All News articles – Page 89
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NewsColorado Railcar Manufacturing closes
USA: Diesel multiple-unit and cruise train coach supplier Colorado Railcar Manufacturing is being liquidated, having ceased operations with effect from December 23. CRM had been the only supplier offering DMUs meeting FRA standards for mixed traffic operation and Buy America requirements. 'Colorado Railcar Manufacturing has a major liquidity problem, ...
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NewsRail must do more to win logistics business
LOGISTICS: Freight forwarders and 3PL providers want to make greater use of rail. But until the industry develops an international perspective to match the level of service offered by competing modes, its potential will remain unfulfilled.
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NewsSurface Transportation Board approves EJ&E takeover
USA: The Surface Transportation Board has approved Canadian National's acquisition of the Elgin, Joliet & Eastern Railway in the Chicago area with effect from January 23. CN had been pressuring STB to issue a decision by the end of 2008 to meet a deadline in its contract with US ...
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NewsDalian rolls out 9·6 MW electric locomotive
CHINA: The first of 500 powerful Co-Co electric locomotives being built by China Northern under an agreement with Bombardier was rolled out at Dalian works on December 29. Ordered by the Ministry of Railways in February 2007 at a cost of €1·1bn, the 9·6 MW locomotives are a single ...
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NewsDB signs €1·5bn double-deck framework
GERMANY: On January 5 Deutsche Bahn and Bombardier Transportation announced a framework agreement worth up to €1·5bn for the supply of 800 double-deck coaches, including DB's first double-deck EMU cars. DB will use the vehicles to compete in tenders for the provision of local rail transport. 'For the first ...
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NewsLevante line takes shape
SPAIN: Construction and fitting out works are proceeding apace on the high speed line which will link Madrid with Valencia and the Murcia region.
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NewsSoftware tools ease planning headaches
SOFTWARE: A range of approaches is available for planners seeking to model timetables and assess the capacity of a railway. Three case studies from Europe illustrate the variations between them.
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NewsPointers January 2009
Poland’s Ministry of Infrastructure has approved plans to privatise freight operator PKP Cargo. Proposals for a partial sale of Rail Cargo Austria were floated by new Chancellor Werner Feyhman on December 16. The government of Kyrgyzstan decided in December to put national railway KTY up for sale. The Southern ...
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News
Dieter - January 2009
CHINA: Redundant DK16 metro cars which ran on Line 2 in Beijing until they were replaced before the Olympic Games have been converted into student dormitories in Guangyuan, a town in China’s Sichuan province which was badly damaged by an earthquake on May 12. The seats have been replaced ...
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Underfloor composite tank
WATER TANK: Roof-mounted air-conditioning units can limit the space available for overhead water tanks on passenger cars, so Goa-based Kineco has developed a filament-wound composite under-floor tank which is now in service with Indian Railways. The non-corroding composite tank is designed as a single piece with semi-ellipsoidal dish ends and ...
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NewsSee how they run
UK: The Association of Train Operating Companies has announced plans to roll out real-time mapping on the nationalrail.co.uk travel information website. ATOC has been working with Microsoft and Conchango to improve the visual interface of the National Rail Enquiries website’s ‘live departure boards’ feature, which provides details of train running ...
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NewsNew Delhi to pilot station renewal programme
INDIA: Faced with rapidly-increasing traffic, Indian Railways needs to augment or rebuild many of its 7 000 stations to accommodate the growing business. PPP financing and commercial development are envisaged to fund the reconstruction of 26 of the country’s busiest stations, reports Raghu Dayal.
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NewsTülomsas to assemble GE PowerHaul locomotives
TURKEY: On December 30 GE Transportation and Tülomsas announced a partnership agreement under which the Turkish firm will assemble PowerHaul locomotives for the European, Middle Eastern and North African markets from 2011. ‘We're investing in Turkey because of its strategic proximity to the customers we wish to serve and ...
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NewsLu seizes a rare opportunity
CHINA: ‘The situation translates into a rare opportunity for rail’, said Deputy Minister of Railways Lu Dongfu on November 28, welcoming the news that the government plans to spend 700bn yuan on railway construction in 2009-10 in order to create or safeguard up to six million jobs. ‘Upgrading railway infrastructure ...
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NewsCables encircle the globe
NEXANS: Rolling stock manufacturers are increasingly shifting responsibility to their sub-suppliers. Dietmar Steinbach of cable specialist Nexans told Andrew Grantham that consistency and product development are vital to a successful relationship.
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NewsNetwork expansion is in full swing
IRAN: Railway development is continuing apace, the intention being to provide rail connections between all major cities as soon as possible. The ultimate objective is to double the size of the current 8 300 route-km network, reports David Brice.
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NewsCoal Master Plan drives capacity investment
CAPACITY: With expenditure of A$1·3bn in the next financial year, infrastructure manager QR Network is delivering the largest capital investment programme in its history, but planning assessments suggest that much more capacity will be needed to meet projected demand in the next five years.
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NewsEurotunnel seeks safety changes
EUROPE: Three months after the devastating fire on September 11 that burned out every lorry on a shuttle train in the Channel Tunnel, we were able to inspect on December 10 the full extent of the damage to 610 m of the concrete lining as repairs continue around the clock. ...
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Tests to cease on Emsland guideway
GERMANY: ‘This is not the end of the Transrapid maglev technology’, affirmed Transrapid International on April 2 last year after the proposed 37 km maglev line linking München city centre with the airport was abandoned (RG 5.08 p290). The words returned to haunt the company on December 10 when ...
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No-poaching accord
AFRICA: A framework agreement ‘to help contain the unregulated movement of technical staff’ between railways in different countries is being drawn up by the Southern Africa Railways Association, in a move to prevent skill shortages from crippling their members’ operations. The move was announced following by a SARA committee meeting ...