All News articles – Page 219
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SNCB budget set
LAST MONTH the board of Belgian National Railways approved a €1·48bn investment programme for 2005. The bulk of the money, €814·6m, will come from the government, and €80m from the Brussels RER fund. Another €6·5m will be raised through the Diabolo PPP project. Infrabel expects to spend €473·4m on ...
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ERTMS: The view from Brussels
IN THE FINAL months of 2004 there was frantic activity as the European Commission strove to make progress towards the roll-out of ERTMS. Interest centred on Chapter 7 of the TSI on conventional railway lines, which covers the migration process from conventional signalling and train control systems to ETCS. According ...
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City News in Brief
On November 20 the US Congress passed a funding appropriations bill for the 2005 fiscal year, allocating $7·6bn for public transport, a 5·2% increase over FY 2004. This includes $3·3bn for capital investment, $1·4bn for new starts and $1·2bn for fixed guideway modernisation. The bill also provides $1·4bn for the ...
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Industry News in Brief
On November 29 Alstom announced it had agreed terms for the sale of its Valencia diesel locomotive works to Vossloh, subject to regulatory approval. Washington Group International and RATP Développement have formed an alliance to bid for passenger and light rail operations and maintenance work in the USA.Timken Co announced ...
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Products in Brief
Netherlands Railway is replacing existing polyester coach interior cladding with sheets made of Xantar, an unfilled blend of polycarbonate and ABS which is extruded into sheets and then vacuum-formed in combination with a co-extruded PVDF protective layer. DSM Engineering Plastics, NetherlandsCoronet Rail’s two-part rail end-post can be used to replace ...
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Bonds support Russian spending
RUSSIAN Railways’ first 12bn rouble bond issue was launched on December 8, when three tranches of 1000-rouble bonds were sold by public subscription at the Moscow Inter-Bank Currency Exchange.The receipts will help to fund RZD’s 148·1bn rouble investment programme for 2005 approved by the board in December; this is 23% ...
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More changes at Bombardier
ON DECEMBER 13 Bombardier Inc announced major changes following the sudden departure of President & CEO Paul Tellier who had said that he did not wish to renew his contract when it expired at the end of 2005. In Tellier’s place Bombardier has set up a new Office of the ...
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Bids in for EFE signalling upgrade
CHILEAN state railway EFE was due to select last month a preferred bidder for a US$103m contract to upgrade and maintain signalling, electrification and telecommunications equipment under its 2003-05 investment programme (RG 10.04 p660). Work is to begin soon after contract signature in February 2005, and should take three years ...
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Keeping it quiet below Berlin
Building a main line railway under the heart of Berlin demands the highest standards of vibration and noise prevention. The answer is to use concrete slabs supported on polymer bearings
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Bangkok bid battle
A CONSORTIUM of Siemens Transportation Systems and Sino-Thai Engineering & Construction was confirmed on December 13 as preferred bidder for the DBOM concession to build the express rail line to serve Bangkok’s new Suvarnabhumi International Airport (RG 10.04 p663).According to SRT Deputy Governor Youdtana Tupcharoen, the Siemens group offered the ...
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Integral ballast recycling contributes
INTRO: Development of ballast cleaning machines with integral recycling of used ballast is helping to reduce the cost of disposal, and is becoming an important tool in the track maintenance business as legislation on waste disposal takes effectBYLINE: Rudolf Becker and Patrick Vierlinger*RECYCLING of used ballast merits high priority ...
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High-Output Ballast Cleaner
The first of two High-Output Ballast Cleaning Systems being supplied by Plasser & Theurer to UK infrastructure company Network Rail is due to enter service this month, with the second to be delivered in the summer of 2005. Both machines will be operated by First Swietelsky under a two-year contract ...
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BA car order back on track
ON DECEMBER 10 Alstom Chairman & CEO Patrick Kron signed an agreement that will see 65 metro cars ordered for the Buenos Aires network assembled at the company’s La Plata works in Argentina. Deliveries from Alstom’s Lapa works in São Paulo, Brazil, had been suspended due to payment difficulties, and ...
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Spanish association
ANEWassociation for Spanish manufacturers and exporters of railway equipment and services has been established in co-operation with Renfe and Instituto Español de Comercio Exterior. Members of MAFEX are Aceralia, AEA Technology Global, Amurrio, Ferrocarril y Equipos, Felguera Melt, Fundiciones Garbi, Getinsa, Guivisa, Hicasa, Ineco, ITK Ingenieria, Jez Sistemas Ferroviarios, KLK ...
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Assembly deal
THE MANAGEMENT board of Spanish National Railways approved an agreement with Siemens on November 30 that provides for the company to assemble rail vehicles in the railway’s workshops at Valladolid and M
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Argentine investment
During the recent state visit of Chinese President Hu Jintao, the government of Argentina signed letters of intent with China Beiya Escom International Ltd and the 20th Bureau of Chinese Railways that could see US$8bn invested in railway projects over the next 10 years. Priority projects include electrification of the ...
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Anti-collision trials
INDIA’S Konkan Railway is carrying out trials of Raksha Kavach on-board and lineside anti-collision devices over its 760route-km network, covering 53 stations and 107 level crossings of which 27 are unstaffed. The ACDs are linked through intelligent real-time networks which detect and exchange data about which track a train is ...
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Amtrak not up to the mark
NORMAN MINETA, confirmed as US Transportation Secretary on December 9 in President George W Bush’s second cabinet, lost no time in making clear that he would work to push through controversial plans to cut the federal spend on Amtrak. The proposals would see states take more responsibility for funding if ...
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Up at Alstom
ANNOUNCED on November 18, Alstom’s first-half results showed that orders received by Alstom Transport in the first six months of the 2004-05 financial year amounted to €2·9bn, an increase of 74% compared with the same period in 2003-04, when orders had been particularly low.Sales at €2·5bn were up by 8%, ...
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Airport line concession close
A CONSORTIUM led by SNC-Lavalin and including Serco has been selected for a concession to design, build and operate the planned Richmond - Airport - Vancouver rapid transit line. TransLink subsidiary RAV Project Management Ltd was due to start final negotiations in December, subject to approval from the British Columbia ...