All articles by Railway Gazette International – Page 1329
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Test track to serve northern France
CEREMONIES were held on May 21 to mark the laying of the final section of track on a rolling stock test circuit at Petite F
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Frame sleeper givescontinuous rail support
A GROUP of Austrian companies unveiled a frame sleeper design for ballasted track. It consists of a prestressed frame shaped like an H with two crossbars. These form a continuous longitudinal beam supporting the rails.Known as the RS95, the frame sleeper doubles the bearing surface, so halving the load on ...
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First Melbourne franchise
VICTORIA’S Transport Minister Robin Cooper announced on June 18 that the MetroLink consortium led by Transfield had been selected for a 12-year concession to run the Yarra Trams network in Melbourne. State support will taper from A$38·6m in the first year to zero for the last two years of the ...
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Tauern fire trauma
SAFETY in road tunnels shot to the top of the agenda in Alpine countries after a fire on May 29 in the 6·4 km single carriageway Tauern tunnel in Austria killed at least five people. Over 20 vehicles caught fire after a lorry carrying varnish was involved in a collision ...
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Finance
Canada: CN is to offer for sale four million common shares to raise US$250m, in addition to convertible preferred securities worth US$200m. The proceeds will be used to reduce outstanding debt, finance strategic investment and pursue new business opportunities.China: Hong Kong MTR Corp has appointed Goldman Sachs as Lead Financial ...
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Sumatra expansion study
INDONESIA’S Ministry of Communications has launched a project to develop the rail network on the island of Sumatra. At the beginning of June the ministry commissioned a comprehensive study and master plan from a team of consultants led by Mott MacDonald. Due for completion next July, the study being funded ...
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Madrid plans more expansion
THE 5·4 km extension of Madrid Metro Line 8 from Campo de las Naciones to Barajas Airport was formally opened on June 14 by the President of the Communidad de Madrid Alberto Ruiz Gallardon. The airport station is directly connected to international terminals T2 and T3, and the Pts18bn extension ...
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Traction renewal heads investment drive
POLISH State Railways has announced plans to update its rolling stock fleet. Investment in 1999-2010 will include acquisition of 16 tilting trains from Fiat Ferroviaria, 42 Type EU11 locomotives from Adtranz-Pafawag, and eight dual-system EU43 units from the same supplier. The locos are already being assembled, and the first has ...
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One down, but so many to go
ON APRIL 22 President Menem of Argentina signed Decree 393/99, giving legal force to the contract renegotiated with Metrovías, concessionaire for the Subte metro and Urquiza commuter line in Buenos Aires. Confirming an extension to 2017 and an investment programme worth a total of 1·4bn pesos (RG 2.99 p65), it ...
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New Jersey orders diesel GTWs
ON JUNE 7 Adtranz Switzerland and Stadler Fahrzeug AG received an order worth SFr90m to supply 20 low-floor railcars for the Camden - Trenton light rail project. A diesel-electric version of the GTW2/6 design, the first cars will shipped to New Jersey in August 2001.Following the FRA ruling on ...
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Invensys Rail to develop ETCS
INTERNATIONAL signalling and braking specialist Invensys Rail has launched a strategy to develop technology to meet the parameters and specifications of the European Train Control Systems project. Whilst the company is involved with project management of the ERTMS on-board Kernel test programme in Spain, it was not a founder member ...
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Delhi tenders
INDIA’s Ministry of Railways invited three prequalification tenders in May for work on the 55·3 km Delhi Mass Rapid Transit metro network which was officially launched last October (RG 9.98 p567). According to the ministry ’all the bids are global and are open to Indian or international companies who can ...
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Darwin deal
CONTRACTORS are to be selected over the next few months for construction of the 1420 km rail link between Alice Springs and Darwin, following the announcement on June 6 of a preferred bidder for the A$1·2bn build-own-operate concession. Australia’s federal government, together with South Australia and Northern Territory, selected Asia-Pacific ...
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Rail milling may cut noise
TRIALS with a rail milling train suggest that the technique may have an assured future. Operated by German maintenance contractor Schweerbau, the prototype train was developed by Austrian machine tool specialist Linsinger Maschinenbau which exhibited at the VDEI event for the first time this year.According to Linsinger’s Prok Ing Walter ...
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Tags cut smart ticket cost
LOW-COST silicon tagging technology being developed for the airline and postal industry by Motorola offers the potential for cheap single-trip metro tickets compatible with smart card applications. With smart cards costing up to US$5·00 each, most rail applications to date have retained paper or magnetic-stripe tickets for single trips and ...
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Export corridor
MALAWI Railways is to resume work on its 27 km cross-border extension from Mchinji to Chipata in southeastern Zambia. Started in the 1980s, the line is intended to provide a rail corridor from eastern Zambia to the port of Nacala in Mozambique, which is shorter than the lines to Dar ...
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Consolidated designs to serve high-speed partnerships
INTRO: The race to develop new high-speed trains is slowing down, as railways in Europe and the Far East concentrate on management and service quality. Gordon Pettitt reviews the market, and suggests that international management consortia may offer the best way for rail to present an attractive and cost-effective alternative ...
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Siemens tries MoMo concept
SIEMENS Verkehrstechnik has signed a co-operation agreement with FA Porsche for the development of a design-led production concept to build modular metro vehicles. The MoMo concept has been under development for the last 18 months, starting with the technical features and then moving on to interior fittings and image.According to ...
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Dragados wins in Colombia
SPANISH civil engineering group Dragados announced on June 14 that it had been selected as preferred bidder for a 30-year concession to renovate and operate the 1470 km Atlantic rail network in Colombia. The group has a 60% stake in the bidding consortium, which includes Spanish National Railways, a Colombian ...
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NS clings on
NETHERLANDS Railways has retained a tenuous foothold in the bidding to run trains on the HSL Zuid high speed line linking Amsterdam and Antwerpen. The process got under way last month, with HSL Zuid releasing a consultation document and inviting NS to bid to operate domestic services on the route. ...