All articles by Railway Gazette International – Page 1243
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News
Siemens to take over ICE depot
SIEMENS Transportation Systems has signed a letter of intent with German Railway and the Land of Bavaria to keep open the Nürnberg ICE maintenance facility. DB had planned to close the depot as part of a workshop rationalisation strategy. It is now to be taken over by Siemens, on undisclosed ...
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EC declares ’state of emergency’
HOT ON THE HEELS of last September’s White Paper on Transport from the European Commission (RG 10.01 p651) comes a further set of measures intended to inject entrepreneurial drive into the European railways. Published on January 23, the Second Railway Package bundles together five legislative proposals and a series of ...
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Decision time in Switzerland
ON JANUARY 21 Swiss Federal Railways announced that a letter of intent for contracts worth SFr210m had been sent to an Alstom-led consortium to equip the 45·1 km Mattstetten - Rothrist line with ETCS Level 2. The decision follows tests with a pilot installation between Olten and Luzern (RG 12.01 ...
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High spending DB tidies up its structure
GERMAN Railway announced on December 21 that it had ordered a further build of 40 Class ET425 EMUs from Bombardier and Siemens for €184m. Due for delivery between April and November 2003, they will be used on the Rhein-Neckar S-Bahn network scheduled to open at the end of that year. ...
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Co-ordination is key to subway resignalling
INTRO: New York City Transit has embarked on a 20-year programme to resignal its entire 370 km subway network using Transmission-Based Train Control. Parsons Transportation Group is providing engineering and programme management services to NYCT, and Chris Jackson discussed the state of progress with Parsons Vice-President Alan Rumsey DECEMBER 4 ...
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ÖBB fits radio remote control
FITTINGof Redacom radio remote control to 20 Austrian Federal Railways Class 1044 locomotives began in December, and another 70 units may be equipped later. Redacom was developed to meet the need for improved radio control of remote locomotives in tunnels without the need to install repeater stations or other fixed ...
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Easy electrical contacts
FOLLOWING trials at a number of locations in Switzerland, Swiss Federal Railways has approved the use of newly-developed contact discs and strips to ensure good electrical connections to rails.Kago discs and strips are intended for use at locations where welding is prohibited or drilling is impossible because of restricted space, ...
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Dubai metro closer
CONSTRUCTION work is expected to start next year on an urban rail network in Dubai. Director-General of the Municipality Qassim Sultan announced on December 22 that two routes had been selected for the first phase of a network which could be extended to the adjacent emirates of Sharjah and Abu ...
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Chinese metros keep growing
GUANGZHOU Metro Corp officially began construction of its third line on December 26, following approval of the project by the State Planning Committee on December 16 (RG 4.01 p211). The 32 km line linking Guangzhou Dong station and Panyu is expected to open in 2005.On December 14 the China National ...
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Tokyo smart card starts
EAST Japan Railway inaugurated Suica contactless smart cards at 424 stations in greater Tokyo on November 18. The railway developed the smart cards with Sony.Two types are currently available. The first is a season ticket, with a stored value of up to ´10000. The costs of any extra journeys made ...
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Cubic wins smart card contracts
PASSENGERS in Maryland and Chicago are to use smart cards supplied by Cubic Transportation Systems following the award of two separate contracts.Maryland Transit Administration has awarded Cubic a $38·3m contract to supply smart card ticketing across the state. The cards will be valid on metro and light rail services in ...
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Building up worn wheels
WORN wheel profiles can be restored using an automatic welding station supplied to Ghana by ESAB. Filler material is welded in place, then the wheel ground to its original profile. Unlike reprofiling with a lathe, unworn material is not lost, and so there is no reduction in wheel diameter.Both wheels ...
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Fare Collection in Brief
Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority is to install a new generation automated fare collection system on its rail network by 2004, replacing the existing token equipment at a cost of $120m.Beijing Metro Corp is to introduce automatic fare collection using ’intelligent’ cards. The current 3 yuan flat rate will be replaced ...
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Products in Brief
EAO has developed a double-sided glass-mountable LED illuminated push button for internal train doors.London Underground has ordered 400 tubs of Wipems disposable biocidal wipes from Chela Ltd. They will be used to remove sticky acidic exudate from cable insulation.Canac is to upgrade Beltpack loco remote control units used by Canadian ...
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Passenger News in Brief
Delta Airlines and SNCF have agreed a code-share deal on TGV services from Paris Charles-de-Gaulle Airport to Angers, Le Mans, Lille, Lyon Part-Dieu, Nantes, Poitiers, Rennes and St Pierre-des-Corps (Tours).Swissair Group has formally confirmed its agreement to sell its Restorama and Rail Gourmet catering subsidiaries to Compass Group, along with ...
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Early birds catch cheap tickets
INTRO: Ralf Roman Rossberg analyses German Railway’s future fares structure which has been designed to harness the benefits of market pricingON DECEMBER 15 German Railway will implement a long-heralded change to its fares structure. Gone will be the formula of set prices for each kilometre travelled, with reduced fares ...
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Four ZR bids in
FOUR consortia had submitted bids for the concession to manage and operate the 1273 km Zambian Railways network when the tender closed on December 7. Following an initial evaluation during December, Zambia Privatisation Agency expected to select a preferred bidder in January and complete detailed negotiations by the end of ...
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BDZ tracks open to competitors
REI HOLDINGAD became the first aspiring train operator to announce, on January 2, its intention of competing with Bulgarian State Railways. BZD had been split on the previous day into an infrastructure manager and a train operator, and private companies are now able to apply for a licence to run ...
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Siemens scoops Bangkok order
SIEMENS Transportation Systems has been awarded a €350m turnkey contract to supply electrical and mechanical equipment for the Blue line metro in Bangkok. The deal was signed on December 19, but not announced until January 3. Bangkok Metro Co Ltd had previously selected a consortium of Alstom and Mitsubishi as ...
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PATH fights back
PORT AUTHORITY of New York and New Jersey has decided to build a temporary PATH station to replace its destroyed World Trade Center terminus. The board of commissioners voted on December 13 to spend $544m on the interim station in Church Street, which could be completed in about two years. ...