All articles by Railway Gazette International – Page 878
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News
Victor Chavez
Victor Chavez became CEO of Thales UK on January 1, having served as Deputy CEO since October 2008. He replaces Alex Dorrian, who has moved on to become Chairman while retaining his additional role as Executive Vice-President of Thales SA. Current Chairman Lord Freeman will stay on as a Director ...
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NewsCAF wins Urbos tram contracts
EUROPE: Spanish manufacturer CAF has won three export orders for its Urbos tram, signing deals to supply vehicles to Stockholm, Besançon and Nantes.Stockholm transport authority SL has initially ordered 15 three-module trams costing around €40m but, with options to supply up to 121 vehicles, the total contract value could rise ...
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NewsARAF debut triggers change
FRANCE: Meeting on December 8, new rail regulator Autorité de Régulation des Activités Ferroviaires approved the structure of track access charges being proposed for LGV Sud Europe Atlantique between Tours and Bordeaux. This forms a key part of the funding package being put together by the Vinci-led Lisea consortium which ...
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NewsFrench regions order more Régiolis trains
FRANCE: Alstom Transport announced orders for a further 22 Coradia Polyvalent regional multiple-units on January 4, firm contracts within the framework agreement which the manufacturer signed with SNCF in October 2009. The latest orders are worth €125m and cover 10 Régiolis units for the Poitou-Charentes region and 12 for Auvergne. ...
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NewsGyeongchun Line reopens in Seoul
SOUTH KOREA: KR’s Gyeongchun Line to the east of Seoul was reopened on December 21 following the completion of a 2·7 trillion won project to replace the former single-track regional diesel route by a new double-track elevated and electrified alignment. The reconstruction of the 81·3 km route from Mangu ...
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NewsChina's horizons extend southwards
ASIA: China's influence is starting to make itself felt in the quickening pace of railway planning across southeast Asia, although precise route alignments and costs remain unclear. Rail links to both Laos and Myanmar are now being firmly backed by Beijing. New lines into both countries would be built from ...
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NewsSaving one tonne per wagon
BRAZIL: Following 18 months of trials on Vale's metre-gauge heavy freight lines, V&M do Brasil is seeking type approval for its tubular axle design, which the company claims could allow operators to increase payloads by up to 1 tonne per wagon. The machined tubular axle was developed to fit 1000 ...
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NewsNews in Brief
Genesee & Wyoming has completed its A$334m acquisition of FreightLink, giving it control of the 2 200 km north-south railway linking Tarcoola with Alice Springs and Darwin. Completed in 2004, the Alice – Darwin route cost A$1·2bn to construct, of which the state governments contributed A$475m and FreightLink A$900m. The ...
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NewsFehmarn Belt tunnel preferred
EUROPE: Femern A/S is recommending an immersed tunnel rather than a cable-stayed bridge as its preferred option for the Fehmarn Belt fixed link to replace the train ferry between Germany and Denmark, the Danish project promoter announced on November 30. A 17·6 km tunnel up to 40 m deep would ...
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NewsRailway Gazette International 2011 Digital Archive
Download individual issues of Railway Gazette International from 2011
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NewsCosting crossing crashes
AUSTRALIA: The Rail Industry Safety & Standards Board has begun using a level crossing incident cost modelling tool which will provide consistency and accuracy in reporting the cost of incidents at the country’s 23500 level crossings Built around a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet, the tool developed by LECG calculates human, property ...
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NewsUrban rail news in brief
A 2 km extension of München metro line U3 between Olympia-Einkaufs-zentrum and Moosach opened on December 11, providing a connection to S-Bahn services. The U-Bahn network is now 103·1 km long with 100 stations. No further extensions are envisaged for the time being. Following the completion of two short ...
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NewsNews in Brief
The Castilla y León regional government has agreed to provide €107m for Spanish metre-gauge operator FEVE in the period up to 2014. This comprises €248m in operating subsidy and €829m for infrastructure enhancements on the León – Guardo route, where on December 3 a new halt was ...
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NewsUrban rail news in brief
The timetable change on December 12 was marked by a spate of urban rail openings in Germany, including the 5·2 km tram Line 6 from Rotes Tor to Friedberg West in Augsburg, a 1·8 km extension of Köln tram Line 5 from Rektor-Klein-Str to Butzweilerhof and a branch of Hannover ...
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NewsReform looks to cut costs
CZECH REPUBLIC: The Ministry of Transport established a working group last month to study options for merging passenger operator CD and infrastructure manager SZDC into one holding company. This would increase transparency in the flow of subsidies, which are to be cut under plans that were announced on November 15. ...
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NewsCompletion of Ankara - Konya high speed line is significant step
TURKEY: The first passenger train on TCDD's new Ankara - Konya high speed line ran on December 17, marking another significant step in the country's rail development. International Affairs Director Ibrahim Ceslik says revenue services are expected to begin in early 2011, following the formal completion of the line at ...
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NewsRail privatisation planned in Ukraine
UKRAINE: Newly-elected President Viktor Yanukovich has brought forward proposals for partial privatisation of state railway Ukrzaliznytsya as part of an economic package for the next three years which was submitted to parliament in November. UZ Deputy General Director Nikolai Sergienko said the railway would be restructured as a joint stock ...
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NewsSiemens wins first Vectron order
EUROPE: Siemens Mobility announced on December 22 that it had signed the first contract for supply of new locomotives from its modular Vectron family. München-based leasing company Railpool GmbH has ordered six locos for use on passenger and freight services in Germany and Austria. The contracts were signed at the ...
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NewsHonolulu light rail prospects look positive
USA: Hawaii’s newly-elected Governor Neil Abercrombie has signed the Final Environmental Impact Statement for Honolulu’s proposed $5·3bn light rail project, clearing the way for final approval from the Federal Transit Administration. The 32 km elevated line was stalled when Abercrombie’s predecessor, Linda Lingle, refused to approve the ...
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NewsPassenger trains to return to Norfolk
USA: Virginia’s Governor Bob McDonnell announced on December 20 that daily inter-city passenger trains will return to Norfolk within three years, restoring regular services to the Hampton Roads region for the first time since 1977. The announcement followed the signing of an agreement between the Commonwealth of Virginia and ...