All articles by Railway Gazette International – Page 972
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NewsMTR wins Stockholm metro contract
SWEDEN: MTR Corp has been named the winner of a concession to operate the Stockholm metro from November 2. The Hong Kong transport operator saw off five rival bids for the contract, which runs for eight years with a possible six-year extension. 'MTR submitted the best bid from a ...
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NewsGO Transit unveils strategic plan
CANADA: GO Transit recently unveiled its GO 2020 strategic plan, which includes more commuter rail service and the purchase of additional right-of-way. The amount of trackage to be obtained has yet to be determined. The acquisition could begin as early as this year, adding to the right-of-way that GO ...
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NewsFunkey locomotive orders
SOUTH AFRICA: Transnet Rail engineering has ordered two 24 tonne diesel shunting locomotives from DCD Dorbyl for delivery to the Kings Rest and Bay Head yards by November. Lafarge Industries, Richards Bay Minerals and Nampower of Namibia have each ordered 35 tonne Funkey DHK locomotives for delivery this year. ...
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NewsTrams could return to Hamburg
GERMANY: Low-floor trams will enter service in Hamburg in 2014 if a project to build a 15 km route between Altona and Bramfeld goes as planned. Forming the first part of a network that could one day stretch to 50 km, the scheme won approval from the Hamburg Senate on ...
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NewsCompeting with the low-cost airlines
FRANCE: Staff on the iDTGV services which SNCF launched in December 2004 to compete with budget airlines are now using Motorola MC70 enterprise digital assistants to check tickets. Motorola had supplied 300 of the devices by the end of 2008, and they are being used to scan 2D barcodes on ...
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NewsFreight data exchange development
EUROPE: UIC has begun development of a standardised and secure way for the rail freight industry to exchange data. To be deployed from mid-2010, the software is intended to make rail more competitive by improving the reliability of journey times and the provision of shipment information. On December 17 ...
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NewsWhy won‘t passengers use ticket machines?
TICKETING: London commuter operator South West Trains and consumer body Passenger Focus comissioned Outlook Research to discover the reasons why some passengers appear reluctant to use ticket vending machines. Surveys undertaken at 11 stations in southern England found that most passengers queuing at booking offices could have bought their tickets ...
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NewsTickets on departure are in demand
UK: Online ticket purchases in the UK grew by 30% in 2008 to reach a total of £700m. The Association of Train Operating Companies expects this to reach £2bn by 2013. Internet sales are increasing the need for stations to have machines which can print out tickets booked online, and ...
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NewsProcessing paperwork
DOCUMENTATION: With the December timetable change drivers with Swiss operator BLS began using documentation generated using a customised version of the RailOpt software from Qnamic. RailOpt was already in use for rolling stock diagramming and to plan crew rosters. It has now been expanded to produce daily documentation on drivers’ ...
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NewsNews in Brief
Kuwait-based Fuad Algarim Group did not meet a December 31 deadline to submit a feasibility study and begin taking over administration of the 781 km Chemin de fer Djibouti-Ethopien. The governments of Djibouti and Ethiopia are now looking for new investors to manage the line under a concession agreement; it ...
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NewsProducts & Technology in Brief
Torpedo wagons carrying pig iron from a blast furnace to a steel works can be weighed automatically using the Multirail HotMetalWeight application, developed by Darmstadt-based Schenck Process. Dynamic train scales are made from standard concrete turnout bearers with built-in load sensors. China South subsidiary CSR Puzhen has adopted SEE Electrical ...
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NewsHigh Speed Two to consider UK options
UK: Giving the government's backing for controversial plans to build a third runway at London Heathrow airport on January 15, Transport Secretary Geoff Hoon announced the formation of a body to consider the case for a London to Scotland high speed line. A decision on major electrification projects on existing ...
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NewsSakhalin link proposed
RUSSIA: Visiting Tokyo on January 14, Transport Minister Igor Levitin issued an invitation for Japanese companies to participate in Russian transport infrastructure projects, highlighting in particular the planned rail link between the mainland and the island of Sakhalin. According to Vice-Minister Andrei Nedossekov, the government has allocated US$370m in ...
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NewsOV-Chipkaart roll-out creeps forward
NETHERLANDS: Following a critical review highlighting cost over-runs and a lack of clear project leadership, the government has outlined its intention to accelerate the introduction of the country’s much-delayed national public transport smart card, reports Peter Badcock.
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NewsRio Tinto postpones driverless plan
AUSTRALIA: Rio Tinto Iron Ore announced on January 13 that it was postponing work on its Pilbara automated train operations programme. The easing of market growth caused by the economic slowdown has reduced the urgency of the A$557m project, which was designed to increase the efficiency of the ...
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NewsBrussels Luxembourg station remodelled
BELGIUM: SNCB announced on January 14 that it had completed a €45m reconstruction of Brussels Luxembourg station, after a 15-year remodelling triggered by the construction of the European Parliament buildings nearby. Previously known as the 'Gare du quartier Léopold', the station has been rebuilt as a fully-underground facility, but constructed ...
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NewsSteel mill progress
UKRAINE: Steelwork is now being assembled on the site of a US$600m electric furnace plant which will make Interpipe self-sufficient in the production of high quality steel for railway wheel and pipe applications. The Dneprosteel plant is being built by Danieli under a February 2007 contract. Interpipe derived 71% ...
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NewsInfrastructure managers express pesticide concerns
EUROPE: While welcoming the 'more flexible approach towards the use of pesticides' in the version of the pesticides package approved by the European Parliament on January 13, the Community of European Railway & Infrastructure Managers and the association of European Rail Infrastructure Managers issued a joint statement warning that national ...
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NewsExperimental gas turbine locomotive undertakes haulage tests
RUSSIA: Russian Railways' experimental GT1-001 gas turbine locomotive hauled a trailing load totalling 10 000 tonnes during trials held last month. RZD's Senior Vice-President Valentin Gapanovich said the run on December 20 demonstrated that the natural gas powered locomotive is capable of hauling heavy freight trains of up to 116 ...
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NewsSeries 0 bows out
JAPAN: JR West ran a special train from Shin-Osaka to Hakata on December 14, to commemorate the withdrawal of the last Series 0 trainsets from revenue service. As the design which inaugurated the world’s first dedicated high speed railway in October 1964, the 220 km/h Series 0 has become synonymous ...