On June 18th 2013, members from two new-build locomotive projects, based on opposite sides of the world, are meeting in person for the very first time in Bath.
The V499 Project is Australia's very first new-build steam locomotive project. This project was launched in 2011. Around the same time the Claud Hamilton Locomotive Group was formed in the UK. A few months later, after introductions had been made with the CHLG, our V499 Project was twinned with their new-build project 8783 'Phoenix'.
On June 18th V499 Project coordinator Jonathan Newton shall meet up with members of the CHLG in the town of Bath. On arrival, Jonathan will present the CHLG with a pattern for a special plate that commemorates the twinning of these two projects (image attached). A video will also be produced for both groups to use as promotion on Youtube.
We feel that this event is newsworthy for all railway enthusiasts around the world and would appeal to your readers. The V499 Project has many followers that live in the UK, one of who is Ian Riley, owner of Black 5's 45407 and 44871.
If you are interested in attending the meeting of the V499 Project and Claud Hamilton Locomotive Group on June 18th, we can be contacted at this email address. Alternatively, Jonathan can be reached on +61 401 722 443.
The meeting will probably take place in the late afternoon of June 18th.
More information about the V499 Project can be found at www.vicsteam.com
The V499 Project is Australia's very first new-build steam locomotive project. This project was launched in 2011. Around the same time the Claud Hamilton Locomotive Group was formed in the UK. A few months later, after introductions had been made with the CHLG, our V499 Project was twinned with their new-build project 8783 'Phoenix'.
On June 18th V499 Project coordinator Jonathan Newton shall meet up with members of the CHLG in the town of Bath. On arrival, Jonathan will present the CHLG with a pattern for a special plate that commemorates the twinning of these two projects (image attached). A video will also be produced for both groups to use as promotion on Youtube.
We feel that this event is newsworthy for all railway enthusiasts around the world and would appeal to your readers. The V499 Project has many followers that live in the UK, one of who is Ian Riley, owner of Black 5's 45407 and 44871.
If you are interested in attending the meeting of the V499 Project and Claud Hamilton Locomotive Group on June 18th, we can be contacted at this email address. Alternatively, Jonathan can be reached on +61 401 722 443.
The meeting will probably take place in the late afternoon of June 18th.
More information about the V499 Project can be found at www.vicsteam.com
ŠKODA Transportation has agreed a 10-year technology licensing contract with CSR Qingdao Sifang to produce up to 400 ForCity (15T) low-floor LRV cars for the Chinese market.
THE saga surrounding Fyra cross-border services between the Netherlands and Belgium took another twist on May 31, when Belgian National Railways (SNCB) announced it had cancelled its order for V250 high-speed trains with AnsaldoBreda.
Delhi Metro to install data management system to monitor tunnelling Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) will install a new centralised data management system to gather data generated by 34 tunnel boring machines (TBM) to be used during the construction of the 53km-long underground corridors of Phase III of the metro project.
A two-year study carried out by the International Union of Railways (UIC) and supported by the Community of European Railway and Infrastructure Companies (CER) has shown that usage of composite brake blocks can reduce the noise caused by train brakes.
Spanish construction wins Doha metro station contract
A consortium comprising Spanish construction and civil engineering firm Obrascon Huarte Lain (OHL), Samsung C&T and Qatar Building Company has secured a €1.1bn contract from Qatar Railway Company to build two metro stations in Doha.
Thales-Maziya consortium wins railway signalling contract from Prasa
A consortium of Thales and Maziya has secured a €136m signalling contract from the Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (Prasa).
CER shares MEPs’ concerns over Commission proposal for
a Fourth Railway Package
| |
On 29 and 30 May the European Parliament’s TRAN Committee held exchanges of views on the Technical Pillar of the Fourth Railway Package, namely the Interoperability Directive, the Safety Directive and the ERA Regulation, and on the Governance and PSO parts of the Package. The Community of European Railway and Infrastructure Companies (CER) shares many of the goals and concerns expressed by TRAN members. Europe needs stronger regulatory bodies, a stronger network of regulatory bodies, and a stronger European Railway Agency. On the other hand, more flexibility is needed regarding public service obligations and governance issues.
In particular, CER shares the opinion of the necessity for a stronger European Railway Agency (ERA) acting as a one-stop-shop for vehicles authorisation and safety certification, cooperating closely with the national safety agencies and fully relying on their competences. CER also welcomes the MEPs’ interventions concerning the need for transparency of national rules, all of which will have to be notified in order to be binding.
Moreover, CER understands and shares TRAN members’ worries concerning certain national specifics (like non-standard gauges and specific operational rules), which need to be taken into account and integrated when shaping a single European railway area.
On another note, CER welcomes the exchange of views on the governance and PSO (public service obligations) parts of the Fourth Railway Package that took place on 30 May.
CER notes that several MEPs expressed doubts regarding the suitability of the proposed size thresholds for PSO contracts. A number of MEPs also stressed that PSOs should not be used to foreclose domestic passenger markets.
CER reiterates its view that competent authorities should retain the right to determine freely the size and the award mechanism for PSO contracts. On the other hand, open access services should be allowed to develop further, and their economic viability should be protected in a manner analogous to the existing and proposed measures for the economic equilibrium of PSO contracts. CER thus supports safeguards both for PSO contracts and for open access services.
It is also essential to attract new investment in rail and to give the right incentives to entrepreneurs. The right balance between PSO and open access and sufficiently attractive PSO contracts in terms of volumes, duration and size will contribute to the attractiveness of investing in the sector. Introducing more competition in the rail sector will not be successful if these preconditions, among others, are not met.
On governance, CER associates itself with the doubts expressed by many MEPs regarding the inconsistencies inherent to the Commission’s proposals on vertical separation, and with the serious concerns regarding the comprehensiveness of the Commission’s Impact Assessment on this topic.
CER also strongly supports the numerous calls that were made in favour of ensuring non-discriminatory access to the network for all market players in a cost-efficient manner. In support of this goal, CER has put forward a proposal which strengthens national regulatory bodies and the European network of regulatory bodies far beyond what is foreseen by the Commission draft legislation.
CER Executive Director Libor Lochman said:“As expressed by some MEPs, the regulatory bodies and their network must become the central actors in the emerging single European Railway Area.”
Rail sector on track in developing ‘silent’ brakes.
Railways are going to be closer to the significant reduction of its last environment burden – noise. This can be achieved thanks to positive results of extensive field tests of composite brake blocks in the context of the ‘EuropeTrain’ project, managed by the International Union of Railways (UIC) and supported by the Community of European Railway and Infrastructure Companies (CER). However, in order to accelerate an implementation of the new technology it is necessary to secure an appropriate funding mechanism.
The final report of the ‘EuropeTrain’ project, a testing programme with over 200 000 km of test run of wagons equipped with LL-type composite brake blocks across Europe, was presented on 28 May at the UIC headquarters in Paris. The two-year project delivered results enabling the move to the final stage – a full approval of LL brake blocks for international transport.
Noise is a side effect of all major modes of transport. While the perceived noise annoyance is much higher for air and road traffic than for rail, the reduction of noise is a key environmental priority for the railways. The rail sector has put much effort to achieve significant progress in noise abatement over the past 50 years. Furthermore, as part of the ’Strategy for 2030 and beyond for the European railway sector’ jointly agreed by UIC and CER members, the rail sector aims that by 2050, noise and vibrations will no longer be considered a problem for the railways, with noise levels that are socially and economically acceptable and allow for 24-hour passenger and goods operations.
Implementing LL blocks is a key measure to further reduce noise emitted from freight wagons before the end of their natural lifecycle. This will help the rail sector to confirm its strong advantages compared to the other transport modes when considering the wider social and environmental impacts of different transport modes.
At the same time, the sector faces huge costs to relating to the necessary retrofitting of freight wagons for the LL block technology. In this context, the rail sector has engaged with the European Commission to ensure that retrofitting plans will not be jeopardising the competitiveness of rail transport. To make this happen, clear decisions and appropriate funding levels have to be agreed at EU level to ensure that retrofitting the existing freight fleet is economically viable with appropriate inventive schemes and funding originating from outside the railway system.
UIC Director General Jean-Pierre Loubinoux highlighted: “The ‘EuropeTrain’ testing campaign, a wide-ranging and complex technical project managed by UIC in close cooperation with the 27 associated railway undertakings and industry partners, will provide the railway community with an important basis for possible decision-taking in a strategic issue: the equipment of large fleets of freight wagons with “silent” composite brake blocks. This objective of the reduction of noise emissions by freight trains, marks a new step towards more competitive and more sustainable rail freight transport in Europe.”
CER Director General Libor Lochman said “The rail sector has delivered good results in developing the right technology to retrofit the existing freight wagon fleet. At the same time, the EU has to ensure that funding is made available if a fast large-scale retrofitting programme is defined.”
Notes:
- A test freight train made of 30 representative freight wagons from a number of European rail freight undertakings, which run across Europe only for the purpose of testing the LL brake blocks.
- A mileage of at least 200 000 km. - A number of successive ‘test loops’ with technical evaluation after each loop. 16 runs were completed. - All operational conditions relevant for Europe including running on different gradients with different operational modes and extreme weather conditions (high and low temperatures).
Shedmaster Railway News YRP Innovation Factory, in conjunction with RSSB EIT (Derby) « Young Railway Professionals SNCB pulls out of V250 deal - Railway Gazette Maintaining The Modern Railway Sandaoling Coal Mine #1 - 20 Degrees Below Zero - East Pit / Washery Line - Steam Tube World Heritage & Railway News Autumn Steam & Diesel Gala tickets available now. | North Yorkshire Moors Railway :: A steam train adventure through the stunning Yorkshire Moors Queen honours Talyllyn Railway - Heritage Railway Magazine BBC - Radio Wales Roy Noble - 02/06/2013 Russian Railways not impressed by UK privatisation Railway Engineering News Bogotá metro design contract signed - Railway Gazette CSR Quingdao Sifang to build Škoda trams for the Chinese market - Railway Gazette  
JR Tokai Unveils New High Speed Maglev
Prototype of new maglev shown to public
Central Japan Railway Co. Central Japan Railway Co., or JR Tokai, unveiled Monday five cars of its new L0 magnetic levitation train for commercial services, at a test line in this central Japan city.
The railway operator is expected to begin test runs of the maglev train around September, after moving up work to extend the test line to 42.8 kilometers. Construction was initially scheduled to be completed by the end of 2013. The two front cars and three middle cars give the maglev train a total length of 128.9 meters. |
No comments:
Post a Comment
Tell us your Railway News!