All articles by Railway Gazette International – Page 1331

  • News

    Building the 21st Century Talgo

    1999-07-01T10:00:00Z

    INTRO: With nearly 50 years of operating experience, Patentes Talgo is now developing the Talgo XXI trainset, featuring diesel or electric power cars with gauge-changing capability. The latest Series 7 cars will also form the basis of a high-speed train aimed at the Spanish marketBYLINE: Francisco de LorenzoChief Executive OfficerPatentes ...

  • News

    Ticket offices to go by 2010

    1999-07-01T10:00:00Z

    IN THE FACE of protest from consumer organisations and staff, NS Reizigers has postponed to 2010 the closing of staffed ticket offices across its network. Under a programme costed at 50m guilders, NS had hoped to replace these offices by 2003 with ticket vending machines, redeploying staff to assist passengers ...

  • News

    Bahn 2000 tunnel

    1999-07-01T10:00:00Z

    CEREMONIES were held at Gorgier-St Aubin on May 27 to mark completion of Swiss Federal Railways’ latest Bahn 2000 upgrading project. The 2250m long Sauges tunnel is the longest of four for the double-tracking of 10·5 km between Neuchatel and Yverdon. SBB Infrastructure Director Pierre-Alain Urech told the guests that ...

  • News

    Nanjing Line 1 started

    1999-07-01T10:00:00Z

    CONSTRUCTION work has finally started on the first line of the long-planned metro for the eastern Chinese city of Nanjing. The 16·8 km Line 1 will run north-south across the city centre, and is costed at 5·4bn yuan.Proposals for the metro were approved by the National Planning Commitee in mid-1994 ...

  • News

    Tagus troubles

    1999-06-01T10:00:00Z

    AS PREDICTED last month, no celebrations were held in Lisboa on April 25 to mark the launch of cross-Tagus rail services. Testing was still under way early last month on the cross-Tagus route, and the double-deck EMUs (below) built for the service to be operated by concessionaire Fertagus were only ...

  • News

    Sidetrack

    1999-06-01T10:00:00Z

    Airport is all at seaWith growth at Schiphol airport continuing (p355), its management, the airlines based there and the air traffic authority have concluded that the construction of an off-shore airport, similar to that serving Osaka in Japan, is the best solution, and is needed by 2010. Connection to the ...

  • News

    RailNoise for Windows

    1999-06-01T10:00:00Z

    WS atkins Noise & Vibration has released a Windows version of its RailNoise software which calculates operational noise generated by railways and guided transport systems (RG 3.97 p189). Running under Windows 95, 98 or NT4, RailNoise 98 is available in three versions: LT for smaller projects, Standard, and Enterprise with ...

  • News

    Pointers

    1999-06-01T10:00:00Z

    n Look for an announcement this month of the preferred bidders to control Peru’s state rail network now run by Enafer. Under a process being organised by Mercer Management Consultants, the government will retain ownership of the infrastructure, and the concessionaires will be responsible for selling timetable paths to various ...

  • News

    PEOPLE

    1999-06-01T10:00:00Z

    Swiss Federal Railways has confirmed the senior posts on its four new divisions. Reporting to the Head of Passenger division Paul Blumenthal are: Philippe Gauderon (Regional services); Vincent Ducrot (Intercity); Peter Lehmann (Client Services); Serge Anet/Thomas Portmann (Production); Hans-Kaspar Weber (Baggage and personal security) and Ferdinando Gianella (Rolling stock). ...

  • News

    Passenger PORTFOLIO

    1999-06-01T10:00:00Z

    In Briefn Amtrak is altering market branding for its first class service on a number of corridors. The San Diegan trains now carry Pacific Class, while in the Pacific Northwest first class is redesignated Cascade Business Class. In the run up to introduction of Acela high speed trains on ...

  • News

    Passenger PORTFOLIO

    1999-06-01T10:00:00Z

    SNCF has deployed two Eurostar sets on domestic services. From March 15 the units, redesignated TGV TM, began operating from Dunkerque and Valenciennes to Paris. SNCF plans to diagram them for the Brussels - Nice service during the summerSNCF is planning to open the first phase of the Eole cross-Paris ...

  • News

    NEWS

    1999-06-01T10:00:00Z

    Turkmenistan Railways has appointed Ukrtransstroy of Ukraine to design and build a new road/rail bridge across the Amudara river near Kerki at a cost of US$123m. This will complete the 215 km Chardzhou - Kerki direct line, which is expected to be ready by the end of this year (RBR ...

  • News

    NEWS

    1999-06-01T10:00:00Z

    Spanish National Railways President Miguel Corsini signed an accord with Chilean State Railways Director-General Jaime Mondaca on April 16 for the sale of rolling stock worth Pts9bn to Chile by the end of 2002. It covers 22 Class 440R commuter EMUs, a Class 308 diesel loco, five Class 444 inter-regional ...

  • News

    Metros

    1999-06-01T10:00:00Z

    Australia: New South Wales Department of Transport has invited proposals by September 24 for a smartcard ticketing system covering all public transport within the Sydney CityRail area. Canada: Toronto Transit Commission has awarded Vale-Harmon Enterprises a US$6·7m contract to supply signalling for the 6·4 km Sheppard Avenue subway, scheduled for ...

  • News

    Vivendi to run Stockholm metro

    1999-06-01T10:00:00Z

    STORSTOCKHOLMS Lokaltrafik, the regional transport authority covering the Swedish capital, has selected Vivendi subsidiary CGEA Transport to take over operation of its metro and tram networks for a 10-year period starting in mid-1999. The move follows an international consultation as part of SL’s ongoing programme of contracting out the operation ...

  • News

    Market

    1999-06-01T10:00:00Z

    Bulgaria: Bulgarian State Railways has ordered 60000 Type B91S/2 concrete sleepers from ZSPV Uhersky Ostroh of the Czech Republic.Canada: Canac Inc has been awarded contracts worth a total of C$17m to rebuild the 28 km Port Alfred - Jonquière and 16 km Alma - St Bruno sections of the Roberval ...

  • News

    Metra plans orbital lines

    1999-06-01T10:00:00Z

    Chicago’s Regional Transportation Authority Metra has launched feasibility studies for three new commuter rail lines announced on April 16. These include a 169 km Outer Circumferential route serving Mundelein, Long Grove, West Chicago, Naperville, New Lenox and Frankfort, costed at US$600m. An Inner Circumferential linking Midway and O’Hare International airports ...

  • News

    Steffen leads VT Offensive

    1999-06-01T10:00:00Z

    Speaking in Paris on May 10, Siemens Transportation Systems (VT) President Herbert Steffen said that the group was making ’considerable efforts to get back on the right track’ after posting a loss of DM759m in 1997-98 (RG 1.99 p51). Parent company Siemens AG was to release its financial results for ...

  • News

    Tseung Kwan O work starts

    1999-06-01T10:00:00Z

    HONG KONG’s Financial Secretary Donald Tsang officiated at ceremonies on April 24 to mark the start of construction for the MTR extension to Tseung Kwan O. Several construction contracts have been awarded since the project was authorised last November, and MTR Corp Chairman Jack C K So expects to have ...

  • News

    INTELLIGENCE

    1999-06-01T10:00:00Z

    CAPTION: Test running is under way on the Hudson-Bergen light rail line in Jersey City, using two pre-production vehicles supplied by Kinki Sharyo of Japan. The firm is now assembling the production cars at a plant in Harrison, New Jersey, as part of a US$1bn DBOM concession from NJ Transit, ...