All News articles – Page 282

  • News

    Dinant - Athus electrified

    2003-01-01T11:00:00Z

    On November 20 Belgian National Railways officially reopened the 130 km Dinant - Athus line to freight, after an eight-year programme of reconstruction and electrification. The line speed has been raised to 120 km/h, offering a 28min journey time saving for passenger trains worked by Class 41 DMUs. The line ...

  • News

    Doors for Athens

    2003-01-01T11:00:00Z

    ATTIKO Metro cars being built in South Korea are to have external sliding plug door panels, controls and peripherals from Vapor Rail. Doors for 126 vehicles will be provided by the Montréal-based subsidiary of Wabtec Corp under a US$6m contract with Korean rolling stock builder Rotem. The cars will boost ...

  • News

    Movia cars arrive in Guangzhou

    2003-01-01T11:00:00Z

    The first of 154 Movia metro vehicles being built for Guangzhou Line 2 were flown to China in November

  • News

    Another Belgian compromise

    2003-01-01T11:00:00Z

    ROYAL OPENING of the 63 km Leuven - Ans high speed line on December 10 (p7) foreshadowed the launch five days later of faster Thalys services between Brussels and K

  • News

    Anchors away

    2003-01-01T11:00:00Z

    NORTH DOWNS Tunnel on the Channel Tunnel Rail Link has a sprayed concrete primary lining, with a waterproof membrane fixed to the outer shell. This is held in place by over 800000 CR930T nails with 800mm PVC washers supplied by ITW Construction Products.The tunnel’s fire main is supported by 18000 ...

  • News

    Alstom wins BNSF deal

    2003-01-01T11:00:00Z

    BURLINGTON Northern Santa Fe has awarded a contract worth US$420m to Alstom for maintenance of 434 locomotives over a period of 12 years. Signed on November 4, the deal covers the maintenance of SD70MAC locomotives supplied by the Electro-Motive Division of General Motors. The locos will be maintained at the ...

  • News

    Airport extension will transform BART patronage

    2003-01-01T11:00:00Z

    INTRO: With ridership forecast to grow by 20%, the long-awaited opening of the Bay Area Rapid Transit extension to San Francisco International Airport is expected to usher in the most significant reordering of travel patterns since BART carried its first passengers in 1972. William D Middleton reportsDUE TO OPEN within ...

  • News

    Cost-cutting and more subsidy are back on the agenda

    2003-01-01T11:00:00Z

    THE WINDOW of opportunity for major long-term investment in the UK’s railways is closing fast. The string of badly-needed infrastructure projects that would relieve bottlenecks and expand the business is being pushed aside - we understand that the Strategic Rail Authority’s updated Strategic Plan due this month is unlikely to ...

  • News

    Line 5 awaits traffic surge

    2003-01-01T11:00:00Z

    INTRO: All-day service is being launched on Line 5 of the São Paulo metro, but the line will not reach its full potential until it reaches the city centre. Murray Hughes reports from Brazil’s largest cityGIVEN THAT 18·1 million people live in the São Paulo metropolitan area, three metro lines ...

  • News

    Systra wins Delhi Line 3

    2003-01-01T11:00:00Z

    IN THE run-up to opening of the first section of Line 1 at the end of last month, on December 9 Delhi Metro Rail Corp named Systra SA as design and project management contractor for Line 3. Design of the 23 km route has been split into two contracts, which ...

  • News

    EIB lends Bretagne €110m

    2003-01-01T11:00:00Z

    EUROPEAN INVESTMENT Bank Vice-President Francis Meyer and Josselin de Rohan, President of the Bretagne regional council, signed an agreement on November 15 that will see EIB provide €110m to fund new rolling stock and infrastructure upgrades. Using the first EIB loan to a French region since they assumed responsibility for ...

  • News

    Growing fuel

    2003-01-01T10:38:00Z

    INDIAN Railways' Research Design & Standards Organisation is to carry out testing of locomotives fuelled by biodiesel. Plans to sign a memorandum of understanding with Indian Oil Corp were announced in December, paving the way for a research programme using stationary locos at the RDSO test centre inBenares. Only minor ...

  • News

    DART extends

    2002-12-01T11:00:00Z

    DALLAS light rail operator DART completes its current expansion programme on December 9, six months ahead of schedule. Opening of the final 5·1 km of the Red line from Galatyn Park to Plano, with two intermediate stops, will bring the network to 70·8 km and 34 stations.The final two-station extension ...

  • News

    Super-resilient wheels

    2002-11-01T11:00:00Z

    ITALIAN wheelset specialist Lucchini Sidermeccanica and German rubber components supplier Gummi-Metall-Technik GmbH have formed a joint venture to produce and sell a super-resilient wheel known as ITUS. A prototype wheel was unveiled at the InnoTrans show in Berlin on September 24.Lucchini has meanwhile obtained certification from Italcertifer for unrestricted use ...

  • News

    Sidetrack

    2002-11-01T11:00:00Z

    Rolling drunkHAVING had one drink too many, a Finn recently found himself on an extended tour of the country. Too tired to walk home, he crawled into the battery compartment of a carriage stood in the town of Oulu. Inevitably, he then discovered this compartment could only be opened from ...

  • News

    Reverting to regions

    2002-11-01T11:00:00Z

    ON OCTOBER 1 Amtrak restructured its Operating Department, abolishing the ’product line’ management based on Special Business Units in favour of a geographical organisation of regions and divisions. The Western Region has three divisions, Pacific, Southwest and Central, whilst the Eastern Region has four: Southern, Mid-Atlantic, New York and New ...

  • News

    Publications

    2002-11-01T11:00:00Z

    Freight Railways: Sustainable Mobility for Economy & SocietyThis fifth volume in the Blue Books series from the Association of German Transport Undertakings covers issues of interest to freight railway operators. In addition to state-owned DB Cargo there are around 165 active public freight operators in Germany, and a further 850 ...

  • News

    Pointers

    2002-11-01T11:00:00Z

    The Norwegian government is expected to start tendering the provision of local rail services next year, in a bid to cut the NKr1·3bn annual cost. Early candidates identified by the Ministry of Transport & Communications include the Gjøvik, Bratsberg and Bergen - Foss services. Connex is due to take over ...

  • News

    PEOPLE

    2002-11-01T11:00:00Z

    Dr Manfred Stolpe has replaced Kurt Bodewig as German Federal Minister for Transport, Building & Housing.Jean-Marie Bertrand was appointed Director General of Reséau Ferré de France on October 7, succeeding Jean-François Bénard.Katsuhiko Ichikawa has become General Manager of Central Japan Railway Corporate Planning Division’s International Department. Kaoru Umemoto continues as ...

  • News

    Tram networks to reintegrate

    2002-11-01T11:00:00Z

    AS FORECAST last month (RG 10.02 p605), Melbourne is about to turn the clock back and put a single operator in charge of the world’s third-largest tram network. National Express Group Australia, operator of M>Tram, revealed on October 17 that it was negotiating to sell M>Tram to Yarra Trams, a ...