High speed rail industry news – Page 45
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NewsSingapore awards high speed railway design contract
SINGAPORE: Land Transport Authority has appointed AECOM Singapore and a team of specialist consultants to conduct the advanced engineering study for the complete design of the Singapore section of the future high speed line to Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia. The contract includes the provision of architectural, civil engineering, electrical, mechanical ...
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NewsEurostar lounge seeks 'the spirit of a Parisian apartment'
FRANCE: Eurostar opened its relocated Business Premier lounge at Paris-Nord on February 4. Accessed after passengers pass through an expanded security and passport control area, the lounge is intended to offer a ‘stylish, comfortable environment for both working and relaxing’. The facility on the top floor of the original 19th ...
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NewsTGVmax offers unlimited travel for less than a car-share
FRANCE: A new online ticketing product offering passengers aged 16 to 27 unlimited travel on long-distance services for €79 a month was announced by SNCF on January 23. TGVmax will be available on 94% of TGV and Intercités services and on every day of the year, with the exception of ...
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NewsTrenitalia joins FirstGroup to bid for UK franchises
UK: Two weeks after the Italian state railway group entered the UK rail market by agreeing to acquire the Essex Thameside franchise from National Express, FS Italiane subsidiary Trenitalia UK announced on January 24 that it was joining FirstGroup to bid for the East Midlands franchise and the forthcoming West ...
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NewsProcurement of High Speed 2 trains begins
UK: The process to procure rolling stock for High Speed 2 was initiated on January 20, when the Department for Transport issued a periodic indicative notice regarding the acquisition of up to 60 trainsets. The formal call for tenders is planned for 2018, with the contract worth an estimated £2·75bn ...
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NewsHaramain High Speed Rail deal ratified
SAUDI ARABIA: On January 16 Spanish Development Minister Íñigo de la Serna welcomed the ratification of the November 2016 agreement between the Saudi Arabian authorities and the Al Shoula consortium, which sets a revised timescale for the completion of the Haramain High Speed Rail Line between Makkah, Jeddah and Madinah. ...
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NewsShanghai – Kunming high speed line completed
CHINA: Ceremonies were held at the new Kunming Nan station on December 28 to mark the opening for revenue service of the Guiyang – Kunming Passenger-Dedicated Line. The link is the final stage in the 2 252 km Shanghai – Kunming corridor, one of the four east-west and four north-south ...
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NewsHokuriku extension route agreed
JAPAN: Plans to extend the Hokuriku Shinkansen to Shin-Osaka via Obama and Kyoto were agreed by the coalition government on December 20. A 125 km section extending the line from its present terminus at Kanazawa to Tsuruga is currently under construction, with completion expected in 2022-23. The government’s decision will ...
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NewsFRA recommends $120bn investment in Northeast Corridor
USA: A 30-year programme of route modernisation, including four-tracking and some new alignment, has been recommended by the Federal Railroad Administration under its proposal to develop the Northeast Corridor linking Boston, New York and Washington DC. A four-year consultation and market testing exercise known as NEC Future was launched ...
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NewsNTV’s first Pendolino Italo car unveiled
ITALY: Alstom unveiled the first vehicle from a fleet of 12 Pendolino trainsets it is supplying to private high speed operator NTV at its Savigliano works on December 15. The driving car is the first vehicle to be completed under a €460m contract initially finalised in October 2015. This covered ...
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NewsSNCF launches free wi-fi on TGVs
FRANCE: SNCF began offering passengers free wi-fi on some TGV trainsets on the Paris – Lyon route with effect from December 15. This is the first phase of a wider roll-out which aims to provide wi-fi coverage for around 80% of TGV passengers on high speed and conventional lines by ...
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NewsKuala Lumpur – Singapore high speed rail agreement signed
ASIA: A bilateral agreement for the development of the 350 km Kuala Lumpur – Singapore high speed rail project was signed on December 13, when the two countries’ Prime Ministers took part in their annual retreat, which was this year was held at Putrajaya in Malaysia. The agreement was signed ...
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NewsHigh speed network grows as Brescia – Treviglio route opens
ITALY: A further section of the high speed railway across the north of the country opened for traffic with the European timetable change on December 11. The previous day, inauguration ceremonies included a celebratory run using an ETR1000 trainset carrying Transport Minister Graziano Delrio and other local and national dignitaries. ...
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NewsHigh speed link to Seoul suburbs opens
SOUTH KOREA: The 61 km Sudokwon high speed railway opened for traffic on December 9, with trains initially being operated by new entrant Supreme Railways. The high speed line provides a link from Suseo in the southern suburbs of Seoul to a junction near Pyeongtaek with the existing Gyongbu high ...
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NewsWuhan opens fourth metropolitan PDL
CHINA: The 61·8 km Hankou – Xiaogan Passenger-Dedicated Line was opened for revenue service on December 1. The 200 km/h route with 11 stations is the fourth line of the Wuhan Metropolitan Area Intercity Railway network to be inaugurated. Like the other routes, it is served by a fleet of ...
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NewsHitachi awarded Frecciarossa maintenance contracts
ITALY: Hitachi Rail Italy has been awarded two contracts worth a total of €100m, covering the provision of maintenance services for Frecciarossa high speed trainsets operated by Trenitalia. Worth €79m, the first contract covers the provision of spare parts and labour to maintain the Frecciarossa 1000 fleet over a period ...
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NewsThree Gorges PDL inaugurated
CHINA: The 247 km Chongqing – Wanzhou Passenger-Dedicated Line serving the Three Gorges area and the Yangtze River Economic Belt was opened for revenue operation on November 28. Test running on the route had started on July 16. Operated by Chengdu Railway Bureau using a fleet of CRH2A trainsets running ...
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NewsTalgo wins Spanish high speed train order
SPAIN: Talgo has been selected for a contract to supply 15 high speed trainsets to RENFE and maintain them for 30 years, Minister of Development Íñigo de la Serna announced on November 28. The first of the trainsets from Talgo’s Avril family are to be ready for service in 38 ...
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NewsHainan gets first CRH1A-A trainsets
CHINA: The first CRH1A-A high speed trains supplied by Bombardier Sifang (Qingdao) Transportation Ltd entered service with China Railway Corp on November 18, operating from the city of Sanya on Hainan Island. Designated Zefiro 250NG by the manufacturer, the 250 km/h eight-car trainsets were ordered in 2012 as part of ...
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NewsHaramain High Speed Rail deal reached
SAUDI ARABIA: The Haramain High Speed Rail Line between Makkah, Jeddah and Madinah will open in March 2018, the Spanish-led Al Shoula consortium announced on November 18. A spokesman said that ‘partial operations’ on the 444 km route would begin in December 2017. The line had originally been expected to ...