Europe – Page 202
-
NewsFlixTrain halts plans to launch open access service in France
FRANCE: FlixMobility GmbH has decided to postpone indefinitely its plans to launch open access passenger train services on five inter-city routes in France. The company had announced in June last year that FlixTrain-branded services would run on four French domestic routes, as well as between Paris and ...
-
NewsRomania seeks inter-regional EMUs
Local builder Softronic demonstrated its Hyperion EMU prototype on a daily Craiova – București – Constanța service in the summer of 2014. (Photo: Mihai Tudosă). ROMANIA: Railway reform authority Autoritatea pentru Reformă Feroviară has invited bids for the supply of 20 low-floor EMUs for use on long-distance ...
-
NewsNarrow gauge wagon launched with updated bogie design
RUSSIA: Kambarka Engineering Works has launched its VSK-1000 narrow gauge side-tipping wagon, which has a new design of bogie. The wagon with a capacity of 35 tonnes is designed to carry bulk sand, gravel, ballast, salt, rock, ore and coal. It can be ...
-
NewsBerlin – Malmö night train to continue despite closure of ferry route
EUROPE: The Berlin Night Express overnight train between Sweden and Germany will continue to run despite shipping company Stena Line’s plans to close the Trelleborg – Sassnitz ferry route which the train uses to cross the Baltic, operator Snälltåget has told Railway Gazette International. ...
-
Metro Report InternationalIntelligently-controlled ventilation for Barcelona metro
SPAIN: Engineering and technology group SENER and Barcelona metro operator FMB have launched the RESPIRA project to install ‘intelligently controlled’ ventilation systems to improve passenger comfort at stations.
-
NewsALLRAIL calls for action to save new passenger train operators
EUROPE: The coronavirus pandemic is ‘annihilating’ the business cases of many independent passenger operators, and without urgent action the first bankruptcies could be seen this month, the ALLRAIL association of new entrants to the rail market has warned. On April 9 ALLRAIL said the ‘understandable’ decision to ...
-
NewsEU funding to support Madrid – Lisboa link
EUROPE: More EU funding has been allocated to enhancing rail links between Portugal and Spain. The EU co-financing is part of a €1·4bn package of European Green Deal projects in seven EU states that was announced by the Commissioner for Cohesion & Reforms Elisa Ferreira in mid-March. ...
-
News3D-printed handles aim to reduce hand contact with train doors
RUSSIA: Attachments designed to enable train toilet and cab doors to be opened with an elbow or lower arm rather than a hand, and thus reduce the risk of spreading germs or a virus like Covid-19, are being tested by Russian Railways. Siemens ...
-
NewsDesign contracts awarded for Latvian section of Rail Baltica
LATVIA: On behalf of the Ministry of Transport, Rail Baltica project promoter RB Rail has awarded two contracts for design and design supervision services for the remaining two sections of the corridor in Latvia. This means design activities are now ongoing for the entire Latvian section of ...
-
NewsDB Regio selected for retendered Rhein-Ruhr operating contract
GERMANY: Rhein-Ruhr transport authority VRR and its Westfalen Lippe counterpart NWL have selected DB Regio as preferred bidder for a retendered contract to operate S-Bahn Rhein-Ruhr services S1 Dortmund – Solingen and S4 Lütgendortmund – Unna. The contract covering 4·9 million train-km/ year is due to run ...
-
NewsWangen bridge opened
GERMANY: Deutsche Bahn has opened the largest single structure to be built as part of the München – Lindau electrification project, a 116 m long bridge over the River Obere Argen south of Wangen station. The bridge was opened on March 29, replacing an old bridge which ...
-
NewsUBS predicts post-pandemic shift from air to high speed rail
INTERNATIONAL: A report published by UBS Research suggests that many travellers will switch from air to high speed rail in the post Covid-19 period.
-
NewsWagon repair company reports successful first year
CZECH REPUBLIC: Wheelset and wagon component repair and maintenance company Vítkovické Železniční Opravny has recorded earnings just under KC120m in its first year of operation. VŽO is part of the CE Industries group owned by Jaroslav Strnad, and has invested in developing a ...
-
Metro Report InternationalWarszawa metro Line M2 goes west
POLAND: Warszawa’s M2 metro line was extended by 3·4 km west from Rondo Daszyńskiego to Księcia Janusza on April 4. The opening was low-key owing to coronavirus travel restrictions, with regular operations starting at 04.45. Running tunnels up to 15·2m deep serve intermediate stations at Płocka, Młynów ...
-
NewsShort-notice spaghetti trains organised to get pasta across the Alps
Source: DB Schenker EUROPE: DB Schenker has organised the transport of several hundred tonnes of pasta by rail from Italy to Germany, enabling 650 Aldi supermarkets to replenish supplies which had been depleted by customers stocking up during the coronavirus pandemic. The first delivery included 10 wagons ...
-
Metro Report InternationalDART depot upgraded with bespoke safety system
IRELAND: Zonegreen has installed a bespoke warning system on three tracks used for servicing DART suburban EMUs at Iarnród Éireann’s Fairview depot in Dublin. The push-button warning system was designed to suit the specific limitations of the Fairview site. High-level beacons and ...
-
NewsRussian Railways simplifies freight procedures to support social distancing
RUSSIA: A simplified procedure for remote interaction with freight customers has been established by Russian Railways to help prevent the spread of coronavirus infections. In order to increase social distancing while supporting businesses, a procedure has been established for automatically prolonging contracts between cargo owners and the ...
-
NewsBudapest cross-city upgrading gathers pace
HUNGARY: National development agency Nemzeti Infrastruktúra Fejlesztő has called tenders for the development of an interchange between main line and metro services at Népliget, as part of a major programme of capacity enhancements in the southern suburbs of Budapest. Providing a connection to metro Line 3 ...
-
Metro Report InternationalBodyshells ordered for Praha tram rebuild programme
CZECH REPUBLIC: Praha transport operator DPP has awarded Pragoimex a contract to supply its VarCB3LF partly low-floor tram bodies to replace the life-expired and corroded bodies of the city’s Tatra Type T3R.P and T3R.PV trams. The March 23 framework agreement covers the delivery of a minimum of ...
-
Metro Report InternationalPorto extensions win EU funding support
PORTUGAL: The European Commission has announced €107m of EU Cohesion Funds for expansion of the Metro do Porto light rail network. This adds to €75m allocated in the national government’s 2020 budget. The two projects being supported are Line G, where a €63·6m contribution will support construction ...