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Rail Articles

Tunnelling for European high-speed railways

28 July 2006 | By Prof. Dr.-Ing. Alfred Haack, Past President of the ITA – International Tunnelling Association, and Managing Director and Board Member of STUVA – Research Association for Underground Transportation Facilities

Since the 1980s railway traffic for passengers has experienced a renaissance. Especially France and some time later Germany started to construct and operate their first high-speed lines with speeds between 300 and 350km per hour. Later, other European countries followed; such as Italy, Spain and the UK, and even the…

Design of prestressed concrete sleepers

28 July 2006 | By Dr. Stephan Freudenstein, General Manager of Engineering and Development and Mr. Franz Haban, Project Engineer, RAIL.ONE GmbH

The basis for design work for prestressed-concrete sleepers in Europe is EN 13230, valid since October 2002: “Concrete sleepers and bearers.” A supplement to this standard is UIC 713: “Design of Monoblock Concrete Sleepers,” which provides a design example for a prestressed-concrete sleeper. The design bending moment calculated here accounts…

Visible improvements in Hungary

28 July 2006 | By Mr. István Heinczinger, Chief Operating Officer, MÁV Co

Hungarian State Railways (MÁV Co) celebrates the 160th anniversary of its foundation this year. The first railway line running between the capital city of Pest and Vác, a town situated 30km from the capital and operated by steam engines, opened on 15 July 1846. István Széchenyi and Lajos Kossuth, eminent…

The SF 400 bogie

28 July 2006 | By Roland Paar, Product Manager Bogies, Siemens Transportation Systems

The modular-design SF 400 trailing bogie with air suspension was designed approximately ten years ago at Siemens Transportation Systems’ center of excellence for running gear in Graz, Austria.

Consultancies help out on major projects

28 July 2006 | By James Abbott, Technical Editor

Consultancy practices have an important role in providing technical expertise for railway projects around the globe. Historically, Europe’s big state railways were self-sufficient. All the engineering skills were on hand in-house: when a new project was sanctioned by the government, the state railway would generally be able to design and…

A decisive moment for Danish rail tracks

31 May 2006 | By Jesper Hansen, CEO, Banedanmark

Infrastructure matters; the statement has gained increased significance for the users, owners and operators on the Danish tracks. After years of neglecting both track renewal and signal system, Denmark is now at a crossroad: either passengers must become accustomed to new, but lower standards, or the Danish politicians must get…

Danish rail tracks – demanding more

31 May 2006 | By Eigil Sabroe, Chief Technical Officer, Banedanmark

Approximately 2,700 trains are in operation on the Danish tracks every day.They make use of over 3,240km of tracks, cross 2,342 bridges and intersect with roads at numerous points. The technology involved is mostly of the standard proven type,with a general inclination towards high quality.This is not a land of…

A direct approach to a direct line

31 May 2006 | By Juha Kansonen, Project Manager, RHK

The major Finnish railway direct line project from Kerava to Lahti will be completed on 3 September 2006.The direct line is the most important railway project in Finland for over two decades and new technical solutions have been introduced with the guidance of the Finnish Rail Administration (RHK),who is responsible…

Productive construction activities

31 May 2006 | By Jon Frøisland, Director of Infrastructure, Norwegian National Rail Administration (Jernbaneverket)

A second pair of tracks through the western suburbs of Oslo is currently under construction to remove the biggest bottleneck on the Norwegian rail network. The first phase was completed in August 2005. The 19.5km section on the Drammen line is the National Rail Administration’s principal investment project this decade.With…

The Nordic rolling stock market

31 May 2006 | By James Abbott, Technical Editor

A steady succession of small rolling stock orders is keeping interest alive in the Nordic market.A decade ago, the Nordic countries were seen as a beacon of hope by Europe’s rolling stock manufacturers,with some large replacement orders coming up. But those orders are now behind us, with the Italian manufacturer…

Regina – a success story

31 May 2006 | By Sven Hornschuh, Marketing Director, Bombardier

In 1994 at the KTH (Swedish Royal Institute of Technology) in Stockholm, an interdisciplinary project group was set up to develop the regional rail vehicle concept of the future as part of an overall concept designed to improve the operational efficiency of rail transport services in Sweden.

Dynamic changes and positive growth

31 May 2006 | By Josef Bazala, Chairman and CEO, Czech Railways

Czech Railways entered 2006 as a company driven by dynamic changes. Never in the history of the Czech Republic’s national railway carrier has the company experienced such tremendous dynamics, characterised by launches of new services, a massive modernisation of its fleet and infrastructure, and the primary focus on customers.

The beginning of the renaissance

31 May 2006 | By Milanko Šarancic, Director General, Serbian Railways

Today, Serbian Railways cover the entire railway network in Serbia, and with approximately 22,000 employees and all available capacities, it is the biggest railway enterprise in the Balkans and one of the biggest in this part of Europe.

ERTMS strategy and planning in Sweden

31 May 2006 | By Not known

The Swedish government has clearly indicated its commitment to railways as one of the most important means of transportation for the future. As a consequence, Banverket has been provided with resources to carry out an enhancement program needed to fulfil the transport policy objectives.

The GSM-R system in Spain

31 May 2006 | By Luis Garcia Tassias, Head of GSM-R, ADIF

GSM-R is a communication system for railway operations based on the standard ETSI GSM of public radio with additional railway features defined in the EIRENE (FRS, SRS) and MORANE specifications.These specifications have been developed by mandate of UIC and in collaboration with ETSI, to ensure interoperability between railway networks of…