All News articles – Page 228
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News
Vibration resilience
THEextension of Line 3 from Ethniki Amyna to Plakentia runs through a densely-populated area, and some sections of the tunnels were bored beneath residential buildings or other structures. An elastically-supported trackform was specified to help minimise ground-borne vibrations.Attiko Metro awarded the trackwork contract to Stedef and Sateba, specifying the use ...
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Publications
Regulatory Reform of Railways in RussiaExperts in rail regulation examine the restructuring of Russia’s vital rail sector in this report from the European Conference of Ministers of Transport, which was prepared as part of a wide programme of co-operation in regulatory reform between the OECD and the Russian government. The ...
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Power politics
AROUND half a million commuters had their journeys to work interrupted on June 7 owing to a power cut. This mainly concerned services into Paris St-Lazare, but trains serving termini at Nord, Lyon and Montparnasse were also affected. Altogether, about 250 trains were cancelled or delayed.This was not a technical ...
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Pointers
Proposals to build a 700 km rail link from Pakwach in northwestern Uganda to Waw in Sudan are under discussion. Despite the gauge difference, Uganda sees the route as an alternative to the line through Kenya. Companies involved in the scheme include Thormaehlen Technik of Germany.The latest announcement from Pyongyang ...
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Mobile washer
THE Speedy Wash range of self-contained mobile brush carriage washing machines has been launched in North America. Already in use in Europe, the fully mobile Speedy Wash machines can be operated on any platform or compacted surface, eliminating the need for a dedicated washing bay by bringing the washer to ...
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Metros
Canada: Vancouver transport authority Translink voted on June 18 not to proceed with development of the proposed C$1·7bn metro line to the Airport and Richmond.France: The 2·2 km extension of Nantes light rail Line 3 from Plaisance to Sillon de Bretagne was officially opened on May 28. Total cost was ...
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Low trailer
KING Rail has unveiled a prototype low-height rail trailer for transporting materials and plant around worksites at up to 32 km/h. The unit has a rated capacity of 20 tonnes.The prototype is 5m long, but the modular construction allows 4m and 6m versions to be offered. All are 2·5m wide ...
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Saarbahn light railheads north
CEREMONIES were held on June 23 to mark the start of work on an 18 km northern extension of the Saarbrücken tram-train network. Mayor Lothar Ringle joined the Managing Director of Stadtbahn Saar GmbH Prof Dr-Ing Franz Heinrich for the event in Riegelsberg.Construction of the initial 4·8 km of Line ...
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Landbridge study
SNCF International, in partnership with UBS Ltd and the National Commercial Bank of Saudi Arabia, has won a contract to provide detailed studies for the Saudi Landbridge project (RG 3.04 p157).Worth around US$10m, the two studies cover the planned lines from Jeddah to Makkah, Medina and Riyadh, and the long-proposed ...
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MTR seeks subsidy for Island lines
BUS OPERATORS and trade unions protested to the Legislative Council transport panel on May 28 about MTR Corp's plan to build two new lines serving the west and south of Hong Kong Island by 2010. Citybus and New World First Bus claimed 3000 jobs would be lost ...
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Intelligence
Argentina: Metropolitano ran its first commercial electric service on the 6·6 km Temperley - Claypole section of the Roca network on May 18. With this section completed at a cost of 12m pesos, Claypole - Florencio Varela forms the next stage of the electrification programme. Austria: The carriage of mail ...
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Slow market hits Holland Railconsult
HOLLAND Railconsult BV recorded a pre-tax profit of €9m in 2003, down from €11m in 2002. Turnover fell 5·7% to €136m from €144m, and profits amounted to 6·4% of turnover, around 1% lower than 2002.The consultancy found 2003 ’a difficult year’ in the infrastructure market and reduced its workforce by ...
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Trams may return to Hanoi
FRENCH consultancy Systra has started work on a feasibility study for a 14 km east-west light rail line in Hanoi, more than a decade after the Vienamese capital abandoned its last traditional tram route.Under a contract awarded by the People’s Committee of the City of Hanoi, the study is due ...
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Western Railway goes out to study
HELLENIC RAILWAYS has called bids for detailed engineering design on the first phase of the proposed rail network intended to open up the western side of the country. Under an agreement signed by former Transport Minister Christos Verelis and EU Transport & Energy Commissioner Loyola de Palacio, the Western Railway ...
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FirstGroup gets ScotRail franchise
ON JUNE 11 the UK Strategic Rail Authority announced that FirstGroup had been selected as preferred bidder to operate the new ScotRail franchise. The current franchise has been held by National Express Group since March 31 1997 and expires on October 17. The new franchise will run for seven years, ...
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Finance
Bulgaria: On May 19 BDZ raised €30m through what Transport & Communications Minister Nikolai Vassilev described as the largest issue of corporate bonds in Bulgarian history. The proceeds will fund repairs to 3620 wagons.China: Asian Development Bank is providing a technical assistance grant of US$400000 for a review of the ...
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Siemens prepares to expand in Praha
ON JUNE 9 Czech Minister for the Environment Libor Ambrozek opened a new paint shop at the former CKD rolling stock assembly plant in Zlicin in the western suburbs of Praha. Purchased by Siemens for around KC700m, the factory became the property of Siemens Kolejova Vozidia, which opened for business ...
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A screen for every need
A GROWING range of information display screen technologies is now available, each offering its own advantages and disadvantages in particular situations. Light emitting diodes account for the majority of the displays supplied by Infotech, as they offer high reliability, long life expectancy, low maintenance, excellent legibility and low cost of ...
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Electrification enters the final phase
AROUND 80% of electrification work has been completed on Hellenic Railways’ trunk line between Athens and Thessaloniki, and the project is due to be finished by the end of 2005.If that date is met, nearly 10 years will have elapsed since signature of the contract to wire the 517 km ...