All articles by Railway Gazette International – Page 974
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NewsColorado Railcar Manufacturing closes
USA: Diesel multiple-unit and cruise train coach supplier Colorado Railcar Manufacturing is being liquidated, having ceased operations with effect from December 23. CRM had been the only supplier offering DMUs meeting FRA standards for mixed traffic operation and Buy America requirements. 'Colorado Railcar Manufacturing has a major liquidity problem, ...
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NewsRail must do more to win logistics business
LOGISTICS: Freight forwarders and 3PL providers want to make greater use of rail. But until the industry develops an international perspective to match the level of service offered by competing modes, its potential will remain unfulfilled.
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NewsSurface Transportation Board approves EJ&E takeover
USA: The Surface Transportation Board has approved Canadian National's acquisition of the Elgin, Joliet & Eastern Railway in the Chicago area with effect from January 23. CN had been pressuring STB to issue a decision by the end of 2008 to meet a deadline in its contract with US ...
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NewsDalian rolls out 9·6 MW electric locomotive
CHINA: The first of 500 powerful Co-Co electric locomotives being built by China Northern under an agreement with Bombardier was rolled out at Dalian works on December 29. Ordered by the Ministry of Railways in February 2007 at a cost of €1·1bn, the 9·6 MW locomotives are a single ...
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NewsDB signs €1·5bn double-deck framework
GERMANY: On January 5 Deutsche Bahn and Bombardier Transportation announced a framework agreement worth up to €1·5bn for the supply of 800 double-deck coaches, including DB's first double-deck EMU cars. DB will use the vehicles to compete in tenders for the provision of local rail transport. 'For the first ...
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NewsVictoria Line upgrade on schedule
UK: The ambitious project to renew one of London’s busiest Underground lines is nearing the halfway stage. Despite the high-profile collapse of PPP infraco Metronet in 2007, new trains and radio-based signalling are expected to bring a major capacity increase by 2013. Nick Kingsley investigates.
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NewsUrban rail news in brief - January 2009
Hampered by delays in extending the city’s metro, the Buenos Aires government is now considering alternative transport modes. On December 8, Mayor Mauricio Macri signed a collaboration agreement with the Mayor of Milano Letizia Moratti to investigate the feasibility of restoring the tram network. Two Boston Red Line metro cars ...
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NewsLevante line takes shape
SPAIN: Construction and fitting out works are proceeding apace on the high speed line which will link Madrid with Valencia and the Murcia region.
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NewsSoftware tools ease planning headaches
SOFTWARE: A range of approaches is available for planners seeking to model timetables and assess the capacity of a railway. Three case studies from Europe illustrate the variations between them.
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NewsPointers January 2009
Poland’s Ministry of Infrastructure has approved plans to privatise freight operator PKP Cargo. Proposals for a partial sale of Rail Cargo Austria were floated by new Chancellor Werner Feyhman on December 16. The government of Kyrgyzstan decided in December to put national railway KTY up for sale. The Southern ...
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News
Dieter - January 2009
CHINA: Redundant DK16 metro cars which ran on Line 2 in Beijing until they were replaced before the Olympic Games have been converted into student dormitories in Guangyuan, a town in China’s Sichuan province which was badly damaged by an earthquake on May 12. The seats have been replaced ...
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Underfloor composite tank
WATER TANK: Roof-mounted air-conditioning units can limit the space available for overhead water tanks on passenger cars, so Goa-based Kineco has developed a filament-wound composite under-floor tank which is now in service with Indian Railways. The non-corroding composite tank is designed as a single piece with semi-ellipsoidal dish ends and ...
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NewsSee how they run
UK: The Association of Train Operating Companies has announced plans to roll out real-time mapping on the nationalrail.co.uk travel information website. ATOC has been working with Microsoft and Conchango to improve the visual interface of the National Rail Enquiries website’s ‘live departure boards’ feature, which provides details of train running ...
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NewsNew Delhi to pilot station renewal programme
INDIA: Faced with rapidly-increasing traffic, Indian Railways needs to augment or rebuild many of its 7 000 stations to accommodate the growing business. PPP financing and commercial development are envisaged to fund the reconstruction of 26 of the country’s busiest stations, reports Raghu Dayal.
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NewsTülomsas to assemble GE PowerHaul locomotives
TURKEY: On December 30 GE Transportation and Tülomsas announced a partnership agreement under which the Turkish firm will assemble PowerHaul locomotives for the European, Middle Eastern and North African markets from 2011. ‘We're investing in Turkey because of its strategic proximity to the customers we wish to serve and ...
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NewsMumbai monorail contract
INDIA: Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority has awarded a contract worth Rs24·6bn to Scomi Engineering of Malaysia and consortium partner Larsen & Toubro to design and build an elevated monorail line in the city. Expected to take 30 months to complete, the 19·5 km Sutra straddle monorail is expected to ...
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NewsLu seizes a rare opportunity
CHINA: ‘The situation translates into a rare opportunity for rail’, said Deputy Minister of Railways Lu Dongfu on November 28, welcoming the news that the government plans to spend 700bn yuan on railway construction in 2009-10 in order to create or safeguard up to six million jobs. ‘Upgrading railway infrastructure ...
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NewsSarkozy backs Paris expansion
FRANCE: Paris metro operator RATP will invest an additional €450m in 2009, as part of a spending package to stimulate the French economy announced by President Nicolas Sarkozy on December 4. Much of the money will go on refurbishment and expansion of the rolling stock fleet, station renovations and modernisation ...
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NewsPiraeus extension retendered
GREECE: Expressions of interest are due by January 30 for a €515m contract to extend Athens metro Line 3 to Piraeus. Following a decision by the Minister of Town Planning, Environment & Public Works, Attiko Metro cancelled its earlier EU tender and issued a new call for bids on November ...
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NewsAmbitious GCC rail plans start to firm up
MIDDLE EAST: Development of a 1 940 route-km rail network linking the six member states of the Gulf Co-operation Council is moving closer to fruition, with a feasibility study to be completed by March. At a meeting of finance and economics ministers held in Dubai on November ...