All articles by Railway Gazette International – Page 1306
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News
Porterbrook sold to bank
ON APRIL 3 bus and rail operator Stagecoach Holdings confirmed that it was selling its rolling stock leasing company Porterbrook to British banking group Abbey National for £1·4bn. The deal was subject to approval by the Stagecoach shareholders, who were to vote before the end of the month. Abbey National ...
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MetroSur contracts awarded
ON APRIL 6 the Madrid regional government awarded contracts totalling Pts155·5bn for construction work on the MetroSur ring line in the city’s southern suburbs (RG 2.00 p70). The work has been split between seven construction groups, and tunnelling is expected to get under way this summer.A consortium of ACS and ...
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Montréal extensions approved
THE GOVERNMENT of Québec announced on April 11 that it plans to spend C$1·6bn on rail expansion over the next 10 years. Included are extensions of the rubber-tyred metro network to Laval, Anjou and Longueuil, and a fourth commuter rail route from Central station to Mont-Saint-Hilaire. The scheme will add ...
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Mail & Express drives Amtrak growth
INTRO: Tasked with eliminating operating subsidies by the end of 2002, America’s national passenger operator has abandoned its long-standing policy of cutting costs in favour of growing revenue. Backed by computer models showing widespread benefits, Amtrak has launched an ambitious strategy to boost passenger and freight revenue by increasing services ...
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Has the promise of North American rail mergers failed to deliver?
INTRO: The proposed merger between Burlington Northern Santa Fe and Canadian National has been put on hold pending a review of the industry situation by the US Surface Transportation Board. Some recent mergers went smoothly, but others brought serious disruption which has raised questions over whether mergers offer real benefits ...
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Alstom buys Traxis
ALSTOM Transport announced on April 4 that it had acquired Traxis from Royal Begemann Group. Based in Ridderkerk near Rotterdam, Traxis currently employs over 200 people. It has an annual turnover of 35m euros, with an order book that is expected to see a significant increase this year.In addition to ...
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Tilting diesels will trim timings along the Queensland coast
QUEENSLAND Railways and Walkers Pty Ltd are putting the finishing touches to the design of a pair of diesel-powered tilting trains, intended to work premium services over the 1680 km between Brisbane and the northern tropical resort of Cairns. The first underframes have been laid down, and the 1067mm gauge ...
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Parcels alliance
FRENCH National Railways and the French Post Office plan to form an alliance for express freight and parcels traffic. Proposals put to the boards of both organisations on March 30 envisage that the ensuing alliance would have an annual turnover of Fr38bn.The proposals will end competition between the two organisations ...
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All change in Italy
RESTRUCTURING of Italian Railways has moved a step forward with the announcement of plans to complete the long-proposed separation of infrastructure management and operations. Responsibility for infrastructure will lie with the state-controlled Rete SpA company, with operations coming under the control of FS group subsidiary Italia Trasporto Ferroviario.The change requires ...
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Digital alignment optimisation
SAVING on the cost of construction can make the difference between a project going ahead or being scrapped. Australia’s government scientific agency SCIRO has developed with Quantm Ltd an advanced computer-based tool to define the most cost-effective alignment, and this is already being put to use on the West Angelas ...
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Airport line ready to open
THIS MONTH will see the formal inauguration of the 10 km New Southern Railway in Sydney, which is due to open on May 21. Built over the last six years by a private-sector consortium of Transfield and Bouygues, it has cost A$900m, of which A$200m was funded by the state. ...
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Ground level air route
CONTRACTS for construction of the substructure of HSL-Zuid in the Netherlands were expected to be signed by May 1 following a ceremonial start of work on March 27. Presiding at the event near Breda, Transport Minister Tineke Netelenbos was joined by her Belgian counterpart Isabelle Durant to underline the international ...
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VSFT aims to corner Europe's diesel market
BOUGHT by Vossloh from Siemens in 1998, the former MaK diesel locomotive plant in Kiel is back in the loco business in a big way. Now known as Vossloh Schienenfahrzeugtechnik, the company has won two major orders that secure its place in the traction market. First on the order books ...
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SJ looks ahead
PROPOSALS to give Swedish State Railway more commercial freedom have been approved by the transport ministry, which confirmed in March that new legislation will give SJ the status of a limited company from January 1 2001. This will enable SJ to compete in the deregulated market under the same conditions ...
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British light rail takes off again
A FINAL go-ahead for the £180m Nottingham Express Transit light rail project was given by Britain’s Transport Minister Lord Macdonald on April 3. He confirmed that government revenue support would be provided as part of the public-private financing package for an initial 14 km line from Nottingham to Hucknall and ...
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African concessioning continues
PROPOSALS to privatise the operation of Zambia Railways have been approved by the country’s government. Communications & Transport Minister Prof Nkandu Luo confirmed on March 29 that the cabinet had agreed in principle to the concessioning of the national network. Trade & Industry Minister William Harrington has instructed the Zambia ...
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Advanced IT can buy commercial success
INTRO: ’Killer applications’ of information technology are being sought by North America’s railways in the battle to win freight business from road. TTCI is honing the latest IT developments for the benefit of AAR members, including two Positive Train Control projectsBYLINE: Robert E GallamoreAssistant Vice President, Communications Technology,Transportation Technology Center, ...
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Angel adopts air-cycle air-conditioning
BRITISH leasing company Angel Trains has developed a refrigerant-free air-conditioning system in co-operation with Liebherr Verkehrstechnik of Germany, and is considering a range of applications on new or refurbished rolling stock.Since air-conditioning was first introduced on British trains in 1971, most systems have relied on vapour compression cycle technology, ...
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Railtrack’s £51·5bn ’wish list’
ISSUING its 2000 Network Management Statement on March 29, British infrastructure company Railtrack proposed a total spend of £51·5bn over the next 12 years. Of the total, £22·3bn represents maintenance and renewal; the rest is ’investment’ to enhance the network.However, only £4·2bn of the enhancement spend is actually ’committed’. The ...
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Class 333 makes its debut
Testing of the first of 16 Class 333 electric multiple-units for British train operator Northern Spirit was due to begin last month, following the delivery of the unit to Neville Hill depot near Leeds (top) on March 11. The three-car EMUs were ordered by leasing company Angel Trains in April ...