All News articles – Page 177
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NewsBenchmarking identifies good practice in rolling stock maintenance
An international review comparing rolling stock maintenance and performance at passenger operators around the world found a wide variance in cost-efficiency, reliability and availability. An exchange of good practice offers the potential for significant gains in cost and reliability
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Mixed messages puzzle Beijing - Shanghai bidders
LAST MONTH we reported extensively on China’s technology transfer deals which have given the country’s railway industry expertise in heavy haul and high speed EMU technology. So we were not unduly surprised to learn that Minister of Railways Liu Zhijun had said on March 9 that foreign technology was not ...
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World Bank funds MZ split
PLANS to separate the Macedonian rail network into infrastructure and operating companies are due to be authorised by the government this month, in line with legislation approved last year. On February 17 Makedonski Zeleznici signed a loan agreement with the World Bank which will provide US$15m to support the restructuring. ...
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Balfour Beatty rail profits down
PROFIT before exceptional items in Balfour Beatty’s Rail Engineering & Services sector fell by 27% to £32m in the year to December 31 2005, affected by Network Rail taking maintenance work in-house during 2004. The fine incurred by Balfour Beatty Rail Infrastructure Services in respect of the Hatfield rail accident ...
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Milano to build automated metro
A €500m TURNKEY CONTRACT was awarded at the end of February for the first stage of Milano metro Line 5. The fully-automated line will be built by a consortium which includes existing operator ATM, with Alstom Ferroviaria, Astaldi, Ansaldo Trasporti Sistemi Ferroviari, AnsaldoBreda and Torno Internazionale. The initial section will ...
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Latest generation ATP
WESTINGHOUSE Rail Systems announced the launch of its latest generation of automatic train protection and automatic train operation systems on February 13. Westran has been developed for use in computer-based train control applications, in particular metros operating high-frequency services. Most of the equipment is carried on the rolling stock, which ...
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Atocha to double
ON MARCH 1 Spanish Development Minister Magdalena Álvarez unveiled plans to double the capacity for long-distance traffic at Atocha station in Madrid. By increasing the number of platform tracks from 15 to 33 and further segregating departures from arrivals, it is hoped to increase capacity from 18million to 35million passengers ...
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Overland upgrade announced
VICTORIAN Transport Minister Peter Batchelor announced a A$2·4m refurbishment of the Adelaide - Melbourne Overland on February 28. New seating will be installed and the cafe and lounge cars modernised by early 2007. Joint funding has been agreed with Great Southern Railway and the South Australian government for the work, ...
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OHL wins in Algeria
A CONSORTIUM of OHL of Spain and state-owned rail construction company Infrafer has been awarded a €248·3m contract to double-track SNTF’s 95 km Annaba - Ramdane Djamel route. Work to be completed within 39 months includes upgrading of the existing track for 160 km/h operation. OHL holds an 85% stake ...
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Alger starts light rail project
HAVING awarded the E&M works contract for its first heavy metro line in January (RG 3.05 p116), Entreprise du Métro d'Alger has started work on a light rail corridor in the east of the Algerian capital. EMA has selected Systra and RATP Développement for a four-year contract to manage the ...
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ERTMS accord
PLANS to roll out ERTMS on the international rail freight corridor between Rotterdam and Genoa moved ahead on March 3 when the transport ministers of the Netherlands, Germany, Switzerland and Italy signed a Letter of Intent during a meeting at Bregenz in Austria. The ministers confirmed their intention to complete ...
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ACCC drops action against Toll
TOLL HOLDINGS planned to announce a revised offer for Patrick Corp during the second half of March after the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission agreed to drop its opposition to the deal (RG 3.06 p122). This followed commitments by Toll which addressed the ACCC’s concerns about competition.Instrumental in persuading the ...
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Finance April 2006
Africa: The Indian government is donating US$500m towards the US$1·5bn Project Africarail scheme to extend a railway from Benin northwards to Niger, and to link Togo's railways to Burkina Faso. France: The Pays de la Loire region has allocated €66m in its 2006 budget to fund the acquisition of 11 ...
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Intelligence April 2006
Australia: Perth-based South Spur group has taken over the operations of Silverton Rail. RTS now runs Silverton's Broken Hill and Parkes depots, and financier Alco has taken on the NSW operator's other assets. Belgium: On March 14 the board of Infrabel approved plans to electrify the 8 km route from ...
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Tehran tenders
REQUESTS for prequalification for two major rolling stock orders were issued by Tehran Urban & Suburban Railway Co at the end of January, with initial responses required by February 19.TUSRC is seeking an extra 455 cars for use on metro Lines 1 and 2, formed into 65 seven-car trainsets. To ...
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Spanish tenders
THE SPANISH Ministry of Development has been authorised to call tenders for further works on the emerging high speed network in the northeast of the country.Tenders are to be called for civil works on two sections of the connection between the Valencia - Barcelona route at Vandell
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Slovak shortlist
THIS MONTH is expected to see the announcement of the preferred bidder to take over ZSSK Cargo. Privatisation of the Slovakian freight operator began last year after train operator ZSSK was split into separate freight and passenger business units (RG 5.05 p241). The government hopes to raise at least KS15bn ...
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Safe temperature
RAIL temperatures can be monitored remotely using Radio-Tech’s RTM, providing operators with early warning of potential track buckling on inaccessible sections of line without endangering staff.Up to eight non-invasive temperature probes are mounted on rails with any flat bottom profile, with each probe fitted in under a minute without needing ...
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Sachsen technology
THE FREE State of Sachsen has established Rail Technology Sachsen (BTS) as a joint venture to promote the supply industry in the German Land.To be managed by PricewaterhouseCoopers for three years, BTS aims to improve competitiveness and promote entrepreneurship, particularly among small and medium enterprises, and ’to extend the potential, ...
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Reusable retaining walls
CRUSTACEAN shells inspired the design of Karapace, pairs of interlocking precast concrete components which can be used to create retaining walls up to 7·5m high. The reinforced concrete units can be installed directly onto a prepared substrate and then loaded from either side. They can be dismantled for reuse elsewhere.’By ...