All News articles – Page 330
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News
Instability stalls upgrading plans
INTRO: The dire state of Railtrack’s finances has delayed many ambitious proposals for investment in network expansion, reports Chris JacksonTHE SACKING on August 1 of Railtrack’s Chief Operating Officer Jonson Cox reflects the state of turmoil within Britain’s rail infrastructure company. Newly-appointed Chairman John Robinson told shareholders at the Annual ...
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Industry seeks ways out of a jungle of uncertainty
Industry seeks ways out of a jungle of uncertaintyINTRO: Set up to inject long-term thinking into a fragmented industry, Britain’s Strategic Rail Authority has just seen the fruits of its labours torn up by a government desperate to find a quick political fix for the troubled national rail network. The ...
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Improved inverter performance
HYUNDAI has developed a digital variable voltage and frequency inverter to control the slipping of wheels with parallel traction motors.Wheel slippage can lead to increased engine speed, generating more power and resulting in over-voltage in the induction motor. Voltage detection systems can be used to trigger power reduction, but these ...
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Tram-trains to Heilbronn
THROUGH light rail services have been introduced between Karlsruhe and Heilbronn, increasing the regional tram-train network to 240route-km. Operator AVG has leased the 25 km Eppingen - Heilbronn line from DB, and double-tracked and electrified it at 15 kV at a cost of DM72m. A new connection at Heilbronn Hbf ...
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Valenciennes go-ahead
THE FINAL hurdle for construction of a light rail network in the French city of Valenciennes was cleared at the beginning of August, when the Préfet of Nord- Pas-de-Calais signed the formal declaration of public utility, nine years after the project was first floated. Local transport authority Siturv expects to ...
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Wabtec sells to GE
WABTEC Corp is to sell a number of its railway business units to GE Transportation Systems for US$240m in cash. Subject to regulatory approval, the transaction is expected to close this month.The sale includes Wabtec’s motor coil manufacturing, engine systems and distribution units, formerly part of Motive Power Industries ...
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On-board fire fighting
HALON gas fire-suppression equipment on British High Speed Train power cars is being replaced with Inergen fire suppression systems supplied by ADT Fire & Security. This uses nitrogen, argon and carbon dioxide to deplete the oxygen around a fire to prevent combustion, but there is no ozone depletion potential. An ...
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Suppliers fear fresh order hiatus
INTRO: Confusion reigns in Britain’s passenger rolling stock market in the wake of the government’s decision to switch to short franchise extensions. Apart from EMUs needed to replace MkI rolling stock condemned to go by the end of 2004, prospects for fresh orders have almost dried up, says Roger FordNEARLY ...
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Peoplemovers extend the metro’s reach
INTRO: Larry Fabian* reports from the 8th international conference on automated peoplemovers in San Francisco BYLINE: * Lawrence J Fabian is Director of the public transport consultancy & lobbying group Trans.21IMAGINE A significantly higher level of public transport service: environmentally-friendly metros with trains every minute or two, all day long, ...
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Tajiks to fund rail expansion
THE GOVERMENT of Tajikistan announced at the end of July that it was to boost funding for the state rail network. TJD will be awarded an additional 600000 somonis for development this year, and 11·3m to pay off debts owed to neighbouring Uzbekistan Railways, which currently provides the only links ...
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Slab track evolves to meet operators’ expectations
BYLINE: David RhodesDirector, Technical Development, Pandrol LtdINTRO: A better understanding of the whole-life costs, plus innovative technology to deal with noise and vibration, are persuading track designers to adopt low-maintenance ballastless trackforms more widely NON-BALLASTED tracks on concrete bases are seeing increasing use, especially on urban transit and high speed ...
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Freight EMU
JR FREIGHT is drawing up plans for a multiple-unit freight train able to travel at 130 km/h. Intended to permit more competitive timings against road haulage in the busy industrial and commercial corridor between Tokyo and Osaka, the train would shave around 1h off the present 7h trip over the ...
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Harbin electrified
AUGUST 8 saw the official completion of 25 kV 50Hz electrification on the 550 km route linking the cities of Shenyang and Harbin in northeast China. Regular electric services were expected to start by the end of the month. Electrification of the 400 km Shenyang - Dalian section is due ...
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Infra-red door monitoring
FOLLOWING a successful one-year trial, 150 suburban multiple-units in Hamburg are to be fitted with in-cab CCTV to allow drivers to monitor station platforms and close doors without the presence of platform staff. Supplied by Plettac, two FAC838 cameras and transmitters suitable for use in poor lighting conditions will be ...
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Dieter
CAPTION: Customs officials were surprised to find that a suitcase belonging to an American passenger travelling from France to Germany contained 49 pythons and lizards. A vet described the Indonesian reptiles, tied up in sacks inside the case, as being ’seriously stressed’. The creatures are protected species, and have been ...
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Delays trigger Dutch revolt
FOR MANY years Netherlands Railways enjoyed a reputation as one of Europe’s most efficient railways. When NS came top in a 1985 productivity survey, it ran reliable and frequent passenger trains on a densely-meshed interconnecting network. By almost any measure, it was a success story.Ambitious plans for increasing the level ...
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Dear Leader on the slow train
KIM JONG-IL, the reclusive leader of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, made a rare state visit abroad in August, travelling to Moscow by train. An official announcement of the trip was made minutes before his armoured train crossed the border into Russia. Police guarded the tracks, and passengers were ...
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DB moves to market pricing
FROMSeptember 2002, German Railway will introduce a revised fares structure similar to airline practice, with discounted prices offered for long-distance tickets booked in advance. To qualify for the lower price passengers will have to make fixed reservations, enabling DB to set and enforce quotas for each type of ticket. Return ...
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Taiwan track row threatens opening date
RUMBLES of discontent can be heard in Japan and Taiwan about progress with the 346 km Taipei - Kaohsiung high speed line. Last December, when Taiwan High Speed Rail Corp signed the Core System agreement with Taiwan Shinkansen Corp in Tokyo (RG 3.01 p186), there was an understanding that Japanese ...
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Mandurah cut-off
WESTERN AUSTRALIA Premier Dr Geoff Gallop announced on July 16 that the state Cabinet had approved plans to re-route the A$1·2bn rail link being built between Perth and the southern suburbs of Rockingham and Mandurah. Instead of diverging from Transperth’s existing Armadale line at Kenwick, the 130 km/h line will ...