All News articles – Page 393

  • News

    Still in court

    1999-09-01T10:00:00Z

    ON JULY 29 the Taiwanese High Court awarded NT$1·1bn to Matra Transport International as compensation for its work on Taipei’s troubled Mucha metro line. This should have been welcome news to the French supplier, which has been battling with Taipei City Council’s Department of Rapid Transit Systems for ...

  • News

    Safety costs mount

    1999-09-01T10:00:00Z

    A record fine for a health and safety offence of £1·5m was imposed on Great Western Trains in July by Mr Justice Scott-Baker for not preventing the collision at Southall in West London on September 19 1997. Seven passengers died when a diesel High Speed Train ran through signals at ...

  • News

    Control modules

    1999-09-01T10:00:00Z

    Schneider Electric is developing a range of distributed input/output modules for traction control and other rolling stock applications, compliant with European standards EN 50155 and EN 50121-3-2. Featuring a robust and compact plastic housing for mounting on a DIN rail, the lightweight modules can operate between -40í C and 85í ...

  • News

    More West Rail contracts let

    1999-09-01T10:00:00Z

    ON JULY 27 Kowloon-Canton Railway Corp announced a further six contracts for West Rail phase I, totalling HK$5·4bn. Four are for civil works, one for railway systems and one for design.Kier-Zen Pacific JV is to build Mei Foo station for HK$1·2bn, whlist Tin Shui Wai station and the light rail ...

  • News

    Moscow tries commuter expresses

    1999-09-01T10:00:00Z

    MOSCOW Railway commuters between Vladimir and the Russian capital are flocking onto the latest design of EMU to emerge from the Demikhovo rolling stock plant (left). On July 31 MR President Gennadi Fadeev and Railways Minister V I Starostenko launched the city’s third express commuter service using a build of ...

  • News

    Mystery surrounds Gaisal collision

    1999-09-01T10:00:00Z

    Despite fears that the death toll in the August 2 collision at Gaisal on India’s Northeast Frontier Railway might exceed the 300 killed at Firozabad near Agra in 1995, the official figure was set at 286 when a mountain of wreckage was finally cleared three days later. Commissioner for Railway ...

  • News

    Trials will settle final ETCS choices

    1999-09-01T10:00:00Z

    BYLINE: Nina BarrsCommercial DirectorERTMS Users Group THIS AUTUMN sees Europe’s railways start live tests with ETCS. Developed primarily for the Trans-European Network high speed line projects, ETCS is the child of a core group of European railways and infrastructure companies: Deutsche Bahn, Réseau Ferré de France, Ferrovie dello Stato, Railtrack, ...

  • News

    Can the public sector meet the profit challenge?

    1999-09-01T10:00:00Z

    INTRO: At its Ninth Scientific Symposium, the Arab Union of Railways will examine how national railways can restructure for profitabilityBYLINE: Eng Mourhaf SabouniGeneral SecretaryArab Union of RailwaysWITH privatisation now in vogue around the world, the members of the Arab Union of Railways are faced with a particular challenge. While keeping ...

  • News

    Underground rail carrier

    1999-09-01T10:00:00Z

    Developed for track renewal work on London Underground’s Waterloo & City line, the Bance Rail Transportation Unit comprises four lifting traversers with an Alumi-Cart inspection trolley at each end. Able to carry four people, the Alumi-Carts can be uncoupled from the RTU for inspection duties at speeds up to 30 ...

  • News

    Trouble in the Cape

    1999-09-01T10:00:00Z

    SOUTH AFRICA’S national railway Spoornet has on many occasions helped its Cape gauge neighbours to the north with technical expertise, supply of rolling stock and motive power. Now it is Spoornet that is in need of help - although something more fundamental is called for.The recent economic downturn brought a ...

  • News

    Line C revived

    1999-09-01T10:00:00Z

    THIS MONTH is due to see the handover to Roma’s Sistema di Transporti SpA of detailed engineering designs for the first 12 km section of metro Line C. Project design for the route linking the Line A interchange at San Giovanni to Torrenova, where it would meet the Cotral suburban ...

  • News

    Industry in Brief

    1999-09-01T10:00:00Z

    France: Alcatel has appointed Credit Suisse First Boston to find a buyer for its Saft batteries operation. Sale to another manufacturer or an investment concern is expected to be completed by the end of September, and offers of more than 500m euros are anticipated.Ascom Monétel, Ascom Elsydel and Ascom SA ...

  • News

    Passenger in Brief

    1999-09-01T10:00:00Z

    n France Télécom is to remove its 700 payphones installed in domestic SNCF TGV trainsets, as usage has fallen with the rising popularity of mobile phones. The space freed is to be enclosed as an area where mobile phones can be used without disturbing other passengers.n Ticket machines have been ...

  • News

    Products in Brief

    1999-09-01T10:00:00Z

    Faiveley Transport is supplying 250 TOM data recorders to Alstom Transport, meeting ERTMS requirements and capable of resisting temperatures as high as 700í C as well as loads of 2 tonnes. The data recorders are being installed in tilting trains for Virgin West Coast, Class 334 EMUs for ScotRail, Class ...

  • News

    Last segment completes Øresund bridge

    1999-09-01T10:00:00Z

    A royal ceremony marked the placing of the last section of the spectacular 7·8 km Øresund bridge on August 14

  • News

    Private operators to boost recovery

    1999-09-01T10:00:00Z

    INTRO: Sudan Railways Corp has embarked on a three-year transition to transfer freight and passenger services to the private sector, and generate investment to bring the network up to a modern standardBYLINE: Eng Omer M M NourGeneral ManagerSudan Railways CorpAS PRESIDENT of the Arab Union of Railways, I have great ...

  • News

    HSL bidders line up

    1999-09-01T10:00:00Z

    NETHERLANDS Minister of Transport Tineke Netelenbos should be pleased with the response to the call for bids to run international passenger services on the future HSL-Zuid between Amsterdam and Antwerpen. Among the 13 respondents were domestic organisations and firms from Belgium, France, Germany, Sweden and Britain, where Virgin Trains expressed ...

  • News

    Peru concessions awarded

    1999-09-01T10:00:00Z

    SEPTEMBER 21 is due to see the management of three rail networks in Peru transferred to private sector consortia. The government has awarded two 30-year concessions which each include an option for a further 30-year extension.One grouping, led by Sea Containers and Peruval Corp, will take over Enafer’s 914mm gauge ...

  • News

    Operators await TBTC standards

    1999-09-01T10:00:00Z

    INTRO: Recent Transmission-Based Train Control pilot projects and new efforts to set international standards foreshadow the future direction for the next generation of train control technology. But where is it all going and why is it taking so long?BYLINE: Tom SullivanTransportation Systems Design Inc*CALL IT WHAT you will, Transmission-Based Signalling, ...

  • News

    Railsim available for license

    1999-09-01T10:00:00Z

    Systra Consulting Inc has released Version 7 of its Railsim¨ Train Performance Calculator, a program for simulating and analysing train performance including journey time predictions, maximum attainable speeds and safe braking distances. The standard licence package includes TPC, three rolling stock libraries and two rolling resistance algorithms, as well as ...