All News articles – Page 315
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Chinese metros keep growing
GUANGZHOU Metro Corp officially began construction of its third line on December 26, following approval of the project by the State Planning Committee on December 16 (RG 4.01 p211). The 32 km line linking Guangzhou Dong station and Panyu is expected to open in 2005.On December 14 the China National ...
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Tokyo smart card starts
EAST Japan Railway inaugurated Suica contactless smart cards at 424 stations in greater Tokyo on November 18. The railway developed the smart cards with Sony.Two types are currently available. The first is a season ticket, with a stored value of up to ´10000. The costs of any extra journeys made ...
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Cubic wins smart card contracts
PASSENGERS in Maryland and Chicago are to use smart cards supplied by Cubic Transportation Systems following the award of two separate contracts.Maryland Transit Administration has awarded Cubic a $38·3m contract to supply smart card ticketing across the state. The cards will be valid on metro and light rail services in ...
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Building up worn wheels
WORN wheel profiles can be restored using an automatic welding station supplied to Ghana by ESAB. Filler material is welded in place, then the wheel ground to its original profile. Unlike reprofiling with a lathe, unworn material is not lost, and so there is no reduction in wheel diameter.Both wheels ...
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Fare Collection in Brief
Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority is to install a new generation automated fare collection system on its rail network by 2004, replacing the existing token equipment at a cost of $120m.Beijing Metro Corp is to introduce automatic fare collection using ’intelligent’ cards. The current 3 yuan flat rate will be replaced ...
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Products in Brief
EAO has developed a double-sided glass-mountable LED illuminated push button for internal train doors.London Underground has ordered 400 tubs of Wipems disposable biocidal wipes from Chela Ltd. They will be used to remove sticky acidic exudate from cable insulation.Canac is to upgrade Beltpack loco remote control units used by Canadian ...
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Passenger News in Brief
Delta Airlines and SNCF have agreed a code-share deal on TGV services from Paris Charles-de-Gaulle Airport to Angers, Le Mans, Lille, Lyon Part-Dieu, Nantes, Poitiers, Rennes and St Pierre-des-Corps (Tours).Swissair Group has formally confirmed its agreement to sell its Restorama and Rail Gourmet catering subsidiaries to Compass Group, along with ...
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Early birds catch cheap tickets
INTRO: Ralf Roman Rossberg analyses German Railway’s future fares structure which has been designed to harness the benefits of market pricingON DECEMBER 15 German Railway will implement a long-heralded change to its fares structure. Gone will be the formula of set prices for each kilometre travelled, with reduced fares ...
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Four ZR bids in
FOUR consortia had submitted bids for the concession to manage and operate the 1273 km Zambian Railways network when the tender closed on December 7. Following an initial evaluation during December, Zambia Privatisation Agency expected to select a preferred bidder in January and complete detailed negotiations by the end of ...
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BDZ tracks open to competitors
REI HOLDINGAD became the first aspiring train operator to announce, on January 2, its intention of competing with Bulgarian State Railways. BZD had been split on the previous day into an infrastructure manager and a train operator, and private companies are now able to apply for a licence to run ...
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Siemens scoops Bangkok order
SIEMENS Transportation Systems has been awarded a €350m turnkey contract to supply electrical and mechanical equipment for the Blue line metro in Bangkok. The deal was signed on December 19, but not announced until January 3. Bangkok Metro Co Ltd had previously selected a consortium of Alstom and Mitsubishi as ...
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PATH fights back
PORT AUTHORITY of New York and New Jersey has decided to build a temporary PATH station to replace its destroyed World Trade Center terminus. The board of commissioners voted on December 13 to spend $544m on the interim station in Church Street, which could be completed in about two years. ...
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Transnet backs away from fragmentation
WITHALMOST no warning, the number of Cape Town’s weekday commuter trains operated by Metrorail was cut by 13% from 641 to 557 from January 7. The company holds a concession from SA Rail Commuter Corporation to operate suburban services in major cites, and blamed a shortage of drivers after weekly ...
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Arriva wins Jutland regional concessions
UK-based public transport operator Arriva has been awarded the first two concessions to operate regional passenger services in Denmark, totalling 582route-km. The concessions were announced by the Ministry of Transport on January 8. Private operations are due to start in January 2003 under the seven-year contracts, which are worth a ...
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Argentina in crisis
THE FINANCIAL crisis that went on to engulf the nation before Christmas had spread to Argentina’s railways on December 12, when the first freight concession to be let to the private sector also became the first to suspend operations. The 660 staff at Ferroexpresso Pampeano (Fepsa) had not been paid ...
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Master Plan approved
LAST MONTH Vietnamese Prime Minister Phan Van Khai approved a 20-year programme to upgrade the metre-gauge national rail network at an estimated cost of 161000bn dong. The government has agreed to provide credit loans from its development fund, and assist with negotiating soft loans from international suppliers.When DSVN sent its ...
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Amtrak reform proposals published
FOLLOWING its ruling that Amtrak could not become self-sufficient by December 2002 (RG 12.01 p799), the Amtrak Reform Council unveiled on January 11 its proposals for the future of the US national passenger rail operator, which had been adopted by an 8:1 vote. It recommended that the federal government should ...
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Irish passengers reach an all-time high
RECORD numbers of passengers were carried on Iarnród éireann during 2001, with 37·2 million journeys made. The inter-city, DART and suburban sectors each saw their highest ever individual traffic figures. In 2001 over 11·1 million inter-city journeys were made, continuing the upward trend of recent years. The Dublin - ...
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Alicante bidding
SPAIN’S Valencia regional government called bids on January 21 for construction of three sections of the Alicante - Benidorm - Altea light rail line, valued at €66·1m. Work on the Campello - Villajoyosa section and a bridge over the Río Amadorío began in December.The line will run underground from the ...
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Bay Area plans ahead
SAN FRANCISCO's Metropolitan Transportation Commission launched a 25-year transport plan on December 19, encompassing investment projects totalling $87·4bn. Public transport will receive 68% of the anticipated federal, state and local funding, with the most expensive single project being the planned BART extension from Fremont to San Jose (RG ...