All News articles – Page 160
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News
Four-tracking nears completion
BELGIAN infrastructure authority Infrabel expects to put into operation the four-tracking between Leuven and Schaarbeek, with the December 10 timetable change, enabling SNCB to introduce a second hourly inter-city service linking Brussels and Liège in 51min. Opening of the Leuvenboog chord from the same date will permit direct trains from ...
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Namibia completes Northern extension
THOUSANDS OF Namibians gathered at Ondangwa on July 15 when President Hifikepunye Pohamba and Founding Father Dr Sam Mujoma officially opened the town’s new station, marking the completion of Phase 1 of the country’s northern extension railway. The 246·5 km line from Tsumeb has taken four years to build at ...
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Obasanjo commits to regauging plan
’NO NATION has achieved holistic development without a coherent, integrated, efficient and reliable transportation system’, explained Nigerian President Olusegum Obasanjo on August 9, setting out his vision for the revitalisation of his country’s 3500 km rail network in a special radio broadcast.The Bureau of Public Enterprises has already commissioned CPCS ...
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Sitting comfortably
GRAMMER will be presenting two new seating ranges at InnoTrans, designed for use on inter-city and regional trains.The modular IC3000 seat for long distance travel allows customers to select from a range of options to specify a seat tailored to their market. The two sizes of table offered include one ...
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Cleaner engine to be launched
CUMMINS will be using InnoTrans to exhibit its Stage 3A/Tier 2 QSK60-L locomotive engine for the first time. Developed for arduous main line freight and passenger loco applications, it has an output range from 1492 to 1940 kW. Available from January 2007, the 60litre engine meets the US Environmental Protection ...
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city NEWS
Thailand’s Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra announced on August 1 that the government had approved in principle the construction of three more metro lines in Bangkok. The Red Line will run for 40 km from Phya Thai to Rangsit and Chiang Rak Noi and the 23 km Purple Line will connect ...
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Voith’s drive into China
DALIAN Locomotive & Rolling Stock works has begun producing parts for Voith SET-553 final drives, which will be assembled with gears and pinions produced at Voith Turbo’s plant in Heidenheim, Germany.A team of up to 20 people from the German firm spent several months in China, negotiating the contracts for ...
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Three chase high speed contract
ON JULY 25 the Argentinian government received bids from three consortia seeking to prequalify for a contract to build a high speed line from Buenos Aires to Rosario and Córdoba (RG 6.06 p305). The government is expecting the contractor to provide at least 50% of the estimated US$1bn ...
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The engine of change
THROUGHOUT their 200-year history, railways have been drivers of change, be it economic, political, social or military. It is probably no understatement to suggest that our railways have played a fundamental part in shaping the modern world. Although rail no longer dominates the land transport sector, the mode still has ...
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Private sector to run CDG Express
ANNOUNCING the start of the tendering process for CDG Express, French Transport Minister Dominique Perben promised on July 24 that the €640m project for a dedicated rail link to Paris Charles-de-Gaulle airport will be funded ’without any contribution from taxpayers’, with the traffic risk borne by the private sector.The project ...
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CAF scoops medium- distance MU order
SPANISH national operator Renfe has awarded CAF a €588·2m contract to supply 107 multiple-units for medium-distance services.Of these, 50 will be 160 km/h three-car DMUs each seating 187 passengers. These will be delivered for operation on 1668mm gauge but will be designed for conversion to 1435mm gauge at a later ...
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Modern ways to buy a ticket
PASSENGER operators around the world are devising new ways to sell tickets, with the commercial roll out of on-line and mobile ticketing services.This month German Railway launches Handy-Ticket, letting passengers buy and receive an electronic ticket using mobile telephone Multimedia Messaging Services. The MMS ’ticket’ is then shown to ...
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Cameras built to last
STRATFORD and Ebbsfleet International stations on Section 2 of the Channel Tunnel Rail Link are being fitted with CCTV cameras and associated equipment from Bosch Security Systems.Bosch has previously supplied cameras to London Underground for use in the particularly demanding station environment. ’Our cameras, domes and video matrix products have ...
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Onboard broadband
AFTERsuccessful trials between Haarlem and Maastricht, NS and telecoms company KPN have agreed to install TV screens and provide broadband internet access on 1200 inter-city coaches. The screens will display a mixture of travel information, news flashes and entertainment, funded by advertising revenue. Internet access will cost €16 for a ...
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Security fears bring opportunities
THE IMPOSITION of the highest ’critical’ terrorist threat warning at UK airports in the early hours of August 10 caused massive disruption. London Heathrow - one of the world’s busiest airports that handles the most international flights - suffered the worst cancellations and delays as security staff initially struggled to ...
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Passenger News in Brief
On July 14 the Orco Omikron subsidiary of Orco Property Group signed a KC1·1bn contract with Czech infrastructure owner SZDC for the commercial development of 27ha of land at Praha-Bubny station. Toll Rail plans to withdraw The Overlander between Wellington and Auckland from September 30. citing increased costs and falling ...
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In Brief
Amtrak has proposed converting the New York - St Albans Vermonter service to DMU operation for a three-year demonstration project, saving the state $4·2m in subsidies because of lower fuel and crew costs. Under the proposal Vermont Agency of Transportation would buy five DMU cars from Colorado Railcar with a ...
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InnoTrans in Brief
Compin will be showcasing its modular passenger seating range, and describing how operators can make long term cost savings by selecting the most appropriate seat design for their needs. MTU Friedrichshafen will be showing 'powerful yet environmentally-friendly' engines for locos and multiple-units. Höft & Wessel and its partner PSI will ...
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Industry News in Brief
Turbo Genset was renamed Turbo Power Systems with effect from July 19.Having acquired valid acceptances in respect of 83·28% of the issued share capital, on July 24 Balfour Beatty declared its recommended cash offer for Birse Group plc to be ’unconditional in all respects.’ Birse is to be de-listed from ...