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Safety & Security

 

Railways face continued growth in passenger ridership numbers and increased demand for rail freight operations. To cope, rail systems must adapt to their changing environment and provide networks that are both safe and secure.

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Infrabel continues overhead line modernisation work

12 February 2014 | By Richard Marcelis, Head of Power Engineering, Infrabel

Infrabel, the Belgian rail infrastructure manager, is currently engaged in the progressive modernisation of its overhead lines. Electrical power is a vital element of sustainable rail transport. For Global Railway Review, Richard Marcelis, Head of Infrabel’s Power Engineering Department, explains the major challenges and projects relating to overhead lines on…

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Planning ahead to meet future demand

4 December 2013 | By Stephen Hammond MP, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Transport, UK

It is 20 years since Britain’s railways were privatised. At the time it was seen as a risky move, even though the network had grown increasingly unreliable and inefficient under state operator British Rail. Responsibility for tracks and trains was split, and private companies were invited to bid for regional…

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Construction, maintenance and upgrading of tracks: the Austrian way

1 August 2013 | By Michael Walter, Bernhard Knoll and Jürgen Stern, Business Unit Integrated Railroad Line Management, ÖBB-Infrastruktur AG

The liberalisation of European railways, particularly the free network access of passenger and freight traffic, have a basic influence on the construction of new lines and the maintenance and upgrading of tracks of ÖBBInfrastruktur AG. This article outlines the essential characteristics of track systems including track substructure. Line layout and…

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Rail steel grades in track

1 August 2013 | By Peter Veit, Head of the Institute for Railway Engineering and Transport Economy, Graz University of Technology, Austria

Since 2002, track strategies at the Austrian Federal Railways (ÖBB) have been based on life-cycle cost calculations1. These basic strategies have been adopted due to new technologies – for example the use of under sleeper pads, changing price levels, and the phenomena of rail contact fatigue2 (RCF). The basic data…