All News articles – Page 394
-
News
Austrian Federal shares in Taurus loco build
DELIVERY of the first of 75 high performance Taurus electric locomotives to Austrian Federal Railways is scheduled for January. Ordered in 1997 from Siemens Austria at a cost of ASch2·7bn, the Bo-Bo Class 1016 locos are the first fruits of a major locomotive replacement programme. Options exist for 325 more, ...
-
News
Aqaba closer
FORMAL signing of a 25-year concession to operate and expand Jordan’s 1050mm gauge Aqaba Railway was expected towards the end of last month, following the approval of the deal by the country’s cabinet on August 8.A consortium led by Wisconsin Central International and Raytheon Infrastructure was selected last November as ...
-
News
Madrid approves Metro Sur
PUBLIC CONSULTATION began in July for the route of a 40 km metro loop serving the rapidly expanding southern suburbs of the Spanish capital. Madrid Region’s Councillor for Public Works Luis Eduardo Cortés explained the definitive route alignments for the Metro Sur project. This is to serve the satellite towns ...
-
News
Manila upgrade approved
THE PHILIPPINES government announced on July 26 that it had approved a P7·6bn expansion package for Manila’s light rail Line 1. The target is to boost capacity from 27000 to 40000 passengers/h in each direction. This will involve improvements to the signalling and power supplies plus the purchase of 12 ...
-
News
Amcoach dinner service
AS PART of its Service Standard Initiative to ensure improved amenities and consistent quality of service for long-distance passengers, Amtrak has introduced a Coach Dinner Service for passengers who cannot be accommodated in the dining car. Coach class passengers can purchase pre-prepared fixed-price meals, which can be eaten in the ...
-
News
Airport link to be rebranded
British train operator Gatwick Express is rolling out a new corporate identity that aims to create a strong and dynamic brand image for the London Victoria - Gatwick Airport service. As well as the red and silver-grey livery worn by the Alstom electric multiple-units (RG 11.98 p774) that will enter ...
-
News
CFM sales move ahead
LAST MONTH the Malagasy government’s privatisation committee announced that it had selected the South African joint venture Comazar as preferred bidder to operate the 730 km metre-gauge northern railway on the island of Madagascar. Under the privatisation process started last year, the deal is due to be completed by the ...
-
News
Goninan sale agreed
Howard Smith Ltd of Australia announced on August 10 that it had signed heads of agreement for the sale of its A Goninan & Co Ltd rolling stock business to engineering company United Group Ltd. Expected to generate proceeds of A$130m for Howard Smith, the sale is due to be ...
-
News
Slovak loan agreed
ON JULY 23 the European Investment Bank confirmed the award of a 200m euros credit for Slovak Republic Railways. To be guaranteed by the Slovak government, the money will help to fund five major investment projects drawn up by ZSR General Director Andrej Egyed (RG 7.99 p459).Around 120m euros will ...
-
News
Restructuring will reverse African railway decline
Many of Africa’s railways are looking at concessioning or some form of restructuring to reverse a disastrous decline in traffic, caused all too often by neglect and deferred maintenance. Our southern Africa correspondent Luke Ripley offers this series of first hand reports
-
News
Border accords
UPGRADING of the 371 km Praha - Nürnberg corridor is to be completed by 2002, under the terms of an accord signed in the Czech capital on July 13. CD General Manager Dalibor Zeleny and DB Chairman Johannes Ludewig agreed to electrify and resignal the route and modify the alignment ...
-
News
Seoul moves from 8 to 9
BARELY TWO WEEKS after the inauguration of the final section of metro Line 8, the Seoul City Government announced that work would start on the long-planned Line 9 in 2001. Despite the region’s recent economic problems, construction is pushing ahead on Line 6 and the second stage of Line 7 ...
-
News
Eurostar up 6%
Eurostar Group has reported a total revenue of £198·3m for the first six months of 1999, up 6% from £186·8m in the first half of 1998. Over the same period, volume was up 1% from 3·4million to 3·5 million passengers.Chief Executive Designate Hamish Taylor said that a combination of ’powerful ...
-
News
3 green bottles
FURTHER consolidation in the world rolling stock industry could be in the offing. Stories surfaced in mid-August about the possibility of Bombardier moving closer to Siemens, with speculation ranging from a merger to Bombardier acquiring Siemens factories supplying traction equipment - which is precisely what is missing in the Canadian-based ...
-
News
Sidetrack
INTRO: Hothouse specialThis summer is hot on the Baltic coast. Last month German Railway’s regional subsidiary DB Regio introduced a dedicated DiscoZug to carry young people to and from a regular Weekend Party in the Heizhouse discotheque at Parchim. According to DB Regio, the DiscoZug offers ’Fun und Action’. It ...
-
News
Rhine-Rhône route set
A PREFERRED route for the first phase of the planned TGV Rhine-Rhône line was announced on July 5. The so-called 'barreau Est' option was agreed unanimously by a committee set up to develop the project and report back to the French Ministry of Transport. The decision paves the way for ...
-
News
PEOPLE
Edward A Burkhardt has resigned as Chairman, President, & Chief Executive Officer of Wisconsin Central Transportation Corp with effect from August 31 (p481). He is succeeded by Thomas F Power Jr, WC’s Executive Vice President & Chief Financial Officer for the past 12 years. J Reilly McCarren becomes President & ...
-
News
NS rethink
WITH expressions of interest for the operation of international high-speed services on HSL-Zuid due by August 18 (RG 7.99 p426), Netherlands Transport Minister Tineke Netelenbos revealed last month that she was now minded to allow Netherlands Railways to enter the bidding. However, this would be on condition that NS gives ...
-
News
Product NEWS
Sprinter corrects spot faultsPlasser & Theurer has developed the Unimat Sprinter tamper for the correction of spot faults, defects of around nine to 15 sleepers in length which typically occur at a rate of 20 per 100 km per year, according to the manufacturer. An on-board computer running Win-ALC Sprinter ...