Latest news – Page 1284
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NewsTickets on departure are in demand
UK: Online ticket purchases in the UK grew by 30% in 2008 to reach a total of £700m. The Association of Train Operating Companies expects this to reach £2bn by 2013. Internet sales are increasing the need for stations to have machines which can print out tickets booked online, and ...
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NewsProcessing paperwork
DOCUMENTATION: With the December timetable change drivers with Swiss operator BLS began using documentation generated using a customised version of the RailOpt software from Qnamic. RailOpt was already in use for rolling stock diagramming and to plan crew rosters. It has now been expanded to produce daily documentation on drivers’ ...
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NewsNews in Brief
Kuwait-based Fuad Algarim Group did not meet a December 31 deadline to submit a feasibility study and begin taking over administration of the 781 km Chemin de fer Djibouti-Ethopien. The governments of Djibouti and Ethiopia are now looking for new investors to manage the line under a concession agreement; it ...
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NewsProducts & Technology in Brief
Torpedo wagons carrying pig iron from a blast furnace to a steel works can be weighed automatically using the Multirail HotMetalWeight application, developed by Darmstadt-based Schenck Process. Dynamic train scales are made from standard concrete turnout bearers with built-in load sensors. China South subsidiary CSR Puzhen has adopted SEE Electrical ...
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NewsHigh Speed Two to consider UK options
UK: Giving the government's backing for controversial plans to build a third runway at London Heathrow airport on January 15, Transport Secretary Geoff Hoon announced the formation of a body to consider the case for a London to Scotland high speed line. A decision on major electrification projects on existing ...
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NewsSakhalin link proposed
RUSSIA: Visiting Tokyo on January 14, Transport Minister Igor Levitin issued an invitation for Japanese companies to participate in Russian transport infrastructure projects, highlighting in particular the planned rail link between the mainland and the island of Sakhalin. According to Vice-Minister Andrei Nedossekov, the government has allocated US$370m in ...
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NewsOV-Chipkaart roll-out creeps forward
NETHERLANDS: Following a critical review highlighting cost over-runs and a lack of clear project leadership, the government has outlined its intention to accelerate the introduction of the country’s much-delayed national public transport smart card, reports Peter Badcock.
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NewsRio Tinto postpones driverless plan
AUSTRALIA: Rio Tinto Iron Ore announced on January 13 that it was postponing work on its Pilbara automated train operations programme. The easing of market growth caused by the economic slowdown has reduced the urgency of the A$557m project, which was designed to increase the efficiency of the ...
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NewsBrussels Luxembourg station remodelled
BELGIUM: SNCB announced on January 14 that it had completed a €45m reconstruction of Brussels Luxembourg station, after a 15-year remodelling triggered by the construction of the European Parliament buildings nearby. Previously known as the 'Gare du quartier Léopold', the station has been rebuilt as a fully-underground facility, but constructed ...
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NewsSteel mill progress
UKRAINE: Steelwork is now being assembled on the site of a US$600m electric furnace plant which will make Interpipe self-sufficient in the production of high quality steel for railway wheel and pipe applications. The Dneprosteel plant is being built by Danieli under a February 2007 contract. Interpipe derived 71% ...
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NewsInfrastructure managers express pesticide concerns
EUROPE: While welcoming the 'more flexible approach towards the use of pesticides' in the version of the pesticides package approved by the European Parliament on January 13, the Community of European Railway & Infrastructure Managers and the association of European Rail Infrastructure Managers issued a joint statement warning that national ...
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NewsExperimental gas turbine locomotive undertakes haulage tests
RUSSIA: Russian Railways' experimental GT1-001 gas turbine locomotive hauled a trailing load totalling 10 000 tonnes during trials held last month. RZD's Senior Vice-President Valentin Gapanovich said the run on December 20 demonstrated that the natural gas powered locomotive is capable of hauling heavy freight trains of up to 116 ...
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NewsSeries 0 bows out
JAPAN: JR West ran a special train from Shin-Osaka to Hakata on December 14, to commemorate the withdrawal of the last Series 0 trainsets from revenue service. As the design which inaugurated the world’s first dedicated high speed railway in October 1964, the 220 km/h Series 0 has become synonymous ...
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NewsFinal double-deck option exercised
EUROPE: SNCF and CFL have exercised an option with Alstom and Bombardier for a further 14 three-car TER 2N NG Coradia Duplex double-deck EMUs for regional express services in France and Luxemburg. Announced on January 13, the €82m order covers 10 units for CFL and one for use by ...
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NewsDSBFirst takes over Øresund operations
SCANDINAVIA: The DSBFirst partnership of Danish state railway DSB and UK-based transport operator FirstGroup took over the operation of train services in the Øresund region of Denmark and southern Sweden on January 11. The services are operated under separate but jointly procured contracts in each country. The ...
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NewsAllegro brand announced
EUROPE: Karelian Trains has confirmed that the upgraded service between Helsinki and St Petersburg to be launched in 2010 is to be branded Allegro. The joint venture of VR and RZD chose the Italian word meaning 'fast' as it is internationally known and pronounceable in both Russian and Finnish. ...
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NewsBiofuel study finds no adverse effect
BIOFUEL: A year-long study into the effects of biofuel on wagon components and lining materials has concluded that there is no adverse effect on rolling stock at current concentrations. Wagon leasing firm VTG Rail and lining manufacturers investigated the effect of petroleum products with 5% bioadditive, the level currently allowed ...
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NewsGATX snaps up Allco wagons
GATX: The receivers of Sydney-based Allco Finance Group sold the company's North American lease fleet of 3 650 wagons to GATX Corp during December. The price of US$217m comprised US$30m in cash and the assumption of US$187m in debt. 'This acquisition reflects GATX's strategy of only acquiring railcars at ...
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NewsDocklands Light Railway opens to Woolwich Arsenal
UK: Mayor of London Boris Johnson inaugurated the 2·5 km extension of London’s Docklands Light Railway from King George V to Woolwich Arsenal on January 12, two days after the start of services. The infrastructure on the £180m light metro extension was built in 3½ years by ...
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NewsWelcome to an intermodal Europe
EUROPE: The first Intermodes international convention and exhibition on intermodal passenger transport will take place in Brussels on February 4-5 2009. The aim of the event is to facilitate the journeys made by the 493 million people who live in the European Union.