All articles by Railway Gazette International – Page 1096
-
News
French freight ferment
WITH THE French government required to open up its domestic rail freight market by March 31 (RG 2.05 p58), operators are lining up to compete with Fret SNCF.After filing an application in November 2004, rail4chem announced on February 13 that it had received a safety certificate from the transport ministry ...
-
NewsFaster ticket transactions increase satisfaction
WATCHING passengers trying to buy tickets is a key part of research being carried out by Amberlight, a consultancy specialising in human-computer interaction which has been hired to improve the user interface of self-service ticket machines operated by South Eastern Trains. The British train operator appointed Amberlight last October to ...
-
News
Eye in the sky
ROBOTIC aerial vehicles fitted with cameras are being investigated as a way to prevent terrorist attacks on US trains. President Bush recently approved an appropriations bill awarding $200000 of federal funding to the GeoGraphics laboratory at Bridgewater State College, which is experimenting with model aircraft equipped with cameras to ...
-
News
Shenzhen metro expands
SHENZHEN Metro announced in January that it expected to start work this year on an extension of Line 1 from Shijiazhichuang to Bao'an International Airport, which would add a further 14 stations and double the length of the line (p154). Construction of the first section, including two stations at ...
-
News
Engineers explore the future of signalling
INTRO: Signalling professionals will probe the latest developments in signalling and train control technology at Aspect 2006, an international conference organised by the Institution of Railway Signal Engineers on March 16-17BYLINE: Jacques PoréPresident, Institution of Railway Signal Engineers, 2005-06ENGINEERS, technicians, managers and other professionals with an interest in signalling and ...
-
News
Modular EMU plan
BIDS are being sought for around 400 EMUs to operate regional services in Germany. DB wants the trains to be fully modular, with standard component interfaces permitting equipment from different suppliers to be exchanged.Intended to meet the higher standards specified in tenders for regional services, the trains will need a ...
-
News
Spoornet orders electric locos
SOUTH AFRICA’s state-owned transport holding group Transnet announced on February 13 that it had signed a contract to purchase 110 electric locomotives over the next five years at a cost of R3·5bn.Ordered as part of Spoornet’s R35bn capital investment programme, the locos will be used to expand capacity on the ...
-
News
Fleet tendering underway in Santo Domingo
THE DOMINICAN Republic’s transport agency Opret announced on January 25 that bids to supply rolling stock for the Santo Domingo metro (RG 12.05 p754) had been received from Alstom, CAF and Siemens. Ansaldobreda and Bombardier were also expected to submit offers.A fleet of 53 cars formed as 17 trainsets is ...
-
News
Dieter
Future passengers at Bras Basah station now under construction as part of Singapore’s Circle Line project will be able to look upwards though water to the sky above. The deepest station on the MRT network will feature a 100mm deep rooftop reflection pool with a specially designed triple-laminate glass bottom, ...
-
News
On-track plant depot opened
GRANTPLANT officially opened a refurbished and extended depot in Scunthorpe on February 7. The workshop has been modernised and extended to handle the servicing and maintenance of the multi-disciplinary rail infrastructure company’s expanding range of on-track plant, which is used on contracts across Britain.Chief Executive Officer Gren Edwards told guests ...
-
News
Real-time information deal
AN ALLIANCE of English Welsh & Scottish Railway and Thales, which was formed to offer information technology services to European rail operators, has won a five-year contract to manage real-time information in the UK.The alliance will run Britain’s National Rail Communication Centre, which collates and distributes live information on service ...
-
News
Maintenance deal
SNCF signed a €42m contract in January covering the maintenance of its ticket sales equipment, vending machines and validators. The five-year deal extendable by a year was awarded jointly to Fujitsu Services, IER and Parkeon, and covers around 12000 machines.’To be 100% effective, we believe it is essential that a ...
-
News
Contactless phone
EAST JAPAN Railway passengers began using their mobile telephones as contactless smart card tickets from January 28. Owners of certain models of telephone handset and JR East’s View credit card can install software from the railway’s website. This allows passengers to use their mobile phones to pay for goods and ...
-
News
Metro consulting in Shanghai and Shenzhen
BYLINE: Louis Lee and Ka Ho LiParsons Brinckerhoff (Asia) LtdDESPITE MORE than 100 years of railway construction, the rapid growth of China’s rail and metro sectors means that the market is still in need of professionals to support the development of the industry in terms of a systems approach.Parsons Brinckerhoff ...
-
News
Crossing closures
ON FEBRUARY 7 Israel Railways awarded a US$12m contract for grade separation of three level crossings on the Kiryat Gat - Be'er Sheva line by the end of 2007. This marked the start of a US$530m programme to eliminate most of ISR's level crossings within three years, approved by ...
-
News
Coal line closer
AFTER EIGHT years of vigorous lobbying, the Dakota, Minnesota & Eastern Railroad received 'final approval' from the US Surface Transportation Board on February 15 for its ambitious plan to build a 450 km extension into Wyoming's lucrative Powder River Basin coalfields. The STB approved the scheme in 2002 (RG 3.02 ...
-
News
Civils takeover
CIVILS and mining construction firm Macmahon is being incorporated into Grupo Comsa’s Australian subsidiary MVM Rail under an agreement signed on January 20. The deal consolidates MVM’s position in the rail construction sector in Asia and Australasia, and it ’expects a sales increase from the present €30m to €100m in ...
-
News
The virtuous circle remains elusive
’CURRENT market prices are not compatible with an economically sound roll-out.’ Not only that, but they are ’much too high to encourage a rapid migration’. Taken from a UIC-CER-EIM declaration, these phrases leave little doubt over the scale of the problem facing Europe’s railways and their suppliers as they grapple ...
-
News
Tide of technology pours into China
More than 1000 locomotives are being built under technology transfer deals to augment Chinese Railways' fleet of high-horsepower traction. Murray Hughes finds that both North American and European companies are reaping the rewards - although Chinese products may soon be rolling west