Knorr-Bremse to supply brakes for Japanese high speed trains
26 April 2012,
10:04:00
JAPAN: East Japan Railway has awarded
Knorr-Bremse a contract to supply braking systems for the 23 Series E6 high
speed trainsets which are scheduled to enter service between Tokyo and Akita in
early 2013. The 'major order' announced by Knorr-Bremse on April 26 includes
brake discs, pads and compact lightweight callipers for motor bogies. The
company has previously supplied braking systems for Series E5 trainsets and four
prototype E6 cars. 'This commission shows that the systems delivered for the
previous generation, the E5, lived up to the operator's high expectations', said
Dr Dieter Wilhelm, executive board member responsible for Knorr-Bremse's Rail
Vehicles Systems division. The tilting Series E6 trainsets will initially run
at up to 300 km/h on high speed infrastructure, with an increase to 320 km/h
planned for March 2014. Speeds will be lower on the mini-Shinkansen section of
upgraded conventional route between Morioka and Akita.
Bayer develops lightweight engine enclosure
26 April 2012,
05:00:00
EUROPE: Bayer Material-Science has developed
a prototype enclosure for underfloor engines on diesel multiple-units which it
says is 35% lighter and 30% cheaper than steel and aluminium equivalents. The
prototype is designed for a Bombardier Itino DMU. Engine enclosures must be able
to withstand high mechanical loads from ballast impacts, with chemical
resistance to prevent oil from leaking onto the track. They must also meet
strict fire protection requirements. Instead of using glass fibre reinforced
structures with a rigid foam core, the prototype enclosure uses components
manufactured in a complex three-dimensional shape using a spray/press process. A
honeycomb core is covered on the top and bottom with glass fibre mats then
sprayed from both sides with the Baypreg system, which contains the flame
retardant and optional glass fibres. The moist composite is pressed in a mould
at 130°C to bind the components. Components up to 4 m2 are possible,
with good dimensional stability enabling precise installation.
Network Rail agrees new High Speed 1 management deal
25 April 2012,
13:21:00
UK: Network Rail's contract to manage and
maintain the high speed line between London and the Channel Tunnel on behalf of
infrastructure concessionaire HS1 Ltd has been revised and will now run until at
least 2025. Announcing the new agreement on April 25, Network Rail said it would
align 'incentives for quality and efficiency', offer HS1 Ltd a 10% reduction in
price and facilitate sharing future savings. HS1 Ltd, owned equally by Ontario
Teachers' Pension Plan and Borealis Infrastructure Ltd, acquired a 30-year
concession to own and operate High Speed 1 in 2010. Network Rail's Network Rail
(CTRL) subsidiary operates, maintains and renews the line under a contract which
has run from the opening in 2007 to 2047. This contract included the right for
HS1 Ltd to 'market test' for alternative service providers, and HS1 Ltd could
have terminated the contract in 2015 by giving notice by March 31 2012. The
revised deal gives HS1 Ltd a new fixed price incorporating a 10% reduction in
costs to March 31 2015, and moves the break clause to 2025. Beyond 2015 a new
fixed price will be agreed, determined through the periodic review process
undertaken by the Office of Rail Regulation for HS1 Control Period 2 (2015-20)
and Control Period 3 (2020-25). Network Rail and HS1 Ltd will equally share any
financial outperformance by Network Rail; HS1 Ltd will in turn share 60% of its
discount and outperformance with the train operators. 'We conducted an extensive
market review and knew that we had alternatives', said HS1 Ltd CEO Nicola Shaw.
'However, the quality of delivery from Network Rail (CTRL) has been good over
the last few years and this deal offered real benefits to us and to our
customers. We've now got a decade of certainty on which to work together to
improve the line even further and to welcome more growth.'
GE Transportation enters the ERTMS market
25 April 2012,
10:30:00
INTERNATIONAL: GE Transportation has
announced its intention to enter the global ERTMS market, launching its first
products at the UIC's 10th ERTMS World Congress in Stockholm on April 25. A GE
PowerHaul diesel locomotive is to be used as a European onboard equipment
demonstrator from 2013. GE Transportation has invested US$60m to develop its
Tempo product range in just 40 months, according to Marketing Leader Christophe
Eline. The company now has over 100 staff working on the project at two centres
in Paris and at Sesto, near Firenze, which opened in 2009-10. Designed for both
ETCS Level 1 and Level 2 applications, a common scaleable Tempo Vital Platform
hosts any of the core systems: Onboard Controller, Lineside Equipment Unit,
Radio Block Centre or Interlocking Controller. This helps to reduce the number
of spare parts needed. Certified to Cenelec SIL4, the TVP is suitable for use
with centralised or distributed system architectures. The Tempo family also
incorporates an integrated suite of design, application and verification tools.
Eline says GE Transportation has been working closely with operators to develop
the concept, establishing a 'challenge committee' of railway experts including
former Swiss Federal Railways project leader Oskar Stalder and former MTR Corp
Chief Executive Phil Gaffney. Although the company has extensive signalling
experience, with its products in use on more than 70 000 route-km, the Tempo
range has been developed from scratch. GE is now looking at using the same basic
elements to support a CBTC application. The launch customer for Tempo ETCS will
be an open access freight operator which is to put a PowerHaul locomotive
assembled by Turkish firm Tülomsas into service on routes in Belgium, the
Netherlands, France, Germany and Switzerland during 2013. GE is currently in
discussions with potential customers for the lineside elements.
- The completed onboard package is due to be on display at InnoTrans in September. Railway Gazette International is the only official international media partner for InnoTrans.
SBB invests SFr40m in ticket vending machines
25 April 2012,
09:25:00
SWITZERLAND: Reflecting a growing trend
towards automated retail, Swiss Federal Railways has ordered 1 000 ticket
vending machines from German supplier Scheidt & Bachmann. Worth around
SFr40m, the order will see the first machines installed at Swiss stations in
September this year, with deliveries continuing for approximately two years.
Scheidt & Bachmann’s ePOS vending machine will replace on a like-for-like
basis SBB’s oldest designs, which date from 1997. The company says that ePOS
features ‘modern technology’ and complies with more stringent disability
legislation which comes into force in January 2014. Featuring a 15 in screen,
the TVMs will have improved banknote acceptance function, allowing notes to be
provided as change and higher value cash transactions to be completed. RFID
equipment and barcode readers will also be fitted to enable contactless
payments, whilst enhanced anti-fraud measures are designed to reduce incidents
of ‘skimming’. SBB says that 55 million tickets were sold at its vending
machines in 2011, and it forecasts this figure to reach 58 million by 2016.
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