People
In a class of his own
Been banging your head against a brick wall lately? Are you utterly convinced that changing railway technical standards is well nigh impossible? Have you been encouraged to get back in your box? Well, take heart. There’s one guy who is not only still out of his box, he has actually driven through a fundamental change [...]
Rolling Stock
Track inspection at 125mph
For those in the signalling or rolling stock professions, it is all too easy to think of track maintenance as an old-fashioned undertaking, devoid of modern technology and dependent on technicians with jacks, spanners and shovels. However, this perception is totally wrong. Civil engineering track maintenance equipment has developed into the most sophisticated across all [...]
Technology
Generating low total cost of ownership
When Prime Minister David Cameron announced the “biggest modernisation of our railways since the Victorian era” back in July, in the form of the High Level Output Specification (HLOS), it became apparent that a major transformation of the current UK rail infrastructure was about to be seen. However, at a time when companies are still [...]
Infrastructure
Alstom to install new traction system on Shanghai Metro
Alstom has been awarded a 37 million euro contract to install new traction systems on Lines 3 and 4 of the Shanghai Metro.
Alstom and Shanghai Alstom Transport Electrical Equipment will install the new systems for the 210 metro cars...
Infrastructure
Waterproofing the railway
Across the rail network, the deterioration of a bridge structure due to the action of water, exacerbated by the presence of chloride ions, can cause serious maintenance problems, incur major expense and lead to inconvenient line closures. The installation of an effective waterproofing membrane is therefore an essential part of any bridge building or refurbishment [...]
Infrastructure
Highly organised high output
On a dark night, with rain in the air, a car turns left onto a narrow lane on the outskirts of Belper in Derbyshire. As it makes the turn, a stream of vehicles approaches from the other direction to turn right and follow it down the lane. A few cars are mixed in with an [...]
Rail News
Bombardier launches bogie research centre
Bombardier has officially launched the construction of a new Bogie Technical Centre in Siegen, Germany.
Pierre Beaudoin, president and chief executive officer, Bombardier, and Andre Navarri, president and chief operating officer, Bombardier Transportation, took part in laying the foundation stone...
Rail News
No driverless trains on the Tube until 2020 at the earliest
Transport for London (TfL) has said there will be no driverless trains running on the capital's underground network until 2020 at the earliest.
Mike Brown, managing director of London Underground and London Rail, made the announcement at a meeting of...
Rail Business
Whiteboards written off
The UK’s rail networks are getting busier. This is reflected in increasing activity levels within depots, in turn placing increasing burdens on depot staff and existing infrastructure. Improving productivity and efficiency are therefore key to reducing these pressures and to the continued successful operation of rail depots across the country. Good planning, organisation and communication [...]
Rail News
Singapore Downtown Line gets first fully automated metro
The first fully automated metro for the Singapore Downtown Line has been delivered by Bombardier.
Singapore's Land Transport Authority (LTA) made a deal with Bombardier in 2008 for 219 driverless Movia metro cars for the Downtown Line, which once complete...
Latest News
Unseen photos from the Coronation released by SWR for the first anniversary
South Western Railway (SWR) has released new, unseen photos ahead of the first anniversary of the Coronation of Their...