High speed rail industry news
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Rail Business UKRoyal Assent for Phase 2a takes High Speed 2 to Crewe
UK: The HS2 Phase 2a: High Speed Rail (West Midlands to Crewe) Bill obtained Royal Assent on February 11, granting legal powers for the construction and operation of the 58 km section of high speed line between Fradley near Lichfield and Crewe. Project promoter HS2 ...
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News
Lianyungang – Ürümqi high speed corridor completed
CHINA: The 185 km Xulian high speed line between Lianyungang and Xuzhou in eastern China was opened for revenue service on February 8. This completes the 3 422 km Lianyungang – Ürümqi corridor, which is the longest east-west route within the ‘eight vertical and eight ...
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Single-track corridor to launch Californian high speed service by 2030
USA: California High Speed Rail Authority’s Revised Draft Business Plan envisages the completion of a 270 km ‘interim service line’ which would initially be mostly single track, and sets out revised cost and ridership estimates for the project.
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Talgo confirms work underway to approve Avril trains for use in France
EUROPE: Work is underway to obtain approval for Talgo’s Avril high speed train design to operate in France, the manufacturer has confirmed. The announcement on February 3 came as the first Avril trainset for RENFE began dynamic type testing runs on the recently opened high ...
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Beijing – Chengde opening completes Beijing – Harbin high speed rail corridor
CHINA: The 192 km Beijing Chaoyang –- Chengde high speed line opened on January 22, completing the 1 198 km Beijing – Shenyang – Harbin corridor. There are initially 12 trains a day each way on the latest section, operated by CR400BF-G trainsets running at 300 ...
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Spanish high speed network reaches Orihuela
SPAIN: The first phase of a corridor linking Madrid with Murcia opened on February 1, with the inauguration of a 38∙3 km section of high speed line between Monforte del Cid and Orihuela.
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Rail Business UK
DfT revisits Euston plans as pressure mounts over HS2’s Eastern Leg
UK: An agenda for the Transport for London board meeting on February 5, issued in late January, indicates that the Department for Transport intends to proceed with changes to the layout of the High Speed 2 terminus at London Euston and the construction phasing.
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Call for Eurostar trains to be made available to support on-rail competition
EUROPE: The ALLRAIL association of new entrants to the rail market has said any government support which might be offered to Eurostar during the coronavirus pandemic should be accompanied by conditions designed to facilitate cross-Channel competition.
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RENFE’s Avlo high speed service to launch in June
SPAIN: RENFE’s low-cost high speed service, branded Avlo, is to launch later this year following a delay of more than a year caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.
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JR East says sayonara to Series E4
JAPAN: East Japan Railway has announced that it will withdraw its Series E4 double-deck trains from services on the Joetsu Shinkansen later this year.
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Trafikverket consults on Lund – Hässleholm high speed line
SWEDEN: Infrastructure manager Trafikverket has launched public consultations on route options for the Hässleholm – Lund section of its proposed Stockholm – Malmö high speed line.
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Refurbished Pendolino arrives in Greece
GREECE: The first of five ETR470 Pendolino trainsets being refurbished for use on Trainose’s flagship Athens – Thessaloniki route has been delivered to Thessaloniki and is expected to enter service in March.
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ICE4 inspection and maintenance contract awarded
GERMANY: Deutsche Bahn has awarded Siemens Mobility a contract for the first scheduled inspection and maintenance of 40 ICE4 high speed trainsets, with an option covering a further 50.
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UK government called on to support Eurostar during the pandemic
EUROPE: Cross-Channel high speed train operator Eurostar has called for financial support of the kind which has been offered to airlines during the coronavirus pandemic, saying that without government funding ‘there is a real risk to the survival of Eurostar and the green gateway to Europe’.
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Egypt plans Mediterranean to Red Sea high speed line
EGYPT: A memorandum of understanding for the design, construction and maintenance of a 1 000 km high speed rail network has been signed by the Ministry of Transport’s National Authority for Tunnels, Siemens Mobility and local companies Orascom Construction SAE and The Arab Contractors (Osman Ahmed Osman ...
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Low-temperature Fuxing high speed train to serve Harbin
CHINA: A winterised variant of the Fuxing China Standard high speed train family has been developed for use on 350 km/h services linking Beijing with Shenyang and Harbin in the northern province of Heilongjiang. The southernmost section of the 698·3 km Beijing – Shenyang Passenger-Dedicated ...
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High speed train order increased
CHINA: China State Railway Group has awarded the Bombardier Sifang (Qingdao) Transportation joint venture a 297m yuan contract to supply a further two eight-car CR400AF high speed trainsets by the end of June. The 50:50 joint venture of Bombardier Transportation and CRRC Sifang Rolling Stock was ...
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High speed network reaches Ningxia
CHINA: High speed trains have begun serving the Ningxia Hui autonomous region in northwest China, following the inauguration of the 617 km Passenger-Dedicated Line between Yinchuan and Xi’an . Under construction since 2015, the 18-station line has been built at a total cost of 80·5bn ...
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Montpellier – Perpignan high speed line inches forward
FRANCE: Initial public consultations are underway on long-standing proposals to build a high speed line between Montpellier and Perpignan, after Transport Minister Jean-Baptiste Djébbari established a steering committee for the project and commenced the process needed to authorise the 150 km Ligne à Grande Vitesse . ...
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Kuala Lumpur – Singapore high speed rail project terminated
ASIA: The project to develop a 350 km high speed line offering a 90 min journey time between Kuala Lumpur and Singapore has been terminated, the two governments have announced. The Malaysian government will now undertake a detailed study to explore the viability of a domestic ...
