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31 May 2010
Steering the global recession to an upswing assumes new ideas and solutions from all economic sectors, and a well-functioning transportation system is one of the most important success factors in this process – we can accelerate growth of the economy only with efficient logistics.
31 May 2010
The past winter was unusually tough and challenging for Norwegian railways. Almost three months of continuous cold weather took their toll on ageing and well-worn infrastructure, resulting in record low punctuality and a large number of train cancellations. Never before have we experienced such poor punctuality over such a prolonged period. Rail users rightly voiced their displeasure. The media were merciless in their criticism, and intense political debate ensued.On top of winter’s many disruptions, the run-up to Easter brought more trouble. On 24 March 2010, 16 wagons broke loose from a retarder at the Alnabru freight terminal and rolled at high speed down to Oslo harbour, where a number of them smashed into two buildings.
31 May 2010
In a large-scale project of the Finnish Transport Agency, a 76.5km second track will be built between Kokkola and Ylivieska. To fund the project, a Public Private Partnership will be used for the first time in the Finnish railway network. It is also desirable to have foreign competitors for the challenging project. The total construction cost is €263 million.The Finnish Transport Agency is carrying out a unique railway project in Finland. Between 2011 and 2014, a second track will be built between the cities of Kokkola and Ylivieska. Its total length will be 76.5 kilometres. At the same time, the existing track will be renewed.
31 May 2010
With its 140-year history, Estonian Railways has been a bright example in illustrating how to adapt to circumstances and successfully cope with them in the rapidly changing economic environment of recent years. 2009 represented an important year for Estonian Railways, when it carried out several significant changes concerning its tariff system, investments, and the optimisation of its activities.On 14 January 2009, Estonian Railways founded two new affiliates: EVR Infra Ltd. (a rail infrastructure undertaking) and EVR Cargo Ltd. (a rail transport services undertaking). These companies have become a group of undertakings working under control of Estonian Railways Ltd.
31 May 2010
It might be a daring statement in the light of current events, but the last two years have been a great success for Latvian Railways (LDz) – in 2008 it transported a record amount of cargo and in 2009 was spared a significant reduction of volumes and continued with extensive investment and development projects.2008 recorded excellent amounts of carried cargo. We achieved a historical record; the largest amount of cargo ever transported by LDz – 56 million tonnes. Although initially it seemed that the complicated state of the economy, especially in the railway transport sector, would also threaten LDz, we managed to avoid a significant drop in volumes – in the previous year the reduction was only 4.3% compared to the record in 2008, while in Russia this decrease was approximately 15% and in Lithuania as much as 22%.
31 May 2010
Arriva, one of Europe’s leading transport operators, is radically changing the travel experience for its customers in Denmark.Passenger information tailor-made to the needs and demands of the individual passenger. That is what Arriva Skandinavien is set to introduce through MyArriva – an innovative new concept which was part of Arriva’s winning bid to retain its Jutland rail concession for a further eight years.MyArriva will see the introduction of realtime information, free Internet access and infotainment on trains and at stations. It is at the heart of the concept to heighten the passenger experience and in turn attract more passengers to the railway.
31 May 2010
In January 2009, the Danish parliament decided to fund a €3.2 billion replacement programme of renewing all Danish railway signalling before 2021. The programme is one of its kind in Europe both in size and being unique in its approach of focusing on economies of scale and creating a competitive market situation to ensure the best possible price and quality.The programme also introduces a step change in technology which maximises the possibilities and benefits of re-signalling the Danish railway network. Customer benefits from the programme includes: higher reliability, higher line speed at selected lines, homogenous high safety and nationwide interoperability.
31 May 2010
High-speed railways, major infrastructure projects, development and investment plans and market liberalisation were just some of the important topics highlighted and assessed during European Railway Review’s recent conference – Scandinavian Rail Development 2010.Held in the stunning city of Stockholm, Sweden, at the Operakällaren, European Railway Review welcomed over 120 delegates and speakers to share and discuss knowledge of the Scandinavian railway marketplace – a region with many plans for investment and development to build and improve on its current rail infrastructure.
31 May 2010
The aim of this article is to present the current situation of the ETCS deployment on the Spanish network managed by the Spanish Infrastructure Manager (Administrador de Infraestructuras Ferroviarias – ADIF). It covers the situation in the newly built High-Speed Network (UIC gauge) and the deployment over the existing conventional network (Iberian gauge – 1,638mm). An overview about the commissioning of the ETCS equipment is also presented. Finally, some punctuality figures are provided together with some conclusions about the deployment of ETCS.
31 May 2010
The ERTMS/ETCS system currently being deployed on high-speed lines in Spain is the latest state-of-the-art signalling system, and in consequence the most complex signalling system available on the market.The complexity of the ERTMS system requires a great deal of effort to test and validate all application data, much more than conventional signalling systems. This is particularly so when working on existing lines with revenue service, which allow for very short track possessions.
31 May 2010
ERTMS, and more specifically its rail component ETCS, is arguably the technology that has caused most controversy and emotional debate amongst the railway community during the past decade. In many ways, this grand project, coordinated by the European Union, is now reaching a new and important phase in its history. The recently adopted European ERTMS deployment plan should ensure a coordinated migration to ETCS on a number of freight routes. This will open new opportunities in the long run for the railways to strongly compete with road transport.
31 May 2010
Metal particles, caused by train wheels grinding against the rails and at points, are a source of faults and delays on the railway. These particles adhere to the rails, which are magnetised by voltage spikes and return currents.On tracks equipped with Insulated Block Joints, short circuits occur between the insulated rail sections because metal particles act as conductors. Passing trains have the same effect, so the safety system detects an occupied track section, resulting in incorrect red signals and delays.
This free to view Signalling & Telecommunications supplement is sponsored by WSP, Kapsch, Keymile, Funkwerk and Cactus:
This free to view Sustainability supplement is sponsored by Voith Turbo and MTU:
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