The Railway Chronicle

The Railway Chronicle is brought to you by www.steamtu.be "Steam Tube" is not responsible for external /third party news items.

Their presence on here does not mean we condone/ agree with any sentiments expressed. Items are included purely for information purposes"

Please note: "Copyrights acknowledged. Please advise if unintentional infringement affects your rights"

January 14, 2015

UK & International Railway News Wednesday 14th January 2015

..Total Railway News
PhotoPhotoPhoto
London King's Cross.(C) P.S. Lewis

The lead headline is the House of Commons Select Committee enquiry into the Christmas/New Year problems for passengers caused by overrunning engineering works, which caused significant overcrowding ..and lack of information issues.. at London King's Cross, London Paddington and Finsbury Park. Added to that, the newly configured London Bridge station experienced crowd difficulties on the first day of its new running...


A battery powered train takes to the tracks...
Network Rail video explains signal power supply failure.....
Thameslink outlines arrangements for its schedules over the coming weeks...
For full details, watch the videos..and click on the links..






Headlines
UK


Railway network disruption over Christmas


Witnesses
i.Mark Carne, Chief Executive, and Robin Gisby, Managing Director, Network Operations, Network Rail
ii. Richard Price, Chief Executive, and Joanna Whittington, Director, Railway Markets and Economics, Office of Rail Regulation


Commuters should get refunds for 'consistently bad service', says David Cameron.(The Telegraph)


Rail workers to strike again over job cuts on Carlisle to Settle line (Carlisle News & Star)

Appleby and footbridge on the S & C 2008
Appleby Station on the S & C 2008(DWLewis)







Network Rail
Batteries included: Prototype battery-powered train carries passengers for first time


    

Battery-powered train (IPEMU) on level crossing


Battery-powered train (IPEMU) on level crossing

Network Rail Picture


Monday 12 Jan 2015
The first battery-powered train to run on Britain’s rail network in more than half a century carries its first passengers this week. This marks an important milestone in the project to demonstrate the viability of an eco-friendly battery-powered train for the twenty-first century.

The new train contributes to Network Rail’s commitment to reduce its environmental impact, improve sustainability and reduce the cost of running the railway by 20 per cent over the next five years. It could ultimately lead to a fleet of battery-powered trains running on Britain’s rail network which are quieter and more efficient than diesel-powered trains, making them better for passengers and the environment.


Network Rail and its industry partners – including Bombardier, Abellio Greater Anglia, and the Rail Executive arm of the Department for Transport (‎which is co-funding the project through the FutureRailway innovation programme) – recognise the potential for battery-powered trains to bridge gaps between electrified parts of the network and to run on branch lines where it would be too expensive to install overhead electrification.”


Following its successful retrofitting and trials at test tracks in Derby and Leicestershire last year by Bombardier, the modified Class 379 Electrostar battery-powered train – also known as an Independently Powered Electric Multiple Unit (IPEMU) – will run in weekday timetable service for five weeks between Harwich International and Manningtree stations in Essex.
Network Rail Principal Engineer James Ambrose said: “We’ve made terrific progress with this project so far and seeing the battery-powered train in timetabled service is a huge step forward.

“After months of engineering and testing, the train is running just as we would like it. We’ll be using this five-week period to gather data on how it handles during passenger service – most travellers will recognise how quiet and smooth the ride is compared to a diesel-powered train.”

James continued: “We are always looking for ways to reduce the cost of running the railway and make it greener too. This project has the potential to contribute significantly towards both those goals.”


Rail Minister Claire Perry said: “This is a major milestone in this innovative project, and further proof of our commitment to deliver a world-class rail network fit for the 21st century.
“These trains potentially offer a real alternative where diesel or electrified services aren’t suitable, and I look forward to seeing the results of the trials.”

***********************************************************

Signal power supply failure

How signal power supply failure can cause delays - and what we're doing to reduce them
Signallers at work in the computerised signalling centre in Rugby
Signallers in Rugby signalling centre (Network Rail Picture)


  • The power supply to our signalling system can fail for a variety of reasons, for example due to a power cut or a blown fuse in the circuit.
    Our signalling system is designed to fail safe: when the power fails, the signals turn black; if the driver can’t see a green or yellow signal, they must stop the train.

    What we’re doing to reduce signal failure and resulting delays

    • We’re introducing uninterruptable power supplies (UPSs) which take over when the power supply is cut, minimising the delays felt by passengers. UPS systems were introduced on the West Coast Mainline during the upgrade works and further UPSs will be introduced as part of re-signalling schemes.
    • We monitor the health of our power supply system using wireless monitoring backed up with annual inspections.
    • For areas without UPS, we're replacing aging cable to improve power supply reliability.
    • Our power suppliers notify us of any planned interruptions to the power supply so we can make sure backup supplies are in place.
    • We’ve invested in fault finding equipment for our older systems so we can fix problems before they affect services.
    • Our modern “intelligent” systems immediately identify the location of faults as soon as they occur, enabling us to respond more quickly and get trains running faster.
    • Sometimes the quickest and simplest option is to switch to another power source, so in some situations we use portable generators to restore power.
    Thameslink Programme
  • For information about how your journey may be affected by changes to train services from January 2015, please select your train operator from the list HERE





  • Photo


    Go to 4pm 13/01/15 Mark Reckless (Rochester and Strood) (UKIP):

    International
    Africa

    NEW PRASA LOCOS
    MORE AUSTRALIAN LOCOS DUE IN SOUTH AFRICA
    CT METRORAIL DELAYS: 7 JANUARY
    BLUE TRAIN TO DROP DURBAN, ADD KRUGER
    GAUTRAIN STILL CHEAPER THAN DRIVING TO WORK
    LUANDA RAILWAY
    ETHIOPIAN LIGHT RAIL TESTS BEGIN IN FEBRUARY
    ***************************************************



    Europe
    (LETTER TO SHAREHOLDERS)

    Ireland


    USA

  • CSX touts Q4 and full-year financial records, announces 2015 capex budget
  • NTSB's latest 'Most Wanted' list targets tank-car safety, PTC implementation
  • NS EVP and CMO Seale to retire March 1
  • SFMTA exercises contract option to purchase 40 light-rail vehicles
  • PANYNJ to review cross-harbor program's draft environmental report at public hearings
  • New M-8 rail cars now running on Metro-North's New Canaan branch
  • Amtrak to hold open house for Philadelphia 30th Street Station plan
  • Ceres Global launches operations at BNSF-served ag hub in Saskatchewan


  • Other Railway Press

    Smoke at Washington DC Metrorail tunnel kills one woman
    A woman has died and at least two have been critically injured after smoke filled a Virginia-bound subway train on the Washington DC Metro, the second busiest mass transit system in the US.
    GCC to invest more than $200bn on regional railway projects
    Oman Transport and Communications Minister Dr Ahmed Bin Mohammed Bin Salim Al Futaisi has revealed that the governments of Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries are set to invest more than $200bn in railway projects across the region.
    SilverRail Technologies acquires Swedish rail technology firm Linkon
    US-based passenger rail search and booking technologies provider SilverRail Technologies has acquired the Swedish rail technology firm Linkon.
    Trafikverket contracts Strukton for €50m railway maintenance in Sweden
    Dutch rail technology company Strukton Rail has secured a contract from the Swedish Transport Administration Trafikverket for the maintenance of railways around Malmö, Sweden.

    CER - The Voice of European Railways

    Transporting goods from Asia to the EUWhat role for intermodality?

    Tuesday, 24 February 201518:30 - 20:00
    Restaurant "L'Atelier"
    Rue Franklin 28 - 1000 Brussels


    The EU 2011 Transport White Paper highlighted several crucial challenges that Europe will need to overcome in the coming years, including:

    •     The need to be well connected with all regions of the world, in particular Asia
    •     The need to maintain the competitiveness of the European transport sector
    Asia is the EU’s biggest commercial partner, both for export and import. The container traffic flow between the EU and Asia is set to almost triple in the next decade.

    Intermodality is one solution to these challenges. However, new transport patterns must emerge so that larger volumes of freight can be carried to their destination by using the most efficient combination of transport modes.

    This will be the focus of an event organised by CER in Brussels, on 24 February, with the kind support of the Latvian Presidency.

    Please find attached the agenda for this event.

    To register, please fill in this form before 18 February 2014.


    ilcad2015
    Website: www.ilcad.org



    No comments:

    Post a Comment

    Tell us your Railway News!