All articles by Railway Gazette International – Page 1397
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News
Basque LRT plans gather momentum
Work on the first 4 km of a light rail network in the Spanish city of Vitoria is due to begin at the end of this year. Tender specifications will be prepared by the Basque Department of Transport & Public Works this summer. EuskoTren has been chosen to promote, build ...
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Gotthard base tunnel under threat
IT WAS always possible that the finger of sugar crystal dolomite stretching down to the alignment of the planned Gotthard base tunnel would prove to be a major obstacle when it came to serious digging. Just how tricky it may be to tunnel through this treacherous material in the Piora ...
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Local firm will assemble five US Talgos
PACIFICA INC, owned by the International Association of Machinists & Aerospace Workers, has won a contract to assemble five Talgo Pendular trainsets in the state of Washington. Three will be used in the Pacific Northwest rail corridor; two are being purchased by Washington and one by Amtrak at $10m each.Gustavo ...
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Euromed arrives
Spanish National Railways will introduce six Euromed trains to the Barcelona - Valencia - Alicante Mediterranean Corridor in June, following the completion of the first phase of an infrastructure upgrading programme. Built by GEC Alsthom Transporte at a cost of Pts15bn, the trainsets are 1668mm gauge versions of the 1435mm ...
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Dual-system LRVs arrive
Karlsruhe’s public transport operator VBK and its associated local railway AVG have taken delivery of the first of 21 low-floor eight-axle dual-system LRVs (right). Unlike the earlier dual-system cars (left) which have a high floor throughout, the vehicles have lowered areas in the two end sections. Floor heights are 880mm ...
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Italian MUn sleepers arrive this month
Seeking to offer customers hotel train service, Italian State Railways will take delivery of the first of 20 Type MUn air-conditioned sleeping cars from Costamasnaga at the end of this month (PP 5.96 p5). Destined for international operation at up to 200 km/h, each car can accommodate up to ...
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Light metro strategy approved
THE MUNICIPAL government in Napoli has announced plans to develop an 86 km light metro network by 2011, with the aim of removing 200000 car journeys per day from the city streets. Replacing proposals to expand the heavy metro (DM96 p55), the 5500bn lire programme will be implemented in two ...
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Third metro programme approved
SEOUL Metropolitan Government has approved plans for a third phase of metro construction in the South Korean capital, adding a further 120 route-km by the end of 2005. Hong Jong-min, Head of the city’s Office of Subway Construction, announced on March 12 that work on Lines 9 to 12 should ...
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Amtrak struggles to find secure funding
INTRO: May 10 is due to see further cuts to Amtrak’s inter-city network as the operator tries to balance its books. Julian Wolinsky looks at operational changes and funding proposals announced in March’WITHOUT DECISIVE action very soon, the United States will have no inter-city rail service’, according to the Republican ...
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JR East launches Akita Shinkansen
EAST JAPAN Railway President Masatake Matsuda was up early on the morning of March 22 to give the first Tokyo-bound train on the Akita mini-shinkansen a high-level send-off from the northeastern city. Also present on the platform to flag away the 06.12 Komachi departure was Akita Governor Kikuji Sasaki. In ...
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Series 700 prototype ready in September
BYLINE: Norihiko Yoshie (left) and Junichui Ito (right)ROLLING STOCK engineers from JR Central and JR West are confident that they will be able to achieve lower capital and running costs with the next generation of shinkansen train. Due to roll out in September, the 16-car N300 prototype, forerunner of a ...
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The 40 tonne axleload will come
but track and train need common management’CONSIDER a new heavy haul railway with 40 tonne axleloads and high adhesion locos hauling frequent trains at 120 km/h, and suppose it damages your business. What are you going to say to your business manager?’ This warning from Harry Tournay of Spoornet ...
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CR tries 3-phase locos as Nanning - Kunming line is completed
CHINESE Prime Minister Li Peng attended a ceremony at Baise on March 18 to mark completion of tracklaying on the 898 km Nanning - Kunming line linking the southwestern provinces of Guangxi and Yunnan. Revenue services on the electrified route are expected to begin by the end of the year, ...
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Shinagawa ready in 2003
JR Central is to start construction this month of an extra shinkansen station at Shinagawa in southern Tokyo, for completion in 2003. Two 410m island platforms with four tracks for Tokyo - Osaka Tokaido shinkansen services are to be built adjacent to the existing Shinagawa narrow-gauge station, and three sidings ...
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Impuls 97 - Bahn 2000’s first wave
INTRO: SBB will celebrate 150 years of railways in Switzerland with the biggest jump in train-km since 1982. This first manifestation of Bahn 2000 marks the start of real improvements in what SBB can offer the passengerBYLINE: Nicolas PerrinDeputy Delegate, Bahn 2000Swiss Federal RailwaysIT IS 15 YEARS since Swiss Federal ...
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Sidetrack
Subway legal twistsSidetrack reports more strange goings-on in the New York subway. Passengers at 50th Street can now stop off for a beer at the Siberia bar - which dodges MTA’s policy of not renting space to alcohol-vendors by being, technically, in the building upstairs.While the Siberia may be getting ...
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Transformers shrink by switching
INNOVATIONS in ferrous alloys are giving rolling stock designers valuable weight and space savings through improvements in transformer technology. Siemens’ subsidiary Vacuumschmelze (VAC) is offering a range of high-power transformers aimed at railway applications, including a cluster of units delivering 70 kW on ICE2 vehicles for air-conditioning and lighting power ...
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Publications
The Railways Act in practiceby Paul FawcettPrivatisation of British Rail converted an integrated state railway into nearly 80 independent companies. This reorganisation, and the subsequent contractual relationships between the track authority, train operators and other players is governed by the Railways Act 1993. This 68 page A5 booklet provides a ...
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Siemens restructures in search for profits
FURTHER rationalisation of rail activities was announced in Wien on March 11 by the President of Siemens Verkehrstechnik Dr Wolfram Martinsen. Although the division’s results improved from a DM120m loss in 1994-95 to a DM19m profit in 1995-96, on constant turnover of around DM4·3bn, he forecast losses of around DM80m ...
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Talent order
Talent orderGERMANY’s regional Ostmecklenburgische Eisenbahn has become the first independent railway to place a series order for the Talent lightweight diesel railcar developed by Bombardier Eurorail. The prototype built last year by Waggonfabrik Talbot in Aachen is currently undergoing a four-month revenue service demonstration on Netherlands Railways’ Leeuwarden - Sneek ...