Technology news – Page 113
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NewsAdvanced Train Management System trial contract signed
AUSTRALIA: Live testing of the Advanced Train Management System is set to begin shortly, following the signing of a contract between infrastructure manager Australian Rail Track Corp and Lockheed Martin Australia. The two-year trial is to be undertaken between Whyalla and Port Augusta in South Australia. ATMA uses GPS ...
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Newsc2c expands ITSO smart card ticketing
UK: Commuter operator c2c began offering season tickets on its c2c Smart card from November 3, including Travelcards valid for travel on the National Rail and Transport for London networks within Greater London. c2c Smart is the government’s pilot for the South East Flexible Ticketing programme to introduce smart ticketing ...
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NewsIndian Railways begins wi-fi roll-out
INDIA: Minister of Railways D V Sadananda Gowda has inaugurated Indian Railways’ first station wi-fi installation at Bangalore City, which has been equipped as the pilot for a programme to provide wi-fi at all category A and A1 stations. The RailWire wi-fi programme is being undertaken by the Ministry of ...
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NewsTicket app offers dynamic pricing and tickets for children
UK: Mobile ticketing specialist Corethree has announced its first rail deployment, developing an updated multimodal rail and bus app for Northern Ireland transport body Translink. The app offers bespoke dynamic pricing, enabling Translink to offer short-time promotional fares as well as standard tickets through mobile devices. A purchase delegation or ...
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NewsReal-time train positions from multiple data sources
FRANCE: HaCon has implemented a version of its HAFAS Live Maps real-time train location mapping software for French national passenger operator SNCF which for the first time integrates positioning information from both trackside equipment and GPS. ‘The combination of the two data sources results in the highest possible precision that ...
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NewsFlexi-Pile Cap approved
ELECTRIFICATION: British infrastructure manager Network Rail has approved the use of FLI Structures' Flexi-Pile Cap during the installation of electrification masts. Flexi-Pile Cap is designed for use when driven piles for electrification masts are in a suboptimal location or are misaligned. The problematic pile is cut back and ...
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NewsBrake disc measuring tool
BRAKES: Spanish firm Tecnopraim has developed a laser tool for monitoring the condition of brake discs. ReaDisc is designed to measure surface roughness with micrometre precision, enabling rolling stock operators to identify any abnormal wear and reduce their costs by optimising disc life. Users do not need to ...
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NewsConverter contract to enhance Northeast Corridor power supplies
USA: Amtrak has awarded Siemens a ‘mid double-digit million dollar’ contract to enhance its traction power supply facility at Metuchen in New Jersey on the Washington, DC – New York – Boston Northeast Corridor. Under the contract, Siemens is to deliver, install and commission two 30 MW converter units. It ...
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NewsSiemens scoops Infrabel ETCS contract
BELGIUM: Infrastructure manager Infrabel announced on October 14 that its board had approved the award of a €510m contract to Siemens and Cofely Fabricom for the supply and installation of ETCS Level 2 equipment on around 2 300 track-km over the next eight years. The contract award is the last ...
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NewsEuropean Commission seeks associated members to join Shift2Rail
EUROPE: The European Commission has invited organisations to express interest in becoming associated members of the Shift2Rail initiative, which is to invest almost €920m in railway research and innovation in 2014-20. Applications are to be submitted by November 12, with the associated members to be selected in early 2015. The ...
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NewsJapanese railway test centre opens to support export drive
JAPAN: What Mitsubishi Heavy Industries describes as Japan's first comprehensive railway transport system verification facility was officially opened on October 2. The Mihara Test Centre is located at the Wadaoki plant of MHI’s Mihara Machinery Works in Hiroshima Prefecture. It is being made available for use by all private ...
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NewsAlstom awarded ETCS Level 2 contracts
EUROPE: Alstom has announced contracts to supply ETCS onboard equipment to Belgium’s SNCB and Deutsche Bahn in Germany. The SNCB contract is worth €70m and covers the design, supply and maintenance for 10 years of Atlas 200 ETCS Level 2 onboard equipment for 449 trains of five types. Installation ...
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NewsMitsubishi wins first order from DB
GERMANY: On September 25 Mitsubishi Electric Corp of Japan announced its first order from DB, covering the supply of IGBT power modules to replace GTO modules in the drives of 46 ICE2 high speed trainsets. Deliveries will follow the approval of the first two upgraded trainsets, with sales of €22m ...
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NewsSeeing Machines to be tested on EMD locomotives
INNOTRANS: Seeing Machines announced an agreement for its driver fatigue and distraction monitoring technology to be tested on Electro-Motive Diesel locomotives on September 24. This is designed to intervene in the event of a driver experiencing ‘microsleep’ or being distracted. The technology is used on large mining vehicles supplied ...
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NewsPushing the buttons at InnoTrans
INNOTRANS: Captron is displaying a range of train door activation buttons which are designed to function despite the worst that the railway environment can throw at them, including vandalism and bad weather. The door buttons use capacitive sensors rather than mechanical switches, which Head of Business Development Mathias Krostewitz ...
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NewsArtesyn launches ControlSafe safety-critical computing platform
INNOTRANS: First-time exhibitor Artesyn Embedded Technologies is using InnoTrans to announce its ControlSafe fail-safe computer platform for signalling, control and other critical applications. ControlSafe draws on more than 30 years of experience in supplying safety-critical technology for the rail, aviation, off-shore and other industries. ControlSafe comprises two industrial computers ...
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NewsFuel cells to power regional trainsets
GERMANY: Alstom Transport hopes to have 40 fuel cell-powered regional trains in commercial service on regional lines in Germany by 2020 under an accord signed at the InnoTrans trade show in Berlin on September 24. Under the letters of intent signed between Alstom, the Länder of Niedersachsen, ...
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NewsLucchini RS continues expanding
EUROPE: Italian wheel manufacturer Lucchini RS is expanding its European operations with three strategic acquisitions, the company's Chairman Guiseppe Lucchini told Railway Gazette at InnoTrans on September 23. In Austria, the group has established a new Central Europe subsidiary as a 75:25 joint venture with local company SMW, whose owner ...
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NewsPermanent magnet motors
CHINA: CSR has developed permanent magnet traction motors for two applications. The TQ-600 synchronous motor has been used on a build of trains for the Shanghai – Kunming high speed line. Rated at 600 kW at a speed of 4 200 rev/min, the motor has a high power density of ...
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NewsShinkansen simulator on show
JAPAN: Opportunities to drive trains on the Shinkansen are rare, but visitors to InnoTrans are able to do just that on a driver training simulator on the JR East stand. Supplied by Ongakukan Co Ltd, the simulator offers a 4K technology screen with an accurate representation of driving an E5 ...