All articles by Railway Gazette International – Page 1343
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News
Plastic offers longer sleeper life
Production of sleepers made out of recycled plastic and rubber has commenced in Houston, Texas, after a seven-year R&D programme that has cost U$4m. The production line has been set up by TieTek Inc after tests with plastic sleepers produced by three companies at AAR’s Transportation Technology Center in Pueblo, ...
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News
Pankow links open
SEPTEMBER 16 saw the inauguration of the long-planned Berlin U-Bahn extension to Pankow, where an interchange with the S-Bahn has been provided. The eastern end of Line U2 had been closed beyond Senefelderplatz since July 10 to allow the connection of the 390m extension from Vinetastrasse. Completion of the DM105m ...
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News
TV on the metro
MADRID Metro has joined e-Media Group and Urbaser in a new venture that is to install TV screens across the network by the end of 2002. Costing Pts7bn and expected to create over 300 jobs, the Canal Metro Madrid project will see 1200 42in plasma screens installed on platforms and ...
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Metros
Egypt: National Authority for Tunnels was due to invite bids last month for up to three contracts to build the 2·5 km extension of Cairo metro Line 2 from Giza to Moneib, expected to cost úE300m. A total of 22 companies submitted prequalification applications.Germany: Karlsruhe is planning to build a ...
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News
MTR scramble
SHARES in Hong Kong’s Mass Transit Railway are due to be traded for the first time on October 5. To pave the way for partial privatisation, MTRC’s property, rights and liabilities were vested in MTR Corporation Ltd on June 30. This allowed the government to announce on September 11 that ...
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News
On-line procurement
French engineering consultancy Mercury Consultants is launching an on-line search engine for technical suppliers, aimed initially at the engineering and research departments of railway operators and manufacturers. Research and development departments from any organisation will be able to contact mepax.com free with specific technical requirements for materials procurement or potential ...
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A warning and an opportunity
THE political jungle is inhabited by a species of parrot that squawks ’safety is paramount’ at the slightest hint of rail safety being compromised. The bird was unaccountably silent in September, when an unexpected relaxation of employment rules meant train drivers in charge of freight trains carrying dangerous chemicals, inflammable ...
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Overwhelmed by passengers
QUESTIONS have been asked in the Dutch parliament about the widespread failure of NS Reizigers to meet comfort standards laid down in its 1995 service contract with the government. These require 85% of passengers travelling for more than 5min in the commuting peak to have a seat. But at the ...
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News
PEOPLE
Pascal Tomasso and Jacques Damas have joined Eurostar Group to fill two new Executive Director positions, respectively Sales & Marketing and Operations. Maurits Kalff has been appointed Director of Customer Services, in place of Edward Bell.Head of SNCF’s Marseille region Pierre Izard has been appointed Director of Human Resources at ...
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News
PeruRail refurbishes
ON AUGUST 24 PeruRail announced the start of a US$1·5m programme to refurbish its passenger car fleet, due for completion by March 2001. Work is being undertaken by James Park Associates at the company’s workshops in Cusco and Arequipa.The fleet of eight diesel railcars operating between Cusco and Aguas Calientes ...
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News
Pointers
n Australian aluminium producer Alcoa, one of Westrail’s biggest customers, is to put its rail transport out to tender, a move which could affect bids for the purchase of Westrail’s freight business.n Completion of the long-planned line across the Malawi-Zambia border between Mchinji and Chipata (40 km) is under discussion ...
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News
Sevilla revival
PUBLIC consultations have begun for the construction of a four-line metro network in the Spanish city of Sevilla. Promoter of the 47 km network is Metro de Sevilla, a joint venture company formed by the city administration and the Andalucia regional government. An environmental impact study costing Pts346m has been ...
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News
Sidetrack
Scent to try usA HECTIC dash by metro across Paris one afternoon during last month’s fuel ’crisis’ reminded us of the hapless British transport minister who got into trouble for preferring his car to public transport because he didn’t like sitting next to ’smelly commuters’. It was hot and crowded, ...
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News
Signals at yellow
IT LOOKS as if Jean-Yves Leblanc may be going into the signalling business. Outlining progress with the takeover of Adtranz (RG 9.00 p601), Bombardier Transportation’s President & Chief Operating Officer admitted on September 12 that the bids for Adtranz Signal had been ’not interesting’. GE Harris and Harmon are too ...
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News
Class 185 pioneers use of ETCS
INTRO: Three pre-production dual-system Class 185 freight locos for German Railway are equipped to operate using ERTMS/ETCS, although delays in the development of Specific Transmission Modules in each country to form the interface with existing signalling mean that conventional train protection systems will be used initiallyTRIALS with a trio of ...
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NewsInnoTrans 2000: Giant event storms to success in Berlin
INNOTRANS: Over 800 exhibitors from nearly 30 countries will be present at the InnoTrans event on September 12-15, filling some 20000m2 of hall space within the Berlin exhibition grounds. Organiser Messe Berlin reports that the number of exhibitors is up 75% from the last InnoTrans event in 1998. Once again, ...
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News
ICE3 pioneers commercial application of eddy-current rail brakes
The dream of frictionless braking has crept closer with the installation of eddy-current rail brakes on German Railway's ICE3, but they will only be used in carefully controlled conditions
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News
Prescott promises £60bn spending bonanza
BRITAIN’s Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott has unveiled plans for a massive increase in public and private investment in rail over the next 10 years. Presenting Transport 2010 on July 20, Prescott set a target of lifting passenger-km on the national network by 50% and freight tonne-km by 80% by ...