All articles by Railway Gazette International – Page 1288
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News
Pointers
n Australian aluminium producer Alcoa, one of Westrail’s biggest customers, is to put its rail transport out to tender, a move which could affect bids for the purchase of Westrail’s freight business.n Completion of the long-planned line across the Malawi-Zambia border between Mchinji and Chipata (40 km) is under discussion ...
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PeruRail refurbishes
ON AUGUST 24 PeruRail announced the start of a US$1·5m programme to refurbish its passenger car fleet, due for completion by March 2001. Work is being undertaken by James Park Associates at the company’s workshops in Cusco and Arequipa.The fleet of eight diesel railcars operating between Cusco and Aguas Calientes ...
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News
PEOPLE
Pascal Tomasso and Jacques Damas have joined Eurostar Group to fill two new Executive Director positions, respectively Sales & Marketing and Operations. Maurits Kalff has been appointed Director of Customer Services, in place of Edward Bell.Head of SNCF’s Marseille region Pierre Izard has been appointed Director of Human Resources at ...
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Overwhelmed by passengers
QUESTIONS have been asked in the Dutch parliament about the widespread failure of NS Reizigers to meet comfort standards laid down in its 1995 service contract with the government. These require 85% of passengers travelling for more than 5min in the commuting peak to have a seat. But at the ...
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A warning and an opportunity
THE political jungle is inhabited by a species of parrot that squawks ’safety is paramount’ at the slightest hint of rail safety being compromised. The bird was unaccountably silent in September, when an unexpected relaxation of employment rules meant train drivers in charge of freight trains carrying dangerous chemicals, inflammable ...
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On-line procurement
French engineering consultancy Mercury Consultants is launching an on-line search engine for technical suppliers, aimed initially at the engineering and research departments of railway operators and manufacturers. Research and development departments from any organisation will be able to contact mepax.com free with specific technical requirements for materials procurement or potential ...
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MTR scramble
SHARES in Hong Kong’s Mass Transit Railway are due to be traded for the first time on October 5. To pave the way for partial privatisation, MTRC’s property, rights and liabilities were vested in MTR Corporation Ltd on June 30. This allowed the government to announce on September 11 that ...
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Metros
Egypt: National Authority for Tunnels was due to invite bids last month for up to three contracts to build the 2·5 km extension of Cairo metro Line 2 from Giza to Moneib, expected to cost úE300m. A total of 22 companies submitted prequalification applications.Germany: Karlsruhe is planning to build a ...
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TV on the metro
MADRID Metro has joined e-Media Group and Urbaser in a new venture that is to install TV screens across the network by the end of 2002. Costing Pts7bn and expected to create over 300 jobs, the Canal Metro Madrid project will see 1200 42in plasma screens installed on platforms and ...
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Pankow links open
SEPTEMBER 16 saw the inauguration of the long-planned Berlin U-Bahn extension to Pankow, where an interchange with the S-Bahn has been provided. The eastern end of Line U2 had been closed beyond Senefelderplatz since July 10 to allow the connection of the 390m extension from Vinetastrasse. Completion of the DM105m ...
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Plastic offers longer sleeper life
Production of sleepers made out of recycled plastic and rubber has commenced in Houston, Texas, after a seven-year R&D programme that has cost U$4m. The production line has been set up by TieTek Inc after tests with plastic sleepers produced by three companies at AAR’s Transportation Technology Center in Pueblo, ...
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News
INTELLIGENCE
Australia: A container terminal and balloon loop have been commissioned at Mt Isa as part of a joint project between QR, Mt Isa City Council and Mt Isa Mines, which is making more use of containers to move export minerals to Townsville.QR carried 131million tonnes of freight in the year ...
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News
Industry News
Mexico: Trinity Industries Inc of the USA has begun work on a 32500m2 wagon factory at Sabinas, Coahuila, which it hopes to open by the end of 2001. Plant closures within Trinity’s Railcar Group (RG 7.00 p406) were expected to contribute towards a charge of up to US$46m in the ...
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News
Istanbul opens heavy metro
THE FIRST 8 km stage of Istanbul’s north-south heavy metro line was officially inaugurated on September 16. Linking Taksim and 4. Levent, the line has four intermediate stations, and a design capacity of 70000 passengers/h in each direction. Construction of the line started began in 1992, and installation of electrical ...
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News
Laser measurement speeds profile gauging
INTRO: The introduction of modern rolling stock requires comprehensive and accurate knowledge of clearance profiles throughout the network where it will operate. Innovative measuring systems will enable accurate data to be collected at up to 200 km/h BYLINE: David M JohnsonManaging DirectorLaser Rail LtdINTRODUCTION of new rolling stock on an ...
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Wave of openings in France
THREE FRENCH cities inaugurated new light rail and metro lines within a week. First was Nantes, where Semitan opened two routes on August 28. Line 1 was extended west from Bellevue to François Mitterrand, and the first stage of Line 3 began revenue service from H
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Finance
Brazil: América Latina Logística do Brasil has become the first of Brazil’s privatised railways to turn in a profit, achieving net income of R$13m in the first half-year.Bulgaria: Income from asset sales and higher fares were expected to contribute to improved financial results for BDZ in the third quarter, following ...
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News
Fast Rail Links Project wins state funding
ON SEPTEMBER 5 the Victorian state government announced a A$550m cash injection towards a five-year programme of upgrading and modernisation to provide faster passenger services between Melbourne and the regional centres of Ballarat, Bendigo, Geelong and Traralgon. Premier Steve Bracks said the project would be funded as a public-private sector ...