Latest news – Page 1289

  • Refurbished Class 442 at Brighton.
    News

    EMU redesigned for airport traffic

    2008-12-09T16:45:00Z

    UK: As part of a shake-up of London - Brighton services which saw the Gatwick Express dedicated airport service absorbed by commuter operator Southern in June, on December 9 Southern began returning to traffic 17 third-rail EMUs which have been refurbished after having being withdrawn by South West Trains in ...

  • CN train.
    News

    Track geometry car

    2008-12-09T15:42:00Z

    CANADA: A self-propelled track geometry vehicle formed by installing state-of-the-art electronic inspection equipment in a Budd RDC has been delivered to Canadian National. This car was rebuilt for CN by US firm Gateway Rail Services, and now contains equipment produced by Ensco for the monitoring of curvature, alignment and ...

  • Freight wagons.
    News

    New York Air Brake acquires Anchor Brake Shoe Co

    2008-12-09T13:52:00Z

    KNORR-BREMSE: Anchor Brake Shoe Company, a US manufacturer of high and low friction composition brake shoes and tread conditioning shoes for locomotive and freight wagons, has been acquired by New York Air Brake Corp, part of the Knorr-bremse Group. Anchor Brake Shoe was previously part of Standard Car Truck. ...

  • Bogie.
    News

    Wabtec completes SCT purchase

    2008-12-09T09:00:00Z

    USA: On December 8 Wabtec Corp said it had completed the $300m acquisition of Standard Car Truck announced on September 15. SCT expects to report sales of $225m in 2008, and Wabtec said it expects the transaction to be accretive in the first year, although the recognition of non-cash, purchase ...

  • Railway tracks.
    News

    DB Netz uses satellites to locate track in three dimensions

    2008-12-09T08:00:00Z

    GEOMETRY: Satellite surveying enhanced by reference points on the ground is now so accurate that it can be used to define the absolute position of track to± 10 mm accuracy, allowing contractors’ tamping and lining machines to produce track geometry within ±1 mm of optimised calculated values.

  • Moscow Kiev station.
    News

    TMH-Alstom chosen for double-deck contract

    2008-12-08T12:41:00Z

    RUSSIA: State railway RZD announced on December 8 that it had selected the TMH-Alstom joint venture of Alstom and Transmash Holding as its strategic partner for the supply of double-deck passenger carriages. Tenders had been called in March for the supply of 1 210 double-deck 'hotel train' vehicles, which ...

  • The first Gautrain EMU cars arrive in South Africa.
    News

    First Gautrain cars arrive

    2008-12-08T10:26:00Z

    SOUTH AFRICA: The ship carrying the second pair of Bombardier EMU cars for Gautrain is expected to dock in Durban on December 8, following the arrival of the initial pair on December 1. The first 15 vehicles are being built at Bombardier's Derby plant in the UK. The 46 ...

  • Generic tube train (Photo: TfL).
    News

    Getting to the point

    2008-12-08T08:00:00Z

    RENEWALS: Faced with poor asset condition, cramped working conditions and limited access time, Tube Lines has adopted a new strategy for maintaining and upgrading turnouts on three of London Underground’s busiest lines.

  • tn_us-doublestack-lustig_02.jpg
    News

    News in Brief

    2008-12-07T08:00:00Z

    A final rule on electronically controlled pneumatic brakes was issued by the Federal Railroad Administration on October 15, allowing US railways to begin installing a standardised system. FRA requires ECP brake systems to comply with existing industry standards, and certain operating rules and training programmes should be modified to enable ...

  • tn_gb-electrification-works-grantrail_02.jpg
    News

    Industry News in Brief

    2008-12-07T08:00:00Z

    Last month RZD and Finmeccanica signed a co-operation agreement for the development of Itarus signalling, telecoms and satellite technology for the rail sector. RZD subsidiary Niias and Ansaldo STS will establish an Itarus-ATS signalling test site in 2009, and trials on major routes will begin the following year before the ...

  • tn_lu-CFL-loco.jpg
    News

    Lux launches Luxembourg lines

    2008-12-06T08:33:00Z

    LUXEMBOURG: Plans for the construction of two new lines serving the southern part of the Grand Duchy were officially announced by Transport Minister Lucien Lux on October 15. The ministry has launched public consultation over alignment options for the two routes, which together with the reconstruction of three stations are ...

  • News

    Security in Brief

    2008-12-05T16:32:00Z

    Philadelphia’s Port Authority Transit Corp has awarded a US$3·8m contract to building services group TAC to install an integrated IP-based video monitoring and emergency communications system on the 22·5 km Patco metro line between Philadelphia and Lindenwold, NJ, under a programme funded by the Department of Homeland Security. ...

  • tn_us-doublestack-lustig_03.jpg
    News

    Biometric security tested

    2008-12-05T16:31:00Z

    USA: The Federal Railroad Administration’s Office of Research & Development announced in October that it has developed a biometric Locomotive Security System to prevent the unauthorised operation of locomotives. According to FRA, ‘LSS integrates available off-the-shelf fingerprint and ID card reader technologies into a rugged enclosure for application in the ...

  • News

    Intelligent surveillance trial concludes

    2008-12-05T16:16:00Z

    UK: Atos Origin has completed its trial of ‘intelligent’ CCTV at Sheffield station (RG 11.07 p730). Working in association with station operator East Midlands Trains and its predecessor Midland Main Line, the company provided an integrated CCTV network capable of offering more functionality than conventional systems. One of the system’s ...

  • tn_eu-euro-bank-notes_09.jpg
    News

    Shareholding changes

    2008-12-05T15:50:00Z

    FAIVELEY: An Extraordinary General Meeting has been arranged for December 23 to approve a restructuring of the shareholdings in Faiveley Group, the manufacturer of brakes, air-conditioning, screen doors and other subsystems. It follows the signing of an agreement with fund manager Sagard and other direct and indirect shareholders on October ...

  • News

    Perpignan - Figueres makes progress

    2008-12-05T15:20:00Z

    EUROPE: Tracklaying is well advanced on the 44·4 km standard -gauge cross-border line linking Perpignan in France with Figueres in Spain. Intended to link the French and Spanish high speed networks, the line includes an 8·2 km twin-bore tunnel under the Pyrenees at Le Perthus. The line is being developed ...

  • Traxx locomotive under construction.
    News

    SNCF places Traxx order

    2008-12-05T14:18:00Z

    FRANCE: On December 5 Bombardier announced a €160m firm order to supply SNCF with 45 Traxx F140 DE diesel-electric locomotives. The first delivery is scheduled for May 2010, and orders for a further 35 locomotives could follow. Bombardier has now sold more than 1 300 locomotives from the Traxx ...

  • tn_eu-euro-bank-notes_08.jpg
    News

    TEN-T rail funding signed

    2008-12-05T11:38:00Z

    EUROPE: Major rail projects in Italy, Austria, France, Germany, Slovenia and Hungary are to receive a total of €1·7bn under 11 Trans-European Transport Networks financing decisions signed by European Commissioner for Transport Antonio Tajani on December 5. The money is being allocated under the TEN-T programme for 2007-13. ...

  • Gornergratbahn, Switzerland.
    News

    Swiss national timetable on a single page

    2008-12-05T08:31:00Z

    SWITZERLAND: Subscribers to Railway Gazette International will have received a copy of Netgraph with the December 2008 issue. Devised by Zürich-based transport planning consultancy SMA & Partner, the visual representation of the 2009 Swiss timetable represents the network as the relationships between routes. The introduction of nationwide co-ordinated timetables ...

  • Passengers looking at timetable posters.
    News

    Making every second count

    2008-12-05T08:30:00Z

    SWITZERLAND: SBB is focusing on making better use of reserves in train scheduling to add greater robustness to its integrated national timetable. Real-time management of train services to maintain connections and more detailed passenger information provision are at the heart of the ‘Co-Production’ concept.