All News articles – Page 212
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News
Firefly illumination
PHOTO luminescent exit route markers are being supplied for 555 New Jersey Transit passenger coaches by Lin Industries and International Nameplate Supplies. By the end of 2005 NJT’s entire passenger fleet will have been equipped with a total of 90000 Firefly photo luminescent dots, which are designed to be easily ...
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Finance
Bulgaria: BDZ-EAD has proposed floating a limited issue of shares on the Bulgarian Stock Exchange in order to raise capital to fund its future development strategy now awaiting board approval (p162).China: Kowloon - Canton Railway has launched a property development scheme at Wu Kai Sha on the recently-opened Ma On ...
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Faster to Genève
PLANS to cut 30 min off the Paris - Genève journey moved ahead on January 31 when the French Ministry of Transport issued a Declaration of Public Utility for the reconstruction of the Haut Bugey line between Bourg-en-Bresse and Bellegarde. Upgrading and electrification of the single-track branch and construction of ...
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Xining express
CHINESE Railways announced at the end of January that work is to start this year on a second double-track railway from Lanzhou to Xining at a cost of 4bn yuan.The electrified line is being designed for 200 km/h passenger trains, bringing the 169·9 km trip between the capitals of Gansu ...
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Iran invests in network expansion
PLANS TO invest US$2·5bn in expansion and modernisation of Iran’s rail network were announced in January by RAI President Mohammad Saeedi Nejad.The 2005-10 development plan envisages the acquisition of 180 new locomotives, 8800 freight wagons and 500 coaches, helping to lift the network’s annual capacity to 50 million tonnes of ...
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SNCF sets service level on TGV Est
ON FEBRUARY 2 SNCF announced details of services planned over the TGV Est Européen line when it opens on June 15 2007.In contrast to other French high speed lines where there has been a gradual build-up, TGV Est Européen will offer frequent services from day one with 85% of the ...
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Easing the strain
BACK injuries can be a problem for maintenance staff working underneath trains, so Metronet asked Harmill Systems to develop a trolley-mounted access seat which would improve the ergonomics of working in a depot inspection pit on London Underground. The 60m long pit at the Waterloo & City Line depot ...
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Dubai metro to start in May
CONSTRUCTION work on the two-line metro network in Dubai is expected to start on May 5, with a target completion date of September 9 2009. The timescale was announced last month by the Municipality’s Director-General Qassim Sultan, who chairs the metro steering committee.Technical bidding for the 70 km network (RG ...
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Dual-gauge loco to start trials
ABOUT TO undergo testing in Spain is a dual-gauge electric locomotive designed to run at up to 260 km/h. Starting point for the design was a prototype Talgo XXI diesel-hydraulic power car built in 1998 using a gauge-convertible power bogie developed with Krauss-Maffei and Voith. Patentes Talgo has built the ...
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Dual-gauge trains to Lisboa
Portuguese Transport Minister Antonio Mexia has announced plans for a high speed line between Lisboa and Porto.Five options were examined by RAVE, the company responsible for planning and building high speed lines in Portugal, and Refer, the national rail infrastructure authority which owns 40% of RAVE. The ministry has chosen ...
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IE orders inter-city DMUs
ON JANUARY 31 Ireland's Minister for Transport Martin Cullen announced that Iarnród Éireann had placed its biggest-ever order for new rolling stock, valued at €262m. A fleet of 120 diesel multiple-unit vehicles (RG 8.04 p448) will complete the replacement of IE's inter-city fleet, of which half is more ...
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Desiro UK gets service for life
INTRO: Over the past eight years, Siemens has built up an extensive maintenance operation in the UK, opening new depots based on ’pit-stop’ principles IN OCTOBER 2004, Siemens Transportation Systems was awarded a 19-year contract from BAA plc to maintain the Heathrow Express EMU fleet until 2023, together with a ...
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Paris depot reconstructed to maintain TGV Est Européen fleet
INTRO: Now under construction east of Paris is the depot needed to maintain the TGV Est train fleet. Jean-Paul Masse visited the siteSITUATED 4 km from Paris Est station, SNCF’s Ourcq coach maintenance workshop provides an ideal location to maintain the trainsets for TGV Est Européen.Currently used to service loco-hauled ...
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DEMU inspection ensures quality
NEXT month NedTrain Consulting will complete a contract awarded by HSBC Rail to monitor the construction of a fleet of inter-city DEMUs by Bombardier. The Class 222 Meridian units for British franchisee Midland Main Line and the similar four-car Pioneer sets for open-access operator Hull Trains are being built at ...
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Defrosted point
PRORAIL completed its first large-scale installation of Icesolution geothermal point heaters in sidings at Lelystad during December. Developed by Holland Rail Consult and Volker Stevin Rail & Traffic, Icesolution uses heat extracted from the ground to prevent the build-up of ice (RG 8.03 p513). The heaters come on only when ...
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NewsFreightlink reviews Darwin traffic
NO SOONER had we reported Freightlink's delight with the first year's performance on the Adelaide - Darwin route (RG 2.05 p70) than contractor Mowlem announced in London that it was not satisfied. In a statement on February 3 Mowlem said 'it is now apparent that freight volumes on the Alice ...
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Jarvis completes Tube Lines sale
UKENGINEERING and PFI group Jarvis announced on January 29 that it had completed the sale of its one-third stake in Tube Lines to Amey for a total gross consideration of £146·8m. This includes £95·5m from Amey, release of existing cash collateral of £51m mostly relating to the assumption by Amey ...
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Competitors emerge for Renfe freight
CONTINENTAL Rail has become the second company to apply to the Spanish Ministry of Development’s Railways Directorate for a licence to operate freight trains on the national network.Owned by construction group ACS, Continental Rail currently has 25 employees and operates construction trains for the Madrid - Barcelona and Córdoba - ...
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Norwegian competition starts
THREE BIDDERS have submitted tenders for a 10-year contract to operate inter-city services on the Oslo - Gjøvik route from June 2006. Final bids were presented to the Ministry of Transport & Communications on February 7.The 123 km Gjøvikbanen is one of three pilot projects for the introduction of competition ...
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Coastal corridor
TENDERS are due this month for a 15-month contract to design three extensions to the M