All News articles – Page 67
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NewsSiemens railway test site equipped for Galileo trials
GERMANY: Eight 'pseudolite' signal generators which are being installed at Siemens Mobility's Wegberg-Wildenrath railway test centre will allow practical trials of railway applications of the Galileo satellite navigation system before the real signals are available in 2013. Signal generators on 50 m masts will provide a Galileo signal across ...
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NewsFirst CityRail double-deckers delivered
AUSTRALIA: The double-deck commuter trains being built for Sydney under the Reliance Rail PPP contract were officially named 'Waratah' when Minister for Transport David Campbell unveiled four pre-production cars at Newcastle on July 29. Waratah is a shrub native to southeast Australia, and the floral emblem of New South Wales. ...
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NewsPointers August 2009
Following an unsuccessful first round of tendering, Arica port authority EPA expects on August 25 to announce its preferred bidder for a contract to restore the 205 km of the Arica - La Paz Railway between the Chilean port and the Bolivian border (RG 1.09 p7). Five bidders including Comsa ...
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NewsIndustry News in Brief
Engineering consultancy Buro Happold has opened a Hong Kong office to develop its business in the Asia Pacific region. Its first contract is with an Aecom-Aedas joint venture for the West Kowloon Terminus of the proposed Express Rail Link. ‘Rapid growth in China and Hong Kong is being accompanied by ...
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NewsWheelset troubles strike again
GERMANY: Passengers turning up for S-Bahn services in Berlin on July 20 were confronted with a drastically reduced timetable. S-Bahn Berlin GmbH had been forced to withdraw a huge proportion of its rolling stock fleet, leaving just 165 of its 630 two-car units operational. Under the emergency timetable, 19 stations ...
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NewsLocomotives get less hungry
EFFICIENCY: More than 2·3 billion litres of fuel a year would be saved if every train in North America were to be fitted with GE Transportation's Trip Optimizer, the supplier believes. The launch customer for the energy management package is Canadian Pacific, which is to fit it to 200 locomotives ...
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NewsPlanning for growth
SOUTH AFRICA: Putting forward his budget in July, Minister of Transport S’bu Ndebele said the government is spending R25bn over the medium term to stabilise and upgrade passenger rail services. R14bn is allocated for infrastructure and rolling stock, the rest for operations. Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa CEO ...
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NewsShunting locomotive upgrade underway
SWITZERLAND: SBB's Biel workshop rolled out the first of 23 SBB Cargo Tm IV light shunting locomotives which are being rebuilt as type Tm 232 on August 4. A prototype rebuild was completed in 2007 before the start of the modernisation programme, which aims to extend the life of ...
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NewsGrease in the right place
LUBRICATION: Turnout sliding joint lubrication can prove ineffective if the grease gets pushed out during the first few operations. The automatic lubrication system from SPX Rail Systems injects the grease into the centre of the slide interface, guaranteeing effective lubrication with no need for manual intervention for six months to ...
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NewsStrategic wins help in difficult times
STADLER: Two strategically important rolling stock contracts were won during 2008, when Swiss-based Stadler Rail Group recorded consolidated turnover of SFr1·07bn. Though turnover was down from SFr1·24bn the previous year, the ‘development of the order book was particularly pleasing’ last year, with its highest-ever total order value of SFr2·6bn ensuring ...
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NewsMontréal's Windsor Station sold to Cadillac Fairview
CANADA: On August 4 Canadian Pacific Railway announced the C$86m sale of the Windsor Station office complex in Montréal to The Cadillac Fairview Corp. Now designated a National Historic Monument, Windsor Station was built in 1887-89 as both a station and Canadian Pacific's head office. Passenger services now use ...
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NewsRobots to cut train delays
FIRE FIGHTING: UK defence technology company QinetiQ has been awarded a contract to provide remotely-operated vehicles able to enter unsafe environments to search for acetylene gas cylinders at fire sites near rail routes in London. The initiative aims to reduce the disruption to services caused by the imposition of ...
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NewsChina Gateway construction launched
KAZAKHSTAN: President Nazarbayev formally launched construction of the China Gateway Railway with a ceremony in Zhetigen on August 3. Providing a second rail link to China, the 293 km broad-gauge line will run from Zhetigen to Korgas where there will be facilities for transhipping freight to and from a 295 ...
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NewsCork - Midleton commuter line open for business
IRELAND: A full commuter service between Midleton and Cork began on August 4, following the inauguration of an introductory service on the re-opened line by Minister for Transport Noel Dempsey on July 30. The minister had launched the €75m rehabilitation of the 10 km Glounthaune - Midleton section of ...
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NewsVenezuela rail construction contract agreed
VENEZUELA: China Railway Engineering Corp's Venezuelan subsidiary is to build the planned railway between Anaco and Tinaco under an agreement reached with state railway IFE and the Ministry of Public Works & Housing on July 30. The deal is worth US$7·5bn, making it one of the largest overseas contracts ...
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NewsRotterdam Centraal rebuilding begins
NETHERLANDS: Work has begun to transform Rotterdam Centraal station, with the aim of creating a showpiece facility equalling major stations in Paris, Madrid and London. The completion of Randstadrail and HSL Zuid is expected to lead to a tripling of traffic to 323 000 passengers a day by 2025, requiring ...
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NewsSapsan run marks high speed train depot opening
RUSSIA: A Sapsan high speed train made its first demonstration run on the Moscow - St Petersburg line on July 30, reaching 250 km/h as it carried guests including RZD President Vladimir Yakunin and Governor of St Petersburg Valentina Matviyenko to the formal opening of a maintenance depot in St ...
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NewsNews in Brief
The European Commission has approved a funding and loan guarantee from the Danish state to finance planning of the Fehmarn Belt fixed link. It determined that this does not fall under the scope of rules on state aid, and promotes a project of common interest. Denmark will provide public ...
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NewsMÁV wagon works privatised
HUNGARY: Romanian rail freight, rolling stock maintenance and industrial group Grampet has completed the purchase of MÁV Debreceni Jármujavító, a subsidiary of Hungarian State Railways which operates the Debrecen wagon works. MÁV has made a number of attempts to sell the business since January 2007, eventually negotiating a deal with ...
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NewsEC sets out ERTMS deployment deadlines
EUROPE: The European Commission adopted an ERTMS deployment plan on July 22, setting out legally-binding deadlines for the implementation of ETCS and GSM-R on key corridors. Coming into force on September 1, it amends the Technical Specifications for Interoperability for Control-Command and Signalling (TSI CCS) and is intended to co-ordinate ...