All articles by Railway Gazette International – Page 1248
-
News
Dynamic Tamping Express on show in Köln
On November 29 Plasser & Theurer demonstrated its09-3X Dynamic Tamping Express to WCRR delegates in Köln. The machine combines a continuous-action three-sleeper tamper with a dynamic track stabiliser, allowing track to be returned to use after a single possession in a condition where controlled ballast settlement has taken place after ...
-
News
SJ picks Duplex
jUST 15 DAYS after it came into existence on January 1, Swedish passenger operator SJ AB ordered a fleet of double-deck EMUs from Alstom. The 200 km/h units will operate inter-regional services from Stockholm to Uppsala, Västerås, Eskilstuna and Nyk
-
News
Loco renewal spearheads freight drive
INTRO: As Fret SNCF prepares to double its annual traffic, new electric and diesel locos will be delivered at the rate of five a month. Chris Jackson reports from BelfortOVER THE next five years, French National Railways’ freight business is planning to invest almost Fr8bn in over 600 new locomotives. ...
-
News
Eritrea's rail renaissance takes an international dimension
As work to re-open the route between the Eritrean capital Asmara and the port of Massawa continues, studies for a new line across the border from Kassala in Sudan are now under way. Peter Badcock reports
-
News
Towards a total journey design
INTRO: As Netherlands Railways struggles to implement its service recovery plan, attention is focusing on investment in stations and trains to improve the quality of customer service’AS A COMPANY, we have a major challenge’, admits Anton Valk. As Managing Director of the International Business Group at Netherlands Railways, he is ...
-
News
NY design study
CONSTRUCTION of New York’s long-planned Second Avenue subway line is expected to get underway in 2004, following the MTA board’s award of a US$200m engineering design contract to DMJM + Harris on November 27. Taking up to 15 years to build, at an estimated cost of US$12bn, the 12·9 km ...
-
News
Loco support deal
GENERAL MOTORS-EMD has signed an agreement with Häfen & Güterverkehr Köln AG to provide support services to operators using JT42CWR (Series 66) diesel locomotives in mainland Europe. According to GM-EMD’s Director of Maintenance Services in Europe, Jim Lindsay, the partnership ’will harness GM-EMD’s international technical expertise and HGK’s local knowledge’.GM-EMD ...
-
News
Transrapid deal struck
HAVING HAWKED its magnetic levitation technology around the world for 20 years, Transrapid has finally found a buyer. A contract was signed on January 23 between Transrapid International and a consortium led by Shanghai City Council for a 30 km maglev line from Longyang Road in the southeast suburbs of ...
-
News
Cross-city links
ON HIS second day in office, Strategic Rail Authority Chairman Richard Bowker launched construction work on the Edinburgh Crossrail project on December 4. Joined by Scottish Minister of Transport Wendy Alexander, he participated in ceremonies at Newcraighall station southeast of the capital (below).Backed by £8·5m of Scottish Executive funding, the ...
-
News
Managing the critical wheel/rail interface
INTRO: Research into the root causes of the Hatfield derailment indicates that the interaction between wear and rolling contact fatigue is the key issue in managing the wheel/rail interface for optimum lifeBYLINE: Ajay Kapoor, Felix Schmid and David Fletcher *OVER THE PAST 20 years, substantial progress has been made in ...
-
News
Tunnel freight still crippled
INTERNATIONAL rail freight between Britain and continental Europe is ebbing away as a result of severe restrictions on use of the Channel Tunnel (RG 12.01 p812). These became necessary because large numbers of illegal immigrants were boarding trains waiting to depart from Fréthun yard near the Tunnel portal. Combined Transport ...
-
News
Lightweight structures meet tougher crashworthiness standards
INTRO: Aluminium alloy is now the preferred material for passenger coach bodyshells, but recent high-profile accidents have led to concern about its performance in high impact collisions. Both steel and aluminium bodies can meet today’s crashworthiness specifications, but in a high energy collision serious damage cannot be avoidedBYLINE: Simon Leutenegger, ...
-
News
Vertical integrationists emerge from cover
PUBLIC SKIRMISHING has broken out at the start of what promises to be a long battle with the European Commission over the reintegration of operations and infrastructure. The Commission’s policy is based on the premise of intra-modal competition, which presupposes separation to ensure fair access, so the chances of reintegration ...
-
News
Gauge corner cracks
Sir - I suggest that the comparisons made between Europe and North America in the article ’Gauge corner cracking becomes a very dangerous beast’ (RG 12.00 p810) miss the mark in a number of respects. For example, Railtrack has no effective data on rail profiles, nor undertakes effective grinding programmes. ...
-
News
Córdoba - M
ON DECEMBER 15 the Spanish cabinet gave its approval for tenders to be called for civil works on the first three sections of the 153 km Córdoba - M
-
News
Coradia order
TRENITALIA has selected Alstom to supply Coradia DMUs and EMUs for use on regional services across Italy. The initial contract covers 36 trainsets, and there are options for up to 110 more EMUs and 90 DMUs to a total value of 650m euros as part of the FS six-year investment ...
-
News
Regions gain control
LEGISLATION authorising the transfer of financial responsibility for French local rail services to the regions from January 1 was passed on November 28. Until now SNCF’s regional operations have been funded by central government, but this grant will now be paid to the regions, who will decide for themselves how ...
-
News
Marina line contract
A CONSORTIUM of Alstom and Singapore Technologies Electronics has been awarded the turnkey contract for supply of electrical and mechanical equipment on the initial section of Singapore’s Marina metro line. The Land Transport Authority hopes to expand the 5·2 km route into a 36 km E-shaped network over nine years, ...
-
News
Suburban concourse open
French Transport Minister Jean-Claude Gayssot and SNCF President Louis Gallois joined ceremonies at Paris Nord on November 21 to mark the completion of a new suburban concourse. As part of a Fr257·5m programme to rebuild the suburban section of the station, work began in 1997 to dig a light well ...
-
News
TRC concession tender
JANUARY 16 is the deadline for prequalification bids for a 25-year concession to operate the Tanzania Railways Corp network. The Presidential Parastatal Sector Reform Commission issued an initial invitation to tender on December 7, with further details available at www.psrctz.com. According to PSRC Executive Chairman John C Rubambe, prequalified consortia ...