All articles by Railway Gazette International – Page 1302
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Mehdorn seeks more upgrading funds
GERMAN RAILWAY Chairman Hartmut Mehdorn does not want much. Speaking at DB’s 1999 annual results press conference on May 10 in Berlin, Mehdorn called for both federal government and the Länder to provide further funding for infrastructure modernisation to deal with a ’huge backlog’ from previous years. The backlog was ...
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Refurbishment funded
PAKISTAN Railways’ efforts to modernise its operations received a boost at the end of April, when the government approved a national investment package totalling Rs10bn. This included several railway projects identified as a priority by PR Chairman Javed Ashraf, notably the refurbishing of 240 coaches and 55 diesel locos. PR ...
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Illinois test will fix the future of PTC
INTRO: Born out of the ATCS project of the 1980s, the North American Joint Positive Train Control Programme will see cost-effective train control developed over the next five years. Trials are to be undertaken between Springfield and Mazonia in Illinois, where freight will share Union Pacific tracks with 177 ...
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Kolkata expands
A RANGE of development proposals for the Kolkata suburban network were outlined by India’s Railways Minister Ms Matama Banerjee on April 30, when she laid the foundation stone for a 5·8 km southern extension of the city’s Circular Railway. Rs860m has been allocated for the line from Princep Ghat ...
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Dynamic train scheduling on a national scale
INTRO: Automation of conflict resolution over wide geographical areas can speed up the timetable and train service planning process dramatically. The time to optimise infrastructure capacity, trains and crews to match business objectives can be cut from months to hoursBYLINE: Tom A Greaves CEng MIMechE MCITDirector, VST ComrecoRailHistorically, train schedules ...
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Sustainable transport demands strong rail investment
BYLINE: Philippe RoumeguèreChief Executive, International Union of Railways (UIC)RIGHT ACROSS the world, concern has been growing about the role of transport in society and the part that each mode has to play. A balance must be struck between meeting the needs of the economy and the increasingly serious effects ...
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Trams return to Croydon
UK: Months of frustration turned to celebrations on May 5 when the first 11 km section of Croydon Tramlink opened between the town centre loop and New Addington. Tramtrack Croydon Ltd’s Chairman Bob Dorey said it was an ‘important day’ when TCL ‘brought trams back to London’, 49 years after ...
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Kaohsiung signs metro contract
CONSTRUCTION of the long-planned metro network in Taiwan's second city is set to get under way by the end of this year, following the award of a NT$172·3bn contract on May 10. The Department of Kaohsiung Mass Rapid Transit has selected a consortium led by local steelmaker China Steel. Other ...
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TGV Est européen moves towards construction
INTRO: With geophysical surveys and detailed design now in progress, utility diversions and other preliminary works for France’s next high speed line are due to begin in the second half of this year. RFF Project Director Pierre Cerisier spoke to Robert Preston, outlining the programme that should see civil works ...
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Commonwealth wants operators to fund national network
IN A STATEMENT on May 18, Australia’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Transport & Regional Services John Anderson said the federal government would ’pursue a nationally uniform framework for railway track access arrangements and regulatory and safety regimes for rail transport.’ He proposes to establish this year a national ...
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South coast commuters taste the future
INTRO: British franchisee Connex Rail has demonstrated a Class 375 Electrostar train to Brighton passengers, but the units will not enter service until next yearRESTRICTED running trials have begun in east Kent with the first Class 375 unit for British franchisee Connex Rail. Because Railtrack has only granted the train ...
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Private finance changes the investment rules
MOST SUCCESSFUL technological advances in recent years have focused on enabling people to communicate in new and sophisticated ways, breaking down geographical and cultural boundaries. However, face-to-face communication is still necessary and interaction between people is as important as ever in both social and economic terms. Rail travel, whether inter-city ...
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Seven centres to manage the network
INTRO: This month sees the first application of passenger information systems being driven directly from the data provided to German Railway’s network management centre in Frankfurt. Six out of seven regional operations centres that will eventually take over signalling control functions have now been commissioned. Murray Hughes reports from Frankfurt ...
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Canary takes off
TENDERS are to be invited for construction of a light rail network on Tenerife, following a decision by the Canary Islands regional government in March to push ahead with detailed design. Totalling Pts200bn, the lines are expected to enter service from 2006 onwards.Work could start next year on a short ...
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Greenbrier butterfly isout of the chrysalis
FOLLOWING its acquisition of the Adtranz freight wagon business in Siegen, Germany, earlier this year (RG 2.00 p118), US-based builder The Greenbrier Companies is strengthening its foothold in Europe. Using Siegen as a design and contract management office, the company is developing manufacturing activity at the Swidnica plant in Poland, ...
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Metropolitan taps the business market
NINE MONTHS after the launch on August 1 last year of Metropolitan services between K
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Broad gauge extends
THIS MONTH, India’s Northeast Frontier Railway is due to complete a feasibility study for a fourth rail bridge across the Brahmaputra, linking Bogibeel and Dibrugarh. According to General Manager, Construction, G P Madan, NFR has spent over Rs7bn on infrastructure works in the last three years and has works in ...
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RFF brings fresh thinking on infrastructure investment
INTRO: As owner of the national network, Réseau Ferré de France is playing a key role in the railway reform programme that began in 1997. RFF President Claude Martinand explained to Robert Preston how the infrastructure authority is bringing a new approach to investment projects, applying stricter financial criteria ...
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Timetable brings ’regional’ Eurostar
THE START of Britain’s summer timetable on May 28 saw the introduction of regional Eurostar trains on the East Coast route. Two 14-car sets with crews have been leased by Great North Eastern Railway (right) to operate stopping services between London and York, relieving overcrowding on long-distance trains to Newcastle ...
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Investment outlook brightens under the private sector
INTRO: Concessioning and privatisation started to transform the management of state-run railways about 10 years ago. Experience to date suggests that private sector managers handle investment projects better than their public sector counterparts and do not sign up to vote-catching white elephantsBYLINE: Louis S ThompsonRailways AdviserThe World BankRAILWAYS are changing. ...