All articles by Railway Gazette International – Page 1205
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IR private finance initiative
ON DECEMBER 26 Indian Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee formally launched three major rail investment projects across the country via a satellite link. The schemes in Bihar, Andhra Pradesh and Gujarat are the first to be funded through the Rashtriya Rail Vikas Yojana, (National Rail Development Board). This is a ...
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Paris trams keep expanding
PARIS transport operator RATP has put the first of 13 Alstom Citadis 302 LRVs into service on Line T2 between La Défense and Issy-Val de Seine, and in December it ordered a second batch of 13 cars worth €21m for delivery in 2004. The route’s existing Alstom TSF cars will ...
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GE launches Evolution prototype
IN A CEREMONY on December 23, General Electric Transportation Systems rolled out a prototype of its Evolution Series diesel-electric locomotive at the Lawrence Park plant in Erie, Pennsylvania. The loco is designed to meet tighter Environmental Protection Agency standards coming into force from 2005, while using 3% less fuel than ...
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Eurofima profits
EUROFIMA’s annual results for 2002 showed a net profit of SFr47·1m. Cash flow was up 3·1% on 2001, to SFr62·4m. Compared to 2001, net interest income increased 6·1% to SFr51·8m. Commissions income fell 4·9% to SFr15·4m. Income from other financial operations decreased by 8·4% to SFr2·9m, and total operating costs ...
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Playing it safe with ETCS
TO AVOID the risk of delaying the opening of the 45 km cut-off now being built between Mattstetten and Rothrist on the main line linking Bern and Zürich, Swiss Federal Railways will equip the double-track alignment with conventional lineside signalling and ZUB train protection as well as ETCS Level 2. ...
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ERTMS under review
ONJANUARY 14 theUKHealth &Safety Executive released three reports into the ERTMS implementation plans put forward last April (RG 6.02 p314). Both the review of economic aspects by the NERA consultancy, and the NEL Consortium study into technical aspects roundly condemn as impractical and unjustified on safety grounds the Uff/Cullen Joint ...
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Engineering firm launches
YORK-based Lancsville Rail Ltd has been founded to provide cable route works and light civil engineering expertise to the railway industry. The firm is led by Managing Director Phillip Sash and Business Development & Systems Director Sarah Czarnecki, who were formerly with JacksonEve. Financial backing is provided by Lancsville Construction ...
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Three-system Pendolino emerges at last
Next month is due to see the roll-out of the first Class 680 tilting inter-city trainset for Czech Railways, after a decade of chequered progress which saw production switched from Praha to Savigliano. Chris Jackson spoke to Alstom Ferroviaria's Projects & Marketing Director Pier Prina Mello and Project Manager Federico ...
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Dynamic wagon weighing
DYNAMIC weighing of coupled wagons can be carried out using Solar, a modular in-sleeper measuring device from Pfister Waagen Bilanciai. To install Solar, a set of around seven sheet steel sleepers are embedded in the existing ballast. The sleepers’ load cells are linked through an amplifier and optic fibres to ...
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Digital entertainment
THE Velaro E high speed trainsets being built by Siemens for the Madrid - Barcelona line will be equipped with the AudioTainment modular audio entertainment and information system developed by Focon using standard elements (RG 9.02 p471).AudioTainment is based around Focon’s Intercity·Net platform that has been tested on four railways ...
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Tüvasas develops indigenous DMUs
INTRO: Rolling stock supplier Tüvasas is starting work on a prototype three-car diesel multiple-unit, which will be followed by a fleet of 168 vehicles over the next five years to operate regional services on Turkish State RailwaysTHIS MONTH sees the start of fabrication work for the first 160 km/h diesel ...
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Delhi opens first metro line
THE INITIAL section of elevated metro in the Indian capital was formally inaugurated on December 24, running for 8·3 km between Shahdara and Tis Hazari. The line was opened by Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, who was accompanied by his deputy L K Avani, Urban Development Minister Anath Kumar, and ...
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Detecting Dutch wheel defects
GOTCHA is a compact wheel quality measuring system which works by analysing rail deflections caused by passing trains. Using two optic fibre sensors mounted under each rail, Gotcha is able to automatically identify eccentricity, flats and other quality parameters for individual wheelsets. The use of optic fibres prevents problems with ...
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Lahti cut-off started
FINNISH rail infrastructure authority RHK has started construction of the long-planned direct line from Kerava to Lahti, which will shorten the routes to the northeast and east of the country. Scheduled for completion in 2006, the 74 km route includes 63route-km of new alignment. Total cost is estimated at €331m, ...
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Kirow crane picks up order
BALFOUR Beatty Rail has ordered a Kirow 1200 rail crane. With a capacity of 125 tonnes, it will be the largest rail crane in use on the British rail network.Based around the Kirow 810 design, features of the 1200 include self-levelling, swivel and full slew duties and a counterweight boom. ...
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Czech co-operation finalised
AN AGREEMENT for ’extensive co-operation in the field of rail vehicle manufacture for Eastern Europe’ has been reached by Bombardier Transportation and Appian Group, owner of ??Skoda Holding.On January 16 the companies announced plans to work together on a three-system electric locomotive designed for use in the Czech Republic ...
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Tube Lines signs PPP contract
THE LONDON Underground Public-Private Partnership took a decisive step forward on December 31 when the Tube Lines consortium achieved financial close on a 30-year contract to maintain infrastructure and rolling stock on the Jubilee, Northern and Piccadilly lines. On that date, 2500 employees transferred to the private sector from LU ...
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Central Railway heads for the heights
INTRO: Three years after privatisation, new locos and more efficient operating practices have raised freight traffic on Peru’s Central Railway by 57%. Limited passenger services have returned, and further freight growth is in prospectBYLINE: Jack A RobersonGeneral ManagerFerrocarril Central AndinoTHE EUPHORIA which greeted the wave of privatisation in Latin America ...
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CargoMover takes on the lorry
INTRO: Chris Jackson reports from Wegberg-WildenrathA VISION of fully-automatic freight trains roaming the rails of Europe was outlined by Siemens Transportation Systems’ incoming Group President Hans Schabert when he unveiled the company’s CargoMover prototypes at the Wildenrath test centre on December 18. The two vehicles are the fruits of a ...
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Transition to a market economy brings tough challenges
INTRO: Decision makers in China face difficult choices as they chart a path towards a railway structure able to meet the needs of a market economy. The government and the Ministry of Railways are determined to begin the process of change before being forced to do so. Key objectives are ...