Europe – Page 7
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NewsCargounit orders Siemens Mobility locomotives
POLAND: Leasing company Cargounit has signed an contract for Siemens Mobility to supply 30 Vectron MS locomotives with options for up to 60 more, along with an order for 10 Smartron locomotives. Deliveries are planned to begin in 2025. The Vectron MS locomotives will have an ...
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Metro Report InternationalMilano northern tram link takes shape
ITALY: Construction started on February 16 on the initial 1·3 km Cascina Gobba – Quartiere Adriano section of Milano’s tangential tramway linking districts to the north of the city. The Metrotranvia Interquartiere Nord project involves extensions at both ends of an existing tramway in the north ...
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NewsEuropean day and overnight train expansion outlined in green travel collaboration
EUROPE: Open access night train co-operative European Sleeper and tour operator Flywise’s rail brand GreenCityTrip are to collaborate to offer travel from the Netherlands and Belgium to Berlin, Dresden and Praha. European Sleeper’s Brussels – Amsterdam – Berlin overnight service is to be extended to Dresden ...
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NewsEstonian rail freight operator prepares for privatisation
ESTONIA: A strategy to privatise national rail freight operator Operail was backed by the cabinet on February 15. The government had instructed Operail to prepare plans for a sale last autumn. ‘Rail transport is a volume business where small quantities and short journeys do not pay ...
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NewsSNCB unveils independently accessible coach
BELGIUM: National operator SNCB has unveiled the first of 130 double-deck coaches to facilitate wheelchair users travelling without assistance.
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Metro Report InternationalHydrogen tram development project underway
GERMANY: The Hydrogen Tram for Next Generation project has been launched to develop a fuel cell-powered vehicle which would enable services to be extended into new areas and tram-train routes created without the need for electrification. The HyTraGen research project is led by Hörmann Vehicle Engineering. ...
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NewsLithuanian rail operator pilots ‘competitive green logistics’ in the three Baltic States
EUROPE: Lithuania’s LTG Cargo has operated a pilot freight train through Latvia to Valga, the first station in Estonia. On February 23 CEO Eglė Šimė said LTG Cargo plans to start offering ‘competitive green logistics services’ in the three countries in the near future, as a ...
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NewsPop EMU delivered to Ferrovie del Gargano
ITALY: Foggia local train operator Ferrovie del Gargano has taken delivery of the first of four three-car Pop electric multiple-units. The 3 kV DC Alstom Coradia Stream ETR103 EMUs are to be used on Foggia – San Severo – Rodi – Peschici Calenella and Foggia – ...
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NewsMetrans acquires Adria Rail
EUROPE: The Metrans rail freight subsidiary of Hamburger Hafen & Logistik has expanded in southeast Europe with the acquisition of 100% of Adria Rail Group. Adria Rail offers rail services from Serbia and Croatia, and manages an inland terminal in Indija near Beograd which has daily ...
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NewsStrait of Messina bridge design approved
ITALY: The final design for a long-proposed rail and road bridge to link Sicily with the mainland has been approved by the board of project company Stretto di Messina. The company’s work was suspended for 10 years until it was reconstituted by the government in March ...
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NewsSlovakian Kiss EMUs enter service
SLOVAKIA: National operator ZSSK has put the first of its Stadler Kiss double-deck electric multiple-units into passenger service. ‘Today is an important milestone’, State Secretary at the Ministry of Transport Denisa Žiláková said at the launch at Nové Zámky station on February 15. ’For the first ...
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Metro Report InternationalValència urban rail expansion plans
SPAIN: València city council and operator FGV have announced plans to further expand the Metrovalencia urban rail network by 2030. Light rail Line 10 which currently runs 5·3 km from Alacant in the city centre to Natzaret is to be extended north from Natzaret to the ...
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NewsEuropean Commission investigates whether CRRC received market-distorting subsidy
BULGARIA: The European Commission has launched an in-depth investigation into whether a subsidiary of Chinese state-owned rolling stock group CRRC received unfair subsidy enabling it to submit a low bid for a contract. The investigation announced on February 16 is the first under the Foreign Subsidies ...
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NewsBoard of Latvian operator quits over problems with new trains
LATVIA: The supervisory board of national passenger operator Pasažieru Vilciens, now branded Vivi, resigned at the end of January, saying they lacked the powers needed to address disruption resulting from faults with new trains. Sandis Šteins had headed the board since 2016, and resigned along with ...
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NewsRailpool signs 250-loco framework agreement
EUROPE: Leasing company Railpool and Siemens Mobility have signed a framework agreement for the supply of up to 250 Vectron locomotives. This covers variants that can operate in up to 16 countries and on north-south and east-west corridors in Europe. Depending on the variant, the 6·4 ...
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Metro Report InternationalConstruction of Wien tram Route 27 begins
AUSTRIA: Wien transport operator Wiener Linien has formally launched construction of tram Route 27, with opening planned for autumn 2025.
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NewsViewpoint: Faster freight trains are needed to save southeast Europe’s industry
Investment to raise the speeds of freight trains is needed to prevent deindustrialisation in the Balkans, says Philippe Rombaut, owner of Bulgarian fertiliser manufacturer Agropolychim which is investing in its own fleet of wagons
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In depthMiddle East: Visions of an inter-continental corridor
Proposals for the development of an India – Middle East – Europe ‘economic corridor’ were announced at the G20 summit in September 2023, but many questions remain about how the project might be implemented. Raghu Dayal investigates.
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NewsSmart Train Lease aims ‘to make renting trains as easy and simple as renting a car’
GERMANY: Siemens Mobility has established a leasing subsidiary that would enable train operators to use its Mireo Smart battery, hydrogen and electric multiple-units without needing to make long-term investment commitments. Smart Train Lease GmbH would make available at short notice multiple-units already approved for operation. These ...
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NewsSwiss railway collaboration to continue
SWITZERLAND: Collaboration between Swiss Federal Railways and the independent BLS is set to continue with the introduction of an additional longer distance service in December 2025. Taking advantage of the doubling of the 4 km Grellingen – Duggingen section in late 2025, BLS will introduce service ...