All articles by Railway Gazette International – Page 1029
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NewsSiemens high speed train sets sail for China
THE FIRST of the CRH3 high speed trains being supplied to Chinese Railways has left Bremerhaven in Germany onboard M/S Gjertrud Maersk for the six-week sea journey to Tianjin. The 60 eight-car trains were ordered in November 2005 from a consortium of Siemens Transportation Systems and Tangshan Locomotive & Rolling ...
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Andalucía's network takes shape
UNDER ITS PROJECT to build a 128 km high speed line between Sevilla and the Córdoba – Málaga route at Antequera Santa Ana (RG 5.07 p250), the Andalucía regional government is aiming for civil works to be in progress on all route sections during 2008. Tenders have been called for ...
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Santo Domingo metro delivery
THE FIRST three-car Metropolis trainset for the metro line under construction in Santo Domingo left Alstom's factory in Barcelona on December 14. The ship delivering the train is expected to dock in the Dominican Republic in early January. Transport authority OPRET announced the award of a €92·5m contract for ...
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Pegase ready to take off
AFTER three years of research and development Faiveley Transport has launched Pegase, a roof-mounted electric traction power collection module which brings together the pantograph, auxiliary compressor, isolating equipment, lightning protection, disconnector, energy measurement and controls in an single unit. The trend towards low floor trains and larger air-conditioning units is ...
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Investment spend under pressure
ENGINEERING GANGS and contractors are hard at work across the USA, as the Class I railroads scramble to add capacity to cope with demand. With the coal, grain and intermodal sectors booming, capital investment budgets are running at record levels year after year. BNSF is adding a third track on ...
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RENFE's Christmas presents
ON NOVEMBER 19 ticket sales began for services using the Madrid - Valladolid and Antequera - Málaga high speed lines, due to open to traffic on the day after official ceremonies taking place on December 22 and 23 respectively. Preparations for the opening of these lines over the busiest weekend ...
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Joint electrical development
ZHUZHOU CSR Times Electric Co and US firm Freescale Semiconductor have established a joint microelectronic research laboratory at Zhuzhou's technical centre. Engineers from both companies will undertake product development and support at the Chinese facility, focusing on AC drives, vehicle controls and diagnostics, safety systems, onboard electrics and passenger information. ...
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Tourist train upgrade
OKTYABRSKY Electric Car Repair Plant completed an overhaul of seven coaches for Russian Railways' Alexander Nevsky tourist train at the end of October. The contract awarded in July covered a number of features which the St Petersburg plant has not fitted to a train before, including satellite communications and ...
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Assembly plant lease signed
ROTEM USA has signed a 20-year lease on a 27 000 m² building in south Philadelphia which will be used as a US headquarters and to assemble commuter rail vehicles. The Hyundai Automotive Group subsidiary will spend $10m to adapt the building, where it will produce 120 Silverliner V cars ...
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NS to pilot vital OTC
NORFOLK SOUTHERN has awarded a contract to Wabtec Railway Electronics to develop a vital positive train control system, known by NS as Optimized Train Control. A pilot project covering 357 km of route in South Carolina is expected to go live in 2009. NS has been working with Lockheed Martin ...
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Intelligence December 2007
Argentina: The government has extended for a second period of 180 days SOE's concession to operate the Belgrano Cargas network (RG 11.07 p683) on an emergency basis. A further 8·4m pesos was made available to support operations. Following the signature of an agreement between the provinces of Chaco and Santa ...
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NewsLGV expansion plans firm up
RESEAU Ferré de France has chosen three groups to compete for the PPP concession to finance and build the Sud Europe Atlantique high speed line from Tours to Bordeaux (RG 6.07 p363). The contract for the 300 km project is due to be signed in early 2009. The Bouygues group ...
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Should taxpayers fund private sidings?
More than half of the rail freight traffic in many European countries originates at private sidings. Infrastructure is expensive, but grant programmes in Switzerland, Austria and Germany have proved a cost-effective use of public money
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Industry in Brief
Composite component makers Technical Resin Bonders and Amber Composites have been bought by a private equity consortium lead by US entrepreneur Jonathan McQueen, who becomes CEO of the UK-based companies. Composites are increasingly used in rolling stock, offering light weight and high strength. Visiting the Mahilyow Carriage Works in late ...
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Urban rail news in brief - December 2007
Algeria: CNIM has won a contract to supply 23 escalators for eight underground stations being built by Vinci Construction Grands Projets on the 11 km first phase of the Alger Metro. Opening of the line between Haï El Badir, Hamma and Tafourah Grande Poste is planned for 2009. Thales announced ...
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Gulf rail links beckon
ONE REGION that has long harboured ambitions for an international rail network is the Gulf, although there has been little progress to report. With Saudi Arabia forging ahead with its north-south mineral line, east-west Landbridge and Western Railway (RG 8.07 p465), others are keen to join the party. Reports surfaced ...
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NewsGreat Western regional refurbishment underway
UK: Diesel multiple-units operated by First Great Western on west of England regional services are undergoing an £11m refurbishment to bring them up to modern standards of reliability and appearance. During November the operator returned to service the first of 17 Class 150 two-car DMUs to be modernised by Cardiff-based ...
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City News in Brief
An extension of Minsk metro Line 1 was opened on November 7. Totalling 2·7 km, the line serves two stations at Borisovskij Trakt and Uruchije and connects with the existing route at Uskhod. Built at a cost of €170m, the extension serves a number of residential areas in the northeast ...