Latest news – Page 1329
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News
Vázquez loses patience
URUGUAY: Since March 10 state railway AFE has had a new board (p258), the previous incumbents having been suddenly removed by President Tabaré Vázquez. It appears that his administration had lost patience with the slow pace of reform at AFE, where projects to involve the private sector in restoring the ...
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Soaring costs undermine München maglev
GERMANY: Citing severe cost escalation, German Federal Transport Minister Wolfgang Tiefensee joined the President of Bayern Günther Beckstein at a meeting on March 27 to discuss the future of the proposed Transrapid link from Franz-Josef Strauss airport to München Hauptbahnhof (RG 10.07 p591). The meeting concluded with an agreement ...
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Shanghai - Nanjing link approved
CHINA: The National Development & Reform Commission has formally approved the construction of a 300 km high speed line between Shanghai and Nanjing at a cost of 39·5bn yuan. The project is to be funded by the two cities, the province of Jiangsu and the Ministry of Railways. Construction is ...
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Driverless trains to support a prosperous future
DUBAI: With the first line opening next year, Dubai’s automated metro network will provide a superior alternative to the emirate’s increasingly clogged roads. Dominic Ellis looks at one of the Middle East’s most eagerly-awaited engineering projects, underpinning the city’s future economic development
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Sydney metro to serve northwest suburbs
AUSTRALIA: On March 18 New South Wales Premier Morris Iemma unveiled plans for a 38 km metro line with 17 stations to link Rouse Hill in the northwestern suburbs of Sydney with the city centre. Expected to be completed by 2017, the line is projected to cost A$12·5bn to build. ...
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Tramtrack Croydon buy out
UK: Transport for London announced on March 17 than it had reached an agreement to buy Tramtrack Croydon Ltd, holder of a private finance initiative concession to run the 28 km Tramlink light rail system in south London. TfL will pay £98m for the company, with completion of the deal ...
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NewsIstanbul to build second light metro
TURKEY: The Municipality of Istanbul has awarded a joint venture led by Italian firm Astaldi a €751m contract for civil, electromechanical and signalling works on the Kadiköy - Kartal light metro line. The contract covers the construction of a 20 km double-track underground line on the Asian side of the ...
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Improved Class 66 arrives
FRANCE: During March the first EMD JT42CWRM loco for Euro Cargo Rail arrived in France for testing, after being shipped from Canada in December for final fitting out at NedTrain's Tilburg plant in the Netherlands. Better cab isolation offers improved driver comfort compared to the JT42CWR, which was restricted by ...
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Locos into cross-border service
EUROPE: Warszawa-based CTL Logistics put two Siemens Eurosprinter multi-system locomotives into service on February 29. Leased from Dispolok, the ES64F4 locos are approved for use in Germany and the Netherlands, where they will haul cross-border freight trains using the Betuwe Route.
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Roca wiring out to tender
ARGENTINA: On March 11 the federal government launched tendering for a programme to complete electrification of the Roca suburban network in Buenos Aires at a cost of US$1·39bn. At present, 55 km of the 198 km Roca system is electrified at 25 kV 50 Hz AC. Work has been divided ...
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Sprinter on the start line
NETHERLANDS: Harry Hondius MSc rides the first of NS Reizigers' new-generation of Sprinter EMUs, which are due to enter service between Den Haag and Utrecht this year.
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Seeing eye to eye
UK: A range of counter service security screens that offer increased protection for staff and improved access for mobility-impaired customers has been launched onto the UK market by Safetell. Branded as Eye2Eye, the screens combine bullet-resistant glazing with a height-adjustable counter that can be positioned to meet the height requirements ...
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NewsCross-city expansion gets underway
LONDON: Network Rail has begun work on the long-planned upgrade of the Thameslink cross-city route, where tendering is now in hand for major works due to commence in January. Under a two-stage programme costing a total of £5·5bn, platforms will be lengthened to accommodate 12-car trains operating at a frequency ...
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Wagon builder revived
FRANCE: Wagon supplier Arbel Fauvet Rail expects to return to profit this year. Since acquisition by investment company IGF Care in January 2007, the renamed IGF Industries-AFR has reaped benefits from investment totalling €20m. This year's order book stands at 850 wagons, and next year the company hopes to deliver ...
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Pantographs pushed for higher speed
DEUTSCHE BAHN and Stemmann-Technik are collaborating on a project to develop an actively-controlled single-arm pantograph capable of operation at up to 400 km/h. The design will be an evolution of Stemmann's existing DSA380 model that is already in production, which is approved for speeds in excess of 320 km/h. The ...
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Trains in temporary accommodation
TUBE Lines has erected a temporary workshop at Stratford Market depot on London Underground's Jubilee Line to enable trains to receive train control equipment modifications as part of the resignalling of the route. The 1 960 m2 temporary workshop provides a dedicated facility to fit the additional equipment to each ...
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FGC completes upgrade
SPAIN: On February 9 Catalan regional operator FGC introduced a new timetable on its metre-gauge route to Martorell, Igualada and Manresa, having completed a €264·7m programme of capacity enhancements to enable trains to operate every 5 min in the peaks between Barcelona Plaça d'Espanya and Martorell-Enllaç. Trains now operate every ...
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NewsWest Coast upgrade enters the final stage
Launched in 1998, the upgrading of Britain's busiest inter-city and freight route from London to Glasgow has proved a challenging task that Network Rail now expects to complete by 2009