All articles by Railway Gazette International – Page 960
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NewsNews in Brief
Last month the European Commission formally warned Bulgaria that it must implement First Railway Package legislation on track access charges. Operations have resumed on Tanzania’s Central line after US$11m of emergency repairs to flood damage caused by heavy rain in December. Reviving electric traction on the 300 km Dabuka ...
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NewsRail welding plant opened in Libya
LIBYA: Russian Railways President Vladimir Yakunin took part in the ceremonial opening of a rail welding plant in Ras Lanuf on June 11. It was built on a turnkey basis by welding equipment specialist Pskovelectrosvar, and will support RZD's €2·2bn four-year contract signed in April 2008 for construction ...
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NewsWabtec awarded Tyne & Wear Metro refurbishment contract
UK: Tyne & Wear Metro operating contractor DB Regio has awarded Wabtec Rail a £25m contract to overhaul the network's 90 two-car trainsets on behalf of local transport authority Nexus. The 'three-quarter life refurbishment' will be undertaken at Doncaster and will run to 2015. It includes corrosion rectification, an ...
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NewsJapanese industry in export overdrive
JAPAN: Having been selected as preferred supplier for the next generation of trains on the Washington DC metro, with up to 748 vehicles potentially worth US$1·48bn, Kawasaki has now picked up an order to supply more cars for New York. And Hitachi has set itself the task of doubling exports ...
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NewsInterfleet buys Die Ingenieurwerkstatt
GERMANY: UK-based international rail consultancy Interfleet Technology has expanded its European operations with the acquisition of Die Ingenieurwerkstatt GmbH for an undisclosed sum. The Wiesbaden-based firm was established in 1996 and now has more than 30 staff providing consultancy services in the areas of safety engineering, maintenance optimisation and rail ...
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NewsFrance to Portugal high speed co-operation agreement
EUROPE: During a two-day conference of ministers and stakeholders held in the Spanish city of Zaragoza to discuss the Trans-European Transport Network programme, on June 8 French Secretary of State for Transport Dominique Bussereau, Spanish Development Minister José Blanco and Portuguese Minister of Public Works, Transport & Communications António Mendonça ...
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NewsTren Urbano operating contract awarded
PUERTO RICO: Alternate Concepts Inc is to take sole responsibility for operation and maintenance of the Tren Urbano metro in San Juan under a five -year contract worth US$250m. The deal runs to June 2015, replacing the initial five-year contract with the Siemens Transit Team consortium which designed and built ...
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NewsTram-train on test at Crécy-la-Chapelle
FRANCE: A Siemens Avanto tram-train vehicle from the Bondy - Aulnay route T4 in Paris was tested by SNCF on the 10 km single-track Esbly - Crécy-la-Chapelle line east of the capital on June 2-4. The lack of a passing loop on the branch means it is not possible to ...
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NewsCutting track life-cycle costs
EUROPE: With the four-year Innotrack research project now approaching completion, the project partners now estimate that the life-cycle cost of track could be cut by 25% in the coming years. ‘That’s a lot of savings when you consider the extent of the rail network’, said UIC Director General Jean-Pierre Loubinoux, ...
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NewsPesa reveals details of low-floor EMU family
POLAND: Bydgoszcz-based manufacturer Pesa has revealed its ELF low-floor EMU design ahead of the planned exhibition of a prototype at the InnoTrans trade fair in Berlin in September. Speaking at the Expo Ferroviaria event in Torino on June 9, a spokesman confirmed that two contracts had already been ...
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NewsAnsaldoBreda and Bombardier combine to offer V300 Zefiro
ITALY: Following Alstom's announcement of an addition to its high speed train range on June 8, Bombardier Transportation's Country President Italy, Roberto Tazzioli, has revealed further details of his company's response to Ferrovie dello Stato's tender for 50 very high speed trainsets. To boost the local content of the planned ...
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NewsGenesee & Wyoming buys Alice Springs - Darwin operator
AUSTRALIA: US-based short line operator Genesee & Wyoming Inc is to acquire FreightLink, the concessionaire for the 2 240 km Tarcoola - Darwin railway which went into receivership in November 2008. GWI has managed FreightLink's rail services since they began in 2004, and expects to make significant savings by ...
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NewsCrisis at Pakistan Railways
PAKISTAN: With growing interest in the development of Trans-Asian rail links, one might think that Pakistan Railways has a promising future. But an SOS reaches us from railway headquarters in Lahore warning that PR is on the verge of collapse, following years of ‘seething indifference’ by governments of all parties. ...
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NewsAlstom extends high speed train family
ITALY: Alstom Transport revealed a further addition to its portfolio of high speed trains at the Expo Ferroviaria event in Torino on June 8. The design, which does not yet have a name, combines elements of all of the company’s existing products in the high speed sector, including the AGV ...
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NewsGautrain's World Cup kick-off
SOUTH AFRICA: The first phase of the Gautrain passenger railway opened between Sandton, Marlboro, Rhodesfield and OR Tambo International Airport on June 8, completion having been accelerated so it would be ready for the start of the FIFA World Cup on June 11. Inauguration and ribbon-cutting ceremonies for invited ...
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NewsContracts June 2010
France: Parkeon is to supply a €21m ticketing system encompassing smart card and NFC phone technology for Lille’s metro, tram and bus services. Accor Group’s Grand Est Restauration subsidiary has a two-year contract to provide catering on Alleo TGV services from July 1. Russia: Bombardier has ...
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NewsAmbitious plans will still need funding
SOUTH AFRICA: With public services on the first section of Gautrain between OR Tambo International Airport and Sandton due to start on June 8, there seems to be growing enthusiasm for railway investment. From commuter services to high speed trains and heavy haul freight, plenty of ambitious projects are under ...
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NewsStadler opens double-deck train factory
SWITZERLAND: President of the Swiss Confederation Doris Leuthard attended the formal opening of Stadler Rail's centre of competence for double-deck electric multiple-units in Altenrhein on June 4, the day after the manufacturer's first Dosto RV EMU for S-Bahn services had been unveiled at Zürich's main station. Stadler has won four ...
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NewsIn seach of lumbar support
SEATS: Recognising that passengers travelling on high speed trains are likely to remain in their seats for between 2 h and 4 h, Compin's research and development unit has been looking at ways to improve comfort by developing seats with an adjustable lumbar support. Noting that the spine lumbar region ...
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NewsProducts & Technology in Brief
NS has launched the Reisplanner Xtra application for iPhones and BlackBerrys. As well as real-time travel information and details of station amenities, this offers pro-active SMS messages when trains are delayed, alerting waiting family or friends to late arrivals. Assisted by staff from QR Ltd and ARTC, researchers ...