All Railway Gazette International articles in April 2022 – Page 8
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Rail Business UKNew rules aim to open market for psychometric testing of train drivers
UK: The Office of Rail & Road has accepted a set of commitments by the Railway Assessment Centre Forum which are designed to reduce restrictions on entry to the market for the psychometric testing of train drivers. ORR opened an investigation into RACF membership in March 2021 ...
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Metro Report InternationalAgatha trainset enters service in Catania
ITALY: The first CT1 Agatha trainset produced by Titagarh Firema for the Catania metro entered revenue service on April 1. Styled by Pininfarina, the two-car units have been branded Agatha, after the city’s locally-born patron saint who is invoked against eruptions of ...
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News‘Controlled’ end to Finland – Russia rail freight traffic
FINLAND: National operator VR Group is to discontinue rail freight traffic with Russia ‘in a controlled manner’, the railway’s board decided on April 6. VR said it aimed to run down traffic as quickly as possible, although it expected that the process would take several months. ...
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In depthComment: Wiring advocates push back
Following much focus in recent months about the role that alternative traction technology such as batteries and hydrogen fuel cells could play in decarbonising railways, there are welcome signs that the rail industry is increasing the pressure to deploy more conventional overhead electrification, suggests our Managing Editor Nick Kingsley.
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Rail Business UKSafety was managed well in Class 800 cracking crisis, finds ORR
UK: Rail industry processes ensured that passenger safety was not compromised following the discovery of bodyshell cracks on the Hitachi-built Class 800 series trainsets in May 2021, according to a report published by the Office of Rail & Road on April 7.
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NewsCargoBeamer to open Erfurt wagon factory
GERMANY: CargoBeamer is to open a factory in Erfurt to produce its proprietary design of wagons for transporting lorry semi-trailers. The factory with a production capacity of 500 wagons/year will be developed on the site of a former locomotive works, where the 3 000 m2 facility ...
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NewsRENFE and Talgo present first refurbished Class 730
SPAIN: National operator RENFE has presented the first of 14 Class 730 electro-diesel gauge changing trainsets to undergo a mid-life refurbishment in a €11m programme which is being undertaken at Talgo’s Las Matas works. The Class 730s are rebuilds from dual-voltage Class 130 electric trainsets, and ...
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NewsÖBB orders double-deck EMUs
AUSTRIA: Austrian Federal Railways has placed a €600m firm order for 41 Stadler Kiss double-decker electric multiple-units. The order announced on April 7 is the first to be placed under a €3bn framework agreement for up to 186 trains which ÖBB and Stadler finalised in February ...
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NewsFreight locomotive fuel cell partnership
EUROPE: Alstom and Engie have signed a co-operation agreement to facilitate the deployment of high-performance fuel cells to power electric freight locomotives on non-electrified branch lines and sidings. Alstom is developing the fuel cell technology, and Engie is to produce and distribute ‘renewable’ hydrogen, having previously ...
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Rail Business UKComposite mast aims to cut electrification costs
UK: A prototype composite mast designed to reduce the costs and carbon emissions of railway electrification projects has been unveiled, ahead of extensive testing to understand the full scope of its capabilities. Branded IMAGE (Innovative composite MAst for Green Electrification), the mast ...
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Rail Business UKUK railway news round-up
This week’s round-up of business news from the UK railway industry.
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NewsDouble-deck EMU order confirmed
GERMANY: DB Regio has finalised its contract for Alstom to supply 29 Coradia Stream High-Capacity electric multiple-units to be used on Kinzigtal services RE50 Frankfurt - Wächtersbach - Fulda - Bebra and RB51 Frankfurt - Wächtersbach from December 2025. The double-deck EMUs will feature four-seat bays ...
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Metro Report InternationalData analytics collaboration aims to improve metro reliability
SINGAPORE: Metro operator SMRT Trains and Thales are to collaborate in the use of data analytics, artificial intelligence and other digital technologies to support maintenance and operations on the North-South and East-West lines. Thales said efficiently mining data from control, supervision and communication systems would enable ...
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NewsTrenitalia launches French domestic high speed services
FRANCE: Trenitalia launched its first French domestic open access high speed service between Paris-Lyon and Lyon-Perrache on April 5.
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Rail Business UKStaycation Express suspended for 2022
UK: Rail Charter Services has confirmed that its summer tourist trains over the Settle & Carlisle line, popularly known as the Staycation Express, will not operate in 2022. In a brief statement, the company said ‘unfortunately owing to extraordinary difficult trading conditions we have had to ...
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Metro Report InternationalGuangzhou metro tops 600 km as 160 km/h driverless Line 22 opens
CHINA: The first section of Guangzhou’s Line 22 has opened, with attended driverless trains operating at up to 160 km/h using Grade of Automation 3. Express metro Line 22 was approved by the Guangzhou Development & Reform Commission on September 1 2017. ...
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Rail Business UKMidlands Connect launches ‘Fairer, Greener, Stronger’ plan for the region’s transport
UK: More rail capacity and new services are envisaged in the Midlands Connect strategic transport plan for the region, which was launched at the organisation’s annual conference in Birmingham on April 4. Branded Fairer, Greener, Stronger, the plan lays out the key challenges facing transport in ...
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NewsVR Group President & CEO removed
FINLAND: The board of state rail operator VR Group dismissed Lauri Sipponen as President & Chief Executive on April 4, just seven months into the job. Director of Passenger Operations Topi Simola has taken temporary charge while VR Group looks for a new CEO. No reason ...
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NewsSJ orders 250 km/h trains as ‘the best travel product in Scandinavia’
SWEDEN: SJ has signed a €650m contract for Alstom to supply 25 Zefiro Express 250 km/h trainsets, which the national passenger operator says will complement its refurbished X2000 fleet as ‘the best travel product in Sweden and Scandinavia’, meeting the demand for ‘climate-smart, comfortable and efficient’ ...
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Metro Report InternationalUrban transport industry news round-up
This week’s round-up of news from the urban transport sector.