High speed rail industry news – Page 11
-
In depth
Spain: ‘Basque Y’ inches ahead
Located in a mountainous area presenting formidable engineering challenges, the Y-shaped 1 435 mm gauge high speed network linking San Sebastián, Vitoria-Gasteiz and Bilbao in Spain’s Basque region has been designed to handle both passenger and freight trains. Mike Bent reports.
-
News
Airline to transfer more passengers to high speed rail
EUROPE: KLM Royal Dutch Airlines and Thalys have agreed to develop their joint AirRail product to further increase the number of air passengers who use high speed trains to travel between Brussels and Amsterdam Schiphol airport. KLM already offers air passengers the option of using Thalys ...
-
News
RENFE and Talgo present first refurbished Class 730
SPAIN: National operator RENFE has presented the first of 14 Class 730 electro-diesel gauge changing trainsets to undergo a mid-life refurbishment in a €11m programme which is being undertaken at Talgo’s Las Matas works. The Class 730s are rebuilds from dual-voltage Class 130 electric trainsets, and ...
-
News
Trenitalia launches French domestic high speed services
FRANCE: Trenitalia launched its first French domestic open access high speed service between Paris-Lyon and Lyon-Perrache on April 5.
-
News
SJ orders 250 km/h trains as ‘the best travel product in Scandinavia’
SWEDEN: SJ has signed a €650m contract for Alstom to supply 25 Zefiro Express 250 km/h trainsets, which the national passenger operator says will complement its refurbished X2000 fleet as ‘the best travel product in Sweden and Scandinavia’, meeting the demand for ‘climate-smart, comfortable and efficient’ ...
-
News
TGV M power cars transported from Belfort to La Rochelle
FRANCE: Power cars from the first of the TGM M trainsets ordered under SNCF’s TGV of the Future programme, branded Avelia Horizon by the manufacturer, have been transported from Alstom’s Belfort factory to La Rochelle.
-
News
Amtrak unveils the interiors of the next generation of Acela trains
USA: Amtrak and Alstom have unveiled the interiors of the 28 Avelia Liberty trainsets ordered for use on Acela Express services on the 735 km Northeast Corridor between New York, Washington DC and Boston. Formed of two short-wheelbase power cars and nine ...
-
News
Merger approval ‘should ensure the rebound and growth ambitions of Thalys and Eurostar’, says SNCF
EUROPE: The European Commission has approved the planned merger of cross-border high speed train operators Thalys and Eurostar. SNCF Voyageurs told Railway Gazette International the merger ‘should ensure the rebound and growth ambitions of Thalys and Eurostar.’ Announcing its decision on March 29, the Commission said ...
-
News
UK export financing to support completion of Ankara – Izmir high speed corridor
TURKEY: UK Export Finance has agreed to guarantee £1·8bn through its Buyer Credit Scheme to support construction of the Polatlı – Izmir high speed line, which will create a more direct route between the capital and Turkey’s third largest city.
-
News
Federal funds allocated to Atlanta – Savannah high speed line study
USA: The Senate has allocated $8m to conduct an environmental impact study for a proposed 400 km high speed line between Savannah and Atlanta via Macon.
-
Rail Business UK
London Euston HS2 station designs updated
UK: High Speed 2 project promoter HS2 Ltd has published updated design concepts for the future high speed line terminus at London Euston station. The designs have been developed by a consortium of Arup, WSP and Grimshaw Architects for the joint venture of Mace and Dragados ...
-
News
High speed line financing corporations established
FRANCE: The government has established public corporations to handle the financing of three major high speed line projects. The three are the Ligne Nouvelle Provence Côte d’Azur between Marseille and Nice, the Grand Projet du Sud-Ouest from Bordeaux to Toulouse, and the Ligne Nouvelle Montpellier – ...
-
News
First cohort of Saudi women begins train driver training
SAUDI ARABIA: After receiving 28 000 applications from women for 30 high speed train driving vacancies, Renfe is about to begin training the successful candidates. According to the Spanish operator, the first trains to be driven by Saudi women should be running between Makkah and Madinah ...
-
News
Vossloh to supply rail fastenings for Laixi – Rongcheng line
CHINA: Vossloh has been selected to supply rail fastenings for use in the construction of the 193 km Laixi – Rongcheng passenger-dedicated line in Shandong province. Authorised in August 2020 and under construction since October that year, the 350 km/h line is intended to provide a ...
-
News
ILSA to add a third partner
SPAIN: Intermodalidad de Levante, the high speed joint venture between Trenitalia and Air Nostrum, is poised to agree a deal with Globalvia under which it would become the third partner in the business. Globalvia, a motorway and urban transport infrastructure concessionaire owned by three investment funds, ...
-
News
FRA compares global high speed rail noise mitigation standards
USA: Ricardo has completed a study for the Federal Railroad Administration which aims to improve the accuracy of comparisons of global high speed rail noise reduction standards and their costs. The report, High Speed Rail: Cost of Compliance for Noise Mitigation Procedures, has now been published ...
-
News
28 000 Saudi women apply for high speed train driving jobs
SAUDI ARABIA: More than 28 000 Saudi women have applied for the first 30 train driving jobs to be open to them. The drivers are being recruited by Spanish national operator RENFE, which has a 12-year contract to operate the Haramain High Speed Rail line between ...
-
News
California reverts to double-track high speed line through Central Valley
USA: In a marked reversal of policy since late 2020, the California High Speed Rail Authority’s 2022 Draft Business Plan says it will now complete the initial section of the planned San Francisco – Los Angeles high speed line through the Central Valley as a double-track electrified railway.
-
News
Testing starts in Madrid’s third cross-city tunnel
SPAIN: Trial running began through the third cross-city tunnel between Madrid Chamartín and Madrid Atocha over the weekend of February 5-6. Rolling stock chosen for the trials consisted of a pair of S112 Talgo trainsets refitted for national operator RENFE’s low-cost Avlo services.
-
News
Funding agreement advances high speed link to Perpignan
FRANCE: A memorandum of understanding covering the financing of construction of the first phase of the LGV Montpellier-Perpignan mixed-traffic high speed line was signed in Narbonne on January 22 in the presence of Prime Minister Jean Castex,