All articles by Railway Gazette International – Page 1259
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News
Wabtec sells to GE
WABTEC Corp is to sell a number of its railway business units to GE Transportation Systems for US$240m in cash. Subject to regulatory approval, the transaction is expected to close this month.The sale includes Wabtec’s motor coil manufacturing, engine systems and distribution units, formerly part of Motive Power Industries ...
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On-board fire fighting
HALON gas fire-suppression equipment on British High Speed Train power cars is being replaced with Inergen fire suppression systems supplied by ADT Fire & Security. This uses nitrogen, argon and carbon dioxide to deplete the oxygen around a fire to prevent combustion, but there is no ozone depletion potential. An ...
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Suppliers fear fresh order hiatus
INTRO: Confusion reigns in Britain’s passenger rolling stock market in the wake of the government’s decision to switch to short franchise extensions. Apart from EMUs needed to replace MkI rolling stock condemned to go by the end of 2004, prospects for fresh orders have almost dried up, says Roger FordNEARLY ...
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Peoplemovers extend the metro’s reach
INTRO: Larry Fabian* reports from the 8th international conference on automated peoplemovers in San Francisco BYLINE: * Lawrence J Fabian is Director of the public transport consultancy & lobbying group Trans.21IMAGINE A significantly higher level of public transport service: environmentally-friendly metros with trains every minute or two, all day long, ...
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Tajiks to fund rail expansion
THE GOVERMENT of Tajikistan announced at the end of July that it was to boost funding for the state rail network. TJD will be awarded an additional 600000 somonis for development this year, and 11·3m to pay off debts owed to neighbouring Uzbekistan Railways, which currently provides the only links ...
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Slab track evolves to meet operators’ expectations
BYLINE: David RhodesDirector, Technical Development, Pandrol LtdINTRO: A better understanding of the whole-life costs, plus innovative technology to deal with noise and vibration, are persuading track designers to adopt low-maintenance ballastless trackforms more widely NON-BALLASTED tracks on concrete bases are seeing increasing use, especially on urban transit and high speed ...
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Freight EMU
JR FREIGHT is drawing up plans for a multiple-unit freight train able to travel at 130 km/h. Intended to permit more competitive timings against road haulage in the busy industrial and commercial corridor between Tokyo and Osaka, the train would shave around 1h off the present 7h trip over the ...
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Harbin electrified
AUGUST 8 saw the official completion of 25 kV 50Hz electrification on the 550 km route linking the cities of Shenyang and Harbin in northeast China. Regular electric services were expected to start by the end of the month. Electrification of the 400 km Shenyang - Dalian section is due ...
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Infra-red door monitoring
FOLLOWING a successful one-year trial, 150 suburban multiple-units in Hamburg are to be fitted with in-cab CCTV to allow drivers to monitor station platforms and close doors without the presence of platform staff. Supplied by Plettac, two FAC838 cameras and transmitters suitable for use in poor lighting conditions will be ...
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Dieter
CAPTION: Customs officials were surprised to find that a suitcase belonging to an American passenger travelling from France to Germany contained 49 pythons and lizards. A vet described the Indonesian reptiles, tied up in sacks inside the case, as being ’seriously stressed’. The creatures are protected species, and have been ...
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Delays trigger Dutch revolt
FOR MANY years Netherlands Railways enjoyed a reputation as one of Europe’s most efficient railways. When NS came top in a 1985 productivity survey, it ran reliable and frequent passenger trains on a densely-meshed interconnecting network. By almost any measure, it was a success story.Ambitious plans for increasing the level ...
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Dear Leader on the slow train
KIM JONG-IL, the reclusive leader of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, made a rare state visit abroad in August, travelling to Moscow by train. An official announcement of the trip was made minutes before his armoured train crossed the border into Russia. Police guarded the tracks, and passengers were ...
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DB moves to market pricing
FROMSeptember 2002, German Railway will introduce a revised fares structure similar to airline practice, with discounted prices offered for long-distance tickets booked in advance. To qualify for the lower price passengers will have to make fixed reservations, enabling DB to set and enforce quotas for each type of ticket. Return ...
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Taiwan track row threatens opening date
RUMBLES of discontent can be heard in Japan and Taiwan about progress with the 346 km Taipei - Kaohsiung high speed line. Last December, when Taiwan High Speed Rail Corp signed the Core System agreement with Taiwan Shinkansen Corp in Tokyo (RG 3.01 p186), there was an understanding that Japanese ...
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Mandurah cut-off
WESTERN AUSTRALIA Premier Dr Geoff Gallop announced on July 16 that the state Cabinet had approved plans to re-route the A$1·2bn rail link being built between Perth and the southern suburbs of Rockingham and Mandurah. Instead of diverging from Transperth’s existing Armadale line at Kenwick, the 130 km/h line will ...
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Mk II heavy maintenance contract
ALSTOM Transport Service is to overhaul 120 Mk II coaches leased to Anglia Railways by HSBC Rail (UK). The £3m three-year contract is the first to be awarded by a train operator rather than the rolling stock leasing company.The programmes will involve underframe improvements and full overhaul of the bogies, ...
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Kaohsiung E&M contract signed
SIEMENS Transportation Systems has been awarded the €363m contract to supply electrical and mechanical equipment for the first two lines of the Kaohsiung metro in Taiwan. The contract was formally signed in Singapore by Kaohsiung Rapid Transit Corp Chairman Chen Chengjung and Siemens Turnkey Systems Manager Karl Neubeck on August ...
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Connex still expanding
WEST COAST Railway, which operates passenger trains between Melbourne and Warnambool in Victoria, has a new partner. Last month Connex, owned by the French Vivendi group and already operator of Hillside Trains in Melbourne, took a 50% stake in the company. This has implications for several operations in Australasia, not ...
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Danish local concessions
SEPTEMBER 17 is the closing date for bids to operate regional passenger services in Jylland from the beginning of 2003. The Danish Transport Ministry has called international bids for two concessions totalling 582 route-km. Around 10 consortia have expressed interest, including German Railway's local passenger business DB Regio. Preferred bidders ...
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Extension not competition as franchise replacement stalls
INTRO: With Railtrack unable to commit to major schemes which have proved difficult to finalise, government policy has switched from letting new 20-year franchises through open competition to negotiating two-year extensions, writes Robert PrestonCONFIRMATION that the government had lost patience with the slow pace of franchise replacement came on July ...