All News articles – Page 258
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Madrid start
SPANISH Development Minister Francisco Álvarez-Cascos joined Mayor of Madrid Alberto Ruiz-Gallardón at Nuevos Ministerios on July 8 to mark the formal start of work on the second cross-city rail tunnel that will carry suburban services between Atocha and Chamartín. The project is expected to cost a total of €259m. Work ...
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Luas still on track
Sir - Your report ’Luas lags behind’ (RG 7.03 p424) gives a pessimistic, and at times rather sensationalist picture of the progress of the Dublin light rail project.The original cost estimates you quote from the Dublin Transportation Initiative strategic study of 1991-94 (in Irish pounds, not euros) referred to the ...
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Low-cost signalling on low-density lines
INTRO: An EU-funded research programme is developing cost-effective train location and signalling for secondary lines, using satellite positioning technology that may have future benefits in ERTMS applicationsBYLINE: Pierre Mertens, Jean-Pierre Franckart and Antonin Starck *BYLINE: * Pierre Mertens is Locoprol Project Co-ordinator at Alstom Transport Information Systems, Jean-Pierre Franckart is ...
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Krakow upgrade
TURKISH civil engineering group Güris Insaat ve Mühendislik AS has been awarded a €31bn contract to rebuild a 3·7 km section of north-south tram route in Krakow as a segregated light rail line. Funded by EBRD and EIB, the contract was formally signed in Krakow on July 9. The work ...
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IR safety plan
INDIAN Railways was due to adopt a 10-year Railway Corporate Safety Plan last month, allocating 4% of turnover for investment in safety equipment. The plan was discussed by the IR Board on July 14, following discussions with the railway unions. It will provide around Rs16bn a year until 2013, on ...
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Lirex to test innovative transformer
BYLINE: Harry Hondius MScNEXT SPRING, the Lirex experimental diesel railcar developed for German Railway is to be converted into a hybrid electro-diesel trainset, with the replacement of one diesel generator set by a 15 kV 162/3Hz transformer. The new medium-frequency ’e-transformer’ is being developed jointly on an exclusive basis by ...
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Simulating India’s trains
INDIAN Railways has awarded Corys TESS a contract worth over €20m to supply and maintain for 10 years locomotive driver training simulators. The project is part of a rolling programme to improve safety across the Indian rail network.Representing four different types of passenger and freight locos used by IR, the ...
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Maglev lagging in high speed race
WHEN Peer Steinbrück, President of the Land of Nordrhein-Westfalen, sensibly decided on June 27 to dump plans to build a 79 km Transrapid maglev line between Dortmund and Düsseldorf, he was calling a halt to a project that had driven a deep rift in the local coalition of Social Democrats ...
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Victoria line heads Metronet renewal
OVER THE NEXT 11 years, five of London Underground’s lines are to be resignalled by the Metronet consortium which has acquired the BCV and SSL infrastructure companies as part of the Public-Private Partnership. Work will start with the deep-level Victoria line, followed by the complex network of sub-surface lines - ...
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Luxury unit ready to go
NEXT month French Railcruise plans to run its first luxury tour of southwest France using a heavily-refurbished X4500 two-car diesel multiple-unit. The original interior of the SNCF unit has been completely replaced, with luxurious fittings designed by MBD Design to give the train’s 22 passengers ’exceptional conditions of comfort, elegance ...
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KNR to go private
WIDESPREAD industrial action halted services on Korean National Railroad at the end of June as employees staged protests against plans to privatise all or part of the 3125 km network. Back in January the South Korean government had softened its line on privatisation, saying that it would opt for a ...
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SWT gets three-year franchise
THE UK Strategic Rail Authority announced on July 11 that it had signed a replacement franchise for South West Trains with incumbent operator Stagecoach Group. Originally planned as a 20-year deal, the franchise will now run for three years from February 1 2004, although there is an option to extend ...
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Foundry will keep operating
OHIO Castings Company has announced an agreement with ASF-Keystone and Meridian Rail Products to take over the operation of Meridian’s foundry in Cicero, near Chicago.Meridian had planned to close the foundry, one of three in North America, at the end of June. Under the agreement announced on June 24 it ...
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Interlocking orders to flow
TENDERS will be called this year for up to 150 signal interlockings across Europe, following the approval of 34 new Baseline 7.0 standards by the Euro-Interlocking project consortium of 29 railway and supplier organisations. Euro-Interlocking Project Manager Niklaus K
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Refurbishment modernises Slovakia’s fleet
ZOS Zvolen is to modernise a further 15 Class 810 single-car railbuses for Slovakian operator Zeleznica Spolcnost, following on from 10 vehicles completed in 2001-02. To be rebuilt as Class 812, the modernised vehicles (above)will feature 257 kW MAN D2866LUH21 engines with Voith Diwa 863-3 hydraulic transmission, automatic gear changing ...
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Waste filters
INJECTION moulded synthetic filter material for use in on-train sewage retention tanks has been developed by Microphor. It is intended as a replacement for redwood bark which has traditionally been used in waste filter tanks, and should last at least 10 years. Any chemicals which are accidentally dropped into the ...
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Fire Prevention and Fire Fighting in Metros
This UITP report stresses the importance of devising an integrated approach to fire safety. It examines the particular risks associated with tunnels, pointing to the importance of risk assessment. The report deals with fire prevention, the detection of fires which do occur, and control methods. Case studies and technical recommendations ...
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Electrification ranks high in SNTF modernisation
ALGERIAN Railways is poised to launch a major programme of modernisation that will include electrification of at least half the 3974route-km network. Recognition that rail faces growing competition from road transport has prompted SNTF to make major structural changes, paving the way for financial support from the World Bank. Modernisation ...
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Doubling to Fuengirola
AS PART of a programme to increase capacity on Renfe’s suburban networks across Spain, tenders are to be called for doubling two sections of the 30·4 km M
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Engine upgrade in Paris diesels
A FLEET of 10 diesel locomotives owned by Paris metro operator RATP is being re-engined with Deutz 1015 power plants. The first of the BB 63500 locos has now been completed, and work is underway on the second. The modernisation is being carried out over 18 months by Voies Ferrées ...