All articles by Railway Gazette International – Page 1382
-
News
Siemens tries MoMo concept
SIEMENS Verkehrstechnik has signed a co-operation agreement with FA Porsche for the development of a design-led production concept to build modular metro vehicles. The MoMo concept has been under development for the last 18 months, starting with the technical features and then moving on to interior fittings and image.According to ...
-
News
Consolidated designs to serve high-speed partnerships
INTRO: The race to develop new high-speed trains is slowing down, as railways in Europe and the Far East concentrate on management and service quality. Gordon Pettitt reviews the market, and suggests that international management consortia may offer the best way for rail to present an attractive and cost-effective alternative ...
-
News
Export corridor
MALAWI Railways is to resume work on its 27 km cross-border extension from Mchinji to Chipata in southeastern Zambia. Started in the 1980s, the line is intended to provide a rail corridor from eastern Zambia to the port of Nacala in Mozambique, which is shorter than the lines to Dar ...
-
News
Tags cut smart ticket cost
LOW-COST silicon tagging technology being developed for the airline and postal industry by Motorola offers the potential for cheap single-trip metro tickets compatible with smart card applications. With smart cards costing up to US$5·00 each, most rail applications to date have retained paper or magnetic-stripe tickets for single trips and ...
-
News
Rail milling may cut noise
TRIALS with a rail milling train suggest that the technique may have an assured future. Operated by German maintenance contractor Schweerbau, the prototype train was developed by Austrian machine tool specialist Linsinger Maschinenbau which exhibited at the VDEI event for the first time this year.According to Linsinger’s Prok Ing Walter ...
-
News
Darwin deal
CONTRACTORS are to be selected over the next few months for construction of the 1420 km rail link between Alice Springs and Darwin, following the announcement on June 6 of a preferred bidder for the A$1·2bn build-own-operate concession. Australia’s federal government, together with South Australia and Northern Territory, selected Asia-Pacific ...
-
News
Delhi tenders
INDIA’s Ministry of Railways invited three prequalification tenders in May for work on the 55·3 km Delhi Mass Rapid Transit metro network which was officially launched last October (RG 9.98 p567). According to the ministry ’all the bids are global and are open to Indian or international companies who can ...
-
News
Invensys Rail to develop ETCS
INTERNATIONAL signalling and braking specialist Invensys Rail has launched a strategy to develop technology to meet the parameters and specifications of the European Train Control Systems project. Whilst the company is involved with project management of the ERTMS on-board Kernel test programme in Spain, it was not a founder member ...
-
News
New Jersey orders diesel GTWs
ON JUNE 7 Adtranz Switzerland and Stadler Fahrzeug AG received an order worth SFr90m to supply 20 low-floor railcars for the Camden - Trenton light rail project. A diesel-electric version of the GTW2/6 design, the first cars will shipped to New Jersey in August 2001.Following the FRA ruling on ...
-
News
One down, but so many to go
ON APRIL 22 President Menem of Argentina signed Decree 393/99, giving legal force to the contract renegotiated with Metrovías, concessionaire for the Subte metro and Urquiza commuter line in Buenos Aires. Confirming an extension to 2017 and an investment programme worth a total of 1·4bn pesos (RG 2.99 p65), it ...
-
News
Traction renewal heads investment drive
POLISH State Railways has announced plans to update its rolling stock fleet. Investment in 1999-2010 will include acquisition of 16 tilting trains from Fiat Ferroviaria, 42 Type EU11 locomotives from Adtranz-Pafawag, and eight dual-system EU43 units from the same supplier. The locos are already being assembled, and the first has ...
-
News
Sumatra expansion study
INDONESIA’S Ministry of Communications has launched a project to develop the rail network on the island of Sumatra. At the beginning of June the ministry commissioned a comprehensive study and master plan from a team of consultants led by Mott MacDonald. Due for completion next July, the study being funded ...
-
News
Madrid plans more expansion
THE 5·4 km extension of Madrid Metro Line 8 from Campo de las Naciones to Barajas Airport was formally opened on June 14 by the President of the Communidad de Madrid Alberto Ruiz Gallardon. The airport station is directly connected to international terminals T2 and T3, and the Pts18bn extension ...
-
News
Finance
Canada: CN is to offer for sale four million common shares to raise US$250m, in addition to convertible preferred securities worth US$200m. The proceeds will be used to reduce outstanding debt, finance strategic investment and pursue new business opportunities.China: Hong Kong MTR Corp has appointed Goldman Sachs as Lead Financial ...
-
News
Tauern fire trauma
SAFETY in road tunnels shot to the top of the agenda in Alpine countries after a fire on May 29 in the 6·4 km single carriageway Tauern tunnel in Austria killed at least five people. Over 20 vehicles caught fire after a lorry carrying varnish was involved in a collision ...
-
News
First Melbourne franchise
VICTORIA’S Transport Minister Robin Cooper announced on June 18 that the MetroLink consortium led by Transfield had been selected for a 12-year concession to run the Yarra Trams network in Melbourne. State support will taper from A$38·6m in the first year to zero for the last two years of the ...
-
News
Frame sleeper givescontinuous rail support
A GROUP of Austrian companies unveiled a frame sleeper design for ballasted track. It consists of a prestressed frame shaped like an H with two crossbars. These form a continuous longitudinal beam supporting the rails.Known as the RS95, the frame sleeper doubles the bearing surface, so halving the load on ...
-
News
Test track to serve northern France
CEREMONIES were held on May 21 to mark the laying of the final section of track on a rolling stock test circuit at Petite F
-
News
Railtrack gets head start in PPP race
In return for a promise not to bid for London Underground’s deep tube lines, Railtrack has won exclusive rights to negotiate to take over the sub-surface lines which share a common loading gauge with its network. Announcing the deal on June 15, Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott said ’for ...
-
News
Sustainable mobility is the goal
’ALL INDIVIDUALS need accessibility to employment, education and recreation. Achieving environmentally-sustainable mobility must include an expanded role for public transport, and requires many kinds of action. Well-managed, well-utilised public transport will make a major contribution to the quality of life in global communities in the next century.’Thus begins the Toronto ...