All News articles – Page 256

  • News

    Czech stake

    2003-09-01T10:00:00Z

    THE EUROPEAN Bank for Reconstruction & Development has acquired a 33% stake in Praha-Zilcín-based rolling stock builder Siemens Kolejov

  • News

    Virtual crowds

    2003-09-01T10:00:00Z

    THEMOVEMENTS of hundreds of passengers at metro stations can be realistically modelled using Legion 1.3 software, which has been developed using research into crowd dynamics and the impact of spatial configurations on pedestrian movement. Legion’s consultants have been using previous versions of the software since 1999 to produce detailed, objective ...

  • News

    West Rail sets new standards in LINESIDE noise control

    2003-09-01T10:00:00Z

    INTRO: Detailed design of trains, track and structures on Hong Kong’s West Rail line has achieved an unprecedented reduction in lineside noise and vibration. Development and implementation of a multi-plenum system has been key to the control of under-car noise, notably from the wheel/rail interfaceBYLINE: Alan Crockett and John Carlisle ...

  • News

    Zambia concession signed

    2003-09-01T10:00:00Z

    A FORMAL agreement for the operation of passenger services on the Zambian Railways network was signed by Finance & National Planning Minister Ng’andu Magande and representatives of New Limpopo Bridge Projects Investments (Pty Ltd) on August 9. The deal follows signing of the terms for the freight concession in February ...

  • News

    Septa completes its Frankford Swing

    2003-09-01T10:00:00Z

    METRO services on Philadelphia’s Market - Frankford line began using Septa’s new Frankford Transportation Center on August 4, following completion of a nine-day blockade to realign the elevated approaches. Due to be completed in 2005 at a cost of $187m, the bus/rail/light rail interchange forms part of a $650m reconstruction ...

  • News

    Co-operate or compete?

    2003-09-01T10:00:00Z

    TAIWANESE Premier Yu Shyi-kun said last month that the government is to make available NT$100bn to Taiwan Railway Administration for upgrading its 1067mm gauge network. While TRA has not been seriously starved of funds (RG 3.01 p192), it is facing growing competition, not just from roads, but also from the ...

  • News

    Two-material rail combats rolling contact fatigue

    2003-09-01T10:00:00Z

    INTRO: Reducing or preventing rolling contact fatigue has become a major issue for track engineers faced with the conflicting demands of heavier traffic, increased safety regulation and shorter possessions. Two-material rail could be the answer for critical locations such as switches and crossingsBYLINE: Martin Hiensch** As Project Manager, InfraStar, Martin ...

  • News

    Millennium bugs strike Sydney

    2003-09-01T10:00:00Z

    MICHAEL COSTA, Minister for Transport Services in New South Wales, released on August 14 a letter to EDI Rail, supplier of Sydney’s Millennium EMUs, informing the company that the state government would suspend payments for the double-deck suburban trains until technical problems with on-board computer systems had been resolved. Telling ...

  • News

    BRKS start-up

    2003-09-01T10:00:00Z

    SLOVAKIA’s first regional rail operator expects to open its second route on September 1, with the restoration of passenger services between Zohor and Rohozník. County-owned Bratislask

  • News

    Passenger News in Brief

    2003-09-01T10:00:00Z

    Free wireless internet access is being made available to first class passengers on some Montréal - Toronto VIA Rail services as part of a four-month trial by Bell Canada, Intel and PointShot Wireless.Suzhou Schindler Elevator Co has won a 66m yuan contract to supply 97 escalators to Guangzhou Metro. Installation ...

  • News

    Industry in Brief

    2003-09-01T10:00:00Z

    UVZ & AVR has begun constructing a rolling stock assembly works at Ahtme in northeast Estonia. The first two assembly lines will be installed in November, and the Russian-Estonian joint stock company expects to employ up to 400 people to produce up to 3000 passenger carriages and tank wagons per ...

  • News

    Sena line boost

    2003-09-01T10:00:00Z

    THE WORLD Bank confirmed on August 7 that it had agreed in principle to assist with the restoration of the 553 kmSena line in Mozambique. Linking Beira with the Moatize coalfields and the Malawi border, the line has been out of use for 20 years because of the civil war, ...

  • News

    Malaysian bidding hots up

    2003-09-01T10:00:00Z

    A DOMESTIC consortium of Malaysia Mining Corp and Gamuda Bhd has submitted a bid to double-track the country’s north-south main line. MMC Chief Executive Ismail Shahudin said in mid-July that the companies believed the work could be completed within three years of a contract being signed.The Malaysian government had already ...

  • News

    Nine bid for Line A

    2003-09-01T10:00:00Z

    A TOTAL OF nine groups have submitted bids to prequalify for a contract to build the 3·5 km extension of Buenos Aires metro Line A from Primera Junta to Nazca. With intermediate stations at Puan, Carabobo and Flores, the extension is expected to take three years to build within a ...

  • News

    Rivals skirmish over Beijing - Shanghai

    2003-09-01T10:00:00Z

    WITH maglev technology effectively ruled out for the 1300 km high speed line planned between Beijing and Shanghai (RG 8.03 p484), a serious battle is shaping up between rival interests promoting Japanese Shinkansen, French TGV and German ICE technology. Already it is looking like a re-run of the fight to ...

  • News

    Mannheim tests grooved rails with elastic bearings

    2003-09-01T10:00:00Z

    BYLINE: Anabel HengelmannGetzner Werkstoffe GmbHIN THE search for a smoother ride for street-running tram and light rail lines, Getzner Werkstoffe has been developing an elastic support structure for grooved rails over the past two or three years, in co-operation with Mannheimer Versorgungs- und Verkehrsgesellschaft AG. The system combines external ...

  • News

    Battery power

    2003-09-01T10:00:00Z

    SAFT is supplying three 24V batteries for each of the 23 three-car diesel multiple-units being built by CAF for Northern Ireland Railways. The underframe-mounted batteries comprise 20 SRX 190 FR cells, designed to deliver short-duration high current discharges of up to 1 min at five times normal capacity when starting ...

  • News

    Batignolles sale

    2003-09-01T10:00:00Z

    AS PART of its strategy to focus on services and reduce its exposure to cyclical construction activities, Amec has signed an agreement to sell 51% of French construction business Spie Batignolles to management buy-out vehicle Financière Spie Batignolles for €15·3m. The management offer was announced in May, and completion of ...

  • News

    Ballast machine cleans up

    2003-09-01T10:00:00Z

    BERLIN-BASED contractor MGW Gleis- & Weichenbau GmbH & Co KG is using an RM 95-700 high capacity ballast cleaning machine from Plasser & Theurer for maintenance work on the German rail network. The eight-axle articulated hydraulic machine offers a precise, laser-aligned cutting of the subgrade, with integrated supply of new ...

  • News

    Authority will revive SLR

    2003-09-01T10:00:00Z

    PLANS FOR a comprehensive revival of Sri Lanka’s rail network were announced by Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesignhe on August 11. Consultants are to be appointed to look at improving the management structure, whilst Indian engineers will start on urgent repairs, he said. The Prime Minister also hopes to see services ...