German railway news – Page 36
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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 ...
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NewsAlpha Trains acquires DMUs in sale and leaseback deal
GERMANY: Leasing company Alpha Trains has acquired 22 Alstom Coradia Lint 54 two-car diesel multiple-units from Transdev in a sale and lease-back transaction, and is to acquire a further nine identical units directly from the manufacturer. The DMUs are to be used by Transdev subsidiary Bayerische Oberlandbahn ...
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NewsHydrogen train fuelling point under construction
GERMANY: A groundbreaking ceremony has formally marked the start of construction of a hydrogen train fuelling point in Bremervörde. This will serve the fleet of 14 Alstom Coradia iLint fuel cell multiple-units which Niedersachen transport authority LNVG has ordered for use by Eisenbahnen und Verkehrsbetriebe Elbe-Weser on ...
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NewsDigital automatic couplers on test
Source: DB/Volker Emersleben EUROPE: Trials with prototype digital automatic couplers from four manufacturers are to start this month, with a view to selecting a single type of coupler that could be introduced across Europe. Testing will continue through to December 2022. The pilot project aims to obtain ...
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NewsDeutsche Bahn orders 320 km/h Velaro derivatives
Source: DB AG/Siemens GERMANY: Deutsche Bahn has announced an order for 30 inter-city trains able to run at 320 km/h. Chairman Dr Richard Lutz confirmed on July 15 that the operator had placed an order worth €1bn with Siemens Mobility for a derivative of the ICE3 ...
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Metro Report International€600m settlement ends legal action over Köln tunnel collapse
GERMANY: The city of Köln, transport operator KVB and construction consortium Nord-Süd-Stadtbahn Köln Los Süd have reached an out-of-court agreement to settle legal claims arising from the collapse of the city archive building during construction of the north-south Stadtbahn tunnel. Two people in neighbouring buildings were killed ...
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News‘Rail comeback’ could reopen 4 000 km of closed lines
GERMANY: More than 200 closed, mothballed or freight-only lines could be reopened to serve 291 towns and a population of around 3 million people, according to proposals drawn up by the Association of German Transport Companies VDV and rail lobby group Allianz pro Schiene. The two organisations ...
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NewsAlstom proposes divestments to obtain approval for Bombardier Transportation acquisition
INTERNATONAL: Alstom has put forward proposals for a number of product and factory divestments as part of the process of gaining European Union regulatory approval for its planned acquisition of Bombardier Transportation. The European Commission was formally notified of the proposed transaction on June 11. After initial ...
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Metro Report InternationalWuppertal Schwebebahn services suspended amid tyre trouble
GERMANY: Weekday services on the Wuppertal Schwebebahn suspended monorail are to be withdrawn for up to a year to enable urgent guideway repairs, the operator has confirmed. Following an emergency meeting of its supervisory board on July 2, municipal transport and utility company Wuppertaler Stadtwerke announced ...
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Metro Report InternationalBerlin U-Bahn station to be renamed over racism concerns
GERMANY: Berlin city transport operator BVG intends to rename Mohrenstrasse station on U-Bahn Line U2 ‘out of understanding and respect’ for the ‘sometimes controversial’ debate about the name of the eponymous road, which uses an archaic term for people from North Africa. ‘As a cosmopolitan company and ...