A ONE-day strike by Greece's largest labour union paralysed public transport and sea traffic today and further threatened preparations for the summer Olympics, already bogged down by delays.
ANGRY commuters were being forced to cram into fewer trains after at least 120 services were cancelled in the past week.
Florida high-speed rail advocates launched a new effort Wednesday to counteract information they deem inaccurate.
CRIME on and around public transport has dropped by almost 13 per cent, Victorian Police Minister Andre Haermeyer announced today.
The Bracks Government's planning blueprint, Melbourne 2030, is at risk of collapse without big improvements in public transport, an advisory committee to the Government has warned.
The committee says key groups, including developers and the building industry, "do not have confidence that the transport elements of Melbourne 2030 will be adequately delivered or addressed".
THE upcoming launch of a high-speed railway service in South Korea is expected to give a much-needed boost to the country's tourist industry.
The outbreak of bird flu late last year ended the industry's post-SARS recovery, causing a slump in inbound travel, including a fall in the number of Chinese tourists in the country.
In November 2003, after staying the night at Heathcote, I left late in the morning for Ballarat intending to drive along a few backroads which approximately followed the route of the old Redesdale rail alignment.
Early recollections by: L. McD Simpson
Although in its early days the rail service consisted of four weekly trips, my earliest memories are of the late twenties when two mixed trips per week were provided.
I can recall making my one and only trip accompanied by my mother, sister and younger brother, from Wangaratta to Docker (the return trip to Whitfield).
It was an afternoon in summer. The one passenger carriage was occupied by a few travellers who were seated on leather-padded bench seats along each side of the carriage. At each end of the carriage was the entrance platform with a guard rail over the coupling gear, and a small hood or verandah extending from the carriage roof. It was here a large canvas waterbag hung - the carriage’s only passenger amenity. Being a very hot afternoon and having eaten sweets before the journey began, we children regarded it as the train’s most indispensable piece of equipment.
We would sign on at 2am at Wangaratta to run the Tuesday Whitfield Goods. The engine would also come off the pet at 2am to do the shunt and the van and carriage would be pushed down to the buffer stop. Here they were charged with Pintich gas for their lighting, and the gas point serving both the broad and narrow gauge. Then the engine would run round and push them back on to the van. The driver would check the brakes and by this time it was 3am- the Whitfield Goods was due out.
THE vast majority of Gungahlin residents want the controversial Gungahlin Drive Extension to go ahead, a poll conducted for The Sunday Times has found.
A telephone survey on Thursday and Friday conducted by the Australian School of Government Studies showed 90 per cent of residents wanted the $71million extension.
An overwhelming majority - 80 per cent - were prepared to see the road, which will run between Tuggeranong Parkway at the Glenloch Interchange and Gungahlin Drive at the Barton Highway, go through the Canberra Nature Reserve, which includes the O'Connor and Bruce ridges.
Recollections: L M Simpson/K Shanley
In the early life of the Whitfield rail line there was the occasion of the runaway truck - an empty rail truck that somehow, quietly and unnoticed moved under its own momentum, away from the Whitfield siding and travelling towards the Wangaratta end, began an exciting little episode in the line’s history.
A bomb found on a high-speed train line in central Spain appears to contain the same type of dynamite as used in the March 11 Madrid rail bombings, Spanish state radio has reported.
"First examination indicates that it is the same dynamite - Goma 2 Eco - as used in the Madrid attacks," the radio said.
A bomb was found on a high-speed rail track in central Spain yesterday just weeks after 191 people were killed in suspected al-Qaeda bombings of four packed Madrid commuter trains.
Spain sent in the army to guard its railways today after finding a bomb on a high-speed track that may contain the same explosives used in last month's Madrid train bombings.
Interior Minister Angel Acebes said police would check the 350 kph Madrid-Seville line on which the bomb was found kilometre by kilometre and would then use helicopters and army vehicles to guard key tracks.
The 12 kg of dynamite packed in a bag was found near the central city of Toledo and defused safely.
A TEENAGER was killed after falling into the path of a train during an alleged gang fight at Mooroolbark railway station late yesterday. Last night homicide squad detectives confirmed they were investigating whether the 17-year-old had been deliberately pushed to his death.
FIFTY police, 100 transit officers and the dog squad will patrol key train lines in a high visibility policing operation to coincide with the Royal Easter Show.
POLICE have charged a man with the murder of a teenager killed by a train in Melbourne's east.
Light rail projects will be the central element of a new infrastructure plan to be unveiled by the end of this year. While no details of any projects have been outlined, one of the keynote speakers at the weekend's Economic Summit Revisited was Fred Hansen, general manager of Trimet, the light rail system operating in Portland, Oregon, US.
April 5, 2004 - 11:07AM
German police were today investigating an apparent attempt to cause a high-speed passenger train to crash with hundreds of people aboard over the weekend.
The world's most famous steam engine will be seen regularly on Britain's railway network again after the Flying Scotsman was saved from sale abroad at a cost of £3.6m.
Sydney's commuters have barely recovered from the Millennium train fiasco – now a new "hi-tech" train is headed for the tracks. "New generation" train carriages worth $1.5 billion will replace a third of the ageing CityRail fleet over the next six years.
The State Government says it can no longer afford to keep the rail line between Casino and Murwillumbah open and will stop rail services between the towns. Coaches will replace the daily passenger train.
The nation's biggest railroad has taken the unprecedented step of asking some customers along its 33,000-mile system to scale back their shipments at least temporarily.
The number of police patrolling Melbourne's train system is to be slashed by 10 per cent.
The Friends of the Northern Railway say "people power" prevented the loss of the Armidale to Tamworth rail link in this week's state mini-Budget.
Friends, Railpage Australia will experience downtimes over the evening probably around 9pm until midnight. The downtime window will be approximately 2 -3 hours and is scheduled to enable cutover programming for the pending rp2 deployment, plus database schema changes.
Once the service is back online, users will experience changes to the rp network in terms of access and hosts. RP2 is close!
Regards,
Brian
Railpage Australia is experiencing extended downtime continuing from last night's maintenence. Tech's have been working throughout the night and morning to restore service. We expect the rp2 and the new forums to come online around 4pm today. This work has been necessary to combine the rather large forum databases and the new rp2 content management system. -Operations.
Sections of the Ballarat rail line will be closed from 17 April until early July 2004 for the biggest upgrade of the line in 120 years, the Minister for Transport, Peter Batchelor announced today.
Mr Batchelor said the closures would allow the major track works for the Regional Fast Rail project to be completed between Deer Park and Ballarat.
Railpage's image gallery is now live, along with Railpage 2.0 - but you too can get involved!
If you are wondering where the old railpage site is and all our hosted customers off the .org.au domain, well they are there, but the machine had a major flame out yesterday and once i can access the data centre and reboot all will still be there.
Sorry about the downtime, but we decided to fix the forums first.
Finally, there are no changes to accessing your sites and requesting space. The new server is 20 times the capacity so we can host a lot more.
We are starting the release of Frequently Asked Questions packs or FAQ's for RP2. You can access the FAQ's by clicking on the link contained under the Site section on the left menu.
If you have any thoughts or contributions for the FAQ's please contact one of the service administrators.
From a young aspiring railway volunteer, I discover that after being partially 'passed out' as a guard for the Zig Zag Railway, the fact that a railway is anything but perfect becomes the realisation for me as a young railway worker, destined to one day be on the footplate. The pressures of delays, disruptions and stressed collegues are at the least, an assessment of my performance and aptitude, trying to manage a train according to schedule, at the same time, carry aboard happy passengers.
After spending years as a 'typical' train buff, taking photos, travelling far out to see locos, going on tours and all that, there was something ahead which would really satisfy me in my love for trains. Something better than all the previous combined. Something that would set the road (Excuse the pun!) towards my lifelong dream.
The long childhood dream of mine to one day be on the footplate of a steam locomotive, and be the one opening the regulator was going to start somewhere. It was at Clarence station on the Zig Zag Railway filling out a membership form. Months later, the start of a dream would really begin where all volunteers do, their safeworking course. This was going to be my initial exposure to the operations of a railway, and it was the first step on the ladder I'd ever take.
The Railpage Australia team would like to announce the release of a national rail events calendar provided as a link under the contents section of the navigation toolbar
The calendar is designed to provide groups and individuals with a centralised events calendar which is available to internet based railway enthusiasts.
Feedback on the service to be directed to the RP support team via the feedback section
A TICKET inspector grabbed a young female passenger around the neck with his two hands, police have been told.
The early 90's saw substancial changes with standardisation of the 'Main South' resulting in the relocation of Steamranger from Dry Creek to Mount Barker. The following is just a few recolections of the last few years of steam out of Dry Creek.
By Peter Michalak
Grain farmers are taking an active interest in rail matters these days, much more than previously and for good reason. For too long it has been the policy of successive NSW governments to close down rural rail lines on the grounds that they do not pay.
The Otago Settlers Museum will launch a public appeal to raise $140,000 to restore one of New Zealand's oldest electric trams.
18:45 Hours Wednesday 14 April 2004.
WCR's S 311 has come off the rails and ended in the dirt at Warrnambool, CFA Currently in attendance.
Amtrak's president says last month's rush-hour train attacks in Spain could happen in the United States.
The union representing rail workers says the decision by the NSW Government to cut rail services on the state's north coast is a sin and should be reversed.
THE AXING of the Casino to Murwillumbah train will serve as a reminder to the Armidale community to continue the fight for its own rail service.
Switching locomotives are the tugboats of the rail yards because they haul rail cars from one location or track to another. They are called "goats" in the industry and most North American switchers are 40 to 50 years old, noisy and expensive to operate and maintain. As well, they are constantly polluting the atmosphere.
Royal Mail is in talks with the freight arm of transport operator FirstGroup, which could see post being delivered by railway once more.
Both the government and Taiwan High Speed Rail Corp. (THSRC) said yesterday that the north-south high speed rail system will start service in October next year as scheduled.
The Bush Administration is planning on scrapping the nationally owned Amtrak railway service. The White House has asked the States for proposals and plans for the future “if Amtrak were dismantled and some or all of its routes were open to competition.“
ON the Penrith-bound train, people are jammed in like sardines, clinging to anything they can wrap their hands around.
THE cost of Victoria's troubled fast rail project is ballooning by more than $1 million a week.
Sightings from the Wimmera, Featuring a trip to Ballarat.
Connex and Yarra Trams have vowed to revitalise Melbourne's public transport by upgrading services and safety during a five-year, $2.3 billion contract with the State Government.
THE NSW Government has cut the training time of rail drivers by five months in an effort to get more drivers on the tracks sooner.
THE discovery of a suspicious package at Beverly Hills railway station yesterday afternoon left many Sydney commuters facing long delays home.
The State Government yesterday reaffirmed its commitment to deepening Port Phillip Bay's shipping channel, but was unable to say how the $450 million project will be funded. Its economic statement said legislation would be introduced this year to accelerate the project's planning approval and to declare it a priority for the state, subject to a satisfactory environmental effects study.
The training of V/Line drivers on the new Bairnsdale railway line has commenced, the Minister for Transport, Peter Batchelor announced today.
Mr Batchelor said the track works were now complete, the line had received safety approval, and an announcement regarding the return of passenger services would be made very soon.
A vandal who hauled concrete slabs and steel fencing on to railway tracks caused thousands of pounds of damage and threatened the lives of hundreds of passengers, police said yesterday.
Strong Chinese demand boosts railway volume
Canadian Pacific Railway Co. says years of downsizing and layoffs are past as it focuses on growing, in part to handle the Chinese market's huge shipping demands for imports and exports.
Tranz Rail's customers are lobbying for a transparent and strong track-owning company when the track returns to the Government.
Metford and Thornton residents have joined forces to fight a $12 million railway siding facility between the two suburbs.
An empty Amtrak train ploughed into the back of a commuter laden train near New York's Penn Station on Monday, leaving 130 people with minor injuries.
EVEN when they are trying to do the right thing, CityRail seems to get it wrong.
The bid to establish a rail museum at Pinjarra's Rail Heritage Centre received an $845,000 boost this week.
A tram loop running west from Glasgow city centre along both banks of the Clyde has been recommended by transport consultants.
Rail lobby group Northern Rivers Trains for the Future says it welcomes the Federal Government's offer to fund a feasibility study into rail services in the region, but says the study must be independent.
Up to 3,000 people were killed or injured when two fuel-laden trains collided and exploded at a North Korean station just hours after leader Kim Jong-il had passed through, according to South Korean media.
The Metropolitan Transportation Authority, which operates several commuter services in the New York City area, has exercised an option to buy 120 more M-7 electric rail cars from Bombardier Transportation for $280 million.
AS MANY as 3000 people were killed or injured today when two trains carrying oil and liquefied petroleum gas collided and exploded at a North Korean train station, South Korean media reported.
Beaudesert Rail has added a special wheelchair-friendly carriage to the seven nicely rennovated ones which its C17 steam train pulls regularily on its beaudesert-Logan village run. Wednesday's are usually reserved for group bookings, with the weekend trips for steam engine fans and other sightseers.
MELBOURNE commuters say the latest campaign to promote train travel is a con.
It sounded like a car smashing into a pole, but when Tony Digrazia ran from the Brunswick factory where he worked, he could not see a thing through the dark and rain.
TAXIS costing taxpayers as much as $750 a fare are being used to take train drivers home after a fortnight's work.
As many as 400 workers could lose their jobs when the State Government closes the rural rail reservations office at Central Station and at least 30 CountryLink travel centres in Sydney and across the state.
Light rail routes need to be better integrated with other travel services and cheaper to construct, if they are to succeed in Britain, a report has warned.
New South Wales police officers are stepping up their efforts to find drug dealers and couriers using Sydney's train network.
Foreign aid workers said on Sunday they were not given enough information by North Korea to mount a comprehensive relief operation following a railway explosion near the Chinese border.
South Korea has offered medical supplies and food worth $US1 million to North Korea to help victims of a deadly train blast, officials said.
New MSTS add-ons are now available in the railpage download section. Click on new to see files released over the last 7 days.
International aid agencies said they would return to the site of a devastating North Korean train blast, which killed at least 161 people, in an urgent effort to help the victims.
THREE teenagers have been charged over an attack on a rail employee at Blackburn in Melbourne's east yesterday.
Hospital staff say a woman has been very lucky to escape serious injury after being trapped between a train and a platform at a station in Sydney's south last night.
April 27, 2004 PERTH metropolitan train services will be disrupted tomorrow as drivers attend a union meeting to discuss their latest pay offer.
April 28, 2004 A drunk Mexican man who fell asleep on railroad tracks and was run over by a train slept through the entire episode and escaped unharmed, local officials said. Jorge Lozano Lopez, a 32-year-old electrician, did not regain consciousness until well after paramedics arrived on the scene late one recent night.
One of Melbourne's top tourist attractions, the city circle tram, has turned 10 today.
There has been a positive outcome to initial negotiations between TranzMetro and the Greater Wellington Regional Council.
There are concerns the NSW Government will try to dismantle the north coast rail line before plans for its future use can be fully investigated.
The Member for Gippsland East, Craig Ingram, is urging the Victorian Government to ensure it has a bigger say in the future of the state's rail lines.
The 10-year-old Tranz Rail name has been dumped in the dustbin of New Zealand transport history.
A lawyer representing a group of eight Northern Territory cattle station owners says a test case could be mounted if the Territory Government does not readdress issues over the acquisition of land for the Alice to Darwin railway.
Two years after seven people died in a horrific derailment blamed on points failure, maintenance company Jarvis and track overlords Network Rail accepted "legal liability".
A CAMBODIAN woman was killed and three other people seriously injured when a train derailed en route from the southwestern port town of Sihanoukville to the capital, officials said today.
29apr04 About 500 CountryLink reservations staff have walked off the job for 24 hours to protest against the New South Wales Government's proposed cuts to regional rail services. Also protesting today are people affected by the planned cutting of an XPT rail service between Casino and Murwillumbah on the NSW north coast. The strike by CountryLink reservations staff was timed to coincide with the community protest, which will be held at Governor Macquarie Tower in Sydney later today.
Regional commuters continued to suffer service cuts at the hands of the Sydney-centric NSW Government while millions were pumped into the CityRail network, protesters said yesterday.
The State Opposition will push for a parliamentary inquiry into the termination of train services on the Casino to Murwillumbah line.
Officials in Kazakhstan say they are planning a railway link that will speed up transit between China and Europe.
As the tracks of the Belvidere & Delaware River Railway come alive, so will the dreams of a revived Phillipsburg. Saturday marks the long-awaited start of the Delaware River Railroad Excursions which officials are heralding as the town's first major tourist attraction and a sure-fire boost for the economy.
The Victorian Opposition says the State Government is stalling the regional fast rail projects for optimum political advantage.
Television star Michael Palin has been invited to join railway enthusiasts on a nostalgic trip along the under-threat line to Londonderry. The Modern Railway Society of Ireland said it had invited Palin to travel with them on its "The Threatened Lines" tour this Sunday.
Shortages in the amount of train drivers needed to properly run Sydney's rail network will plague the system for another two years, it was reported.
VICTORIA'S roads will be the big winners in next month's state and federal budgets.
Countrylink's rail services in the Hunter will undergo a review over the next eight weeks.
The first northbound Interail train between Melbourne and Brisbane is due into Acacia Ridge at 9pm tonight. The first southbound train ran on Wednesday 28 April.
A SYDNEY train driver has been removed from duty for allegedly testing positive for alcohol after a rail crash today.