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Rail Articles

Talgo 250: versatility and success of commercial operations

28 May 2008 | By Mario Oriol, Export & Marketing Director, Talgo

The Talgo 250 was originally developed to meet Renfe’s needs to operate the latest generation of high-speed trains in an indistinctive manner on the Spanish rail network which operates on the traditional 1668mm gauge with 3000 v D.C electric supply and for the new high-speed lines, designed and built in…

Friction stir welding for the fabrication of aluminium rolling stock

28 May 2008 | By Stephan W Kallee, Sector Manager Industrial Membership Services and Calvin Blignault, Project Leader – Technology Friction and Forge Processes Department, EFP Technology Group, TWI Ltd

Since the invention of friction stir welding (FSW) at TWI in 1991, companies from all parts of the world have implemented the process, predominantly in the fabrication of aluminium components and panels. Friction stir welded structures are now revolutionising the way in which trains, metro cars and trams are built.

DB to add 1,000km to the high-speed network

28 May 2008 | By James Abbott, Technical Editor, Global Railway Review

In a recent presentation from Dipl.-Ing. Wolfgang Feldwisch of DB Netz AG given at the UIC High-Speed show in Amsterdam, ambitious plans for enlarging the German high-speed network were explained.

Milling – the new dimension of rail-profiling

28 May 2008 | By Hans-Peter Bartmann, International Sales Manager, Linsinger Maschinenbau GmbH

It was in 2003 when Linsinger Maschinenbau GmbH from Austria launched its new version of the Rail Milling Train SF 03 FFS for German Railways, DB AG, and Alpha-Rail Team for the German Railway Market. Since then, the rail milling technology of Linsinger started a matchless and incomparable victory lap…

Infrastructure project expertise

8 April 2008 | By Jürgen Seiler, Project Director, Nuremberg-Ingolstadt-Munich NBL/UGL and Katharina Klemt-Albert, Head of the Site Supervision Unit, DB ProjektBau GmbH

DB ProjektBau gathers together specialists within the DB Group from the fields of Project Management, Planning and Engineering Supervision. With expertise from a variety of domains being pooled in this way, DB ProjektBau has unique know-how that enables it to provide all services from a single source – from project…

Arriva: strengthening its German position

8 April 2008 | By Klaus Jacobs, Chief Executive, Arriva Deutschland GmbH

Arriva Deutschland GmbH is one of the largest private rail operators in Germany, operating more than 17 million train kilometres per year. It also provides cross border services into the Netherlands and Czech Republic. However, it’s not only railways that are of great interest to Arriva Deutschland; the bus and…

Freight operation growth ensures economical potential

8 April 2008 | By Dr. Klaus Kremper, CEO, Railion Deutschland AG

The strategic focus of DB Schenker is on the creation of end-to-end service offers on the European rail corridors. While the North-South connections have been operating without problems, we have been quite engaged for some time in efforts along the East-West corridor. The acquisitions of EWS, a British rail freight…

DB’s experience with Y-steel sleepers

8 April 2008 | By Andreas Beck and Thomas Hempe, Specialists in Track Technology Management, DB Netz AG

Permanent way is required to absorb the static and dynamic forces resulting in vertical (z), lateral (y), and longitudinal (x) directions from railway traffic loads, to effectively distribute them, and to transfer them into the sub-grade at reduced magnitudes. Superimposed on these external forces are additional internal forces arising from…

Allocation of resources secure long-term growth

8 April 2008 | By İsa Apaydin, Deputy Director General, Turkish Railways (TCDD)

The history of Turkish Railways started with the construction of the I.zmir-Aydın line during the Ottoman period in 1856. During this period, 8,500km of railway lines were constructed and 4,000km of the total length of this network remained within the existing national boundaries.

HSL-Zuid: high-speed importance

8 April 2008 | By Dietmar Wegner, RAMS Manager, Industry Sector, Mobility Division, Siemens AG

European cities are linked by an increasing amount of high-speed transport routes that satisfy growing demand for mobility. Ecological and economical/political aspects are also of immense importance to the expansion of the European high-speed transport network. The Netherlands’ connection to the high-speed network takes Europe another step closer to a…

Significant developments help future sustainability

8 April 2008 | By Kaido Simmermann, Managing Director and Chairman of the Management Board, Estonian Railways

2007 was one of the most controversial years in Estonian Railways’ history. The year could be characterised by the repurchase of company’s shares by the government, record freight volumes during the first months of the year, record low volumes during the second half of the year, cost savings, staff reductions,…

Solutions for Stockholm’s rail bottleneck

8 April 2008 | By Eskil Sellgren, Managing Director, WSP Civils Sweden

Some three million people live and work in Stockholm and the surrounding region. It is a market place for trade with goods and services, a centre for culture and entertainment and a meeting place for people from all over the world. Many people also commute between work and their homes…

Open to equality and accessibility

8 April 2008 | By Walter Hackl-Gruber, Head of Human Factors Working Group and Matthias Barta, Project Engineer, Human Factors Working Group, Technical University of Vienna

Our society has committed itself to provide equal access to the public transport system for all citizens. Despite common efforts to improve the accessibility of the rolling stock, there are still some deficiencies towards the Men Machine Interfaces (MMI’s) on mainline trains for physically and sensory impaired people.

Know-how, smart strategies and dedicated equipment

8 April 2008 | By Dipl.-Ing. Alfred Gruber, Head of Infra Service Division, ÖBB-Infrastruktur Betrieb AG

In order to be competitive on the liberalised rail transport market, the ÖBB Group must operate with market-oriented companies. A key success factor is the reliable transport handling and, thus, the reliability of the infrastructure facilities. That is where the division Infra Service of ÖBB-Infrastruktur Betrieb AG comes in.

Adding value

8 April 2008 | By Paul Seller, Director of Technical Sales, Transportation and Chris Knowles, Director of Marketing, Transportation, Lloyd’s Register Rail Ltd

Making sure systems, products and processes are doing the job in the most efficient way, needs a co-ordinated approach and independent scrutiny. Independent assurance is an approach which checks what others have done, are doing and what they plan to do. When this is performed well, it makes a major…