All News articles – Page 200
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Chipped shop
PASSENGERS travelling with London commuter operator Thameslink have begun using self-service Chip &PIN ticket vending machines supplied by Shere. The software is initially being piloted at seven stations, and roll-out at a further three is 'imminent'. All Thameslink stations will offer self-service Chip & PINmachines by the end of 2005. ...
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Capital growth
PLANS FOR another north-south metro line across the Chinese capital were unveiled by the Beijing Municipality on June 9. Line 9 is designed to open up development zones on the western side of the city.The 18·3 km route with 15 stations is expected to cost 6·7bn yuan. It will connect ...
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Geting two into the cab
A TWO-MAN cab is fitted to the JZ140 rail excavator which JCB launched in May. Adapted for rail use by Philmor Rail, the excavator weighs 21 tonnes in rail mode. The zero tail-swing design is suitable for use where a conventionally-profiled excavator would obstruct adjacent tracks. A 2·1m dipper is ...
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Industry News in Brief
Swiss firm RMT has set up a French company, RMT France, which provides infrastructure maintenance and renewal services and project support.In May Antonin Tesarik, the Czech Republic’s First Deputy Minister for Transport, announced plans for a the creation of a joint venture between Skoda and OAO Saint Petersburg Tram-Mechanical Plant ...
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City News in Brief
On June 3 Semaly announced that it had been awarded a €8m project management contract for the development of an initial 11 km light rail line in Toulouse, in consortium with Garcia-Diaz, Sud Ouest Infra, and Urbanismes et Acoustiques. Expected to open in 2009, the 11 km Line E with ...
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Station Design in Brief
WSP Group is leading architects John McAslan & Partners and Chapman Taylor in a £3·9m design and development study for a £350m project to regenerate Birmingham New Street station. A new concourse is proposed for opening in 2011, with a glass roof to allow natural lighting.SNCF has commissioned Parkeon to ...
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Products in Brief
Ensco announced on May 23 that it had been awarded a $9m contract by the Federal Railroad Administration to design, build and test two automated track inspection vehicles. Ensco Inc, USAThe KKV pressure control valve for load-proportional braking is a development of Knorr-Bremse’s KE model. When wagons have differing braking ...
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News in Brief
On June 8 Bombardier announced that it had won a €35m contract from Trenitalia to upgrade 60 ETR500 power cars for dual-system operation. Built by the Trevi consortium in 1992, the original 3 kV DC power cars will be rebuilt with 25 kV 50Hz capability and ETCS Level 2 equipment ...
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Brazil's remarkable revival
WRITING in Companhia Vale do Rio Doce's 2004 annual report, CEO Roger Agnelli states boldly that CVRD 'has been responsible for the rebirth of the Brazilian railroad rolling stock industry'. This remarkable claim warrants further examination. Anyone attending the eighth International Heavy Haul Association conference in Rio de Janeiro will ...
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ECP braking to roll out on coal route
SPOORNET is moving ahead with plans to introduce electronically-controlled pneumatic braking on its Ermelo - Richards Bay heavy haul coal line.A pilot train with cable-based ECP provided by Wabtec began running in July 2000, and the equipment was upgraded before tenders to equip the loco and wagon fleet were called ...
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ServiGroup bought
ON MAY 17 Mouchel Parkman announced its acquisition of ServiGroup Ltd, which provides signalling, telecoms and power engineering services in the UK through its principal subsidiary ServiRail Ltd.Mouchel Parkman is to pay £14·98m in cash, with a further sum of up to £5·69m subject to results for the year ...
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Interstate freight boost
AUSTRALIAN Rail Track Corp has called tenders by August 12 for upgrading work between Melbourne and Sydney, with around 450 potential partners invited to join the Southern Alliance.A$500m is to be spent on the route as part of ARTC’s government-funded A$1·3bn upgrading programme (RG 7.04 p386). Work is to be ...
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EU decision blocks competition
ON JUNE 2 the Council of Ministers approved a Directive which lays down working hours and conditions for train crew who cross frontiers between EU member states. This will apply the force of law to the terms of an agreement signed on January 27 2004 between the European Transport Workers’ ...
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Back to square one
UNABLE to agree terms with the last of five potential bidders, the Argentinian government has quietly shelved its plans to sell a 79% stake in metre-gauge freight operator Belgrano Cargas to the private sector (RG 6.05 p350). Negotiations with a consortium led by EMEPA are reported to have foundered largely ...
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Axle-counter cable
NEXANS has developed a specialised signal cable for connecting axle-counters to central monitoring equipment. Electrical signals from axle-counters typically vary between 60V and 90V, and with axle-counters spaced at intervals of up to 3 km the cables need to offer a low voltage drop over long distances. Nexans’ latest cable ...
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Delhi Metro awards contract
DALAL Mott MacDonald has won a Delhi Metro Rail Corp contract worth £9m covering detailed structural and architectural design of Mandi House station on Line 3.Electrical and mechanical design is being undertaken by Delhi Metro Rail Corp, which prepared the outline structural and architectural designs. Construction of the station is ...
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RFID avoids oven collisions
LOCOMOTIVES which move wagons containing 20 tonnes of coke at 1320íC between the 132 ovens and two quenching towers at the Redcar plant of steelmaker Corus are subjected to extremely harsh conditions as the plant runs continuously every day of the year.’Each cooling operation produces 2 tonnes of steam, so ...
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Bogie firm establishes European arm
STANDARD Car Truck Co has established a European arm, Standard Car Truck Europe Ltd, following the acquisition of the assets of Wagon Rail Interface Technology Ltd. WRITe specialised in the design of high-performance bogies and single-axle suspensions for wagons. SCT Europe is led by Managing Director Jim Longton, who ...
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Argentina shops for passenger trains
THE ARGENTINIAN government has signed an agreement with the Spanish trade development organisation Expansión Exterior that will see 96 trainsets and 536 locos and coaches bought from Renfe and Feve over five years at a cost of 1·1bn pesos. Transport Secretary Ricardo Jaime said the stock would be strengthen Buenos ...
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Plans amended
ON JUNE 17 the Spanish Ministry of Development began public consultation on its proposal to alter the alignment of the cross-city tunnel in Gijón, where work began in April 2003. This is one of a number of major changes to the project announced by Development Minister Magdalena Álvarez on June ...