Articles in the February 2013 issue of Railway Gazette International magazine. CommentLiberalisation: the war of words rages onAnalysis Fyra lurches from farce to fiasco Amtrak and California team up UK franchising ‘not fundamentally flawed’ Heavy haulDeveloping a heavy haul network Indian Railways is adopting heavy haul technology for its first two Dedicated Freight Corridors, which are being built to accommodate axleloads up to 32·5 tonnes India In search of a profitable passenger business An ambitious blueprint to expand capacity and modernise both infrastructure and rolling stock, plus an appropriate fare structure, could return Indian Railways passenger operations to profitability Rethinking the focus Facing strong competition from road for both bulk and non-bulk freight, Indian Railways needs to position itself within an integrated transport and logistics network, argues Raghu Dayal Track technology Understanding the life of ballast mats Researchers in Germany have examined the condition and performance of a resilient under-ballast mat installed 21 years earlier on the Hannover – Würzburg high speed line Pre-hardened crossings can cut life-cycle costs Trials in the Channel Tunnel have demonstrated the benefit of explosive head hardening of cast austenitic manganese turnout crossings In focusBeijing – Guangzhou PDL completed The world’s longest dedicated high speed line opened for traffic on December 26, with four more passenger lines due to open in 2013 Forum People: ADIF changes President Research & skills: Master’s course in rail freight launched Dieter Sidetrack Letters Diary ViewpointEuropean policy is damaging cross-border passenger rail services, argues Simon Field of World Carfree Network More...
