High speed rail industry news – Page 23
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Rail Business UKFirst Trenitalia awarded West Coast Partnership
UK: The consortium of FirstGroup (70%) and Trenitalia (30%) has been selected for the West Coast Partnership franchise to operate intercity services on the West Coast Main Line and the first phase of High Speed 2, the Department for Transport announced on August 14. Final award is ...
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NewsRidership surge prompts SNCF to order more TGVs
FRANCE: SNCF Mobilités announced an order for 12 double-deck TGVs on July 31 as part of its fleet renewal strategy. Branded TGV Océane by the operator, the Avelia Euroduplex trainsets are to be supplied by Alstom for use on routes between Paris and Metz and Nancy in eastern ...
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NewsCalifornia High-Speed Rail Authority issues Track & Systems RFQ
USA: California High-Speed Rail Authority has issued a request for qualifications for its Phase I Track & Systems contract, which has an estimate value of $1·6bn. This would cover design, construction, and testing of the trackwork, electrification, signalling, train control and other railway systems for the 190 km route ...
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NewsICE4 deliveries to resume
GERMANY: Deutsche Bahn has resumed acceptance of ICE 4 trainsets with immediate effect, Siemens Mobility and Bombardier Transportation announced on July 17. The national operator had stopped accepting delivery of further ICE4 trainsets in April after Bombardier’s quality management procedures determined that some coach body welds had not been ...
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NewsETCS Level 2 commissioned on Valladolid – León line
SPAIN: Alstom’s Atlas ETCS Level 2 equipment has been commissioned on the 163 km Valladolid – León high speed line, which opened in September 2015. ETCS and GSM-R have been rolled out as part of a signalling, train control and telecoms upgrading programme which is being undertaken by a ...
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NewsCalifornia High-Speed Rail Authority publishes northern route preferences
USA: California High-Speed Rail Authority has published its recommended alignments for two sections of the planned line in northern California. Public feedback will now be sought before the board makes a decision in September. Draft environmental documents would then be published in December 2019 and March 2020, ahead of a ...
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NewsKuala Lumpur – Singapore cost review consultants appointed
MALAYSIA: Project promoter MyHSR Corp has appointed two consultancies to identify options for reducing the cost of the Malaysian section of the proposed Kuala Lumpur – Singapore high speed line. In September last year the governments of Malaysia and Singapore agreed to put construction of the 350 km line on ...
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NewsRENFE seeks to take on the TGV
FRANCE: On July 1, RENFE Operadora confirmed its intention to enter the French high speed passenger market, saying it had lodged the relevant applications with regulator Arafer, safety authority EPSF and infrastructure manager SNCF Réseau. The Spanish national operator would compete with incumbent SNCF on high speed routes initially using ...
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NewsChina out in front with the world’s fastest trains
INTERNATIONAL: China now has the fastest regular timetabled trains in the world, significantly faster than any other country, according to Railway Gazette’s biennial World Speed Survey, which appears in the July 2019 issue of Railway Gazette International magazine. Compiled by Jeremy Hartill of the Railway Performance Society, using data for ...
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NewsLeshan – Yibin high speed line opens
CHINA: The 141 km Leshan – Jianwei – Pingshan – Yibin section of the future Chengdu – Guiyang Passenger-Dedicated Line opened on June 15. The alignment is designed for 250 km/h operation, and 79% of the route is on bridges or in tunnel. The fastest services operated using CRH3A trainsets ...
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NewsGranada joins the AVE network
SPAIN: The 122 km high speed line between Antequera and Granada was formally inaugurated on June 25 by acting Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, who unveiled a plaque at Antequera Santa Ana station. He was accompanied by Minister of Development José Luis Ábalos, ADIF President Isabel Pardo de Vera and the ...
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NewsTrenitalia prepares for Paris – Milano launch
EUROPE: The first of five ETR1000 high speed trainsets being modified to operate Trenitalia’s planned open access service between Milano and Paris is expected to begin test running in France next month, following the completion of retrofitting work. The trainsets are being fitted with TVM cab signalling and KVB automatic ...
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NewsNext-generation Acela trainsets take shape
USA: Alstom invited guests to its Hornell factory in New York state on June 12 to showcase the progress it is making in producing the next generation of Acela high speed trainsets for Amtrak. Amtrak says that ‘significant progress’ is being made in production of the fleet, which is expected ...
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NewsRussian Railways orders high speed trains
RUSSIA: Russian Railways has signed a €1·1bn order for a further 13 Velaro RUS high speed trains for use on the 650 km Moscow – St Petersburg route, Siemens Mobility announced on June 7. The 10-car 3 kV DC trainsets will be supplied by Siemens Mobility and the Ural Locomotives ...
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Rail Business UKHigh Speed 2 rolling stock bids submitted
UK: The deadline to submit bids for the estimated £2·75bn contract to design, manufacture and maintain the High Speed 2 train fleet passed at midday on June 5. Project promoter HS2 Ltd will now evaluate the five bids received and expects to announce the winner in early 2020, with entry ...
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NewsThello bids to run Milano – Paris high speed service
FRANCE: Trenitalia subsidiary Thello has notified rail regulator ARAFER of its intention to launch the first open access passenger services on the French high speed network. The regulator announced on June 4 that Thello had requested paths from SNCF Réseau for a twice-daily service between Milano and Paris to start ...
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NewsTrenitalia orders 14 high speed trainsets
ITALY: Trenitalia has confirmed an order for a partnership of Hitachi Rail (60%) and Bombardier Transportation (40%) to supply 14 more Frecciarossa 1000 high speed trainsets and maintain them for 10 years. The €575m deal announced on June 4 follows the publication in May of FS Group’s business plan for ...
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NewsUzbekistan orders more Talgo 250 trainsets
UZBEKISTAN: National railway UTY has finalised an order for a further two Talgo 250 trainsets for use from 2021 on Afrosiyob services between Toshkent, Samarkand, Qarshi, Bukhara and Khiva, along with four coaches to lengthen its original pair of Talgo 250 trainsets. The €57m order announced by Talgo on May ...
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NewsBorne backs early extension of Rhin-Rhône high speed line
FRANCE: Transport Minister Elisabeth Borne has agreed to ‘look again’ at the timescale for completing the second phase of the LGV Rhin-Rhône high speed line, serving Dijon and Mulhouse. LGV Rhin-Rhône opened with the December 2011 timetable change, covering an initial 140 route-km between Auxonne, east of Dijon, and Petit-Croix, ...
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NewsCrown Prince inaugurates København – Ringsted line
DENMARK: The København – Ringsted high speed line was formally inaugurated by Crown Prince Frederik on May 31, in a ceremony at Køge Nord station attended by Transport Minister Magnus Heunicke, Banedanmark CEO Per Jacobsen, DSB CEO Flemming Jensen and around 1 000 stakeholders and official guests. With a budget ...