All articles by Railway Gazette International – Page 1162
-
News
Power supply upgrade highlights the pitfalls of fragmentation
INTRO: Work is now in progress at over 200 sites across southeast England to upgrade the 750V DC power supply for EMUs being introduced by three operators, but many vehicles are likely to remain in store beyond the deadline for withdrawal of older stock. Roger Ford explains how this mismatch ...
-
News
SRA flexes its strategic muscle
’WE ARE DOING exactly what we said about strategic planning’, insisted Strategic Rail Authority Chairman Richard Bowker on March 3, unveiling the first of a series of Route Utilisation Strategies to be published over the next year. These are intended to get the maximum use out of the UK rail ...
-
News
Fight for survival
AT THE annual general meeting in May 2003, an attempt by the Paris-based Eurotunnel Shareholders Action Group (Adacte) to seize control of the Channel Tunnel operator failed. Despite the antics of their eccentric leader Nicolas Miguet - who was fined €10000 on February 17 for publishing ’remarks systematically filled with ...
-
News
Virtual reality for the immersive experience
UK INTER-CITY operator First Great Western is using three simulators representing the cabs of its High Speed Train power cars to provide an ’immersive’ training environment for drivers.The simulators were jointly supplied by Primary Image, Bentley Systems and EDM in a contract worth over £1m, and will be used to ...
-
News
ICC rules in favour of Eurotrain
ON MARCH 15 the New York-based International Chamber of Commerce ruled that Taiwan High Speed Rail Corp should pay Eurotrain, a grouping formed by Siemens of Germany and Alstom of France, US$73m in compensation for breach of contract. The dispute arose in December 1999 (RG 3.00 p149) when THSRC ...
-
News
Darling launches light rail NET
SECRETARY of State for Transport Alistair Darling and the Lord Mayor of Nottingham Brent Charlesworth joined the ceremonies on March 8 to mark the completion of the UK's latest light rail network. Revenue services on Nottingham Express Transit Line 1 began at 06.00 the following morning. The 14 km ...
-
News
Countdown to the launch of KTX
This month South Korea joins the elite club of railways operating commercial services at 300 km/h when a fleet of 46 TGV trainsets will transform travel on Korail's prime inter-city route between Seoul and Pusan. Reporting from Seoul, Murray Hughes finds that it has not been an easy ride for ...
-
News
Oil control
KEEPING engine crankcase oil at the correct level plays an important part in optimising running costs, and to help achieve this Groeneveld has adapted its Oilmaster oil management system for use on diesel multiple-units.Developed for rail applications from a design which is widely used on road vehicles, Oilmaster monitors the ...
-
News
High speed overhead conductor
INTENSIVE testing of a pilot section of overhead conductor bar installed instead of a conventional contact wire was undertaken in Austria during February. Approval has now been received for ÖBB trains to run under the bar at speeds of up to 200 km/h, and 250 km/h trials are planned for ...
-
News
Croatia completes loco refits
BYLINE: Viko GiljevicProject Manager, Croatian RailwaysHarry AghjayanConsultant, CanarailAT THE START of this year, Croatian Railways accepted the final rebuilt locomotive to be modernised in a two-year programme covering 20 diesel and 15 electric units. The work has been undertaken by two firms in Zagreb, boosting the local economy and increasing ...
-
News
Commission presses on with competition policy
TWO MORE STEPS were taken last month in the European Commission’s drive to introduce more competition on Europe’s national railway networks. On March 3 the Commission published its Third Railway Package, and on March 17 the Council and Parliament reached agreement at a ’conciliation meeting’ (RG 3.04 p121) on the ...
-
News
Combinos withdrawn
URBAN operators in Potsdam and Basel withdrew their fleets of Combino trams on March 12-13, after Siemens Transportation Systems confirmed that bodyshell problems were emerging at high mileages. On March 1 Siemens revealed that high torsion forces in the articulations of cars with longer bogie centres were damaging the bolted ...
-
News
Current collector shoes
ATTIKO Metro is to take delivery of 21 six-car trainsets from the Hanwah-Rotem consortium in Korea. Seven units in the fleet will be fitted with dual-voltage equipment to operate on existing routes electrified at 750 V DC third rail and on the new line being built to Eleftherios Venizelos airport ...
-
News
High-power IGBTs drive Civia EMUs
INTRO: Development of high-power IGBTs able to accept line voltages up to 4 kV has simplified the traction package for Spanish National Railways’ new family of modular suburban trains, cutting weight and improving efficiencyBYLINE: Rafael Fern
-
News
Cisalpino to expand tilt operations
INTERNATIONAL services operated by Cisalpino, which is owned 50:50 by Swiss Federal Railways and Trenitalia, are to be stepped up. The plan is geared to opening of the L
-
News
Chinese food
SHANGHAI Rail Gourmet Co has been created as a station and on-board catering joint venture of Rail Gourmet and Shanghai Railway Administration. From April 18 it will serve 2500 meals per day on four fast trains linking Shanghai with Beijing. The 15-year agreement provides for expansion to further services and ...
-
News
Lower Inn valley line will increase trans-Alpine capacity
INTRO: Under a €1·35bn project to improve capacity on the Brenner axis by 2010, work has begun on a 40 km second route along the Lower Inn valley in AustriaBYLINE: Martin PellizzariBrenner Eisenbahn GmbHSPEEDING the flow of international traffic across the Alps is one of the greatest challenges facing European ...
-
News
High speed Canaries
LAST MONTH the Spanish Ministry of Development called tenders for two contracts to undertake studies for high speed routes on the Canary Islands, including feasibility, alignment options and traffic forecasts. Each contract has a budget of €601854 and should be completed with a period of 24 months.On Tenerife, an 80 ...
-
News
Passenger News in Brief
This month CityNightLine plans to introduce refurbished double-deck sleeping cars on services to Amsterdam from Zürich and München. Replacing T2S vehicles, the modernised coaches offer single and double cabins in two classes, with and without showers.Suburban rail passengers in Melbourne can now send a text message to Connex Trains requesting ...