Europe – Page 107
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In depthCzech Republic: Piecemeal modernisation makes steady progress
A further tranche of CEF funding from the EU will enable Czechinfrastructure manager Správa Železnic to progress numerous projects in its multifaceted modernisation of the country’s principal rail corridors. Toma Bačić investigates.
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NewsMoscow suburban train order
RUSSIA: Moscow’s Central Suburban Passenger Co has awarded Transhmashholding’s Tver-based TMH-PTR subsidiary a contract to supply 23 11-car DC electric multiple-units between Q4 2022 and Q1 2023. The contract awarded to the sole bidder is worth 20·5bn roubles including VAT. The EMUs will have a design ...
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News€353m Rail Baltica grant agreement signed
EUROPE: A grant agreement which will see the EU’s Connecting Europe Facility provide €353·9m for the Rail Baltica project has been signed by the European Climate, Infrastructure & Environment Executive Agency, ministries from the three countries and tri-national implementation agency RB Rail. This will fund the ...
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Metro Report InternationalCádiz Trambahía tram-train line opens
SPAIN: The Trambahía tram-train line in Cádiz has opened as the country’s first 1 668 mm gauge tram-train line. It includes 13·7 km of new tramway between Pelagatos and Río Arillo, from where services run 10·3 km into Cádiz over RENFE main line tracks shared with ...
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In depthBelgium: Double-deck power cars enter service
SNCB has put into operation the first of 90 double-deck power cars ordered to operate with its M7 push-pull coaches. Dr Harry Hondius reports.
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NewsPop-up workshops to retrofit digital automatic couplers
EUROPE: With around 500 000 European wagons needing to be equipped with digital automatic couplers by 2030, Deutsche Bahn is to deploy ‘pop-up’ mobile workshop tents where the work can be undertaken quickly and near where wagons are used, for example at industrial customers’ sites. From ...
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NewsFrench open access passenger service postponed
FRANCE: Three factors have led Le Train to postpone the launch of its planned open access high speed services in southwest France from mid-2023 until early 2024.
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NewsEuropean Sleeper now targets 2023 launch
EUROPE: Night train start-up European Sleeper now expects to launch its first service on the Brussels – Amsterdam – Berlin – Praha route in 2023. The Dutch company announced a year ago that infrastructure managers Infrabel, ProRail, DB Netz and Správa Železnic had allocated capacity for ...
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NewsLong-term strategy to address rail sector skills shortages
EUROPE: Rail, education and policy stakeholders met in Brussels to discuss a long-term action plan to address the sector’s growing skills shortage, including the need for reskilling and upskilling to support the green and digital transition. The event on October 13 marked the half way point ...
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In depthEastern Europe: Adding capacity in Poland’s capital
Modernisation of the busy east-west cross-city route and construction of a second cross-city tunnel in the Polish capital during 2023-27 will generate much-needed capacity. Elsewhere in the Mazowieckie voivodship surrounding Warszawa, there are plans to build new lines and reopen old ones. Benjámin Zelki reports.
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NewsElectric train sale-and-leaseback deal finalised
GERMANY: Northrail has structured a sale-and-lease-back transaction for 29 Alstom Coradia Stream High-Capacity electric multiple-units which DB Regio ordered in April. The EMUs are to be used from December 2025 on Kinzigtal services on the Frankfurt – Wächtersbach – Fulda – Bebra route. The investment is ...
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NewsJoint vision for international rail capacity management
EUROPE: A common vision for capacity management, process harmonisation and IT support to create a ‘European, digital, flexible and secure’ system enabling train operators to book capacity in line with their business models and customer needs has been set out by three industry associations. Forum Train ...
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NewsPKP reborn as a holding company
POLAND: Polish State Railways has been formally restructured as a holding company under a programme to make the railway more competitive as the European rail market continues to open up. PKP Group is formed of 18 companies led by PKP SA, which is 100% owned by ...
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NewsEast-West Gate intermodal terminal opens at Hungary – Ukraine border
HUNGARY: The arrival of a train loaded with Ukrainian agricultural produce inaugurated the East-West Gate terminal at Fényeslitke, which developer East-West Intermodal Logistics says is Europe’s largest inland intermodal facility. The 85 ha facility is within a 140 ha development site around 15 km from the ...
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NewsPajares Base Tunnel freight locomotive unveiled
SPAIN: Stadler and national freight operator RENFE Mercancías have unveiled the first four of 12 Class 256 Euro 6000 electric locomotives designed to be able to haul 1 800 tonne trains through the Pajares Base Tunnel.
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NewsTransdev Rhein-Ruhr wins S7 operating contract
GERMANY: Transport authority VRR has awarded Transdev Rhein-Ruhr a contract to operate Wuppertal – Remscheid – Solingen passenger service S7 for five years from December 2023, with an option for a further three years. S7 services totalling 1·47 million train km-year run every 20 min and ...
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Metro Report InternationalKrasnodar tram network expansion concession
RUSSIA: Work has begun on a major tramway expansion programme in Krasnodar. This includes 71 km of new line to more than double the network by 2029, and the introduction of 10 to 12 new routes. Work on the western section is underway under an agreement ...
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Metro Report InternationalHamburg groundbreaking marks start of U5 construction
GERMANY: Hamburg’s Mayor Peter Tschentscher has formally launched the construction of driverless metro Line U5 with a groundbreaking ceremony exactly a year to the day after the granting of planning approval for the first phase. Described by the city government as Germany’s largest inner-city transport project, ...
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NewsIarnród Éireann plans to award wagon supply framework contract
IRELAND: Iarnród Éireann has begun procurement for a multi-year framework contract covering the supply of up to 400 wagons of various types to meet its future needs. The national railway plans to place an initial order for approximately 200 wagons, including a sub-fleet of up to ...
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NewsEuropean Commission closes ČD pricing investigation
CZECH REPUBLIC: The European Commission has closed its investigation into alleged predatory conduct by national passenger operator ČD, after concluding that the evidence did not confirm its initial concerns. On November 10 2016, the European Commission opened an investigation to assess whether ČD had charged prices ...