German railway news – Page 35
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NewsBerlin protest train calls for fair play for independent operators
GERMANY: The Netzwerk Europäischer Eisenbahnen association of more than 25 independent freight operators arranged a special train through Berlin on September 28 to draw attention to the federal government’s failure to provide financial support for its member companies while offering compensation to state-owned Deutsche Bahn to deal ...
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NewsLNVG orders more double-deck coaches
GERMANY: Niedersachsen transport authority LNVG has awarded Bombardier Transportation an contract to supply a further 12 Twindexx Vario double-deck intermediate coaches and two driving cars. Scheduled to enter service on routes to Hamburg from autumn 2022, the coaches will be equipped with CCTV, ...
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NewsGerman branch line reopening rejected
GERMANY: Reopening an out-of-use part of the former Gersprenztalbahn route east of Darmstadt is not economically viable, a feasibility study has concluded. Improvements to existing bus and Odenwaldbahn services have been deemed more cost effective. The study into reopening 3·1 km of the Gersprenztalbahn from Reinheim to ...
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Metro Report InternationalBONNsmart contactless ticketing goes live
GERMANY: The initial phase of what the partners say is the first contactless ticketing scheme in Germany has gone live in Bonn. Passengers are able to use contactless bank cards or suitable mobile devices to pay for travel on bus routes SB60 to the airport and 66 ...
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NewsModular wagon concept launched
GERMANY: Following an 18 month development programme and several months of test running, DB Cargo and VTG formally presented their prototype m² wagon in Berlin on September 7. As with similar concepts under development in Austria and Switzerland, the m2 wagon is intended ...
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Metro Report InternationalFlexity tram unveiled in Duisburg
GERMANY: The first of 47 Flexity Classic trams being supplied to Duisburger Verkehrsgesellschaft by Bombardier Transportation has been delivered to DVG’s Grunewald depot for testing ahead of entry into revenue service.
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NewsDB Cargo awards framework agreement for 400 electro-diesel locos
GERMANY: DB Cargo has awarded Siemens Mobility a framework contract for the supply of up to 400 Vectron Dual Mode electro-diesel locomotives, which would be delivered in a number of variants to meet the national freight operator’s particular needs. Siemens Mobility said the agreement announced on ...
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NewsIncreasing capacity west of Spandau
GERMANY: The Länder of Berlin and Brandenburg have signed an agreement with Deutsche Bahn to finance studies for a project to increase capacity on the 23 km Spandau – Nauen section of the Berlin – Hamburg corridor, including a proposed extension of the Berlin S-Bahn to Finkenkrug. ...
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NewsCovid-19 aid package unfair, say independent operators
GERMANY: Financial aid earmarked for national operator Deutsche Bahn in the form of a €5bn equity increase as compensation for the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic constitutes unfair state aid under European Union law, according to Netzwerk Europäischer Eisenbahnen, an association of around 60 independent rail freight ...
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NewsDigital coupler ‘opens door to automation’
GERMANY: Deutsche Bahn has launched a programme to test digital automatic couplings in live freight traffic. Speaking during a demonstration of prototype couplers at the DB Systemtechnik Minden research facility on August 31, Sabina Jeschke, DB’s Board Member for Digitalisation & Technology, said that the technology ‘opens ...
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Metro Report InternationalJena orders Stadler trams
GERMANY: Jena’s municipal transport operator Jenaer Nahverkehr has awarded Stadler a contract to supply 24 trams and maintain them for 24 years, with an option for up to 19 more vehicles and a further eight years of maintenance. Susanna Karawanskij, State Secretary at the Thüringen Ministry of ...
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NewsFlixTrain expands as refurbished coaches arrive
GERMANY: Open access operator FlixTrain was able to step up its low-cost services on August 13, when a fourth set of refurbished coaches was put into operation on its Hamburg – Köln route, and is now lengthening trains as additional vehicles arrive.
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NewsGo-Ahead receives Bayern operating licence
GERMANY: Bayern’s Ministry for the Interior, Building & Transport has granted the Go-Ahead Bayern subsidiary of the UK’s Go-Ahead Group a train operator’s licence. ‘A very important step has been taken’, said Go-Ahead Bayern Commercial Director Bastian Goßner on August 17. ‘We are on the right track ...
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NewsFlirt Akku battery multiple-unit financing in place
GERMANY: Financing has been put in place for a €600m order for 55 Flirt Akku battery multiple-units which Stadler is to deliver between the end of 2022 and mid-2024 for use in the north of Germany. In April Paribus Group won Schleswig-Holstein transport agency NAH.SH’s XMU II ...
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News‘Immediate start’ to station refresh programme
GERMANY: Promising ‘better hubs, stronger craftsmanship and safe workplaces’, the Ministry of Transport & Digital Infrastructure announced on August 14 that work would start ‘immediately’ on a programme to refresh 167 stations. The programme is to be undertaken in partnership with Deutsche Bahn, with the ministry saying ...
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Metro Report InternationalBerlin S-Bahn tenders invited
GERMANY: Verkehrsverbund Berlin-Brandenburg has launched the competitive tendering process for the remaining two portions of the 331 route-km Berlin S-Bahn network, covering the North-South and east-west Stadtbahn service groups.
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Metro Report InternationalAVG Flexity tram-train delivered to Karlsruhe
GERMANY: Bombardier Transportation has delivered the first two of 20 Flexity tram-trains which Karlsruhe area operator Albtal-Verkehrs-Gesellschaft ordered in December 2018. The €87m order was the second option that AVG had exercised within a framework agreement signed in 2009 covering the supply of ...
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Metro Report InternationalFreight tram-train to be tested in Karlsruhe
GERMANY: Trials with a prototype freight tram or tram-train are to start in Karlsruhe and the surrounding area in 2022. The concept is being drawn up with a view to improving urban life by reducing road traffic and the emissions it generates. Known as ‘regioKArgo’, a pilot ...
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NewsErdinger Ring financing agreement signed
GERMANY: A financing agreement for construction of the München airport – Schwaigerloh line was signed by the Land of Bayern and Deutsche Bahn on July 29. This will enable the national railway to call tenders for construction of the 4·5 km line. The federal government is contribute ...
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NewsLandmark river bridge to cross German-Polish border
EUROPE: DB Netz is to call tenders in August for the construction of a ‘landmark’ bridge across the River Oder near Kostrzyn, which forms the border between Germany and Poland. The 266 m long bridge designed by Knight Architects with structural design ...