PASSENGER
31 Jul 2008 | Beijing - Tianjin high speed line opens for business
CHINA: Tickets for high speed services between Beijing and Tianjin went on sale on July 31, the day before the formal opening of the 117 km line. Testing was successfully completed on June 30, since when 100 000 km of trial running has been undertaken without passengers. Regular services will begin More...
31 Jul 2008 | Funding agreed for LGV Bretagne
FRANCE: On July 29 Minister for Ecology, Energy, Sustainable Development & Planning Jean-Louis Borloo signed an agreement establishing the funding mechanism and provisional construction timetable for a 132 km extension of the TGV Atlantique high speed line from Le Mans to Rennes. Costed at €3·4bn, More...
30 Jul 2008 | BeNEX places €100m Coradia order
GERMANY: Alstom announced a €100m order for 26 Coradia Continental regional EMUs on July 30. The 21 three-car and five four-car trainsets have been ordered by BeNEX, the company established by Hamburger Hochbahn to bid for operating contracts beyond the Hamburg area and now 49% owned by Babcock & More...
26 Jul 2008 | Trial running to Jinzhou
CHINA: Test running has commenced on a 14·3 km extension of the Dalian Fast Rail Link. The first trains took to the branch on July 8 after the extension was handed over by the China Railway Electrification Bureau, which led the construction project. The present Line 3 provides a suburban service l More...
25 Jul 2008 | Faiveley to supply Matangi EMU brakes
NEW ZEALAND: Faiveley Transport has won a contract to supply brake controls, bogie brakes and air generation equipment for 45 two-car EMUs which are being built by a consortium of Hyundai Rotem and Mitsui for use on Metlink suburban services in Wellington. Called 'Matangi' from a Maori word for 'wi More...
22 Jul 2008 | An ABC of good design
CHINA: With the Summer Olympic Games just a few weeks away, major infrastructure projects are coming to fruition across Beijing. Prominent amongst these projects is the automated rail link to the city's international airport, where design has been given a high priority. More...
21 Jul 2008 | SNCF seeks high-capacity double-deck trains
FRANCE: SNCF has called tenders for a fleet of up to 860 double-deck electric trainsets. Designated Porteurs Hyperdenses - literally Ultra-High-Capacity Carriers - they are intended for busy regional and outer-suburban routes and are required in two versions. The Porteur Hyperdense Coeur de Cible More...
18 Jul 2008 | Tram-trains and electrification planned
AUSTRALIA: Plans to electrify four suburban lines around Adelaide have been outlined in the South Australian government's latest budget, which offers A$2bn for transport projects over the next decade. Preliminary work to electrify the Noarlunga, Grange and Outer Harbor lines at 25 kV 50 Hz will com More...
17 Jul 2008 | Swedish high speed strategy
SWEDEN: Infrastructure manager Banverket has submitted a report to the government recommending the construction of two high speed corridors over the next 20 years, at an estimated cost of SKr100bn to SKr150bn. According to BV Director General Minoo Akhtarzand, the rail network will need 50% more c More...
16 Jul 2008 | A €14bn vision for Ile-de-France
FRANCE: The President of the Ile-de-France region Jean-Paul Huchon was joined by the presidents of RATP, RFF, SNCF and the Mayor of Paris to unveil an ambitious regional transport vision for the next 12 years on June 19. Huchon hopes to see investment of €13·7bn by 2020 on a series of projects to a More...
