All News articles – Page 278
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News
Dynamic wagon weighing
DYNAMIC weighing of coupled wagons can be carried out using Solar, a modular in-sleeper measuring device from Pfister Waagen Bilanciai. To install Solar, a set of around seven sheet steel sleepers are embedded in the existing ballast. The sleepers’ load cells are linked through an amplifier and optic fibres to ...
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Digital entertainment
THE Velaro E high speed trainsets being built by Siemens for the Madrid - Barcelona line will be equipped with the AudioTainment modular audio entertainment and information system developed by Focon using standard elements (RG 9.02 p471).AudioTainment is based around Focon’s Intercity·Net platform that has been tested on four railways ...
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Tüvasas develops indigenous DMUs
INTRO: Rolling stock supplier Tüvasas is starting work on a prototype three-car diesel multiple-unit, which will be followed by a fleet of 168 vehicles over the next five years to operate regional services on Turkish State RailwaysTHIS MONTH sees the start of fabrication work for the first 160 km/h diesel ...
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Delhi opens first metro line
THE INITIAL section of elevated metro in the Indian capital was formally inaugurated on December 24, running for 8·3 km between Shahdara and Tis Hazari. The line was opened by Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, who was accompanied by his deputy L K Avani, Urban Development Minister Anath Kumar, and ...
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Detecting Dutch wheel defects
GOTCHA is a compact wheel quality measuring system which works by analysing rail deflections caused by passing trains. Using two optic fibre sensors mounted under each rail, Gotcha is able to automatically identify eccentricity, flats and other quality parameters for individual wheelsets. The use of optic fibres prevents problems with ...
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Lahti cut-off started
FINNISH rail infrastructure authority RHK has started construction of the long-planned direct line from Kerava to Lahti, which will shorten the routes to the northeast and east of the country. Scheduled for completion in 2006, the 74 km route includes 63route-km of new alignment. Total cost is estimated at €331m, ...
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Kirow crane picks up order
BALFOUR Beatty Rail has ordered a Kirow 1200 rail crane. With a capacity of 125 tonnes, it will be the largest rail crane in use on the British rail network.Based around the Kirow 810 design, features of the 1200 include self-levelling, swivel and full slew duties and a counterweight boom. ...
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Czech co-operation finalised
AN AGREEMENT for ’extensive co-operation in the field of rail vehicle manufacture for Eastern Europe’ has been reached by Bombardier Transportation and Appian Group, owner of ??Skoda Holding.On January 16 the companies announced plans to work together on a three-system electric locomotive designed for use in the Czech Republic ...
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Central Railway heads for the heights
INTRO: Three years after privatisation, new locos and more efficient operating practices have raised freight traffic on Peru’s Central Railway by 57%. Limited passenger services have returned, and further freight growth is in prospectBYLINE: Jack A RobersonGeneral ManagerFerrocarril Central AndinoTHE EUPHORIA which greeted the wave of privatisation in Latin America ...
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CargoMover takes on the lorry
INTRO: Chris Jackson reports from Wegberg-WildenrathA VISION of fully-automatic freight trains roaming the rails of Europe was outlined by Siemens Transportation Systems’ incoming Group President Hans Schabert when he unveiled the company’s CargoMover prototypes at the Wildenrath test centre on December 18. The two vehicles are the fruits of a ...
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Transition to a market economy brings tough challenges
INTRO: Decision makers in China face difficult choices as they chart a path towards a railway structure able to meet the needs of a market economy. The government and the Ministry of Railways are determined to begin the process of change before being forced to do so. Key objectives are ...
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Connex wins in Boston
MASSACHUSETTS Bay Transportation Authority board of directors has approved the award of a five-year contract to Massachusetts Bay Commuter Rail Corp for operation of the Boston suburban network at a cost of $1·1bn. MBCR is led by Connex North America Inc, with Bombardier Transportation and Boston consultancy Alternate Concepts Inc, ...
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Upgrade to the border
RENFE President Miguel Corsini joined Spanish Secretary of State for Infrastructure Benigno Blanco and Castilla y León Development Minister José Manuel Fern
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Crucial reform bills stalled
FOUR BILLS to transform the structure of Russia’s railways were approved by the Russian Duma on December 24, but three days later the reform package was stalled when one of the four was rejected by senators in the Federation Council (the upper house). This puts in doubt the scheduled signing ...
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Desiro UK's big sister emerges
INTRO: Later this year the first of 45 five-car EMUs being built for UK franchisee South West Trains will be delivered by Siemens Transportation Systems. Designed to operate long-distance commuter services between London and south coast towns up to 230 km from the capital, they are expected to ...
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Wiring bids
NEXT MONTH is due to see a call for tenders for electrification work on Israel Railways, according to General Manager Yossi Snir. On December 30 he announced that the master plan for electrification would be published in February, setting out details of which routes will be wired first. He ...
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BDZ restructures
THE BULGARIAN Transport Ministry awarded a contract on December 18 for a team of consultants led by Systra of France, CIE Consult of Ireland and Railplan of the Netherlands to advise on the restructuring of Bulgarian State Railways.BDZ has already been split into three state-owned entities in line with European ...
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Remote barrier controls
DEFECTIVE or non-machine readable tickets, bulky luggage and restricted wheelchair access can provide potential problems for passengers using a station’s automatic ticket barriers. To tackle this, Help Point and Cubic Transportation Systems have developed Help Zone, which allows staff situated elsewhere on a station to provide help to passengers at ...
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Fare balancing
GREAT North Eastern Railway is to plan the numbers and types of tickets it offers in different fare categories using software and consultancy services from Manugistics. Controlling passenger demand through differential ticket pricing is well established, but Bruce How of Manugistics believes that the more sophisticated demand management techniques which ...
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BA rescue deal
SUBURBAN CONCESSIONAIRES in Buenos Aires have agreed to an emergency investment package that will see the Argentinian government provide 725m pesos in 2003-05. Track renewal will take priority and has been allocated 287m pesos; 197m pesos will be spent on traction and rolling stock, and 117·5m pesos on signalling. Station ...