All articles by Railway Gazette International – Page 1180
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News
Passenger News in Brief
A 6000m2 shopping mall and walkway at Basel SBB station was opened on August 21. Officially inaugurated on September 12, Railcity Basel improves access to the platforms and has a range of retail outlets.India’s Central Railway has introduced automated ticket vending machines at Mumbai Chhatrapati Shivaji station.Implementation of the Lennon ...
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Brake and wheel design can cut train noise
INTRO: Reflecting increased concern over the environmental impact of railway operations, noise limits for new vehicles are being introduced by the European Union. Recent research has focused on wheels and braking systems as well as the trackBYLINE: Dr David Thompson and Dr Chris JonesInstitute of Sound & Vibration Research, University ...
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Wheel and rail roughness both play their part
BYLINE: Ulrik Danneskiold-SamsøeChairmanØdegaard & Danneskiold-Samsøe A/SROUGH wheels rolling on smooth rail or vehicles with reprofiled wheels or new brake blocks running on rough rail give a combined roughness level which has a significant impact on the level of noise produced (Fig 1). Readings taken during the recent commissioning of EMU ...
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Thais to boost rail investment
PLANS TO invest up to 900bn baht in rail projects over the next five years were announced by Thailand’s Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra on August 28. Following a meeting to consider national energy strategy, he said better rail transport would cut car use, saving the country an estimated 2500bn baht ...
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Measurement of wheel roughness caused by different types of composite brake block
BYLINE: Manfred KalivodapsiA-Consult, AustriaIn recent years composite brake blocks have been developed and tested to reduce rolling noise from coaches and wagons fitted with tread brakes. The principle is easy to explain - if the wheel’s running surface is not roughened or ’polished’ by the brake block material during braking, ...
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Backlog boosts Bombardier
According to results released by its parent Bombardier Inc on August 27, Bombardier Transportation recorded revenue of C$2·3bn in the second quarter to July 31, down from C$2·4bn in 2002 ’due to a lower level of activities as a result of the timing of the completion and start-up of contracts’. ...
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PATH spending approved
AN $809m capital programme for the PATH metro network was approved by the Port Authority of New York & New Jersey board of directors on September 10. It is the Port Authority’s biggest single investment in PATH since it was acquired from the Hudson & Manhattan Railroad 41 years ago. ...
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High speed light amid the gloom
173 YEARS and one day after the opening of the world’s first inter-city railway between Liverpool and Manchester, Britain finally entered the age of high speed railways. The opening of Section 1 of the Channel Tunnel Rail Link on September 16 came 20 years after France’s first TGV line was ...
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Perpignan - Figueres moves ahead
AS JOINT PROMOTERS of the project to build a new 45 km line between Perpignan and Figueres, the governments of France and Spain have set a deadline of October 30 for the selection of a preferred bidder. Under a second competition launched earlier this year, four consortia have prequalified for ...
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Team to review Crossrail again
THE CASE for building London's long-planned east-west Crossrail Line 1 is to be reviewed by a team of experts appointed by Transport Secretary Alistair Darling. The team, headed by Network Rail Deputy Chairman Adrian Montague, will report 'around the turn of the year', he said on September 9. They will ...
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Emotion wins again
NOT FOR the first time, a European operator has backtracked on plans to withdraw restaurant cars. Even in Switzerland where main line trips rarely last longer than 3h, passengers revolted last year over SBB’s plan to provide a minimalist bistro service on its IC2000 fleet of double-deck push-pull trains. Now ...
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Partnership in South Africa
UNION Carriage Partnership has been formed to carry out rolling stock refurbishment work in southern Africa. Union Carriage & Wagon, a subsidiary of Murray & Roberts, has a 70% stake in the Partnership, with 30% held by a consortium led by investment management company J & J Group. The consortium ...
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Ministers admit safety is crippling rail
LAST MONTH we reported on the staggering rise in infrastructure costs since Britain’s railways were fragmented and privatised in the 1990s (RG 9.03 p553). This owes much to relentless political, regulatory and even judicial pressure to spend unlimited sums and accept huge disruption of services in the name of safety, ...
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Gangway designs hinge on modularity and wide access
GANGWAY design is changing as rolling stock manufacturers increasingly adopt modular vehicle construction methods. Commonality of components between different vehicle models is becoming standard practice in the industry, bringing a need for the clear division of responsibility between gangway subcontractor and the final assembler of the vehicle.Traditionally, manufacturers have incorporated ...
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World Speed Survey 2003: Promises, promises!
In his biennial survey of the world's fastest start-to-stop timings, Dr Colin Taylor finds Germany has moved up the league table, but that many aspirations noted in the 2001 survey have yet to bear fruit
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World Speed Survey 2003
Promises, promises! In his biennial survey of the fastest point-to-point passenger train timings with start-to-stop timings at over 150 km/h, Dr Colin Taylor finds that Germany has moved up the league table, but Japan and France remain unchallenged at the top. Although Sweden climbs to sixth place, other changes ...
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Watching the wheels
SPANISH National Railways is using four Multirail in-sleeper wheel force measuring units supplied by Schenck Process, following the completion of three months of testing.Developed from established technology used to measure the weight of trains passing at low speeds, Multirail is able to highlight wheel flats and other faults on trains ...
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Puigcerdà upgrade
TENDERS are to be called for track and overhead line equipment renewal works on the 17·8 km Borgonyà - Ripoll section of Renfe’s Barcelona - Puigcerdà route, within a budget of €18·3m. Expected to take 22 months to complete, work will include drainage improvements, relaying with long-welded UIC54 rail on ...