All articles by Railway Gazette International – Page 1171
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News
East Africa tests the waters
SERIOUS moves are afoot to take the metre-gauge networks of East Africa into the private sector. Last November CPCS Transcom and its local partner Kisarika & Malimi won a C$1·7m contract from the Tanzanian government to act as lead transaction advisors for the privatisation of Tanzania Railways Corp. The contract ...
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Suica card to be used across Tokyo
BYLINE: Shinobu NoguchiDeputy General Manager, Suica Project,East Japan Railway CoINTRO: Adoption of Suica-compatible cards by 53 operators in the Tokyo area in 2006 will form the world’s largest public transport smart card network, doubling the number of Suica users to around 15 millionBY the end of November 2003 over 7·5 ...
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Shenzhen signs Line 4 deal
HONG KONG metro operator MTR Corp signed a 30-year agreement in principle on January 15 to extend and operate Line 4 of the metro network in neighbouring Shenzhen. The BOT deal was signed by MTR Chief Executive Chow Chung-Kong and Liu Jiasheng of the Shenzhen Municipal Development Planning Bureau. Under ...
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MF2000 to start trials this year
The first of 805 steel-wheeled cars for the Paris metro is nearing completion at Alstom's factory in Valenciennes, and operator RATP expects to take delivery of a pre-production MF2000 trainset at the end of this year
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Line 11 opens
ON DECEMBER 14 Line 11 of the Barcelona metro was officially opened, running from Line 4 at Trinitat Nova to Can Cuiàs via Casa de l’Aigua, Torre del Baró-Vallbona and Ciutat Meridiana. The line has 1·5 km in tunnel and 459m on the surface; there is an interchange with Renfe ...
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NewsThird-rail trams across the Garonne
France's ninth modern tram network began carrying passengers in December, and work is getting underway on the first of seven extensions. Chris Jackson looks at Bordeaux's innovative surface-contact power supply
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Ticketless Thalys
THALYS is to introduce paperless ticketing for frequent-traveller card holders. From early 2004 regular passengers will be able to book over the internet or by telephone, simply presenting their chipcards during ticket checks, according to General Manager Frank Bernard. In addition, the Thalys trainsets will have Wi-Fi servers for on-board ...
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Wheel/Rail Safety
Edited by Professor Roger LundénTHIS October 2003 special edition (Volume 26, Number 10) of the monthly journal Fatigue & Fracture of Engineering Materials & Structure contains 15 articles on research into the wheel-rail interface, with a particular emphasis on the rail. Three introductory articles provide an overview of rail defects, ...
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Pre-cast platforms
STATION platforms can be assembled quickly and easily using the Fast Build range of pre-cast components recently launched by Bell & Webster Concrete. The basic parts comprise four identical base units, a platform unit, ground beams and infill panels. These form a 4m by 3m module which can be assembled ...
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West Rail opens to passengers
FULL COMMERCIAL service on Hong Kong's West Rail was due to start at 14.00 on December 20, after a formal opening ceremony had taken place that morning at Kam Sheung Road station. KCRC Chairman Michael Tien announced the opening date on December 12 following six weeks of fault-free ghost ...
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Productivity must rise
In a keynote presentation to CEE 2003, Hungarian State Railways’ General Director Zolt
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ORR sets NR spending limits
NETWORK Rail must be allowed to spend £22·2bn on operating, maintaining and upgrading the UK’s national network over the next five years, Rail Regulator Tom Winsor ruled on December 12. His decision follows research and consultation by the Office of the Rail Regulator, and provides around £10bn less than NR ...
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Letters
Intransigence holds up freight progressSir - You report that Eurotunnel has applied to the French transport ministry for a licence to operate trains in France (RG 11.03 p724), and also that SNCF is reorganising its freight business to be more commercial (RG 12.03 p765). But you make no mention in ...
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ProRail predicts RCF hotspots
INTRO: Analysis of inspection data has enabled ProRail to identify key factors contributing to the development of rolling contact fatigue, and the development of a prediction methodology to help manage the problem more cost-effectivelyBYLINE: Martin Hiensch and Andrew Watson AEA Technology Rail *ROLLING CONTACT FATIGUE is a treacherous phenomenon. It ...
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iQR Hong Kong win
QUEENSLAND Rail launched its international sales and marketing division iQR with the announcement of the railway’s third contract with Hong Kong’s Kowloon-Canton Railway Corp. iQR is a partner in the CHCQ joint venture, which has been awarded an A$36m contract to construct an East Rail branch to Lok Ma Chau ...
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High speed trials and tenders
THE FIRST Class 104 trainsets ordered by Spanish National Railways for high speed regional services (RG 7.03 p415) left the Alstom works at Santa Perpètua de Mogoda near Barcelona at the end of November, bound for La Sagra depot near Toledo and dynamic trials on the Madrid - Sevilla route. ...
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Head-hardened rail put to the test
Voestalpine Schienen and German Railway are carrying out in-track testing of the rolling contact fatigue resistance of head-hardened and as-rolled steel rails, and from this are developing an effective grinding strategy for different rail grades
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Leader will improve train handling
DRIVERS can be informed of the most efficient train handling techniques to achieve the best fuel economy and fastest journey times using Leader, which is undergoing testing by Norfolk Southern. The Locomotive Engineer Assist/Display & Event Recorder was developed by New York Air Brake Corp, and has been fitted to ...
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Guangzhou stations
A NEW station costing up to 5·1bn yuan is planned for the Panyu district of Guangzhou, to handle trains to Beijing. Expected to open in 2020, it will be one of China’s largest rail hubs alongside Shanghai, Beijing and Wuhan. The existing Guangzhou station in Yuexiu is to be closed, ...
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Interstate lease releases upgrading funds
NEW SOUTH WALES Transport Minister Michael Costa told around 650 delegates to the AusRail Plus 2003 event in Sydney on November 17 that the state’s rail unions were ’95% of the way’ to agreeing to the lease of interstate track in New South Wales to Australia Rail Track Corp. And ...