All articles by Railway Gazette International – Page 1136
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Pointers March 2005
On January 25 the King of Bhutan Jigme Singye Wangchuk and Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh agreed in Delhi to launch a feasibility study for rail links between the two countries. Routes under consideration are Hasimara - Phuentsholing with a branch to Pasaka (18 km), Kokrajhar - Geylegphug (70 km), ...
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Smart ticket sales
BY MARCH station booking offices managed by British train operating company Southern will be equipped with Shere’s Manned Rail Ticketing computer-based ticketing issuing machines. As well as offering a full range of UK tickets, seat reservations, online credit card authorisation and real-time running information, Smart is integrated with the operator’s ...
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Trains to Russia
ON DECEMBER 21 an agreement was signed by Russian Railways President Gennady Fadeyev and DG AG Chairman Hartmut Mehdorn to create passenger transport joint venture TransBaltZug.Registered in Kaliningrad, TransBaltZug is 50·5% owned by RZD and 49·5% by German Railway, with both parties having equal decision-making rights. The core business of ...
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Regional turmoil
EXPANDING Dutch operator Syntus has won another concession, adding a fourth route to the three regional lines that it works in the Arnhem - Winterswijk - Zutphen area (RG 4.03 p213).From April 3 the Keolis-backed company will take over the 44 km Arnhem - Tiel route under a contract that ...
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NewsUK refranchising progresses
THE STRATEGIC Rail Authority is pushing ahead with awarding of new franchises for passenger train operations in the UK. On January 17 SRA issued an invitation to tender for the Integrated Kent Franchise to the four bidders who were prequalified in December 2003 (RG 2.04 p63). The ITT was ...
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Stadler rents plant
STADLER has taken over the Weiden works of Partner für Fahrzeugausstattung GmbH following the signing of a preliminary agreement with the insolvent company’s creditors on December 30.Work at the plant in northeast Bayern had ceased in mid-2004. Stadler is to invest €2m in the site, which will be used to ...
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Spain opens up
AS WELL AS separating infrastructure authority ADIF from train operator Renfe Operadora with effect from January 1, three decrees approved by the cabinet on December 30 transposed EU directives 2001/12, 13 and 14 into Spanish law. Since January 1 routes within Spain forming part of the Trans-European Rail Freight Network ...
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Ticket offices overtaken
VIRGIN Trains passengers’ growing confidence in electronic, online and telephone purchasing means that these methods now account for more than one-third of ticket sales for the company’s West Coast services. Around 16 million passengers used Virgin’s West Coast services in 2004, and combined sales through the operator’s website, call centres ...
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NewsRubin moves into testing phase
Germany's first fully-automatic metro is on course to open in 12 months' time. After seven years of studies and development work, the first trainset has already started trial running in Nürnberg
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TTCI opens London office
Transportation Technology Center Inc has launched a company to handle engineering consultancy in Europe. A subsidiary of the Association of American Railroads, TTCI operates the testing facility at Pueblo, Colorado. President Roy Allen said on January 5 ’we will be able to better meet the needs of our growing customer ...
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Logistics terminals
INDIAN Railways confirmed last month that it was drawing up plans for public-private partnerships to improve and operate many of its 7000 freight depots.Under the proposal, IR would lease its existing yards and goods sheds to private developers who would build and operate state-of-the-art logistics terminals. The railway believes that ...
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Work starts on trans-Andean link
THEARGENTINIAN province of Neuquén has started work on the first 13 km of a route from Zapala that it hopes will form part of a 220 km southern rail crossing of the Andes to Lonquimay in Chile. Construction is being undertaken by Patagonia Ferrocanal SA, formed and funded by the ...
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Shenzhen opens two lines
CONFETTI-GUN salutes and loud cheers greeted the opening of China's latest metro on December 28, when Guangdong Party Secretary Zhang Dejiang inaugurated the first two lines in Shenzhen. Under construction since March 2001, the 21·8 km first phase has cost 11·5bn yuan. Line 1 runs east-west from the KCR border ...
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Trams to Lancy
DECEMBER 12 saw the opening of a further extension of the Genève tram network and the introduction of a new route.Serving six stops, the 2·1 km branch diverges from the existing network at Plainpalais and runs along the Route des Acacias to the SBB station at Lancy-Pont-Rouge, where interchange will ...
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Panel laminates
GE ADVANCED Materials is to work with Schneller to produce coach interior components which combine Schneller’s Indura GTform decorative laminates with the Rail-Lite composites made by the Azdel joint venture of GE and PPG Industries.The Indura GTform fluoropolymer laminates will be used in the production of window masks, ceiling panels, ...
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High speed line programme
PLANS TO build 3000 km of high speed line have been unveiled by China’s Ministry of Railways. The ministry is seeking bids from foreign consultants to advise on the development of lines for operation at between 200 and 300 km/h.According to Vice-Minister of Railways Lu Dongfu, the high speed network ...
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Still growing
SHANGHAI Metro Corp opened the northern extension of Line 1 on December 28, adding 12·4 km and nine stations.Linking Shanghai Main station to Gong Fu Xin Cun, the line runs underground for the first 4·2 km serving three stations, and then on elevated alignment. SMC offers 3min headways on the ...
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Past linked to future
THE CITY of Toulouse has awarded Ascom a contract worth €24m to supply a replacement ticketing system for the VAL metro and local buses, and Norwegian train operator NSB A/S has awarded the company a contract for smart card ticketing at 159 stations. The biggest challenge of the French project ...
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Free riders
FROM the start of this year private-sector companies throughout Belgium have been allowed to set up arrangements for their employees to travel to and from work without charge. This option had previously been open only to public-sector enterprises.As many as 500 firms signed agreements with the transport ministry in January ...
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Stock firms merge
DERBY-based spot hire, fleet management and engineering firm Fragonset Railways and train operating and planning business Merlin Rail announced on December 7 that they were merging to form Fragonset Merlin Railways with immediate effect. FM Rail has a combined turnover of £7m, and an operational fleet of 20 locomotives and ...