All articles by Railway Gazette International – Page 977
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NewsGlobaltrans expands in oil and Kazakhstan
GLOBALTRANS: Russian private rail freight operator Globaltrans has bought two tank wagon leasing companies, as part of its policy of increasing exposure to the oil and oil products markets and gaining an entry to Kazakhstan. The company will pay US$79m over two years to acquire a 61% stake in ...
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NewsAirport S-Bahn to open
GERMANY: From December 11 passenger services will begin running on the branch of Hamburg S-Bahn Line S1 from Ohlsdorf to the city’s international airport. The 3 km double-track branch diverges from the existing network north of Ohlsdorf and runs underground to the airport station. The 1·2 kV DC third ...
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NewsAmbitious vision will alter public perception
ROMANIA: The railway has been praised for the pace of reform in recent years as it has adapted smoothly to a competitive market. In an effort to maintain this momentum, AIF, the country’s railway association, took a pavilion at InnoTrans for the first time. Secretary-General Stefan Roseanu outlined a bright ...
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NewsMeasure R approved
USA: Los Angeles County Metro confirmed on December 2 that voters had approved Measure R with a 67·9% majority, and as a result a 0·5% sales tax increase will come into force on July 1 2009. This is expected to raise more than $650m for transport projects in its ...
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NewsLonger trams in Helsinki
FINLAND: Verkehrs Industrie Systeme of Halberstadt has begun supplying Helsinki city transport company HKL with low-floor centre sections to lengthen 41 two-section articulated trams dating from the mid-1980s. A prototype centre section was designed by HKL two years ago, with VIS supplying components. After positive feedback for passengers VIS won ...
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NewsAlstom to modernise Hanoi - Vinh signalling
VIETNAM: On December 5 state railway DSVN signed a €38·3m contract with Alstom Transport for the modernisation of signalling at 34 stations on the 319 km Hanoi - Vinh line by the second quarter of 2012. Alstom will supply a control centre, electronic interlockings and trackside equipment including point ...
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NewsDrowning in data and seeking a solution
MAINTENANCE: Train-mounted measurement systems and condition monitoring equipment are generating large quantities of data, posing a challenge for railways to collate and interpret the information in a meaningful way. Software which can harness this data more effectively will help to inform infrastructure maintenance decisions.
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NewsEMU redesigned for airport traffic
UK: As part of a shake-up of London - Brighton services which saw the Gatwick Express dedicated airport service absorbed by commuter operator Southern in June, on December 9 Southern began returning to traffic 17 third-rail EMUs which have been refurbished after having being withdrawn by South West Trains in ...
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NewsTrack geometry car
CANADA: A self-propelled track geometry vehicle formed by installing state-of-the-art electronic inspection equipment in a Budd RDC has been delivered to Canadian National. This car was rebuilt for CN by US firm Gateway Rail Services, and now contains equipment produced by Ensco for the monitoring of curvature, alignment and ...
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NewsNew York Air Brake acquires Anchor Brake Shoe Co
KNORR-BREMSE: Anchor Brake Shoe Company, a US manufacturer of high and low friction composition brake shoes and tread conditioning shoes for locomotive and freight wagons, has been acquired by New York Air Brake Corp, part of the Knorr-bremse Group. Anchor Brake Shoe was previously part of Standard Car Truck. ...
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NewsWabtec completes SCT purchase
USA: On December 8 Wabtec Corp said it had completed the $300m acquisition of Standard Car Truck announced on September 15. SCT expects to report sales of $225m in 2008, and Wabtec said it expects the transaction to be accretive in the first year, although the recognition of non-cash, purchase ...
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NewsDB Netz uses satellites to locate track in three dimensions
GEOMETRY: Satellite surveying enhanced by reference points on the ground is now so accurate that it can be used to define the absolute position of track to± 10 mm accuracy, allowing contractors’ tamping and lining machines to produce track geometry within ±1 mm of optimised calculated values.
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NewsTMH-Alstom chosen for double-deck contract
RUSSIA: State railway RZD announced on December 8 that it had selected the TMH-Alstom joint venture of Alstom and Transmash Holding as its strategic partner for the supply of double-deck passenger carriages. Tenders had been called in March for the supply of 1 210 double-deck 'hotel train' vehicles, which ...
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NewsFirst Gautrain cars arrive
SOUTH AFRICA: The ship carrying the second pair of Bombardier EMU cars for Gautrain is expected to dock in Durban on December 8, following the arrival of the initial pair on December 1. The first 15 vehicles are being built at Bombardier's Derby plant in the UK. The 46 ...
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NewsGetting to the point
RENEWALS: Faced with poor asset condition, cramped working conditions and limited access time, Tube Lines has adopted a new strategy for maintaining and upgrading turnouts on three of London Underground’s busiest lines.
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NewsNews in Brief
A final rule on electronically controlled pneumatic brakes was issued by the Federal Railroad Administration on October 15, allowing US railways to begin installing a standardised system. FRA requires ECP brake systems to comply with existing industry standards, and certain operating rules and training programmes should be modified to enable ...
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NewsIndustry News in Brief
Last month RZD and Finmeccanica signed a co-operation agreement for the development of Itarus signalling, telecoms and satellite technology for the rail sector. RZD subsidiary Niias and Ansaldo STS will establish an Itarus-ATS signalling test site in 2009, and trials on major routes will begin the following year before the ...
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NewsLux launches Luxembourg lines
LUXEMBOURG: Plans for the construction of two new lines serving the southern part of the Grand Duchy were officially announced by Transport Minister Lucien Lux on October 15. The ministry has launched public consultation over alignment options for the two routes, which together with the reconstruction of three stations are ...
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Security in Brief
Philadelphia’s Port Authority Transit Corp has awarded a US$3·8m contract to building services group TAC to install an integrated IP-based video monitoring and emergency communications system on the 22·5 km Patco metro line between Philadelphia and Lindenwold, NJ, under a programme funded by the Department of Homeland Security. ...
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NewsBiometric security tested
USA: The Federal Railroad Administration’s Office of Research & Development announced in October that it has developed a biometric Locomotive Security System to prevent the unauthorised operation of locomotives. According to FRA, ‘LSS integrates available off-the-shelf fingerprint and ID card reader technologies into a rugged enclosure for application in the ...