All articles by Railway Gazette International – Page 1139
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News
Long-stroke buffers absorb shock
IMPACT speeds of 12 km/h or less will produce a maximum acceleration of 10m/s2 using the 1g buffer from Schwab Verkehrstechnik. Designed to UIC standards, the buffer is designed to be used instead of long-stroke impact absorbers, which can increase the cost of rolling stock by requiring heavy mountings.The buffer ...
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FGC plans €602·9m spend
CATALAN regional operator FGC has unveiled a 2005-07 investment plan costed at €602·9m. On its main network serving Barcelona, €387m is to be spent on infrastructure by the regional government’s public works department, while half of the €166m allocated to operations has been earmarked for new trains and rolling stock ...
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Line 5 goes further
UNDER AN agreement signed on December 28 with the Ministry of Development and the regional government, Renfe’s suburban route between Valencia and Riba-roja de Túria is to become part of the FGV metro network. Involving the removal of 16 level crossings, conversion of the route from Quart de Poblet to ...
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Lyon awards T4 and Lea contracts
FRENCH engineering consultancy Systra announced on January 14 that it had been awarded a contract for project management on the first two sections of Lyon tram line T4. Totalling 9·5 km, these sections are expected to cost €177m.The contract has been awarded by Lyon transport authority Sytral. Detailed design is ...
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Line 2 expands
CATALUNYA REGIONAL government’s construction authority GISA has awarded a contract worth €31m for civil works, tracklaying and electrification on the extension of Barcelona metro Line 2 from Pep Ventura to Badalona Centre. Work is due to start in the first quarter of 2005 for completion within 26 months. Signalling, station ...
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Shinkansen construction to be stepped up in 2005-06
AN AGREEMENT announced on December 16 between the government and ruling coalition parties means that investment in the construction of Shinkansen lines will rise by ´2bn in the fiscal year commencing April 1 2005. In the three previous years from 2001-02 to 2004-05 the trend has been downwards. Total ...
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Automation by stealth
CHINA: This year Hong Kong MTR Corp will open its seventh line, and the first to be fully-automated. The 3·4km Disneyland Resort Line (DRL) will connect the Hong Kong Disneyland theme park at Penny’s Bay on the south coast of Lantau Island with the new Sunny Bay station on the ...
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Automation will meet the demands of the modern city
Raising line capacity on the Paris metro by 30% is the prime objective of a comprehensive modernisation programme that includes cutting headways to 90sec on many lines. Most ambitious of all is conversion of Line 1 to driverless operation
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Winter warmer works on water
OIL-FIRED heaters designed to preheat diesel locomotive engines and protect them from damage in cold weather have been adapted for use as low-maintenance water heaters on passenger coaches.Manufacturer AST has modified the heaters so they can operate independently for periods of several weeks at extremely low temperatures. Air is taken ...
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More tilt traumas
YET AGAIN we are obliged to return to the sorry saga of German Railway’s tilting train fleets. In August last year a routine inspection revealed a crack in one axle of a VT612 two-car diesel trainset, prompting temporary withdrawal from service while urgent checks were made on all 192 units ...
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Sydney still suffering
’BLOODY ATROCIOUS’ were the words chosen by New South Wales Premier Bob Carr to describe suburban rail services in Sydney on November 22. On that day, Carr had been goaded into arranging a day of free travel on the extensive CityRail network, in an attempt to mollify commuters enraged by ...
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Sidetrack
Time to crossMOTORISTS in South Sioux City, Iowa, will soon be able to learn how long they will have to wait for passing freight trains to clear a level crossing on the busy Dakota Avenue. The federally-funded National Intelligent Transportation System is planning to study the behaviour patterns of waiting ...
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Publications
The Subterranean Railwayby Christian WolmarLONDON has the oldest underground railways in the world, developed in a piecemeal fashion by numerous companies. The growth of the network and the effect it had on the development of London are described in this book.The author looks at the history of the Underground from ...
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Pointers
Toll NZ is considering plans to assemble locomotives in New Zealand and to develop its wagon construction business there. Local assembly of motive power would be cheaper and cut lead times, according to Chairman Mark Rowsthorn. Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki announced on December 12 that the Nepad alliance had agreed ...
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NS spending rises
NORFOLK SOUTHERN announced on December 2 that it planned to invest $938m during 2005, compared to $810m in 2004 and $798m the year before. The biggest single element, $438m, will fund track renewals and bridge maintenance. Another $23m will go on signalling and communications, $22m on track maintenance equipment and ...
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Market
Australia: EDI Rail has signed a contract to supply BHP Billiton Iron Ore with 13 GM-EMD SD70ACe diesel-electric locomotives of 4300hp, spares and support, with options for more. Delivery will be in late 2005. Bulgaria: On December 7 BDZ announced it had selected Siemens for supply of 25 DMUs. Two ...
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THSRC needs more than luck
ON November 26 Taiwan High Speed Rail Corp finally agreed to pay US$65m to the Eurotrain consortium formed to bid for the electrical and mechanical equipment on Taiwan’s 346 km high speed line between Taipei and Kaohsiung.Eurotrain, consisting of Alstom and Siemens, was given a letter of intent in 1997, ...
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UIC redefines its role
CHANGE is sweeping through the corridors of Europe's railway organisations, not least at the International Union of Railways. Since its birth in 1922, UIC has worked to devise and define technical norms that allow trains to run across Europe's frontiers. Its practices and standards have also been adopted in many ...
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Intelligence
Australia: Queensland has amended its rail safety investigation laws to match national standards, retrospectively dated to cover the diesel tilt train derailment north of Bundaberg on November 16 (p16).QR has increased capacity on its Cairns - Melbourne intermodal services by 50% with the introduction of new rolling stock, and the ...