All articles by Railway Gazette International – Page 818
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NewsChannel Tunnel mobile phone agreement signed
EUROPE: An agreement to install public GSM communications enabling Shuttle and high speed train passengers to access voice and data services inside the 50 km Channel Tunnel was signed by Eurotunnel and Bouygues Telecom, Orange, SFR and Free on March 6. Installation will cost €14m and is being undertaken by ...
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NewsGoogle Street View to add station photos
UK: Google is to add 360° pictures of the concourses of 13 major stations to its online Street View service. Infrastructure manager Network Rail said being able to check station layouts and facilities before setting off would help people 'to better find their way around some of the Britain's ...
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NewsBidding begins on København - Ringsted new line
DENMARK: Infrastructure manager Banedanmark has shortlisted six companies for the first civil works on the 56 km København - Ringsted line to the west of the capital. The design and build contract for five bridges is due to be awarded by mid-year, with all of the main contracts to be ...
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NewsVTG reports 'controlled growth' in 2011
GERMANY: Wagon leasing and rail logistics company VTG has reported 'controlled growth' for 2011, with revenue of €750m up 19·2% from the 2010 figure and operating profit up 9·3% to €168·7m. The executive board is to propose a dividend of €0·35 for 2011, an increase of 6%. 'We used 2011 ...
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NewsGE and PT KAI to upgrade Indonesian locomotive facilities
INDONESIA: National railway PT KAI and GE Transportation have signed a memorandum of understanding to form a locomotive servicing alliance for the domestic and wider ASEAN markets from the second half of 2012. Under the February 24 agreement GE will assist with the modernisation of PT KAI's Yogyakarta workshop to ...
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NewsUsing ground water to cool the tube
UK: London Underground has awarded Morgan Sindall a £9m contract to install a cooling system which will use ground water to lower air temperatures on the platforms at the deep-level Green Park station. Cool water will be pumped from boreholes in the park, filtered and supplied to eight air- handling ...
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NewsWagon sales up
TOUAX: Leasing firm Touax Group has reported consolidated revenue from wagon leasing and sales of €74m for 2011, with the 33% increase from the previous year being mainly due to a rise in sales to €32m. Overall group revenue including shipping containers, modular buildings and barges totalled €336m, up from ...
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NewsUrban rail news in brief - March 2012
A feasibility study for the second phase of Heifei metro Line 1 has been approved by China’s National Development & Reform Commission. Phase 1 is now under construction; the extension would add a further 11·9 km and 10 stations. Vancouver transport authority TransLink has awarded the first two contracts for ...
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NewsHigh-output trackbed paving system supplied to New York
USA: Rhomberg Bahntechnik's Heber high-output concrete paving system is to be used to lay the trackbed for the No 7-Flushing Line extension of the New York Subway. Bregenz-based Rhomberg Bahntechnik is to supply its Heber concrete rail paver to RailWorks Transit under a €0·5m contract. The self-propelled trackbed paver features ...
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NewsRail training and recruitment in brief
The Australian rail industry is facing ‘chronic labour and skills shortages’ according to a report published by the Transport & Logistics Skills Council. Among the concerns raised are an ageing workforce and competition from the mining sector. TLSC recommends that the Australian rail industry needs a broader recruitment base and ...
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NewsBHP Billiton places large heavy haul locomotive order
AUSTRALIA: Downer EDI has been awarded a five-year contract to supply a minimum of 80 Electro-Motive Diesel SD70ACe/LCi locomotives for BHP Billiton Iron Ore's heavy haul network in Western Australia. The A$292m agreement announced on March 2 has options which could take the total value to more than A$400m. ...
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NewsETCS Level 1 goes live in Madrid
SPAIN: The Ministry of Development announced on March 1 that ETCS Level 1 signalling had been brought into use on RENFE suburban route C4 in Madrid, running from Parla in the south via Atocha, Sol and Chamartín to Colmenar Viejo north of the capital. According to the ministry, this is ...
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NewsAlstom consortium wins Athens metro Line 3 extension contract
GREECE: Attiko Metro has awarded a consortium of Alstom, Greek construction group J&P Avax and Italian civil engineers Ghella, a €344m contract to design and build a 7∙6 km southern extension of Athens metro Line 3 from Haidari to Dimotiko Theatro, in the port city of Piraeus. The project is ...
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NewsFGC signs Moroccan co-operation agreement
MOROCCO: On February 29 ONCF Director General Mohammed Rabie Khlie signed a six-year co-operation agreement with Enric Ticó, President of Catalunya regional operator FGC, which will see both railways work together to improve efficiency and performance. As well as training, technical assistance and collaboration on projects, maintenance and procurement, the ...
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NewsExpert Group sets out Indian Railways investment priorities
INDIA: Reform of Indian Railways along business lines and investment of Rs8·2tr in expansion and modernisation should be key priorities for India's 12th five-year plan in 2012-17, according to a report presented to the government and IR on February 28. The report was drawn up by an Expert Group established ...
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NewsTesting underway on Mumbai monorail
INDIA: Test running on the first 2∙2 km section of the Mumbai monorail between Wadala and Bhakti Park began on February 18. Completion of the entire 8∙2 km Phase 1 to Chembur is expected by August, with commercial services to start in November.Scomi Engineering is supplying 15 four-car trainsets as ...
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NewsADB and JICA sign Uzbekistan electrification loans
UZBEKISTAN: The government has signed two international loans which will be used to complete 25 kV electrification of the 831·5 km north - south route between Toshkent and Termez by July 2017. On February 16 Asian Development Bank signed a US$100m loan to fund work on the 140·8 km section ...
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NewsRTA backs Dubai metro extensions
UAE: Following two separate studies, Dubai's Roads & Transport Authority has confirmed its intention to seek government approval to build a 20 km extension of the metro Green Line from Etisalat to International City, Academic City and the Dubai Lagoons for opening within five years.A 12 km extension of the ...
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NewsDB Regio awarded Netz Nord-Süd contract
GERMANY: DB Regio was awarded the Netz Nord-Süd passenger operating contract on February 28. The contract runs for 12 years from December 2014 and covers service RE3 from Stralsund and Schwedt to Berlin and Elsterwerda, and RE5 from Rostock and Stralsund to Berlin and Lutherstadt Wittenberg, totalling 9·5 million ...
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NewsFast internet means satisfied passengers
CZECH REPUBLIC: Nomad Digital is supplying on-train wireless internet technology for the five Stadler Flirt trains which Leo Express has ordered for its planned launch of Praha - Ostrava open access services in December. Nomad said the wi-fi system based on its R3500 router will aggregate all ...