All Railway Gazette International articles in June 2007 – Page 5
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NewsSingapore plans fifth line
THE GOVERNMENT of Singapore has approved plans to build a fifth metro line, Transport Minister Raymond Lim announced at a Land Transport Authority seminar on April 27. Mostly running underground, the 40 km line is to be built in three phases at a cost of S$12bn, and is due to ...
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Signal failures in hand
A hand-held current analyser has been introduced by Tube Lines in an effort to reduce signal failures on the Jubilee, Northern and Piccadilly lines of London Underground.The device was developed by one of the infrastructure manager’s engineers to counter the effect of failed block joints. These insulating joints separate track ...
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Intermodal expansion
SWISS intermodal group Hupac has launched a thrice-weekly rail service between Antwerpen and Perpignan, in partnership with Fret SNCF. Linking the port with the Novatrans terminal at Perpignan, the 1 200?km route is intended to be extended into Spain at a later date.Although Fret SNCF already operates into Belgium, its ...
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FGC expanding
TUNNELLING is now underway for a 4?5?km extension of the FGC commuter network in Barcelona from Terrassa-Rambla to Can Roca, expected to be completed in 2010 at a cost of k321m. The extension will have two intermediate stations, one at UPC-Vallparadis serving the town centre and the second providing interchange ...
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DB listing in doubt
PLANS to privatise all or part of Deutsche Bahn AG are once again in disarray as politicians argue over the formula for introducing the railway to the market.The difficulty of agreeing a compromise over state ownership of the 34?211 km network appears to be the main reason why Transport Secretary ...
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Serco supports lease fleet data
ROLLING stock leasing firms HSBC Rail and Angel Trains have awarded Serco Assurance two data management contracts totalling ?250 000.Under the first contract Serco will manage asset data and documents supporting the overhaul and maintenance of HSBC Rail’s UK leasing fleets. In the second contract, Angel Trains has appointed Serco ...
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NewsRadar offers safer crossings
Level crossings in Israel are to benefit from radar protection under a US$12m contract awarded by Israel Railways to Scheidt & Bachmann. The contract will see 18 crossings on the network equipped with radar scanning devices to detect objects on the track between the barriers. If an obstruction is detected, ...
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Freight competition
Sir - I am pleased that my modest observations (RG 1.07 p13) prompted such a lively response from Philip N Mortimer (RG 4.07 p196).A direct comparison of North American and European railway practices is pointless - the political, structural, geographical and historic differences are all too obvious. My observations stem ...
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Charges to rise
WE WERE NOT surprised last month to hear that Estonia’s Ministry of Economy & Communications had started consultations on a new methodology for calculating EVR’s rail infrastructure usage fees.Minister Juhan Parts said higher fees would shorten the average payback period for ’certain investments’ such as capacity improvements at the Koidula ...
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Shanghai and Nanjing order cars
BOMBARDIER is to supply 32 six-car Movia trainsets for Shanghai Metro Line 7 under a contract worth approximately €150m. The vehicles will be built in conjunction with Bombardier's Chinese joint-venture partner Changchun Bombardier Railway Vehicles Co Ltd. Assembly will take place at CBRC's facility in Changchun while traction equipment will ...
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Carrot or stick?
IN THIS ERA of growing awareness of energy use and the quality of urban life, many cities are looking to shift the balance between private and public transport. In our January issue (RG 1.07 p31), UITP Secretary-General Hans Rat argued that there is a direct relationship between the economic success ...
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Broad gauge west
PROPOSALS to study the feasibility of a 1 520?mm gauge line to Bratislava were agreed last month by Slovakian Transport Minister Lubom?r Vazny and Russian Railways President Vladimir Yakunin, during a state visit to Moscow by Slovakian President Robert Fico.It is not clear whether the line would be a 300?km ...
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Industry News in Brief
Minsk Railway Carriage Repair Works has formed a new production unit with the capacity to assemble up to 60 coaches a year. The plant is currently completing work on its first accessible coach with an electric wheelchair lift for Belarusian Railway, as well as a prototype air-conditioned vehicle.As part of ...
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Seattle breakthrough
The first 1?3?km Central Link light rail tunnel through Beacon Hill in Seattle was completed on May 8, coming within 5?mm of engineers’ plans. A Japanese-built, laser-guided tunnel boring machine that started work in January 2006 broke through the east side of the hill as a crowd watched. Contractor Obayashi ...
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Train crews are the new battleground
EUROPEAN railways are starting to face up to the detailed fall-out from the ongoing programme to liberalise rail operations. As new open-access operators enter the market, there are suggestions that some may be ’poaching’ experienced staff from their rivals.With seven competing freight operators now active in France (p361), SNCF ...
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Commercial traffic enters Lötschberg base tunnel
REVENUE-EARNING traffic is due to start running through the Lötschberg base tunnel on June 19, with up to 48 freight trains a day routed through the 38 km bore. They will be followed in August by the first commercial passenger services. Cisalpino's ETR470 tilting trainsets are expected to use ...
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Barcelona LRT expansion
SPAIN: MAY 6 saw the opening of the latest phase of the Trambesòs light rail network in eastern Barcelona, a 2·2 km extension of Line T5 from Besòs to Sant Joan Baptista. With three intermediate stops, the route has cost €25m to build. Comprising routes T4 and T5, the Trambesòs ...
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Closer to Barcelona
ON MAY 8 ADIF’s Talgo BT track recording train began verification runs over the Camp de Tarragona - Sant Joan Desp? section of the Madrid - Barcelona high speed line. Sant Joan Desp? lies 12?km from Barcelona, and the Ministry of Development is working to have the route open as ...
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FS business plan wins government backing
ITALIAN ministers have signed off a five-year business plan for Italian Railways (RG 4.07 p194). Submitted in February, the proposals will see Trenitalia order 1 000 new trains for local and regional passenger services by 2011 at a cost of k6?4bn.Approval came at a meeting on May 4 attended by ...
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Trams arrive in Parla
SPAIN: The initial 8·25 km of a light rail route under construction in the town of Parla, 20 km south of the Spanish capital (RG 8.05 p464), was opened on May 6. Mayor Tomás Gómez was accompanied by the President of the Madrid regional government, Esperanza Aguirre. Due to be ...