All articles by Railway Gazette International – Page 1445
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News
Railtrack investment up
FINANCIAL results announced on June 5 show that Railtrack is keeping its promise to boost investment following privatisation in May 1996. For the year to March 31 1997, spending on maintenance and renewal of Britain’s rail infrastructure exceeded £1·6bn, which is regarded as the ’steady-state’ figure.Operating profit rose by 15% ...
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Lakeside lines upgraded
ON JUNE 9 Sweden’s King Carl XVI Gustaf formally opened Banverket’s reconstructed Svealandsbanan regional main line between S
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Reserve Le Shuttle
Eurotunnel’s Le Shuttle car-carrying service has been relaunched following the repair of fire damage to the Channel Tunnel (RG 1.97 p21), starting with several weeks of special events under the ’Happy Summer’ banner. Managing Director Bill Dix announced on June 10 that 60 to 65% of capacity would henceforth be ...
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Sydney light rail ready to start
THIS MONTH is due to see the start of services on Sydney’s A$65m Ultimo - Pyrmont light rail line. The first Adtranz-built Variotram to reach the city arrived on May 31 and the second on June 5, enabling test running to start on the reserved alignment behind the Darling Harbour ...
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Queen opens Storebaelt link
JUNE 1 saw the formal opening of the fixed rail link across Denmark’s Great Belt. The ceremonies were held at the Halsskov portal on Sjaelland, to which around 400 guests were taken from København by a special train formed of IC3 DMUs. Transport Minister Bjørn Westh (right) made a ...
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Market
Algeria: SNTF is negotiating to buy signalling equipment for 33 stations between El Affroun and Oued Tlelat from Siemens Austria for Sch1bn.Australia: Queensland Rail has awarded two contracts worth A$217 to Walkers-Adtranz Pty Ltd for 90 EMU cars for Brisbane. Westrail has ordered 10 EMU cars from Walkers-Adtranz for the ...
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Metros
France: On June 1 RATP began non-stop services on RER Line B between Paris Nord and Aéroport Charles-de-Gaulle, running every 15min outside peak hours.Germany: Adtranz has unveiled a family of modular low-floor trams between 19 and 45m long developed at a cost of DM10m. ’CityCat’ will compete against Siemens’ ...
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Public transport needs political will
FOR MANY YEARS suburban rail services in the Brazilian city of São Paulo suffered serious neglect. The metro, in sharp contrast, offers a high quality service. It has attracted considerable investment, allowing it to grow into a 44 km network, with extensions and new lines under construction. After years of ...
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QR woos passengers with tilting trains
INTRO: Radical concepts in engineering and interior design are being applied to the tilting trains due to take over Brisbane - Rockhampton services next yearBYLINE: Don Heumiller and Jerry Jirasek*BYLINE: * Don Heumiller is an independent rolling stock design engineer advising Walkers Ltd. Jerry Jirasek is Senior Design Manager for ...
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Reform under scrutiny
APPOINTMENT of Communist transport minister Jean-Claude Gayssot (p438) under a left-wing government elected on June 1 is likely to require some intellectual and political acrobatics in French transport policy. The previous right-wing government put Claude Martinand at the head of the infrastructure company Réseau Ferré de France, whose board was ...
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Stuttgart special report
INTRO: We present a selection of the numerous new products for the rail industry on show at the UITP’s City Transport 97 exhibition in Stuttgart last monthLess wheel squealTRACK component specialist Ortec has developed a number of new products designed to help railways in their efforts to cut wheel-rail noise. ...
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Sidetrack
Last month Sidetrack reported on the various ways which the activities of birds have caused problems for railways. Now we have photographic proof to show how Hondekop and stork can live in harmony in the NetherlandsCAPTION: Dieter offers an alternative to plans to link cities in south and east Australia ...
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Rotterdam shuttles to handle 1m TEU/year
IF ROTTERDAM has become the focal point for chartered intermodal shuttle trains around which the European Union’s first Freightways are to be constructed, NS Cargo has been a willing and enthusiastic partner in ironing out the obstacles.Bas C van Nes, NS Cargo’s Director, Combined Transport, says that ’rail’s share of ...
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Barajas link to open in 1999
AIRLINE passengers will be able to reach Madrid’s Barajas airport by rail from the end of 1999. Funding has been agreed for construction of a 4·5 km metro extension to the airport from Mar de Cristal on Line 4, giving a 25min journey time from the airport to Plaza de ...
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ICE3 test train rolls this summer
INTRO: The ability to run at 300 km/h, to climb 4% grades and to operate in several other countries dictated the design parameters for Germany’s third generation ICE. A five-car component test train capable of 360 km/h called the ICE-S will be ready to start a programme of trials in ...
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Suppliers flock to City Transport ’97
INTRO: Organised in conjunction with UITP’s Stuttgart congress, the City Transport ’97 exhibition takes place on June 2-5A wide range of products and services for urban and regional operators will be on display at City Transport ’97 in Stuttgart’s Messegelände exhibition and congress centre. The Transfloor range from Altro Floors ...
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Transrapid survives another review
WE HAVE lost count of the number of times that high speed maglev projects have been given green lights, go-aheads and approvals in Germany. The latest came at the end of April when Transport Minister Matthias Wissmann said the project to build a Transrapid line between Hamburg and Berlin would ...
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At-seat entertainment
An at-seat entertainment system for rail vehicles has been developed by established airline supplier MBM Technology, in conjunction with seat manufacturer Compin and interiors and component specialist Transintech. In a prototype static installation presented to train operators, lessors and manufacturers, LCD video screens have been fitted to Compin first class ...
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Rivals to build automated freight terminals
GERMAN Railway has let development contracts for two fully-automated freight handling terminals. Intended to cut the time taken to transfer containers between train and lorry, the terminals will also occupy less land than conventional intermodal sites with similar throughput.Krupp F
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Sishen - Saldanha pulls back from the brink
INTRO: Murray Hughes reports from the 6th IHHA Congress in Cape TownVISIT the 861 km iron ore artery in South Africa, and you will see signs that the railway has suffered badly. Spoornet executives admit that the line nearly closed when the iron and steel market plummetted in the mid-1980s. ...