Europe – Page 43
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Metro Report InternationalKøbenhavn tram test running begins
DENMARK: København’s Hovedstadens Letbane has carried out the first test run between the light rail line’s depot at Rødovre Nord and Glostrup, 6 km to the south. The daytime test on August 14 was the first time one of the fleet of 29 Avenio LRVs built ...
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Metro Report InternationalBerlin calls tramway extension planning tender
GERMANY: Berlin transport operator BVG has called tenders for the provision of planning services to support the development of a proposed extension of tram Route M17 from Johannisthal to Gropiusstadt in the southeast of the capital. Preliminary feasibility and economic viability studies were completed in 2023, ...
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Metro Report InternationalBattery-electric tampers ordered for rubber-tyred metro lines
FRANCE: Infrastructure maintenance contractor TSO has ordered two Plasser & Theurer MetroFlex E³ battery-electric tamping machines customised for use on the rubber-tyred metro lines in Paris. A special tamping concept is necessary to deal with the complex trackform; the rubber tyred wheelsets run on horizontal guideways ...
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Metro Report InternationalChildren with Down’s syndrome act as tram conductors
NETHERLANDS: Staff on Amsterdam tram Route 26 gave children with Down’s syndrome the chance to be conductors for a day, opening and closing the doors and announcing the stops.
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NewsVR to divest infrastructure assets to facilitate Finnish rail competition
FINLAND: ‘Our strategy focuses on profitability, growth and creating a values-based VR culture’, VR Group CEO Elisa Markula said when she the presented the national operator’s H1 2024 results on August 16 and set out plans to divest some assets to facilitate competition. With the opening ...
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NewsFederal budget increases equity in DB InfraGO
GERMANY: The federal government has agreed to changes in the national budget for 2025 that will replace a provision for grants worth €4∙5bn by equity increases in Deutsche Bahn’s infrastructure business, DB InfraGO. In the same statement on August 16, the government announced that DB would ...
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NewsBilingual station signs installed in Austria
AUSTRIA: Austria Federal Railways has begun installing bilingual signs at stations in communities that are legally defined as bilingual. The first such signs were installed at St Michael ob Bleiburg/Šmihel pri Pliberku station. Four stations in the Land of Kärnten are to get signs in Slovenian, ...
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NewsBrussels – Venezia night train to serve winter sports and city break destinations
EUROPE: Open access night train operator European Sleeper is to launch a seasonal Brussels – Utrecht – Köln – München – Innsbruck – Verona – Venezia service to winter sports and city trip destinations. The service is being planned around school holidays, the peak winter sports ...
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NewsFunding deal secures future of Nice – Digne line
FRANCE: A fleet of eight diesel-battery bi-mode trains, renovated stations, better reliability and easier ticketing have been promised under a modernisation programme agreed for the 1 000 mm gauge Nice – Digne line operated by Chemins de Fer de Provence.
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NewsNorway and Sweden jointly procure military transport wagons
EUROPE: The Swedish and Norwegian armed forces and Norwegian infrastructure manager Bane Nor are to jointly procure wagons for the transport of tanks and other heavy military vehicles. Bane Nor said this reflects the security situation following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine and Sweden and Finland’s ...
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Metro Report InternationalWien’s U2xU5 metro scheme delayed to 2030
AUSTRIA: The planned opening of the Wien metro Line U2 extension south to Matzleinsdorfer Platz has been pushed back from 2028 to 2030, after ground conditions provided more challenging than expected.
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NewsEstonian cabinet approves Operail privatisation
ESTONIA: The cabinet has approved Minister of Infrastructure Vladimir Svet’s proposal for the privatisation of national freight operator Operail to progress to the next stage. The two-stage process began in June, when potential buyers had the opportunity to review an initial information package and submit a ...
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In depthEurope: Better planning can keep trains running
Long-term thinking and better planning could help alleviate disruption when infrastructure work is in progress. With a European Regulation on railway capacity due shortly, Forum Train Europe offers a blueprint for the future.
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NewsSolar panels added to railway noise barrier
LITHUANIA: A lineside noise barrier incorporating solar panels to generate electricity has been installed at Juodšiliai to the south of Vilnius. The 22·2 kW solar power plant installed by infrastructure manager LTG Infra and SoliTek is expected to generate up to 14 MWh of per year, ...
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NewsLiechtenstein railway modernisation project launched
LIECHTENSTEIN: A €100m project has been launched to modernise the 18·5 km single track railway running through Liechtenstein from Feldkirch in Austria to Buchs in Switzerland.
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Metro Report InternationalTram Route 13 is lucky for Helsinki
FINLAND: Tangential tram Route 13 serving northeast Helsinki opened on August 12. Developed at cost of €79·3m, it includes 4·5 km of new 1 000 mm gauge infrastructure in its route from the northern terminus at Maistraatintori (Pasila) to Nihti in the port area east of ...
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NewsUkraine signs EU railway harmonisation support agreement
UKRAINE: A further step towards the technical harmonisation of the railway systems of Ukraine and the European Union has been taken with the signing of an administrative arrangement by the Ministry of Communities, Territories & Infrastructure Development and the EU Agency for Railways. ERA will provide ...
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Metro Report InternationalObstacle detection technology testing on the Berlin S-Bahn
GERMANY: An obstacle detection system is to be tested in regular daily service on the Berlin S-Bahn under various weather and operating conditions.
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NewsAutonomous high speed line inspection vehicle on test
ITALY: A prototype 200 km/h Unmanned Railway Vehicle designed to carry out automated inspection of high speed lines is undergoing trials at the Bologna San Donato test track. The URV is designed to undertake inspection, monitoring, analysis and mapping of railway infrastructure ...
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Metro Report InternationalFirst Minsk 2024 metro train delivered
BELARUS: The first custom-designed Minsk 2024 metro train was delivered to the Belarusian capital from the TMH Metrowagonmash factory in Russia at the end of July. Seven four-car Series 81-765.7/766.7 trainsets were ordered in March 2023 for use on the Zelenoluzhskaya Line. TMH Engineering developed the ...