Europe
-
Metro Report InternationalDeutsche Telekom commissions Hacon to develop German MaaS platform
GERMANY: Deutsche Telekom has commissioned Hacon to develop a Mobility-as-a-Service platform by June 2022, including web, Android and iOS apps. The Siemens Mobility subsidiary is to develop a MaaS platform that can facilitate door-to-door travel using public transport, on-demand services, new mobility providers, taxis, bicycles or ...
-
News
Cargounit signs 30-loco framework agreement
POLAND: Leasing company Cargounit and Siemens Mobility signed a framework contract for the supply and maintenance of up to 30 Vectron MS locomotives at the Trako trade fair on September 22. There is a firm order for 10 to be delivered between this year and the ...
-
News
Hydrogen trains planned for Apennine route
ITALY: The replacement of diesel trains with hydrogen on a line in central Italy is being studied by AECOM, Spanish renewables group Iberdrola, green hydrogen firm Cinque International and sustainable development specialist Ancitel Energia & Ambiente.
-
News
Test train carries first passengers over Pajares cut-off
SPAIN: Under construction since 2004, the 50 km Pajares high speed cut-off through the Cordillera Cantábrica mountain range in the north of the country moved a step closer to opening on September 20 when ADIF Alta Velocidad ran the first passenger-carrying test train between La Robla and Campomanes.
-
News
Shorter high speed trains to fit Sicilian train ferries
ITALY: Trenitalia is assessing the possibility of ordering a shorter variant of its Frecciarossa ETR1000 high speed train which could use the train ferries between the mainland and the island of Sicily. The Ministry of Infrastructure & Transport envisages ordering a fleet of 12 four-car mini ...
-
Metro Report International
Transport information to be made available on Mobility Data Marketplace
GERMANY: The Federal Council has approved the Mobility Data Ordinance, which obliges transport agencies to provide data on timetables, routes and fares for inclusion in a single national Mobility Data Marketplace. The aim is to facilitate the development of app-based transport information services, and to make ...
-
News
DAC programme selects Scharfenberg digital coupler
EUROPE: Following extensive testing with various prototypes, a Scharfenberg latch design has been selected as the basis for the future European Digital Automatic Coupler. Meeting on September 21, the supervisory board of the European DAC Delivery Programme adopted a recommendation from the ...
-
News
Macron puts high speed projects back on track in ‘decade of the TGV’
FRANCE: In a speech at Paris Gare de Lyon during an event held on September 17 to mark 40 years since the launch of TGV services, President Emmanuel Macron announced the revival of plans to expand the high speed network, describing the 2020s as ‘the decade of the TGV’.
-
News
CargoBeamer network extended to the UK
EUROPE: CargoBeamer has formed a partnership with Eurotunnel enabling unaccompanied lorry semi-trailers arriving at its rail-road transfer terminal in Calais to be transported on Shuttle trains through the Channel Tunnel and then onwards to Ashford in southeast England. The companies said this would partially resolve the ...
-
News
Connecting Europe Express puts spotlight on Western Balkan rail vision
EUROPE: Welcoming the EU’s Connecting Europe Express to Beograd Centar on September 13, Serbian Prime Minister Ana Brnabić announced that her country’s rail investment programme would be worth up to €6bn and focus on ‘reconnecting’ the Western Balkan countries’ fragmented networks.
-
News
CargoNet leases electro-diesel locos
NORWAY: National freight operator CargoNet has signed a long-term full-service lease agreement for European Loc Pool to supply it with two Stadler EuroDual six-axle electro-diesel locomotives at the end of October 2022. The locomotives will have an output of 2·8 MW in diesel mode and 6 ...
-
News
Railway unions discuss international merger
INTERNATIONAL: The Transport Salaried Staffs’ Association in the UK and Ireland and the International Brotherhood of Boilermakers in the USA have announced talks with a view to merging by July 1 2022. TSSA has more than 18 000 members at rail, ferry, bus and associated companies ...
-
News
Brno – Blansko upgrading starts
CZECH REPUBLIC: Infrastructure manager SŽ has launched a long-planned modernisation of a section of Corridor 1 from Brno northwards along the River Svitava to Blansko. The work will require a complete closure of the double-track electrified main line for one year from December 12. Local trains ...
-
News
DB begins work to electrify to the Austrian border
GERMANY: Deutsche Bahn has begun work to install 15 kV 16·7 Hz electrification on a 1·5 km section of line between Pfronten-Steinach and the Austrian border at Schönbichl. This will allow electric operation of trains to Garmisch-Partenkirchen and München via Austria’s Ausserfernbahn, which is not connected ...
-
Metro Report International
SmartWindow trials begin on Karlsruhe tram-train
GERMANY: SmartWindow technology for displaying live and context-based journey information on vehicle windows is being tested on a tram-train operated by AVG in Karlsruhe. The six-month trial starting this month will be used to assess the situations under which passengers will interact with the SmartWindow, which ...
-
News
New leasing company targets non-electrified routes with SmartHybrid locos
EUROPE: Private equity infrastructure investor InfraVia Capital Partners has formed Nexrail Lease to supply low-emission locomotives for unelectrified routes. The new leasing company has placed a framework order for up to 50 Vossloh Locomotives DE18 Stage V SmartHybrid locos, and taken over 53 existing locos. CRRC ...
-
News
Three and four section electric locomotives approved
RUSSIA: Ural Locomotives has obtained Customs Union approval for its 3 kV DC 3ES6 and 4ES6 locomotives, which are based on the 2ES6 twin-section design with one or two intermediate sections added to provide additional power. This follows testing at the VNIIZhT experimental ring in Shcherbinka. ...
-
News
Funds confirmed to support rail freight relaunch strategy
FRANCE: Transport Minister Jean-Baptiste Djebbari has affirmed that the government will provide €170m a year to support the rail freight sector until 2024 as part of a National Rail Freight Development Strategy.
-
In depth
Freight: An intermodal gateway emerges in northeast Europe
Connected since July to the Polish border by a standard gauge link, the Kaunas Intermodal Terminal in Lithuania is set to become a strategic hub for the Baltic States as part of the wider Rail Baltica programme.
-
Metro Report International
Crown Bridges tramway construction approved
FINLAND: Construction of the Crown Bridges tramway in Helsinki is expected to get underway shortly, after the city council formally approved a revised budget setting the estimated cost at €326m. The 10 km light rail line will connect Laajasalo in the southeast to the city centre ...
