All News articles – Page 358
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News
ACTS goes metre-gauge
THIS AUTUMN, Switzerland’s metre-gauge Rhätische Bahn is taking delivery of the first of 21 transporter wagons designed to carry ACTS roll-on roll-off containers. Developed for the RhB by Josef Meyer Waggon AG of Rheinfelden, the SI7751 series have a tare weight of 18 tonnes and can carry two 21 tonne ...
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Adtranz acquires Railcare jv
ON OCTOBER 2 Adtranz UK announced that it had signed a sales and purchase agreement with Babcock International plc and Siemens Transportation Systems Ltd, covering the acquisition of their British rolling stock maintenance joint venture Railcare Ltd, owned 60% by Babcock and 40% by Siemens. Regulatory approval for the transaction ...
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Mark IV group absorbs Focon
DANISH information systems supplier Focon Electronic Systems A/S announced on October 2 that it had signed a strategic co-operation agreement with the Canadian-based Mark IV Industries. With effect from September 28, the Focon shares held by Sandma Holding A/S were transferred to Mark IV.Based in Sønderborg, with around 100 staff, ...
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São Paulo signs Line 5 turnkey
BRAZILIAN suburban rail authority Companhia Paulista de Trens Metropolitanos announced in October that it had selected the Sistrem consortium to equip the 9 km section of São Paulo metro Line 5 between Capão Redondo and Largo Treze. Due to be completed by 2002, the line is being built by CPTM ...
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C5 to Humanes
ON SEPTEMBER 29 the Spanish government approved the award of a contract for extension of Madrid suburban line C5 from Fuenlabrada to Humanes. The 6·2 km extension is costed at Pts4·6bn. The work includes double-tracking, electrification and resignalling of the single track line forming part of the Madrid - Valencia ...
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3rd Street LRT under way
GROUNDBREAKING ceremonies were held in San Francisco on September 27 for Phase I of the city’s $500m 3rd Street Light Rail Project. This will extend the Muni Metro network by 8·7 km into the south-eastern suburbs. Mayor Willie Brown and Muni General Manager Michael Burns wielded the shovels at the ...
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Line 2 contracts
LAST MONTH Siemens Verkehrstechnik confirmed that it had won a contract worth 25m euros to supply signalling and operations control equipment for the second line in Guangzhou. The first section of the 23 km route is due to open in 2003, with the entire line to be operational by June ...
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ETCS Level 2 replaces flawed vision
Roger Ford reports on the progress with Railtrack's latest plans for resignalling the West Coast Main Line, following the collapse of the company's original transmission-based signalling strategy
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SFr1·85bn may cut lineside noise by 2015
A LAW passed in March that came into effect on October 1 allocates a total of SFr1·85bn to a programme of noise reduction that aims to see all Swiss Federal Railways’ passenger fleet meet acceptable standards by 2004, and freight wagons by 2009. If these measures alone do not bring ...
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Signals at yellow
IT LOOKS as if Jean-Yves Leblanc may be going into the signalling business. Outlining progress with the takeover of Adtranz (RG 9.00 p601), Bombardier Transportation’s President & Chief Operating Officer admitted on September 12 that the bids for Adtranz Signal had been ’not interesting’. GE Harris and Harmon are too ...
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Sidetrack
Scent to try usA HECTIC dash by metro across Paris one afternoon during last month’s fuel ’crisis’ reminded us of the hapless British transport minister who got into trouble for preferring his car to public transport because he didn’t like sitting next to ’smelly commuters’. It was hot and crowded, ...
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Sevilla revival
PUBLIC consultations have begun for the construction of a four-line metro network in the Spanish city of Sevilla. Promoter of the 47 km network is Metro de Sevilla, a joint venture company formed by the city administration and the Andalucia regional government. An environmental impact study costing Pts346m has been ...
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Pointers
n Australian aluminium producer Alcoa, one of Westrail’s biggest customers, is to put its rail transport out to tender, a move which could affect bids for the purchase of Westrail’s freight business.n Completion of the long-planned line across the Malawi-Zambia border between Mchinji and Chipata (40 km) is under discussion ...
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PeruRail refurbishes
ON AUGUST 24 PeruRail announced the start of a US$1·5m programme to refurbish its passenger car fleet, due for completion by March 2001. Work is being undertaken by James Park Associates at the company’s workshops in Cusco and Arequipa.The fleet of eight diesel railcars operating between Cusco and Aguas Calientes ...
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PEOPLE
Pascal Tomasso and Jacques Damas have joined Eurostar Group to fill two new Executive Director positions, respectively Sales & Marketing and Operations. Maurits Kalff has been appointed Director of Customer Services, in place of Edward Bell.Head of SNCF’s Marseille region Pierre Izard has been appointed Director of Human Resources at ...
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Overwhelmed by passengers
QUESTIONS have been asked in the Dutch parliament about the widespread failure of NS Reizigers to meet comfort standards laid down in its 1995 service contract with the government. These require 85% of passengers travelling for more than 5min in the commuting peak to have a seat. But at the ...
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A warning and an opportunity
THE political jungle is inhabited by a species of parrot that squawks ’safety is paramount’ at the slightest hint of rail safety being compromised. The bird was unaccountably silent in September, when an unexpected relaxation of employment rules meant train drivers in charge of freight trains carrying dangerous chemicals, inflammable ...
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On-line procurement
French engineering consultancy Mercury Consultants is launching an on-line search engine for technical suppliers, aimed initially at the engineering and research departments of railway operators and manufacturers. Research and development departments from any organisation will be able to contact mepax.com free with specific technical requirements for materials procurement or potential ...
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MTR scramble
SHARES in Hong Kong’s Mass Transit Railway are due to be traded for the first time on October 5. To pave the way for partial privatisation, MTRC’s property, rights and liabilities were vested in MTR Corporation Ltd on June 30. This allowed the government to announce on September 11 that ...