PASSENGER
16 Jul 2008 | NTV announces ambitious service pattern in 2011
ITALY: At a press conference in Roma on July 15, Europe's first private-sector high speed train operator Nuovo Trasporto Viaggiatori outlined details of the services it plans to launch in 2011. Guests at the high-profile event included newly-appointed European Transport Commissioner Antonio Tajani, More...
15 Jul 2008 | NTV unveils Italian AGV livery
ITALY: The red and gold colour scheme which will be carried by the 25 AGV trainsets ordered by Europe's first open-access high speed operator was unveiled in Roma on July 15. Nuovo Trasporto Viaggiatori announced in January that it had chosen Alstom's Automotrice à Grande Vitesse design for its hi More...
15 Jul 2008 | Make your own information display
USA: San Francisco metro operator BART is encouraging local retailers, offices and coffee shops to use spare computer screens to provide their customers and staff with real-time train running information. A simple file available to download from www.bart.gov enables almost any internet-linked compu More...
12 Jul 2008 | Arriva chosen in Sweden
SWEDEN: Arriva Skandinavien has been awarded a contract to run Kinnekulletåget passenger services between Göteborg and Örebro from June 14 next year. The agreement with transport authority Västtrafik runs for seven years, with an option for a two-year extension. 'It is very pleasing that we have wo More...
11 Jul 2008 | Wabtec wins Class 321 upgrade
UK: Wabtec Corp announced on July 10 that its UK subsidiary Wabtec Rail, based in Doncaster, had been awarded a £26·3m contract to refurbish 308 Class 321 EMU cars for HSBC Rail. Work on the National Express East Anglia fleet is due to take three years to complete, and will include 'a range of speci More...
11 Jul 2008 | CAF signs Izmir commuter train order
TURKEY: On July 10 Spanish rolling stock manufacturer CAF signed a €123m contract to supply 22 three-car EMUs which will enter service on suburban routes in Izmir from early 2010. The order was placed by IZBAN, a joint venture of state railway TCDD and Izmir Metropolitan Municipality. The 25 kV More...
11 Jul 2008 | Scotland orders Desiro fleet
UK: An order for 38 Siemens Desiro EMUs was announced on July 11 by John Swinney, the Scottish Government's Cabinet Secretary for Finance & Sustainable Growth. Passenger franchisee First ScotRail led the procurement of the 16 four-car and 22 three-car units, and is expected to sign the contrac More...
10 Jul 2008 | Thameslink shortlist announced
UK: On July 10 the Department for Transport named Alstom, Bombardier, Hitachi and Siemens as the shortlisted bidders for a contract worth an estimated £1·4bn to supply trains for Thameslink services. Bidders will be asked to produce 1 100 EMU cars for north-south commuter services through London, More...
10 Jul 2008 | Paris - Le Havre goes regular interval
FRANCE: SNCF and the Haute-Normandie region have agreed a package of measures to improve passenger services on the Paris - Rouen - Le Havre main line. A regular-interval timetable is to be introduced to the route in December, increasing the number of services by 15%. SNCF has also committed to more More...
10 Jul 2008 | Madrid tunnel opens
SPAIN: Suburban services began using the 8·5 km Atocha - Chamartín tunnel under the centre of Madrid on July 9. Testing of the new route, which has cost €550m to build, had begun on May 23. The route has two intermediate stations, of which Nuevos Ministerios is due to open this month. The second at More...
