All articles by Railway Gazette International – Page 1289
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National Express takes root in Melbourne
INTRO: In June 1999 Britain’s National Express Group won three of the five passenger rail franchises in Victoria. Whilst geographically they couldn’t be further away from the Group’s five British franchises, the inheritance, the challenges and the ambitions are remarkably similarBYLINE: Peter StrachanChief Executive, Australia Rail Division, National Express GroupON ...
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Stansted Express relaunched
BRITISH train operator West Anglia Great Northern is due this month to relaunch its Stansted Express service which connects London Liverpool Street with Stansted Airport. This is now the London hub for several low-cost airlines, and WAGN reports that passenger numbers on Stansted Express are 37% up on last year, ...
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München explores the Stadtbahn options
INTRO: Both the S-Bahn and U-Bahn network in the Bavarian capital are reaching their optimal size. Ralf Roman Rossberg examines plans for an extensive light rail network to complement the existing rail corridorsTOGETHER with the long-established city centre trams, well-used U-Bahn and S-Bahn networks form the backbone of public transport ...
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Expertise and experience are vital
YET ANOTHER public inquiry, this time into automatic train protection (but still with m’learned friends present in strength), opened in London on September 18. Chaired jointly by Lord Cullen and Professor Uff, who respectively held inquiries into the Ladbroke Grove (1999) and Southall (1997) collisions, it provides the third opportunity ...
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Spoornet electric renewal
SOUTH AFRICAN operator Spoornet has awarded a R300m contract to Adtranz for the upgrading of 45 Class 11E locomotives which run on the 25 kV 50Hz heavy-haul coal line to Richards Bay. This follows the contract for Alstom to renew the 31 Class 9E heavy-haul electric locos (RG 9.00 p511). ...
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Dublin metro ring study
IRISH Minister for Public Enterprise Mary O’Rourke has approved in principle the development of a heavy metro in Dublin, augmenting the light rail route already under construction. The intention is to develop the network through a public private partnership, for which legislation is to be introduced next year. The government ...
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DSVN to elevate
LAST MONTH, Vietnam Railways unveiled proposals to build a double-track elevated railway across the centre of Hanoi, replacing its existing single-track line which runs at grade with many level crossings. Connecting the existing Red River bridge at Long Bien with the southern suburb of Van Diem, the 13 km viaduct ...
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Watching paint dry faster
REPAINTING of French National Railways’ refurbished TGV Sud-Est trainsets has been speeded up by the development of a new paint drying tunnel using infrared radiation. The Sunkiss Thermoreactor is a catalytic radiant panel which produces infrared radiation and convection currents through the catalytic combustion of natural gas or propane. ...
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Iran orders express DMUs
ON SEPTEMBER 12 Austrian trade minister Dr Bartenstein and his Iranian counterpart Dr Schafei attended a contract signing ceremony for the supply of 20 inter-city diesel trainsets for Iranian Islamic Republic Railways. The four-car units will be supplied by Siemens Austria under a deal worth Sch1·37bn, which was signed by ...
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UITP debates light rail renaissance
INTRO: With several Australian cities planning to invest in expansion, modernisation or revival of their tram and light rail networks, there will be much to discuss at this month’s UITP light rail conference in MelbourneBYLINE: Hans Rat and Peter Moore *LIGHT RAIL is increasingly recognised as a superb transport mode, ...
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Track lease deal
BANGLADESH Railways awarded its first private-sector track maintenance contract in August, to come into operation from October 1. The deal covers the 40 km line from Jessore to Benapole, which forms part of the broad-gauge rail link between Bangladesh and India. The line has recently been rehabilitated at a cost ...
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DART goes west
DALLAS Area Rapid Transit extended its Trinity Express commuter rail service from 16 to 43 km on September 18. Four new stations have been opened at West Irving, CentrePort, Hurst/Bell and Richland Hills. Services run hourly from Dallas as far as CentrePort, where a shuttle bus connects to Dallas/Fort Worth ...
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Cost optimisation matches demand and resources
INTRO: From low-budget lines for low-density cities to intensely-operated networks, the variety of light rail lines around the Pacific Rim demonstrates the great flexibility of the mode. Critical for success has been the ability to tailor each application to the specific operating and financial needs of its communityBYLINE: John Schumann ...
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NSW Freight Corp to be sold
PLANS to privatise Australia’s principal standard-gauge freight operators have been shaken up by a surprise proposal to sell the New South Wales owned Freight Corp. Despite earlier commitments not to privatise the business, the NSW Labour administration voted on September 7 to dispose of Freight Corp to whichever bidder is ...
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Gauge conversion returns
JUST over a quarter of a century ago, we raised editorial eyebrows about the decision by General Gowon of Nigeria to convert the national rail network from 1067 to 1435mm gauge. The plans went the way of many similar proposals, but the idea has now been resurrected. Information Minister Prof ...
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Express Rail Link construction in full swing
With 18 months to go before the opening of Kuala Lumpur's airport rail link, civil works are nearing completion and tracklaying is getting under way
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RegioCom improves DB connections
Following successful trials in northern Bavaria, DB Regio is to roll out the RegioCom system for all its conductors across Germany by May 2001. Developed by the DB consultancy arm TLC, RegioCom is a GSM-based communications system which enables on-train staff to notify a control centre of delays. It also ...
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Metrorail concession
AT THE END of August, South African Rail Commuter Corp signed its long-awaited concession agreement with operating contractor Metrorail, setting an annual subsidy of about R800m. Under discussion since 1995, the deal has been delayed by concerns over job losses.By moving from deficit-support to a fixed price contract, the agreement ...
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Three-stage reform lays the foundations of competition
INTRO: A phased programme of structural reforms of Russia’s railways will culminate in the launch of independent companies that will compete for passenger and freight traffic against a national state-owned operator to be known as RZD Ltd. Boris Lukov reports from MoscowOn August 16 the Board of Russia’s Ministry of ...