International & UK Railway News Saturday 16th February 2013

Shedmaster Railway News

railwaygazette.com reports from  IRAQ: A US$40m agreement for Alstom to undertake detailed design studies for the first phase of an elevated metro was signed by Governor of Baghdad Dr Salah Abdul-Razzaq on February 11.

..and from SWEDEN: The Blekinge, Kalmar, Kronoberg and Skåne transport authorities have jointly awarded Veolia Transport a contract to operate three local rail services for five years from December 2013..

And masstransitmag.com reports from the USHSR  Conference in Washington, D.C., U.S. ..Department of Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood spoke to the attendees on what has been accomplished and what needs to be done when it comes to passenger rail in the United States.



World Heritage & Railway News

nymr.co.uk - It only feels 5 minutes ago that the kids were heading back to school after the Christmas holidays but the North Yorkshire Moors Railway is all set for February half term with a fun activity trail ..



Railway Engineering News


(from alstom.com)

Alstom and its Russian partner TMH are successfully testing the 2ES5 freight electric locomotive

15/02/2013

Alstom and its Russian partner Transmashholding (TMH) are taking tests on their jointly developed 2ES5 freight locomotive prototype at the Novocherkassk Electric Locomotive Plant. The testing will include inspection, start up and commissioning of all systems and components using both static and dynamic tests; the final tests will be executed on the Russian Railways testing ring. The procedure will ensure smooth, safe operation of the 2ES5 under real conditions. A second prototype will be provided to accelerate the test process.

The 2ES5 is the second train developed by TRTrans, a 50-50 joint venture of Alstom and TMH, after the EP20 dual-system passenger electric locomotive. The two models share the same platform and 75% of their parts, enabling significant cost and maintenance savings.

The 2ES5 relies on advanced engineering solutions, including a traction drive with asynchronous traction motors - a first for a Russian AC cargo locomotive -, individual voltage inverters, oil free piston-type compressors with air drying and cleaning units, microprocessor control and fault detection system. The key 2ES5 components will be manufactured in Russia.
With the new locomotives, Russian railways can significantly increase their freight capacity, boost energy efficiency and reduce operating and maintenance costs due to wider service intervals. In addition, the new locomotives provide the highest level of ergonomics and safety for the operating crews, who benefit from features such as climate control and impact-absorbing units.

The contract, signed on May 30th 2011, includes the supply of 200 2ES5 electric locomotives to the Russian railways. Deliveries of the locomotives will start at the end of 2013. According to the contract, 2ES5 electric locomotives will be supplied to Russian Railways until 2020 at least. The locomotives will be operated in Eastern Siberia and Far East regions.

Alstom

The last issue of AT Mag. The tramway is winning cities. Interview with RATP. Kazakhstan on track to modernisation. Moscow's metro museum. North East Express, an Indian odyssey, etc (click on Alstom above).



FEDECRAIL
European Federation of Museum & Tourist Railways

International Conferences of FEDECRAIL

Each year FEDECRAIL organises an international conference on subjects important to heritage railways and railway museums and to foster mutual contacts and cooperation between its members. These conferences are targeted mainly at persons playing an active role in museum and tourist railways, railway museums, locomotive and rolling stock groups, national federations and other railway heritage bodies. Others with broader interests in railway heritage are also welcome to attend.

---

FEDECRAIL Conference 2013, 11th until 17th April, Albi, France

Advance notice that 2013 Fedecrail Conference will be held in south-west France in mid-April. Dates will be Thurs 11.4.13 - Sat 13.4.13 for the working group meetings, opening reception, business sessions and General Assembly followed by a visits programme which it is envisaged will cover the period Sun 14.4.13 - Wed 17.4.13. The venue for the business sessions will be the historic mediaeval town of Albi, north-east of Toulouse, with convenient transport connections from / to Toulouse and its airport.

Study visits will be made to the narrow-gauge Chemin de Fer Touristique du Tarn (Sat 13.4 afternoon) and to other members (narrow and standard gauge lines) of our hosts the French national federation, UNECTO Union des Exploitants des Chemins de Fer Touristique over the following days (utilising Perpignan as a second accommodation base), including a visit to the renowned “Petit Train Jaune” narrow gauge SNCF line close to the Spanish frontier in the eastern Pyrenees. The possibility of a main line steam journey (Sun 14.4) combined with a visit to another UNECTO member heritage railway is also being explored.

Full programme details and business session content are still to be finalised but it will include a non-railway “something different” element - a behind the scenes tour of the A 380 production line at the Airbus Industrie manufacturing plant at Toulouse. When this visit was mentioned as an idea at the 2012 conference it got strong support from this year’s delegates!

Further enquiries about the programme or participation may be send by email or addressed by phone or letter to the conference organiser.



PANAMINT

Night Mail • The GPO Story - Release Date March 11th 2013 Night Mail • The GPO Story (1960, b/w). The GPO Story (1986, colour). BBC Arena's tribute to the Unit featuring many of the original filmmakers, including Harry Watt, Basil Wright, Stuart Legg, Edgar Anstey, Chick Fowle, Pat Jackson, R.Q. McNaughton, Ralph Bond and Ken Cameron. Also features Night Mail (1936, b/w), with verse by W H Auden and music by Benjamin Britten, The Midnight Hours (1987, colour), the extraordinary operation of collecting and sorting the nation's mail for distribution by road, rail and air, Post Haste (1988, colour), the 150 years history of the Travelling Post Office, and Mail Rail (1987, colour). The unique Royal Mail Underground Railway in London.

Towards better accessibility of transport services

Friday, 08 February 2013

 

Representing a wide coalition of European organisations acting on behalf of the railway sector and the transport passengers, we would like to share our common views on the upcoming European Accessibility Act. We look forward to the European Accessibility Act as a key milestone to further improve the accessibility of goods and services to EU citizens, but also to contribute to the establishment of a level playing field between modes regarding accessibility of transport services.

Download(s)

Joint statement on European Accessibility Act.pdf The Ministry of Railways of The People's Republic of China The mass movement of passengers across China during the Lunar New Year holidays is a trmendous feat. The following report from the People's Railway News (translated from Chinese)  shows the extent of this achievement. .......... Spring Festival 19 days rail transport over 100 million passengers Source: The People's Railway News: 2013.02.15 　　Beijing, Feb. 14 (Cheung Yi) Today is the fifth day of the first month of the Chinese lunar return passenger and tourist flow is at its peak as the Lunar New Year holidays draw to a close. The railway sector is a reasonable allocation of capacity, a large number of additional Linke, passenger travel needs. 　　February 13 Lunar New fourth day, send the national railway passenger 577.9 million, the previous day increased by 74 million people. View from the focus of the Railway Bureau (company), Wuhan Railway Bureau sent 42.7 million passengers, the Shanghai Railway Bureau to send passengers 88.9 million, Nanchang Railway Bureau, 40.7 million people to send visitors to Guangzhou Railway (Group) Company sent 81.8 million passengers, Chengdu Railway Bureau sent 51.6 million passengers. As of February 13 during Spring Festival 19 days, the National Railway Spring Festival passenger traffic volume has been reached 10,022.1 million. 　　During the holiday season, spa tours, family fun, and a variety of tourism products, an increase in domestic tourism products, especially on a high-speed rail as the main way to travel. In addition to the Beijing-Shanghai, Beijing, Tianjin, Zhengzhou-Xi'an high-speed railway line to the attractions in the city sustained attention, new this year, the Spring Festival travel season the army of the Beijing-Guangzhou high-speed rail, Kazakhstan large new high-speed rail line also spawned a variety of new travel routes, not only to meet the travelers travel speed and quality requirements, but also to further promote the rapid growth of the Spring Festival passenger flow. According to passenger demand continues to rise, the railway departments to arrange additional Linke 629, the previous day 176. 　　Today and tomorrow one weak cold air from the Xinjiang eastward shift south to affect most parts of China, coupled with an increase in fog and haze, the railway authorities to remind travelers to pay close attention to the station announcement, tickets early to the station, waiting. -------------------------