All articles by Railway Gazette International – Page 1276
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News
Tunis suburban electrification funded
TUNISIAN State Railways has negotiated a ´13bn loan from the Japan Bank for International Co-operation to fund the long-planned electrification of its metre-gauge Tunis suburban service to Borj Cedria. This was first floated in 1990 following the completion of a new maintenance depot at Borj Cedria and the extension of ...
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Silk Road link moves to engineering design
INTRO: On February 5 the President of Kyrgyzstan signed legislation promoting the development of rail links between Central Asia and China. Chris Jackson asked the State Directorate on New Railroad Construction about the state of progress AT THE END of March, a Chinese study team is due to complete a ...
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DB to devolveits local services
GERMAN Railway is to devolve responsibility for local passenger services to regional management. Announcing the move on March 15, DB Regio Chairman Dr Christoph Franz said that ’we want decisions to be taken where our customers are’, and announced the appointment of two DB Regio board members (p220) to oversee ...
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Crowding not over
PASSENGERS commuting across central Paris on RER Line A were led to believe some time ago that overcrowding on the busiest section between Gare de Lyon and Auber would be eased when other cross-Paris rail arteries were opened. Since then, no less than three cross-city routes have been completed. Line ...
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Crossing tested
Canadian Pacific Railway has given a positive review to ARS Networks’ Crosslogix advanced warning system for level crossings. Testing has been under way on CPR’s main line west of Toronto since last autumn, and an external third party auditor will be appointed to ensure that Crosslogix meets the criteria for ...
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Croatian DMU deal
ADTRANZ and HZ subsidiary TZV Gredelj signed a general agreement for future co-operation in the construction of Regio Swinger tilting diesel multiple-units on February 28. Following an audit and positive technical appraisal by Adtranz, the Croatian vehicle component manufacturer is to produce parts for Adtranz, who are supporting the modernisation ...
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Track suppliers congregate at Rail-Tech Europe
THE THIRD Rail-Tech Europe rail and infrastructure exhibition is being held in Utrecht on April 3-5. The exhibition and its associated conferences will form an important European forum for railway industry suppliers and operators.Inside the exhibition hall will be a 160m stretch of track, but additional exhibition space will be ...
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Commercial development contemplated
RAIL India Technical & Economic Services has produced ambitious plans for the commercial development of underused space at a number of stations across the country. The expansion of retail facilities, food outlets and advertising potential is being studied at various locations, including Sealdah, Howrah, Bandra East, New Delhi, and the ...
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Errant car triggers high speed collision
A LAND ROVER towing a trailer carrying a second car veered off a motorway at Great Heck in Yorkshire on February 28, and plunged on to Railtrack’s East Coast Main Line. Despite an emergency phone call by the driver at 06.12, his vehicle was struck almost immediately by the 04.45 ...
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Decision time in the Cape
STRUCTURAL change is poised to arrive on South Africa’s 1067mm gauge railway. Debate about the future of the 19756 km network has been heated since consultants Halcrow were called in last year, and speculation was exacerbated when Systra was asked to evaluate the proposals (RG 12.00 p789). Last month the ...
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Cameras catch vandals
FREIGHT operator Direct Rail Services is undertaking trials using train-mounted Sonitrol CCTV cameras to catch vandals. If the tests are successful, other companies may adopt the scheme. In 1999-2000, malicious acts caused 55% of reportable ’train incidents’ in Britain. As well as endangering lives, this cost the industry over £250m. ...
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Specialist cabling
ON February 12 Railtrack granted approval for network-wide use of Brand-Rex’s RT/E/PS/00005 standard thermoplastic A4 signalling cable, the firm’s first trackside product. The compact lightweight cable was developed for use with the Train Protection &Warning System and will replace rubber based designs.Brand-Rex has also extended its X-treme Rail product range ...
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No monkey business
Police have broken up a racket at Indian Railways’ main terminus in Kolkata, arresting 25 porters and 28 monkeys. The porters had previously been caught occupying unreserved seats on trains and selling them on to passengers. After being arrested for breaking railway by-laws, the porters recruited the monkeys to ...
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RET to build three tram lines
TENDERS are to be called shortly for the construction of three ’high-quality’ light rail lines in Rotterdam, following the allocation of more than 400m guilders for the scheme by the Netherlands transport ministry. Local operator RET says the grant is not enough to cover all three routes, but the success ...
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Products in Brief
Trelleborg Industrial AVS is supplying rubber chevron springs for the refurbishment of 51 São Paulo metro Line 1 vehicles and 58 Line 3 vehicles. The laminated rubber/metal assemblies are fitted between the axles and the bogie frames.Corus and Pandrol have incorporated Pandrol’s Fastclip rail fastenings into Corus steel sleepers. Fastclip ...
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Industry News in Brief
Australia: Fare collection equipment supplier ERG Group is to acquire Motorola’s interest in the ERG Motorola Alliance for A$46m, subject to approval by ERG’s shareholders. ERG will assume responsibility for all existing projects, and the companies will continue to co-operate to support current Alliance customers.The Downer Group is to take ...
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Passenger News in Brief
Netherlands Railway is to modernise 60 Sprinter EMUs used on stopping services between the Randstad conurbations. The 20-year old vehicles will gain new interiors, more spacious seating, more accommodation for wheelchairs, bicycles and pushchairs and a passenger information system. Partitions will be replaced with glass screens, and electrical equipment will ...
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Skoda breaks into the urban market
INTRO: Better known as a supplier of electric locomotives to the former Comecon bloc, Czech builder Skoda Plzen has established a second product line in urban rail vehicles. Milan Sramek reports on two significant orders completed in MarchON FEBRUARY 20 Skoda Transportation Systems completed the first low-floor trams for the ...
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Bodewig takes the separation plunge
JUST HOW much the hugely-trumpeted reform of German Railway has fallen short of its objectives is now becoming painfully clear. Part of the trade-off for restructuring was government promises to invest in modernisation to make the 37525 km network more competitive. This continued a long tradition whereby transport ministers responded ...
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High-speed flywheels cut energy bill
Chris Jackson reports on trials of a lightweight flywheel energy storage unit being conducted on London Underground's Piccadilly line