High speed rail industry news – Page 25
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NewsDon’t believe the hype about Hyperloop
Policymakers around the world have been beguiled by the prospects of Hyperloop technology providing a paradigm shift in inter-city transport, potentially at the expense of rail investment. However, Gareth Dennis sounds a note of caution about the technical and commercial hurdles facing this ‘fifth mode of transport’.
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California high speed rail plan revised
USA: California High-Speed Rail Authority has published for public consultation a draft 2018 business plan which ‘acknowledges and responds to changed circumstances and emphasises a new way of doing business moving forward’. CHSRA said the draft plan ‘transparently identifies the project’s challenges’, which include putting back the completion date and ...
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JR Central unveils ‘Supreme’ N700S
JAPAN: Central Japan Railway unveiled its completed N700S prototype Shinkansen trainset at Hamamatsu depot on March 10. Emblazoned with a huge gold S for Supreme, the latest derivative of the Series 700 family will begin an extensive programme of test running on March 20. The first commercial sets are expected ...
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Debt burden tempers SNCF growth in 2017
FRANCE: Announcing its results for 2017 on February 27, SNCF Group reported revenue of €33∙5bn, up 4∙2% on the year before ‘thanks to commercial momentum’ driving strong growth in passenger and freight traffic. Combined with ‘strict financial discipline’ and a cost-cutting programme that generated €830m of savings in 2017, this ...
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Eurostar reports a £58m profit
EUROPE: Eurostar International Ltd has reported a preliminary unaudited operating profit of £57∙6m for 2017, with sales revenue up 11% at £880m from £794m the year before. Passenger-journeys were up 3% at 10∙3 million from 10 million in 2016. 'Last year we saw a real revival in the US market ...
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DB opens carbon-neutral ICE depot
GERMANY: DB inaugurated a carbon-neutral ICE depot in the Nippes area of Köln on February 23. The 23 ha site is expected to reduce energy equivalent to 1 000 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions per year through various features, including geothermal heating and cooling. A 180 m2 solar heating ...
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Euston Master Development Partner selected
UK: High speed line project promoter HS2 Ltd announced on February 22 that Network Rail and the Secretary of State for Transport had selected Lendlease as the Master Development Partner for London Euston station. The MDP is to work with the Greater London Authority and London Borough of Camden to ...
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Eurostar runs Amsterdam preview service to mark start of ticket sales
EUROPE: Cross-Channel high speed train operator Eurostar ran a preview service between London St Pancras and Amsterdam Centraal on February 20, to mark the opening of ticket sales for the regular twice-daily service which is scheduled to begin on April 4. Conveying invited guests and travel industry representatives, the 08.31 ...
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Spinetta report urges SNCF to prepare for competition
FRANCE: The national railway must refocus on ‘the areas where it has greatest relevance’: transporting large numbers of passengers within urban areas, and providing high speed connectivity between France’s principal cities. This mission statement is at the heart of a landmark report handed to Prime Minister Edouard Philippe on February ...
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International consortium formed to bid for Kuala Lumpur – Singapore High Speed Rail project
ASIA: The formation of a consortium to bid for work on the Kuala Lumpur – Singapore high speed rail project was announced by Malaysian construction company George Kent, Alstom, Siemens, Italian state railway FS Group and track contractor Porr on February 12. The companies said the consortium was ‘a powerful ...
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Flytoget’s first CAF Oaris trainset nears completion
NORWAY: Dynamic testing with the first of eight four-car Oaris trainsets that CAF is building for Norwegian operator Flytoget is due to begin in April. One set will travel to Velim in the Czech Republic for trials before the trains enter service on Flytoget’s Airport Express service between Gardermoen Airport ...
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Eurostar to launch London – Amsterdam service in April
EUROPE: Direct London – Amsterdam high speed services will begin on April 4, cross-channel high speed operator Eurostar announced on February 9. Offering a journey time of 3 h 41 min between London St Pancras and Amsterdam Centraal, Eurostar will run an initial two trains per day. However, there will ...
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High speed operator accepts takeover bid
ITALY: Open access high speed train operator Nuovo Trasporto Viaggiatori SpA announced on February 7 that its shareholders had decided to accept a €1·98bn takeover bid from international fund manager Global Infrastructure Partners III. The deal was ratified by a board meeting the following day, which also confirmed that NTV ...
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Eurostar aims to tread more lightly with new environmental targets
EUROPE: Eurostar marked the 10th anniversary of its Tread Lightly environmental programme with the unveiling on February 6 of an ‘ambitious’ 10 point plan to reduce its environmental impact. CEO Nicolas Petrovic said the high speed train operator had already achieved a 32% reduction in carbon emissions through Tread Lightly, ...
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Eva to offer 100%-connected high speed at low cost
SPAIN: On February 6 Development Minister Íñigo de la Serna unveiled Eva, a smart train concept that national operator RENFE is due introduce in high speed service between Madrid and Barcelona in 2019. Having captured 65% of the combined rail and air market between the two cities, RENFE is now ...
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HS2 station design and development partners announced
UK: The design and development partners selected to undertake detailed design for the ‘landmark’ Birmingham Curzon Street, Birmingham Interchange and Old Oak Common stations and the rebuilding of London Euston station were announced by High Speed 2 project promoter HS2 Ltd on February 2. They are: Birmingham Curzon Street: WSP ...
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Haramain High Speed Rail opening date in jeopardy
SAUDI ARABIA: The planned launch in March of commercial services on the Haramain high speed line between Makkah and Madinah is in doubt following further delays in completing three of the line’s five stations. Announcing on January 30 that he would be visiting Saudi Arabia in the near future to ...
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Rotterdam Centraal station to be modified for Eurostar services
NETHERLANDS: Work to adapt Rotterdam Centraal station to accommodate Eurostar’s future Amsterdam – London services has begun, VolkerRail announced on January 31. The work is being undertaken by VolkerRail and Arcadis on behalf of infrastructure manager ProRail. During a nine-week possession tracks will be realigned and a platform which currently ...
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HS2 slab track, electrification and tunnel equipment contacts tendered
UK: The process of appointing contractors to supply slab track, electrification and tunnel ventilation systems for the Phase 1 London – Birmingham and Phase 2a Birmingham – Crewe sections of High Speed 2 was formally launched by project promoter HS2 Ltd on January 30. The Lot 1 Track & Overhead ...
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RENFE launches high speed to Castelló
SPAIN: National operator RENFE began operating high speed services between Madrid and Castelló de la Plana on January 23. Running over the high speed line from Madrid Atocha to Valencia and then on the 1 668 mm gauge Mediterranean Corridor to Castelló where a third rail has been laid on ...
