All articles by Railway Gazette International – Page 1346
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News
‘We need competition - and co-operation too’
INTRO: Ed Smulders, Director of NS Cargo, tells Richard Hope how profitable rail companies can capture a much bigger share of Europe’s growing international freight marketBYLINE: Ed SmuldersDirectorNS Cargo IN THIS DECADE, the outlook for rail freight in the Netherlands has been transformed. Once virtually written off as hopelessly uncompetitive ...
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Compete and integrate
BIDS close on March 1 for a concession to operate Singapore’s Northeast metro line. Before rushing off to Singapore, bear in mind that tenders have only been invited from local companies Trans-Island Bus Services and Singapore Bus Service. The winner will also be asked to run the Sengkang and Punggol ...
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International group to move Stockholm commuters
STORSTOCKHOLMS Lokaltrafik has selected a tri-national private consortium to operate Pendeltåg commuter services in the Swedish capital. The CityPendeln consortium announced in December 16 that it will take over in January 2000, when SL’s agreement with Swedish State Railway expires. The five-year concession includes a five-year extension option.The consortium is ...
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Mumbai commuters see ray of hope
BETTER services are in prospect for the long-suffering commuters of Mumbai, 4600 of whom typically cram themselves into and onto nine-car trains during the 3h long morning peak. A programme to increase capacity was prepared in December 1994, and in October 1996 the Indian and Maharashtra state governments gave their ...
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Deal on coal
INTERNATIONAL Colombia Resources Corp (Intercor) is in line to benefit significantly from extra traffic over its 150 km standard gauge line from the Cerrejon coalfield to the deep-water port at Bahia Portete. Opened 10 years ago, the El Cerrejon Mine Railway carries around 15 million tonnes of coal a year.Intercor ...
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City NEWS
CAPTION: On December 18 Berlin’s Transport Senator Jürgen Klemann celebrated a ’Christmas present for 100000 Berliners’ when he inaugurated a 2·9 km extension of the city’s tram network. Looping through Alexanderplatz, the new tracks link Mollstra§e and Hackesche Markt, with connections to the east-west Stadtbahn. In the western suburbs, S-Bahn ...
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IC order launches Chinese joint venture
Bombardier Inc and the Power Corporation of Canada have signed a joint venture agreement to build passenger coaches in China. The deal follows a memorandum of understanding signed with the Chinese government in November 1997.The local partner is Sifang Locomotive & Rolling Stock Works in Qingdao, part of the ...
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Moscow seeks cheaper metro options
WITH CONSTRUCTION of its heavy metro largely suspended for lack of funding, the Moscow city government has announced plans to develop a network of small-profile mini-metro lines. The use of 4000mm diameter tunnels accommodating four-car trains of 12m long vehicles is expected to cut the cost of construction by half. ...
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Charm offensive stepped up
IT’S TIME to deploy the big guns. Certainly the Japanese government thinks so. Vice-Minister for Transport Katsuji Doi invited himself to Beijing in December - taking the initiative for what will be a crucial 12 months as Japanese and European groups slog it out for rights to build the 1300 ...
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Powder River challenge
THE US Surface Transportation Board has given preliminary approval to the Dakota, Minnesota & Eastern’s ambitious proposal to extend to Wyoming’s Powder River coalfield. On December 10 the STB ruled that the scheme met legal requirements on feasibility, financial fitness, harm to existing carriers and the need for capacity. A ...
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Talgos take over Cascade corridor
INTRO: Amtrak and Washington State DoT have put new tilting trains into service in the US Pacific Northwest, where traffic has doubled in the last five years. Julian Wolinsky reportsTHREE STYLISH new Talgo Pendular 200 trainsets began running in the Pacific Northwest of the United States last month, giving passengers ...
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NY car order
ON December 28 New York’s Metropolitan Transit Authority ordered an initial build of 100 large profile metro cars for its L-Canarsie subway line connecting lower Manhattan with Brooklyn. This route is to be the testbed for transmission-based train control over the next few years. The US$190m contract awarded to Kawasaki ...
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Political capital
Cheapest fare on the Mitre and Sarmiento commuter networks in Buenos Aires is due to rise from US$0·40 to US$0·50 this month, the first of a series of increases that Trenes de Buenos Aires has secured from the government to help fund a US$2·2bn investment programme under its renegotiated concession, ...
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Calgary expands
CALGARY TRANSIT launched a drive to expand its 29·3 km light rail network in December, when it ordered 11 SD-160 LRVs from Siemens Transportation Systems for US$26m. Similar to the cars ordered by Denver and Salt Lake City, they will augment a fleet of 83 U-2s.To serve a rapidly expanding ...
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Industry In Brief
Australia: Evans Deakin Industries has abandoned its attempt to takeover Australian National Industries (RG 1.99 p51) and will sell the 18% of ANI shares it has acquired to rival bidder Smorgon Steel.Czech Republic: Construction company Subtera Praha has purchased a 90% stake in track maintenance contractor Stavební obnova zeleznic, which ...
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End of year blues
ON JANUARY 13 French National Railways revealed that passenger traffic had responded well to the range of service enhancements and fares initiatives it had introduced last year. Long-distance business (measured in passenger-km) was up by 5·3%, with the figure for all passenger traffic up 4·4%. SNCF’s aim this year is ...
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Shenzhen bids to follow Guangzhou
CEREMONIES were held in two southern Chinese cities on December 28 to mark significant developments on their respective metro networks.Guangzhou Metro celebrated the official completion of its 18·5 km Line 1, five years to the day since the start of construction. Linking Xilang with CR’s East station, Line 1 has ...
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Istanbul bidding
FIVE consortia have submitted prequalification bids to supply electrical & mechanical equipment for the Istanbul metro extension from Taksim to Yenikapi. They include SNC Lavalin of Canada, Adtranz and ABB with Yapi Merkezi, Alstom with Gülermak, Guris and Yüksel, and Gama Endüstrie. The municipality has received bids from Siemens, Alstom ...
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'I don't want to privatise, and I don't believe we need it'
Etienne Schouppe, Managing Director of Belgian National Railways, is treading a delicate path of reform in a country where performance of the national railway is a deeply political issue. The restructured company lends itself to privatisation, but Schouppe told Murray Hughes in Brussels that the changes were needed to put ...