All articles by Railway Gazette International – Page 1308
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News
Information Systems
Signs that talkTo improve the provision of information to visually-impaired passengers, Vultron International has developed the Talking Information System which converts a text message in English into synthesised speech using recently-developed software. A control box with an integral processor receives ASCII text data from the PC-based host system, and translates ...
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Industry News
Europe: Brown & Root Services has signed a memorandum of understanding with Holland Railconsult BV, to pursue jointly rail projects in Europe and the Asia-Pacific region and share technical knowledge and resources.Germany: Siemens AG has reported that all groups moved into profit in the first quarter of its 1999-2000 financial ...
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Guadarrama tunnels let
SPANISH high speed construction authority GIF has awarded three contracts worth a total of Pts114·6bn, covering most of the tunnelling and tracklaying work on the Soto del Real - Segovia section of the 175 km Madrid - Valladolid high-speed line. Between Soto del Real and Segovia, twin bores each 25 ...
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Freight Victoria spreads its wings
WITH EFFECT from March 1, Rail America’s Australian rail freight franchisee Freight Victoria has been renamed Freight Australia. The change reflects an expanding sphere of operations, with the start of a second contract operation in New South Wales at the end of February. Freight Australia has deployed two locos and ...
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Finance
Canada: Canadian Pacific Railway reported record earnings in 1999 for the fourth year running. Excluding special items, operating income was up C$42m to C$763m and tonne-km rose 4%.China: Hong Kong MTR has accepted the bid of Sun Hung Kai Properties for the Airport Railway Kowloon station Package 3, the last ...
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Expo rail launch
COMPLETING its preparations for the forthcoming Expo 2000 world fair, Hannover transport operator üstra inaugurated the final section of its light rail Line D on February 19. The 9·5 km line, served by route 11, provides a second light rail link to the city’s trade fair grounds. It also serves ...
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Tokyo expansion plans
Major expansion has been proposed for the Tokyo commuter network by 2015. Several completely new routes and links have been put forward in a Master Plan submitted to the Ministry of Transport in January (RG 3.00 p138). These include a new route from central Tokyo duplicating the Chuo line as ...
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TGV enquiries
FRENCH Transport Minister Jean-Claude Gayssot announced on March 9 that the formal planning enquiry process for TGV Rhin-Rh
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Good EMC management gets trains in service on time
INTRO: Failure to establish clear contractual standards for electromagnetic compatibility is leading to costly delays in commissioning rolling stock and electrification schemes. Differing national requirements still present barriers to European procurement in an open marketBYLINE: Dr Phil Dixon, PhD SenMIEEE *ELECTROMAGNETIC compatibility is achieved when electrical and electronic systems designed ...
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FGC doubled and diverted
ON MARCH 14, Catalunya’s Minister for Territorial Policy & Public Works, Pere Macías, formally inaugurated the FGC double-track alignment between Sant Boi and Santa Coloma de Cervelló, which has been in operation since February 13 and opened the new station at Santa Coloma (RG 3.00 p141). Taking advantage of the ...
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Libyan contract signed
CONSTRUCTION of the long-planned rail-link between the Tunisian border at Ras Jedir and the Libyan capital Tripoli is set to get under way later this year, following the signing of a US$477m contract in Beijing on March 2. The 191 km line is to be built by the China Civil ...
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Plaza Constitución refurbishment starts
BUENOS AIRES suburban operator Metropolitano has begun a US$13·5m refurbishment at Plaza Constitución, city terminus of its Roca network. Due for completion by the end of this year, work includes restoration of buildings dating from 1885 and 1907, and construction of an underground shopping area covering 9000m2. Air-conditioning is to ...
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JV completes track doubling on time
BYLINE: Eric Chemineau and Kenneth Herring*ON MARCH 10, State Railway of Thailand officially inaugurated the third track on a key section of its Northern main line (RG 2.00 p72). The line had been formally opened on December 5 1999 to mark the Sixth Cycle Anniversary Birthday of HM King Bhumipol ...
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Compact DC-DC converter
LIGHT rail vehicles require a stabilised low voltage DC power supply for on-board equipment. This auxiliary supply must not be affected by fluctuations in the traction power supply, and it must also be isolated from the medium voltage potential to earth. Typically, this will nominally be 600 to 750V DC, ...
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Virgin proposes East Coast ’VGV’
Ambitious plans to bypass a third of Britain’s East Coast main line with new routes designed to carry a fleet of 55 to 60 TGV-based trainsets capable of 330 km/h were unveiled by Virgin Rail Group on March 6. Built to Eurostar fire safety standards, Virgins à Grande Vitesse would ...
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Sifang JV launches coach production
A Chinese-Canadian joint venture isto design and manufacture a fleet of 300 long-distance coaches for China's Ministry of Railways at a new factory now being built in Qingdao
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Chinese focus moves west
TWO international links between China and Central Asia are to be developed as part of a five-year programme which will see 100bn yuan invested by 2005. Minister of Railways Fu Zhihuan says over 3000 km will be added to the existing 14860route-km in western China, much of which will be ...
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Rolling stock policy changes direction
INTRO: Roland Bonnepart, Director of Traction & Rolling Stock at French National Railways, sets out his policy for fleet modernisation to Murray Hughes. Around 50 more TGVs will be needed for TGV Est, but the TGV Nouvelle Génération prototype will not be builtBYLINE: Roland BonnepartDirector of Traction & ...
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Names change at Wabtec
FOLLOWING last year’s merger of Westinghouse Air Brake Co and MotivePower Industries (RG 1.00 p55), Wabtec Corp has changed the name of several business units, ’to convey their product lines or association with the corporation more clearly’, according to President & Chief Operating Officer Greg Davies. Boise Locomotive has been ...
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Mehdorn rattles DB cage
APRIL 1 sees a further restructuring of German Railway, as agreed at a board meeting on March 1. Supervisory Board Chairman Dr Dieter Vogel said that ’despite indisputable successes in the first six years of the restructured railway, the present management structure is too complex and has proved to be ...