new paint drying tunnel using infrared radiation. The Sunkiss Thermoreactor is a catalytic radiant panel which produces infrared radiation and convection currents through the catalytic combustion of natural gas or propane. ...
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DSVN to elevate
LAST MONTH, Vietnam Railways unveiled proposals to build a double-track elevated railway across the centre of Hanoi, replacing its existing single-track line which runs at grade with many level crossings. Connecting the existing Red River bridge at Long Bien with the southern suburb of Van Diem, the 13 km viaduct ...
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Dublin metro ring study
IRISH Minister for Public Enterprise Mary O’Rourke has approved in principle the development of a heavy metro in Dublin, augmenting the light rail route already under construction. The intention is to develop the network through a public private partnership, for which legislation is to be introduced next year. The government ...
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Spoornet electric renewal
SOUTH AFRICAN operator Spoornet has awarded a R300m contract to Adtranz for the upgrading of 45 Class 11E locomotives which run on the 25 kV 50Hz heavy-haul coal line to Richards Bay. This follows the contract for Alstom to renew the 31 Class 9E heavy-haul electric locos (RG 9.00 p511). ...
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Expertise and experience are vital
YET ANOTHER public inquiry, this time into automatic train protection (but still with m’learned friends present in strength), opened in London on September 18. Chaired jointly by Lord Cullen and Professor Uff, who respectively held inquiries into the Ladbroke Grove (1999) and Southall (1997) collisions, it provides the third opportunity ...
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München explores the Stadtbahn options
INTRO: Both the S-Bahn and U-Bahn network in the Bavarian capital are reaching their optimal size. Ralf Roman Rossberg examines plans for an extensive light rail network to complement the existing rail corridorsTOGETHER with the long-established city centre trams, well-used U-Bahn and S-Bahn networks form the backbone of public transport ...
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National Express takes root in Melbourne
INTRO: In June 1999 Britain’s National Express Group won three of the five passenger rail franchises in Victoria. Whilst geographically they couldn’t be further away from the Group’s five British franchises, the inheritance, the challenges and the ambitions are remarkably similarBYLINE: Peter StrachanChief Executive, Australia Rail Division, National Express GroupON ...
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Stansted Express relaunched
BRITISH train operator West Anglia Great Northern is due this month to relaunch its Stansted Express service which connects London Liverpool Street with Stansted Airport. This is now the London hub for several low-cost airlines, and WAGN reports that passenger numbers on Stansted Express are 37% up on last year, ...
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Fast Rail Links Project wins state funding
ON SEPTEMBER 5 the Victorian state government announced a A$550m cash injection towards a five-year programme of upgrading and modernisation to provide faster passenger services between Melbourne and the regional centres of Ballarat, Bendigo, Geelong and Traralgon. Premier Steve Bracks said the project would be funded as a public-private sector ...
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Finance
Brazil: América Latina Logística do Brasil has become the first of Brazil’s privatised railways to turn in a profit, achieving net income of R$13m in the first half-year.Bulgaria: Income from asset sales and higher fares were expected to contribute to improved financial results for BDZ in the third quarter, following ...
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Wave of openings in France
THREE FRENCH cities inaugurated new light rail and metro lines within a week. First was Nantes, where Semitan opened two routes on August 28. Line 1 was extended west from Bellevue to François Mitterrand, and the first stage of Line 3 began revenue service from H
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Laser measurement speeds profile gauging
INTRO: The introduction of modern rolling stock requires comprehensive and accurate knowledge of clearance profiles throughout the network where it will operate. Innovative measuring systems will enable accurate data to be collected at up to 200 km/h BYLINE: David M JohnsonManaging DirectorLaser Rail LtdINTRODUCTION of new rolling stock on an ...
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Istanbul opens heavy metro
THE FIRST 8 km stage of Istanbul’s north-south heavy metro line was officially inaugurated on September 16. Linking Taksim and 4. Levent, the line has four intermediate stations, and a design capacity of 70000 passengers/h in each direction. Construction of the line started began in 1992, and installation of electrical ...
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Industry News
Mexico: Trinity Industries Inc of the USA has begun work on a 32500m2 wagon factory at Sabinas, Coahuila, which it hopes to open by the end of 2001. Plant closures within Trinity’s Railcar Group (RG 7.00 p406) were expected to contribute towards a charge of up to US$46m in the ...
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INTELLIGENCE
Australia: A container terminal and balloon loop have been commissioned at Mt Isa as part of a joint project between QR, Mt Isa City Council and Mt Isa Mines, which is making more use of containers to move export minerals to Townsville.QR carried 131million tonnes of freight in the year ...