All News articles – Page 208

  • News

    Mexico suburban makes progress

    2005-04-01T10:00:00Z

    TWO CONSORTIA have been shortlisted for a concession to develop suburban services around Mexico City. The two groups were expected to lodge their partnership documentation by the end of March, with technical and financial bids due in May.According to the transport ministry, the contract is expected to be awarded at ...

  • News

    A ride on Shanghai's maglev

    2005-04-01T10:00:00Z

    Andrew Sharp takes a trip to Pudong

  • News

    Replica line has the technology

    2005-04-01T10:00:00Z

    TRAINING company Rail Tech Group has created an indoor replica of a section of typical modern railway infrastructure which is being used to provide courses for signalling engineers. The lengths of track in Rail Tech’s Ipswich training centre simulate a compressed 1·6 km of line, and are equipped with a ...

  • News

    NS reform makes progress at last

    2005-04-01T10:00:00Z

    UNDER the Railways Act 2003, concessions for operation of the trunk passenger network and for management of the national railway infrastructure are about to come into force with Netherlands Railways and ProRail. Both will be backdated to January 1, the date on which the formal ownership of NS was transferred ...

  • News

    Paris invests in suburban renewals

    2005-04-01T10:00:00Z

    ILE DE France transport authority STIF has approved in principle a €324m upgrading of the northern section of Paris RER Line B, and expects to give the formal go-ahead in September.By upgrading the existing RFF long-distance tracks which parallel Line B Nord and building an additional track from Villeparisis to ...

  • News

    Intelligence

    2005-04-01T10:00:00Z

    Bangladesh:The Ministry of Communications has called tenders for consultants to undertake feasibility studies into double-tracking and electrification of the Dhaka - Chittagong main line. The study will also look at building a cut-off from Laksam to Dhaka, shorter than the route via Akhaura. Belarus:The creation of a joint venture to ...

  • News

    High-output machines speed track renewals

    2005-04-01T10:00:00Z

    WORK is due to start in early May on a programme of track renewals covering around 100 km of the ProRail network. The contract was awarded to the contractor Spitzke Spoorbouw BV, a subsidiary of the German Spitzke group.The work forms part of the Nefit Noordoost programme to renew sleepers ...

  • News

    Tibet to get high-altitude trains

    2005-04-01T10:00:00Z

    CHINA’S Ministry of Railways has ordered 361 passenger coaches designed for use at high altitudes. Due to enter service from June 2006, they will be used on trains to Lhasa from Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou.The €213m order was placed at the end of February with the Qingdao-based Bombardier Sifang Power ...

  • News

    Passenger projects gain momentum

    2005-04-01T10:00:00Z

    FOLLOWING the approval last month of bidding conditions by the Ministry of Federal Planning, the Argentinian government was expected to call tenders for a 20-year concession to operate passenger trains between Buenos Aires and Posadas. Trenes Especiales Argentinos has been operating the route since November 2003.NCA was due to provide ...

  • News

    Finance

    2005-04-01T10:00:00Z

    China: In a pilot private financing scheme, 60% of the 775m yuan cost of a 45 km line expected to open in 2006 is to come from bank loans. A 32·5% stake in the Quzhou Changshan Railway Co will be owned by the private Changshan Cement Co, with the Ministry ...

  • News

    Perpignan - Figueres funding signed

    2005-04-01T10:00:00Z

    ONMARCH 16 AFITF President Gérard Longuet signed the French transport infrastructure funding agency’s first payment, a sum of €30·1m forming the third tranche of support from the French government for the 44·5 km new line between Perpignan and Figueres in Spain.Public bodies at European and national level are providing a ...

  • News

    Faults with freight

    2005-04-01T10:00:00Z

    Sir - New Opera (RG 3.05 p115) is a travesty. The EC is paying the European rail freight industry for things it should be recognising and doing itself. For too long rail has taken a ’take it or leave it’ position, despite the rising capabilities of the road sector. Operations ...

  • News

    Midway and O’Hare expresses planned

    2005-04-01T10:00:00Z

    CHICAGO Transit Authority invited proposals on February 16 for consultants to assist with developing dedicated Airport Express services which would use existing metro lines to link the city centre with the region’s two principal airports. Bids were due by March 11. CTA envisages the construction of a dedicated in-town Airport ...

  • News

    Miami expansion package takes shape

    2005-04-01T10:00:00Z

    MIAMI-DADE Transit Authority has appointed a prime consultant to assist with development of the long-planned east-west metro route. HNTB Corp will help with engineering design and undertake initial environmental impact studies.Construction of the 27·4 km line forms part of a multi-million dollar expansion programme approved by local voters in November ...

  • News

    Tehran expands

    2005-04-01T10:00:00Z

    IRANIAN President President Mohammad Khatami formally inaugurated a further section of Tehran suburban Line 5 on March 15. The 35 km line from Sadeghieh to Karaj has been extended 9 km to Golshahr, with one intermediate station at Mahdasht. In the next few years Line 5 will be extended further ...

  • News

    European procurement turns professional

    2005-04-01T10:00:00Z

    INTRO: Analysis of purchasing policies and benchmarking are helping to improve the procurement strategy of European rail operators and infrastructure companiesPHILIP van Beek, Head of Purchasing at Netherlands Railways, has a clear objective in his other role as Chairman of the European Railways Purchasing Conference. Simply put, it is to ...

  • News

    Tracks and trains on TGV Est

    2005-04-01T10:00:00Z

    Sir - Nabla fastenings will not be used on TGV Est (RG 3.04 p147). Since the end of 2003 RFF’s policy has been to use the Pandrol Fastclip as its standard fastening for both new lines and renewals. The high capacity tracklaying trains have been modified to lay Fastclips.Nabla is ...

  • News

    Stuck down in the underground

    2005-04-01T10:00:00Z

    FAST curing and fire retardance are offered by the Tredfast 4004 two-part epoxy adhesive which is being used to hold down floor coverings at London Underground stations. The adhesive will bond to metal, wood and concrete substrates with an initial hardening time of 4 h, making it suitable for rapid ...

  • News

    DMU heads north

    2005-04-01T10:00:00Z

    NAMIBIAN President Sam Nujoma and around 600 high-level guests participated in a ceremony on March 12 to inaugurate Oshivelo station on the N$90m northern extension from Tsumeb to Oshikango. The naming ceremony for Dr Sam Njoma station reflected rapid progress with tracklaying. The Namibia Rail Contractors joint venture has been ...

  • News

    Reorganised divisions

    2005-04-01T10:00:00Z

    WESTINGHOUSE Rail Systems Ltd has been restructured to reflect ’the quite different needs of main line and mass transit customers’, who will now be served by distinct commercial divisions.The two customer-facing profit centres will be supported by resources operating across both, including research and development. An export team has been ...