All articles by Railway Gazette International – Page 907
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NewsGreater certainty in rail welds
WELDING: Corus Rail has develped a novel technique for repairing discrete defects on the rail surface. The semi-automated open arc welding method offers considerable benefits over conventional Manual Metal Arc repairs, the company says. Open arc welding uses flux-cored arc wire with a lower preheat temperature to manage the metallurgical ...
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NewsSigns of fatigue
NETHERLANDS: Infrastructure manager ProRail is trialling sensors using third-generation Gotcha technology to monitor freight train wheelsets. The QuoVadisII project measures wheel profiles and axle-loads as trains pass over the sensors. An abnormal weight distribution over the wheelset could indicate a defect in the wheel, axle or bearings. The operator of ...
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NewsEMD sold to Caterpillar
USA: Progress Rail Services announced on June 1 that it had signed a definitive agreement to purchase locomotive builder and diesel engine manufacturer Electro-Motive Diesel Inc for $820m in cash. Although retaining its own identity as a standalone company, EMD is to become a wholly-owned subsidiary of ...
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NewsNanjing metro expands
CHINA: Nanjing Metro almost quadrupled the size of its network when it inaugurated a second line and a 25 km southern extension of Line 1 on May 28, increasing route length from 22 km to 85 km and the number of stations from 16 to 57.Line 2 is 38 km ...
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NewsRiyadh monorail contract awarded
SAUDI ARABIA: Bombardier Transportation announced on May 31 that it had won a US$241m contract to supply, install and operate a 3·6 km driverless monorail in the King Abdullah Financial District in Riyadh. Intended to serve the city’s new financial and business centre which is currently being ...
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NewsEurotunnel buys GB Railfreight from FirstGroup
EUROPE: Groupe Eurotunnel’s freight operating subsidiary Europorte has bought UK operator GB Railfreight from FirstGroup for £26∙3m in cash. Announcing the acquisition at a press conference in London on June 1, Eurotunnel Chairman & CEO Jacques Gounon said that the deal was ‘a strategic move to boost ...
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News€4bn suburban spend in Valencia
SPAIN: The Ministry of Development and the Valencia regional government have unveiled a 2010-20 suburban infrastructure investment plan to which they are to contribute €34bn and €555m respectively. Major projects include a €750m cross-city link in Valencia running 6 km from the existing Nord terminus to join the route ...
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NewsUrban rail news in brief - June 2010
Metrô DF opened Guará metro station in Brasília on May 10 after two years of construction. Guará is located between Arniqueiras and Feira do Guará on the shared section of the Orange and Green lines. Seven stations on Dubai’s 52·1 km Red Line opened on April ...
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NewsLiberian ore line to spur Guinea revival
AFRICA: A revival of passenger and general freight services on the 662 km Chemins de fer de Guinée line is among commitments the BSG Resources (Guinea) Ltd mining joint venture has made in return for permission from the governments of Guinea and Liberia to build a new iron ore export ...
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NewsIndustry News in Brief
India's Chittaranjan Locomotive Works produced 220 electric locomotives in the 2009-10 financial year, 10 down on the target of 230. Diesel Locomotive Works produced 258 locomotives, eight above target. Rail Coach Factory produced 1568 cars, up on the target of 1562, while Integral Coach Factory was on target with 1433. ...
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NewsBoring begins beneath Madrid
SPAIN: Development Minister José Blanco joined ADIF President Antonio González on April 24 to mark the start of tunnelling on the 7·3 km route for high speed services between Atocha and Chamartín stations in Madrid. The €206m link will comprise 6835 m of 10·4 m diameter tunnel, being excavated ...
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NewsRail attracts investors
CHINA: Investors including Bank of China signed an agreement on May 6 to establish Jinyulu Railway Channel Co, which will develop a 99·8bn yuan freight line running 1260 km from coal mines at Xingxian in Shanxi province, through Henan to the Yellow Sea port of Rizhao. Bank of China ...
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NewsČD Cargo back in the black
CZECH REPUBLICH: Reporting results for the four months of 2010, national rail freight operator ČD Cargo announced that its earnings were once again positive, following the losses in 2009 as a result of the economic recession. ČD Cargo achieved EBITDA of KC377m and earnings before tax of KC1m for the ...
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Dorion-Rigaud line gets double-deckers
CANADA: On May 25 Joël Gauthier, President & CEO of the Agence Métropolitaine de Transport in Montréal, was joined by Québec officials to witness the start of double-deck commuter services on Montréal’s Dorion-Rigaud Line. Two more trainsets are due to arrive in the next few months. AMT placed a C$386m ...
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NewsSão Paulo metro Line 4 opens
BRAZIL: The initial 3·6 km central section of the Yellow Line between Paulista and Faria Lima was officially inaugurated by Alberto Goldman, Governor of the state of São Paulo, on May 25. Guests were entertained by Japanese taiko drummers Ryukyu Koku Matsuri Daiko at Faria Lima station and the ...
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NewsWashington metro confirms Kawasaki deal
USA: Meeting on May 27 the board of Washington DC metro operator WMATA voted to approve a contract with Kawasaki Rail Car for 428 new vehicles, valued at $886m. Kawasaki was selected through a competitively negotiated procurement, and was judged to be offering the best overall technical proposal and the ...
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NewsMegaswing for modal shift
SWEDEN: Kockums Industrier is targeting the intermodal freight market by developing a pocket wagon to carry road semitrailers. The Swedish firm believes its Megaswing wagon holds significant potential in a segment where only 3% of semitrailers in the European freight market can be carried by rail. The wagon should ...
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NewsDesiro EMUs to be built in Russia
RUSSIA: On May 27 Siemens, Aeroexpress and RZD signed a memorandum of understanding for the formation of a three -way joint venture to build and maintain Desiro regional electric multiple-units with asynchronous drives for the Russian market. Series production of the Desiro RUS will begin in 2014, with the proportion ...
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NewsRZD orders 221 locomotives from Siemens-Sinara JV
RUSSIA: Russian Railways and Ural Locomotives signed an order for 221 2ES10 twin-section electric locomotives at the 1520 Strategic Partnership conference in Sochi on May 27. A prototype will be rolled out in 2010 with deliveries beginning in 2011. The value of the contract was not disclosed. The Ural Locomotives ...
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NewsCAF unveils Oaris high speed train concept
SPAIN: A full-size mock-up of the Oaris high speed train concept being developed by CAF was unveiled at the International Rail Forum exhibition in Valencia on May 25. The company has been leading one of the work streams in the CENIT programme to develop trains for operation at over 300 ...