Siemens
Siemens equips deepwater seaport and rail route in Mozambique
Munich, 2013-Nov-05
- Rail technology for East Africa's longest freight transport route
- Power distribution solution for the port facilities in Nacala-al-Velha
- Total volume of 126 million euros
The signalling and telecommunications technology for East Africa's longest freight transport route will increase the safety, capacity and reliability of coal transportation. The ideal speed and the distance between two trains are calculated automatically, enabling operators to run trains at closer intervals to each other and so increase network capacity. The trains run more punctually and operations are more energy-efficient. Siemens is also equipping the Operations Control Center in Nacala and will be responsible for maintaining and repairing the signalling facilities for one year.
Siemens will deliver and install the technology that will supply power to the deepwater seaport of Nacala-a-Velha. In addition to high-voltage components, that includes power distribution solutions. Siemens will install its low and medium voltage systems in prefabricated power distribution units known as e-houses. Five e-houses will be supplied as turnkey solutions from Germany to Mozambique. The advantage of e-houses is that they are transported to the installation site fully assembled and pretested, where they can be assembled and put into operation within a short space of time. Moreover, the customer does not have to erect separate buildings for the power distribution equipment. In addition, e-houses can be transported to a new location and reused, for example when a mine is closed.
Munich and Siemens present the first Avenio
UNITED Wagon Company (UWC), Russia, and Tatravagonka, Slovakia, have formed a joint venture company, Railway Casted Components (RCC), which will produce Barber bogie castings for 1520mm-gauge wagons.
BRITAIN'S Chancellor Mr George Osborne announced on November 7 that the government will establish a taskforce to study accelerating passenger services between London and eastern England.
ALMOST 30 years after the project was conceived, the Salerno Metro suburban line was inaugurated on November 4 by the city's Mayor Mr Vincenzo De Luca..
THE government of the Brazilian state of São Paulo has announced that it received just one bid in the new tender to build, operate and maintain São Paulo metro
AAR: U.S. roads notched traffic gains through October, into November
Maryland officials OK public-private partnership plan for Purple light-rail line
Columbia Basin, BNSF begin unit train moves for Washington state canola oil producer
U.S. Class Is employed slightly fewer people in September, STB data shows
Engebretson succeeds O'Leary as Alaska Railroad's COO
APTA: 2013 a 'banner year' for voter support of public transit
Newspaper report: Talgo files $65.9 million claim against Wisconsin
Rail supplier news from RailComm, Hanson, Siemens, Ansaldo, OPW and T-Rail (Nov. 8)
Future Rail: Fast-Track to Hydrail?
The industry looks set to invest in natural gas as a next-generation fuel, but is that short-sighted? We ask hydrail advocate Stan Thompson why a hydrogen-compatible system is a better long-term investment
Network Rail to replace six level crossings in Essex with safer alternatives
Network Rail, which owns and operates Britain's railway infrastructure, will replace six level crossings in Essex by either a footbridge or underpass to allow the public to cross the railway safely.
Ansaldo to build catenary-free TramWave tramway line China
CNR Equipment Engineering, a subsidiary of CNR Dalian, has contracted Ansaldo STS, a subsidiary of Finmeccanica, to build an 8.7km catenary-free tramway line in the city of Zhuhai in Guandong province, China.
Harsco Rail ships surfacing machines for TasRail
Harsco Rail, a railway maintenance and construction services provider, has shipped a heavy-duty Mark VI production/switch tamper and ballast regulator combination to Launceston for Tasmania's state-owned rail network, TasRail.
Midland Metro light rail extension's first tracks laid
The Midland Metro light rail system's first tracks have been laid, as part of its extension at Colmore Gate, Bull Street in Birmingham
Siemens will deliver and install the technology that will supply power to the deepwater seaport of Nacala-a-Velha. In addition to high-voltage components, that includes power distribution solutions. Siemens will install its low and medium voltage systems in prefabricated power distribution units known as e-houses. Five e-houses will be supplied as turnkey solutions from Germany to Mozambique. The advantage of e-houses is that they are transported to the installation site fully assembled and pretested, where they can be assembled and put into operation within a short space of time. Moreover, the customer does not have to erect separate buildings for the power distribution equipment. In addition, e-houses can be transported to a new location and reused, for example when a mine is closed.
Munich and Siemens present the first Avenio
Berlin, 2013-Nov-04
The new tram is in Munich now: The first Siemens Avenio arrived at the depot of the Munich transport corporation (Münchner Verkehrsgesellschaft, MVG) just a few days ago. The much anticipated moment of its first grand appearance in public finally arrived today: The new tram with the MVG type designation T1 was presented to guests of honor from the city council, politics and industry, employees and the mass media.
"In spite of the extremely tight schedule we successfully managed to manufacture our Avenio in record time. The Avenio for Munich underscores our ambition to take a leadership role in the German and European market again. We are striving to once again be the first contact partner of the cities in all matters concerning trams", Sandra Gott-Karlbauer, CEO of the Urban Transport Business Unit, emphasizes.
The tram, as a powerful, eco-friendly and thus highly cost-efficient means of transport, is becoming the focus of more and more city planners and transport companies all over the world. Siemens expects approximately 500 new procurement projects in the world market in the coming years.
The first Avenio will be followed by seven more in the next few weeks. The Avenio is the new Siemens tram generation which will be in revenue service in Munich for the first time anywhere in the world. The exact date when the first trains will enter passenger operation is currently not yet known. The authorization procedure is making good progress, and all the requirements were coordinated between the Technical Supervisory Body (Technische Aufsichtsbehörde, TAB), Siemens and MVG in parallel to manufacturing. The commissioning process and the required authorization tests will start now.
Extensive work will take place simultaneously: While the first vehicle goes on the necessary test trips on the Siemens test track in Wegberg-Wildenrath, the second vehicle will be subjected to comprehensive adjustment work and tests in Munich. At the same time TAB experts will set up their inspection reports.
The time schedule has been highly ambitious right from the start: There were only 15 months between the award of the contract at the end of September 2012 and the scheduled date of initial operation. The goal of the accelerated procurement and manufacturing process was to respond to the strongly increasing demand for the tram in Munich as quickly as possible.
UNITED Wagon Company (UWC), Russia, and Tatravagonka, Slovakia, have formed a joint venture company, Railway Casted Components (RCC), which will produce Barber bogie castings for 1520mm-gauge wagons.
BRITAIN'S Chancellor Mr George Osborne announced on November 7 that the government will establish a taskforce to study accelerating passenger services between London and eastern England.
ALMOST 30 years after the project was conceived, the Salerno Metro suburban line was inaugurated on November 4 by the city's Mayor Mr Vincenzo De Luca..
THE government of the Brazilian state of São Paulo has announced that it received just one bid in the new tender to build, operate and maintain São Paulo metro
Future Rail: Fast-Track to Hydrail?
The industry looks set to invest in natural gas as a next-generation fuel, but is that short-sighted? We ask hydrail advocate Stan Thompson why a hydrogen-compatible system is a better long-term investment
Network Rail to replace six level crossings in Essex with safer alternatives
Network Rail, which owns and operates Britain's railway infrastructure, will replace six level crossings in Essex by either a footbridge or underpass to allow the public to cross the railway safely.
Ansaldo to build catenary-free TramWave tramway line China
CNR Equipment Engineering, a subsidiary of CNR Dalian, has contracted Ansaldo STS, a subsidiary of Finmeccanica, to build an 8.7km catenary-free tramway line in the city of Zhuhai in Guandong province, China.
Harsco Rail ships surfacing machines for TasRail
Harsco Rail, a railway maintenance and construction services provider, has shipped a heavy-duty Mark VI production/switch tamper and ballast regulator combination to Launceston for Tasmania's state-owned rail network, TasRail.
Midland Metro light rail extension's first tracks laid
The Midland Metro light rail system's first tracks have been laid, as part of its extension at Colmore Gate, Bull Street in Birmingham
Minister of Railways Flags off first ever Dual Cab Freight Diesel Locomotive ‘Vijay’
|
The Minister of Railways Shri Mallikarjun Kharge flagged off the first ever Dual Cab 4500 HP Freight Diesel locomotive, ‘Vijay’ from Diesel Locomotive Works (DLW), Varanasi, a production unit of Indian Railways, today i.e. 6th November 2013. Before flagging-off the flower bedecked locomotive decorated in resplendent colour scheme, he performed rituals along with Shri Arunendra Kumar, Chairman, Railway Board, Shri B.P.Khare, General Manager and other railway officers. Expressing happiness over the performance of DLW, the Railway Minister said that it is not only in the area of production that DLW is creating new milestones. Keeping in mind the requirement of Zonal Railways, DLW has also delivered In the area of technology upgradation and designing of new variants of locomotives. Be it Dual cab passenger locomotive WDP4D, Hotel load locomotive, 5500 Horse power locomotive WDG5 and now the first ever Dual cab diesel freight locomotive WDG4D, DLW has always lived-up to it's promise. The very fact that the design of WDG4D is a completely indigenous effort of DLW and RDSO. On this occasion, Hon’ble Minster announced the stoppage of Swatantrata Senani Express at Bhulanpur Rly. Station, Sub-way at DLW Admn. Building Railway Crossing and opening of a PRS at DLW with cash transaction as well as ` 20 lakh group award for DLW employees. On this occasion, expressing his view Shri Arunendra Kumar, Chairman, Railway Board said t hat DLW has not only increased its production in large but also developed latest state-of-the-art technologies. Building of this WDG4D High Horse Power freight locomotive is a wonderful breakthrough not only for DLW but for Indian Railways and the country also. Welcoming the Hon’ble Minister along with guests, officers and employees General Manager Shri B.P.Khare focussed upon the achievements of DLW in locomotive production and future prospects. Indian Railways has steadily been moving towards higher speeds in freight operations. With the freight trains touching 100 kmph and future strategies aiming for even higher speeds, there is a need to upgrade the existing levels of crew comfort and visibility in freight locomotives. Indian Railways has till now been working with the single cab versions of diesel-electric freight locomotives. These locomotives have been very effective in the sub 100 kmph operations. However with the increasing horsepower levels over the years, the locomotive lengths have increased and their profiles have become wider. The increase in length and envelope of the locomotive affect visibility and therefore there is a need to introduce dual cabs on freight locomotives as well. ‘Vijay’ the dual cab freight WDG4D is a trailblazer. It is the first dual cab diesel electric freight locomotive to be built by Indian Railways. The locomotive has been designed on a 21.7 metre platform to accommodate two cabs and this is about two meters longer than the single cab version. The cabs have full width front view. Besides the obvious visibility advantages, the locomotive also has several features for crew comfort. Recognizing the fact that a comfortable work area reduces fatigue and increases alertness, Vijay has been provided with air conditioned cabs. The AC unit is designed to heat up the cab during winters while cooling it during summers, thus maintaining a comfortable ambient for efficient working. The loco also has TFT screen based integrated driver display. This feature which is similar to the one used in the aero planes allows the operating parameters to be displayed on a single screen. Using icons it naturally provides focus to the more important parameters. The system also provides alarm levels for the ease of the crew. The display system naturally assists the crew through fault diagnostics. The system reduces eye fatigue, improves reliability and improves crew response. The locomotive has been provided with an ergonomically designed control stand and seat. The seat which has been based on the excavator design (which needs 360 deg view and operability) has been provided with movement on three axis for operational flexibility. Besides it has tilting back with lumbar support and breathing upholstery. The locomotive has also been provided with airplane type task light and automotive type auto wash wipers.  The first ever Dual Cab 4500 HP Freight Diesel locomotive, ‘Vijay’ flagged off by the Union Minister for Railways, Shri Mallikarjun Kharge from Diesel Locomotive Works (DLW), Varanasi, on November 06, 2013. (Indian Railways Press Picture) Vijay has been built around the 4500HP 710 G3B engine with inverter controlled three phase traction motor drive. The inverter control uses the state of the art IGBT technology. This is the technology being used worldwide by the leading manufacturers i.e. GE, ABB, Alsthom etc. The locomotive is provided with the latest Computerised Control Brake system which is the world standard. The brake system uses the latest in the electronics and communication to improve response times and to improve reliability. The locomotive has been designed to implement the Indian Railways’ efforts at increasing the speed of loaded trains to 100kmph. It can run at 105 kmph and can be used to haul passenger trains in emergencies. The locomotive has been designed to haul as much as the existing workhorse WDG4. The cost of the locomotive is approximately Rupees 14.7 crore as compared to 14.38 crore for the single cab version. Since the future would belong to dual cab freight locomotives, this model has been designed to retain as many elements as possible of the passenger dual cab being built by DLW. This standardization in the manufacturing elements will enable IR to easily move into series production after successful prototype trials. Shedmaster Railway News Mainzelbahn approved - Railway Gazette Flat rate for China to Europe container traffic - Railway Gazette World Heritage & Railway News 
Wasatch Railroad Contractors
OPEN HOUSE THIS WEEKEND
Cheyenne-based Wasatch Railroad Contractors has just finished the restoration of Southern Railway No. 1200. This vintage heavyweight Pullman-built passenger coach served a portion of its life as a 'Jim Crow' segrega...ted passenger car on the Southern Railway. The car was donated to the Smithsonian Museum more than three years ago by Pete Clawson, long time railroad historian and businessman. Restored by Wasatch at their Stearns, KY location, the car will be hauled by semi-truck starting Monday, November 11, 2013 to Washington D.C. Once in Washington D.C. The car will be lowered nearly 60 feet into the basement levels of the new National Museum of African American History and Culture. The museum will then be finished around the car over the next two years. The new museum is slated to open in late 2015, early 2016. The Smithsonian is holding an open house for those that wish to see the car before it is transported next week. The car can be seen at the Big South Fork Scenic Railway car shop on Saturday and Sunday, November 9-10, 2013, from 9:00 a.m. until 3:00 p.m. For more information about the open house, feel free to contact me direct. info@wrrc.us John E. Rimmasch  Railway Engineering News Managing Railcar Maintenance: A Primer on Practices and Improvement Opportunities for the U.S. Transit Industry | Blurbs Japanese EMUs arrive in Jakarta - Railway Gazette 'Eventful' financial year at Siemens - Railway Gazette GOV.UK ‘Norwich in Ninety’ rail taskforce announced by Chancellor Chancellor George Osborne has announced a new taskforce to look at speeding up journey times to East Anglia to drive growth in the region. Plans for a new expert group charged with finding ways to speed up rail services to the East of England by as much as 25% have been set out by the Chancellor. The new taskforce will be made up of Department for Transport officials, experts from Network Rail, and local MPs. As part of their work they will identify practical and affordable options to improve services to stations along the line from London to Norwich. This will include examining the potential for cutting journey times to London by around 30 minutes and how ‘Norwich in Ninety’ could be achieved. Chancellor George Osborne made the announcement as he addressed the Norwich Chamber of Commerce on Thursday 7 November. The Chancellor said:
The speech to the Norwich Chamber of Commerce formed part of the Chancellors day visit to Norfolk where he was also given a tour of a local factory and met with the managing director of a local start up funded by a government scheme. This announcement builds on publication of the East Anglia rail prospectus supported by MPs across the region including Sir Bob Russell and Norman Lamb. The DfT has also asked current operator Abellio to develop plans to refurbish and modernise the current fleet, update interiors and provide improved facilities, such as power sockets so commuters and business travellers can work more easily as they travel by train. East Anglia has a growing reputation as a centre for new high-tech businesses and research. Norwich is now one of five science capitals of Europe, with Ipswich an international hub for software development. Links to similar centres of excellence in Cambridge and high value manufacturing along the line to Norwich mean that the region is one of the fastest growing in the UK economy. The announcement will build on the government is already undertaking to increase capacity along the line, as region anticipates 50% growth in passenger numbers, which will require more capacity and better trains. There are currently works at Chelmsford and Ely to increase capacity, upgrade to the cross-country freight route between Felixstowe port and the Midlands via Nuneaton and bottleneck improvements at Peterborough and Leicester as well as expanding Bow Junction to improve access to London Liverpool Street.
Adrian
Vaughan: The Great Western’s Last Year. Efficiency in Adversity
 This is the latest offering from Adrian Vaughan. And experienced readers of his previous books on Brunel , the Great Western Railway and the history of Britain’s railways (Railwaymen, Politics and Money…an essential read!) will know and appreciate the meticulous research the author undertakes to tell the story as it is….or in this case….as it was.
Adrian Vaughan sets out the last year (1947) month by
month, and in each chapter recounts Board of Directors meetings and decisions,
staff issues, rolling stock and locomotive updates, derailments, collisions,
and a financial update month by month.
And what a year 1947 was! A ferocious winter strained the
GWR’s resources to the full..and beyond..
..as well as coping with the demands of the 1946 Transport Bill heralding
nationalization. Viscount Portal (Chairman of the GWR Board) observed that
“Although it has long been recognized that the main transport problem is to be
solved by a greater measure of co-ordination between the various forms of
transport, the Bill contains no constructive plan for dealing with this
problem” (It was ever thus!)
Still, the GWR continued as before….”Pride in the Job” being
one of its mottos…
This motto was well illustrated in the book, and the
subtitle “Efficiency in Adversity” says it all.
Here are some of the events….a breakaway in the Severn
Tunnel(p 67), prompt actions preventing
a serious mishap (p 69) , the sad case of Fireman Morgan (p97) , the last GWR Royal Train (p 178), the demonstrating of the GWR patented ATC system (p 181)
and the Kings Sutton mishap (p 187)
Right up to the end, the GWR was busy renovating,
refurbishing, renewing its rolling and locomotive
stock…indeed, 1947 saw the introduction of the 9400 0-6-0 pannier tank class, 10 being
built at Swindon and the other 190 built by contractors including Robert
Stephenson and Co, who had built the first successful GWR locomotive “North
Star” in 1837!At the last General Meeting (5th March 1948) Viscount Portal concluded by saying “..we shall always remember with pride and affection the part we were privileged to play in dealing with the administration of the company’s affairs….”
The reader will be left with the distinct feeling that
this was not a business in decline, but had an ethos where public service came
first, whatever the challenges may have been…weather, accident, staffing ,
derailments, government policy..
What a legacy to have left behind!
Gone with regret. Gone , but not forgotten.
Contact TFC .....home@4ndy.net) |
No comments:
Post a Comment
Tell us your Railway News!