5/2010
Botniabanan Inaugurated
The 190 km Botniabanan, serving Sweden’s east coast between Kramfors, Örnsköldsvik and Umea, was formally inaugurated on 28 August 2010 by King Carl XVI Gustav, who, along with around 160 invited guests, travelled the line on board Bombardier’s special „Gröna Tag“ Regina EMU X52 9062.
On 30 August 2010, the first day of commercial passenger operations on the Botniabanan, Regina EMU X52 9062 awaits departure from Umea Ö.
Photo: Christoph Grimm
A GKB News Assortment
Graz-Köflacher Bahn und Busbetrieb, which in 2010 celebrated its 150th anniversary, is busy modernising and expanding its fleet of railway vehicles, with new DMUs and secondhand diesel locomotives.
Tauernbahn, with its 29 ‰ ramps and a maximum line speed of 110 km/h, is ideal for traction and braking trials, and it is here that the train is seen on 1 September, near Kolbnitz on the southern part of the line, en route to Spittal-Millstättersee.
Photo: www.tauernbahn.at
InnoTrans 2010 Report
As in previous InnoTrans years, in this and subsequent numbers of Railvolution our various editors and correspondents offer you a unique and exclusive tour, in words and pictures, of the most interesting exhibits and relevant aspects of the event. We start off in R 5/10, as usual, with a look at the EMUs, DMUs and associated products which were on display.
Here we see tracks five to ten of the outside exhibition area, including a number of the vehicles described in this first part of our InnoTrans 2010 report. From left to right are the first ALP-45DP dual-power locomotive, one of the batch ordered by New Jersey Transit, followed by the Odenwaldbahn’s ITINO VT 123.1 DMU, a London Underground MOVIA 21012, SBB’s Class Tm 232 rebuilt diesel shunter 129, SBB’s Class RABe 511 first double deck KISS EMU, SNCF’s Class TER 2N NG double deck EMU Z24678, and ZSSK’s double deck push-pull rake 951.001.
Photo: Tomáš Kuchta
From Moskva To The Cote d'Azur Again - After 96 Years!
Amid celebrations on the platform, at 16.17 Russian time on 23 September 2010 a passenger train pulled out of Moskva’s Belorusskaya station, bound for Nice, and following in the footsteps of the „Poezd Velikikh Knyazey“ („Train of the Great Princes“), which ran from 1864 until the outbreak of the First World War in 1914, linking St. Petersburg (the pre-Revolution capital) with the Côte d’Azur.
The inaugural train approaching Drahotuše, near Přerov, in the Czech Republic on the afternoon of 24 September 2010. Between Bohumín and Břeclav the locomotive employed was ČD’s 363.027. According to RZD this train was loaded to 90 % of its capacity, though on the subsequent departure from Moskva, on 30 September, only two de-luxe carriages were required - the number of vehicles in that class marshalled in the rake depends on booking levels.
Photo: Kajetan Steiner
December 2009 Channel Tunnel Blizzard Chaos In Retrospect: What Can Be Learned?
The winter of 2009/10 was, for much of Europe, a return to the sort of conditions which were more commonplace many decades ago. Many rail operators right across the continent experienced difficulties, but the event that really hit the headlines was the stranding of no fewer than five Class 373 Eurostars inside the Channel Tunnel on the night of 18 to 19 December 2009. As we prepare Railvolution 5/10, winter is almost upon us once again, and in this era of increasing climatic variability it is anyone’s guess what it will be like. So it is instructive to look back to see what has been learned by those who were involved in this incident.
Eurostar 373004, train 9012 from St. Pancras International to Paris Gare du Nord kicks up a snow trail at Beechbrook Farm near Ashford in Kent on 18 December 2009. It was powdered snow such as seen here that entered the electrical equipment of the Eurostar power cars in northern France and caused the company so much trouble.
Photo: Alan Crotty
Wien Hauptbahnhof Starts To Take Shape
Construction of the new main station for rail services to and from the Austrian capital got under way in earnest in 2009.
As is the case with most modern city-centre station developments, Wien Hauptbahnhof will be much more than just a mere stopping place for trains. As can be seen in the image of what the site will look like when work is finished.
Photo: bahnorama
And much more!
Cover of 5/2010
Poster
Features: the TWINDEXX Regio train operated by Koleje Mazowieckie on its way to Łuków, eastwards of capital