Technology news – Page 108
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NewsUnited Wagon Co to supply castings for the US wagon market
RUSSIA: A 10-year agreement for United Wagon Co to supply Wabtec Corp with castings for the US wagon market was signed at the Expo 1520 trade fair in Shcherbinka on September 2. Wabtec Corp is to provide design documentation and a manufacturing license enabling UWC’s Tikhvin plant to supply side ...
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NewsDriving simulator investment
ARGENTINA: Minister of the Interior & Transport Florencio Randazzo opened a suite featuring 11 driving simulators at the national railway training facility, Cenacaf, in Temperley last month. Supplied by Spanish specialist Lander Simulation, the simulators are intended to recreate precisely the conditions that drivers will encounter on the Mitre and ...
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NewsFujitsu buys Applied Card Technologies
UK: Fujitsu announced its ‘multi-million pound’ acquisition of Applied Card Technologies on August 27. ‘ACT is a proven expert in the digital ticketing space and will be a vitally important part of the Fujitsu business’, said Regina Moran, CEO of Fujitsu UK & Ireland. ‘Digital ticketing is ...
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NewsTracking jumper cables
CABLES: A new design of pluggable inter-car jumper cable has been developed by Harting to carry electrical power, data and control signals. The jumpers use Han rectangular connectors to ensure a robust connection to the vehicles, and these have been fitted with industrial-grade Ha-VIS RFID transponders to improve the ...
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NewsSolar and wireless automated level crossing commissioned
COLOMBIA: Ferrocarril del Pacífico has commissioned the first of 22 level crossings on the 196 km Buenaventura – Palmira route which are being fitted with automated safety systems by US firm Railroad Signal International, using a solar-powered train detection system from Canadian company Argenia Railway Technologies. Completion of the project ...
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NewsPassenger security app launched
INDIA: An app designed to improve the security of passengers on Eastern Railway's suburban services has been launched by Railways Minister Suresh Prabhu during a visit to the railway’s headquarters The Railway Mobile Instant Tracking Response & Assistance app can be used to alert the nearest Railway Protection ...
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NewsDB Netz buys SBB’s Rail Control System
GERMANY: Infrastructure manager DB Netz has licensed the Rail Control System train control and dispatching package developed by Swiss Federal Railways, and plans to deploy it across the German network from 2019. Introduced by SBB in 2009, RCS is also used by BLS and SOB. Belgium’s Infrabel was the first ...
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NewsSNCF tests air-cycle HVAC
FRANCE: A prototype Liebherr-Transportation heating, ventilation and air-conditioning system which uses air-cycle instead of vapour-cycle technology is being tested on an SNCF regional trainset operating in the Midi-Pyrénées region. Derived from aerospace HVAC technology, it is intended to offer substantial savings in life cycle costs, with a reduced number ...
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NewsCameras to detect drunken behaviour
JAPAN: West Japan Railway has installed cameras that can automatically identify drunken behaviour and alert platform staff, in an attempt to reduce the number of accidents at stations. So far 46 cameras have been implemented on the Osaka Loop Line platforms of Koybashi station in Osaka. JR West is ...
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NewsMR invests in control equipment
MYANMAR: A contract to supply operational control centres and related safety equipment has been signed between Myanma Railways, Marubeni Corp and Mitsui & Co. The control equipment, which Marubeni is sourcing from Kyosan Electric Manufacturing Co, will support the modernisation of Yangon Central and Pazunduang stations. It is being funded ...
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NewsMost railroads ‘will miss PTC deadline’, FRA confirms
USA: The deadline of December 31 2015 mandated by Congress for the installation of Positive Train Control by US railroads will not be met, the Federal Railroad Administration confirmed on August 7. The Rail Safety Improvement Act passed by Congress in October 2008 requires all Class I freight railways and ...
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NewsUltracapacitor technology partnership signed
CHINA: US-based ultracapacitor manufacturer Maxwell Technologies and CRRC’s Qingdao Sifang Rolling Stock Research Institute have signed a long-term strategic partnership agreement covering the joint development of energy storage technology for the Chinese rail market. ‘Rail transportation applications are an excellent match for ultracapacitors, and the rail market will be ...
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NewsHaCon and Bytemark announce partnership
USA: New York-based Bytemark and Germany’s HaCon have announced a strategic partnership to offer real-time journey planning and mobile ticketing systems in the North American market. HaCon brings ‘decades of experience in real-time travel planning and logistics data management to the mass transit agencies here in North America’, said Bytemark ...
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NewsHigh speed train toilet emptying system delivered
CHINA: The first of Smith Brothers & Webb’s ‘airline-style’ Controlled Effluent Transfer System toilet tank emptying units has been installed at Hong Kong’s Shek Kong depot, which will maintain trainsets used on the future Express Rail Link. The manufacturer says the automated CETS can empty tanks three times faster ...
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NewsSaft supplies Haramain back-up batteries
SAUDI ARABIA: Back-up power for the 125 V DC signalling, security and telecom systems on the Haramain high speed line is to be provided by specialist batteries developed by Saft and electrical equipment supplier Tecnibat. The customised 510 Ah capacity nickel-based backup power systems are required to withstand the desert ...
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NewsWabtec to buy Faiveley Transport for US$1·8bn
FRANCE: On July 27 Wabtec Corp announced plans to acquire Faiveley Transport in a deal which would ‘create one of the world’s largest public rail equipment companies’, with revenues of US$4·5bn and a presence in ‘all key freight rail and passenger transit geographies worldwide.’ Shareholders owning 51% of Faiveley Transport ...
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NewsMerMec inspection vehicle delivered
CHILE: MerMec has supplied EFE with a customised Roger 600 self-propelled vehicle incorporating integrated track measurement systems which it says will cut the time required for certain inspection activities from two weeks to 1 h. The 18 m steel-bodied Maquina Registradora de Vía car is equipped to measure track and ...
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NewsApple Pay arrives on London’s transport network
UK: Apple’s Apple Pay system which links payment card accounts to iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus or Apple Watches can be used pay for travel on public transport within London from July 14. Apple Pay has the same validity and is used in a similar way to contactless bank ...
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NewsBiofuel from station coffee waste
UK: Following a successful trial, infrastructure manager Network Rail and Bio-bean have signed an agreement for waste coffee grounds from London’s Euston, King’s Cross, Liverpool Street, Paddington, Victoria and Waterloo stations to be recycled into biofuel pellets which can be used for heating homes, offices and factories. Bio-bean’s coffee waste ...
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NewsIssuing tickets from Samsung smartphones
UK: Arriva has awarded Fujitsu a seven-year contract to supply staff at its subsidiaries with what it says will be the UK rail industry’s ‘first smartphone-based ticket-issuing system’. Deployment is planned by March 2016. Fujitsu’s STARmobile will run on Samsung Galaxy S5 smartphones issued to staff at Arriva Trains Wales, ...