All articles by Railway Gazette International – Page 960
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NewsHaenel urges change at SNCF
FRANCE: Anyone studying French railway policy over the last 20 years will find that one name stands out as a supporter of proposals to steer strategy towards a more commercial and viable future. That name is Hubert Haenel, Senator for Haut-Rhin, who, since he chaired an inquiry into SNCF in ...
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NewsDaunting tasks lie ahead
INDIA: Commending Indian Railways as scaling ‘a new pinnacle every year’, buoyed by a steady year-on-year increase in freight and passenger output during the last five years, Railways Minister Lalu Prasad told the Lok Sabha on February 26 that IR was now standing at ‘the zenith of success’. Introducing the ...
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NewsState Railway of Thailand split approved
THAILAND: Two new companies are to be launched within six months, following the adoption of plans for restructuring State Railway of Thailand last month. Meeting in early March, the State Enterprise Policy Committee chaired by Deputy Premier Korbsak Sabhavasu instructed the Ministry of Finance to bring forward proposals for endorsement ...
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News
Panda corridor
CHINA: Construction work on the Chengdu - Lanzhou railway officially began on February 21 and is expected to last for six years. As the route runs through the country’s protected corridor for giant pandas, parts of the line will be built in tunnel, and extra bridges will be provided ...
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NewsDriving green trains
UK: At the Railtex exhibition in London held on March 10-12, Corys TESS exhibited a Class 350/2 Desiro driving simulator for train operator London Midland. The simulator was due to move to Birmingham after the show for commissioning in June. A simulator for the Class 172 Turbostar DMU is also ...
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NewsOutsourcing is off
CZECH REPUBLIC: Minister of Transport Petr Bendl confirmed on March 10 that he was cancelling plans to outsource maintenance and repair of the national rail network. Announced by SZDC on January 8, the plan had been endorsed by former Transport Minister Ales Rebícek. Bidders were to have submitted proposals by ...
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NewsPointers April 2009
Coal India Ltd has been invited to take a stake in the Beira Railway Co consortium led by Rites and Ircon which is upgrading the 590 km Sena line in Mozambique at a cost of $440m. The route is expected to carry 12 million tonnes a year from the Moatize ...
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NewsDMUs shipped to Ghana
GHANA: Two diesel multiple-units built by CNR Tangshan Railway Vehicle Co for Accra - Tema commuter services were shipped from the Chinese port of Tianjin at the end of last month. The 1 067 mm gauge DMUs are expected to be cheaper to operate and capable of more intensive ...
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NewsNorth-South Railway loco and wagon orders signed
SAUDI ARABIA: The Ministry of Finance's Public Investment Fund signed contracts on April 7 for 25 diesel locomotives and 668 wagons for use on the North-South Railway. EMD will deliver 25 SD70ACS heavy-haul diesel-electric locomotives from the second quarter of 2010, bringing the number of EMD locomotives operating in ...
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NewsParis announces MI09 double-deck EMU order
FRANCE: Paris transport operator RATP announced on April 8 that it is to place a €917m order for 60 MI09 five-car double-deck EMUs with a consortium of Alstom and Bombardier. The EMUs will replace MI84 single-deck rolling stock on RER Line A, and there is an option for a further ...
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NewsEurosib buys shunting company Magistral
RUSSIA: Eurosib Transportation Systems announced on April 8 that it had completed the purchase of Magistral, which provides shunting services at Podporozhye in Leningrad oblast. Active in the logistics market since 1992, Eurosib is now one of the 10 largest private rail operators in Russia. It serves the metals, ...
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NewsThales to supply ETCS for dual-fitted route
GERMANY: Thales Rail Signalling Solutions is to supply ETCS Level 2 equipment for the Nürnberg - Ingolstadt route under the company's first commercial contract covering a German high speed line. The €9m order from DB announced on March 31 includes two radio block centres and approximately 1 000 balises. ...
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NewsMetro tunnellers in trouble
EUROPE: March 3 was a bad day in Köln. Around 14.00 the building housing the city archive in Waidmarkt collapsed, probably as a result of tunnelling work for the north-south Stadtbahn taking place near the structure. Adjacent buildings were also affected, and by March 13 it became clear that two ...
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NewsEurostar refurbishment design contract awarded
EUROPE: Eurostar has selected Italian consultancy Pininfarina to undertake design work for the mid-life refurbishment of the 28 high-speed trains used on services from London to Paris and Brussels. Announcing the contract on April 8, Eurostar emphasised the extensive rail sector experience of Pininfarina. Although best known for its ...
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NewsBraking joint venture
CHINA: Wabtec Corp and Shenyang Locomotive & Rolling Stock Railways Brakes Co have established Shenyang CNR Wabtec Railway Brake Technology Co as a 50:50 joint venture producing pneumatic control valves and other braking equipment for the Chinese rail market. 'We expect to have a strong impact on the Chinese ...
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NewsAirport express modelled with military precision
NORWAY: Australian simulator specialist Sydac has teamed up with The Railway Engineering Company, based in Wiltshire, UK, and Swedish company MSE Weibull to deliver six high-fidelity train simulators and three signalling simulators to Norsk Jernbaneskole under a contract worth £4·2m. They will be used in a purpose-built training centre near ...
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NewsNorth-South Railway ETCS contract placed
SAUDI ARABIA: A €340m turnkey contract to provide ETCS Level 2 signalling, telecoms, security and fare collection systems for the future North-South Railway has awarded to Thales and Saudi Binladen Group. Announcing the signing of the contract with the Public Investment Fund on April 7, Thales said it ...
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NewsSBB Cargo shortlists seven partners
SWITZERLAND: Half of the 14 bidders which submitted firm offers to work in partnership with SBB Cargo last October have been retained for further negotiations. Announcing this on April 2, SBB Cargo said that it is keeping open the option of continuing as an independent operator. Only if a partnership ...
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NewsAlstom hybrid shunter trials begin
NETHERLANDS: A two-month long trial of a hybrid shunting locomotive converted by Alstom began in the port of Rotterdam on April 6. Short-haul and shunting operator Rotterdam Rail Feeding expects to see a 40% reduction in fuel consumption, with a halving of particulate, NOx and CO2 emissions. Noise should ...
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NewsUnion Pacific targets the gaming generation
USA: Union Pacific Railroad is looking to the ‘gamer generation’ to meet the challenge of a changing workforce demographic. The Class I railroad believes that the computer training programmes it has introduced to prepare new starters for work in its marshalling yards will appeal to those who have grown up ...