All articles by Railway Gazette International – Page 1215
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News
Belgrano bail-out
THE ARGENTINIAN government has agreed to provide Belgrano Cargas with 24m pesos to secure operations and fund an emergency repairs programme. In return, the consortium which holds the Belgrano concession will be required to find a private-sector partner who might acquire up to 50% of the company.The consortium is currently ...
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Scully backs LRT
NEW South Wales Transport Minister Carl Scully announced in August a feasibility study that could see Sydney’s 6·6 km light rail line extended through the city centre to Circular Quay, where the cross-harbour ferries dock. The network could possibly be expanded to other routes, to replace bus services after a ...
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Short-term franchises are back
NEWS that Govia, a joint venture of Keolis and The Go-Ahead Group, has had its proposed 20-year South Central franchise commuted to seven years or less by the Strategic Rail Authority (p606) effectively marks the end of plans for more long-term franchises in Britain. Chiltern Railways has the sole 20-year ...
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Flood repairs may siphon away investment funds
’WATER IS THE enemy of the track’ remarked Isabela Mila, a senior Polish Railways manager responsible for investment on the Warszawa - Berlin corridor to us some time ago. She had good reason for concern, for severe flooding in Silesia in 1997 had absorbed funds that were badly needed for ...
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CTRL awards
UNION Railways (North) Ltd has awarded the ACT joint venture a contract to design, install and commission track and overhead line equipment on Section 2 of the Channel Tunnel Rail Link. ACT is formed of Alstom Transportation Projects, Carillion Construction and French infrastructure maintenance company Travaux du Sud-Ouest. Valued ...
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Autoripage moves Shortlands box
AFTER A 76h closure for major civil engineering work, the section of Railtrack’s Chatham main line between Herne Hill and Shortlands in the southeastern suburbs of London was handed back for traffic 40min ahead of schedule at 03.20 on August 27. The line had been closed to enable a 4500 ...
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NRC rehabilitation approved
A 25-YEAR ’strategic vision’ for the rehabilitation and development of Nigeria’s ailing national rail network at a cost of US$40bn was approved at the beginning of September (RG 4.02 p174). No funding has been identified, but the government hopes to raise 80% from external sources. Speaking on September 10, at ...
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Ankaray bidding
ANKARA metro operator EGO expects to call new bids shortly for civil engineering works and E&M equipment on the northeast extension of the 9 km Ankaray light rail line from Dikimevi to Siteler and Onder. Construction bids for these Phase 2 works were originally invited in 2000 and submitted on ...
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A real alternative to flying
BYLINE: Dr-Ing Dietrich G Moeller Dipl-Ing Josef W Fischer BYLINE: Dr-Ing Dietrich G Moeller is President, Trains, at Siemens Transportation Systems. Dipl-Ing Josef W Fischer is General Manager of the Subdivision High Speed, Spain & PortugalINTRO: Siemens is building a fleet of 16 high speed trainsets designed to link Madrid ...
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IR goes alone
LASTMONTH an inter-ministerial committee headed by the Ministry of Finance agreed to push ahead with the planned separation of Israel Railways from the country’s ports authority, despite objections from the Transport Minister Dr Ephrayim Sne. IR will be set up as a stand-alone limited company with the possibility of privatisation ...
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Airport contracts
ON AUGUST 29 Alstom Transport confirmed that it had won a €134m contract from Hellenic Railways’ construction arm Ergose, for project management and engineering design on the 30 km link to Spata international airport near Athens. Due to be completed for the 2004 Olympic Games, the route uses 10 km ...
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More rivals in the air
CAPTION: THE IMMINENT launch of German Wings, yet another no-frills European airline, obliges us to flag up once more the competitive threat from the air. Low-cost carriers have already forced British Airways and Lufthansa to revise their fares structures in Europe, and SAS in Scandinavia is following suit. Simple Internet ...
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Spain's high speed construction strategy forges ahead
As an agency of the Ministry of Development responsible for the construction and management of high speed lines, GIF is playing a key role in delivering the objectives set down in the 2000-07 Infrastructure Plan. This aims to increase the rail share of the passenger market to 30% by ensuring ...
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KRC advisors
THEGOVERMENT of Kenya has appointed the private-sector financing arm of the World Bank, the International Finance Corp, as lead advisor for the privatisation of Kenya Railways Corp. Over the next 18 months IFC will examine the potential for passenger and freight services, design and implement a concession structure to attract ...
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Open access rejected
CANADIAN open access operator Ferroequus has lost its application for rights to run over Canadian National tracks. The Edmonton-based firm had applied in October 2001 to operate grain trains from Lloydminster, Saskatchewan, and Camrose, Alberta, to the port of Prince Rupert (RG 9.02 p451).The Canadian Transportation Agency rejected the application ...
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D78 modernised
A LONDON Underground District line vehicle has been modernised as a prototype for a programme to refurbish the fleet of D78 stock under the Public-Private Partnership (RG 6.02 p317). Creactive Design was commissioned to implement the modernisation, in partnership with LU's Train Modification Unit. Ventilation has been improved by ...
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LIRR tests M-7
ON SEPTEMBER 5 Long Island Rail Road General Manager David J Elliott took guests for a demonstration trip between Jamaica and Manhattan with the first Bombardier-built Class M-7 commuter EMU. Acceptance testing of the prototype is expected to be completed this month, allowing series deliveries to begin at the rate ...
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Koreans start to test 350 km/h KHST
BYLINE: KiWhan KimProject ManagerKorea Railroad Research InstituteINTRO: With Phase 1 of the Seoul - Pusan TGV service on course for completion by April 2004, a home-grown 350 km/h Korean High Speed Train prototype is ready to begin reliability trialsPEOPLE IN KOREA really began to pay serious attention to the future ...
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Windows to the world
FLACHGLAS Wernberg offer toughened flat and curved laminated window units for rolling stock. Products include double-glazed units, hopper, sliding and fixed windows, and built-in heating. PVB or resin layers can be used to reduce noise in passenger areas. Flachglas specialises in coatings, and around 80 are available to suit optical ...