High speed rail industry news – Page 35
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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 ...
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NewsQingdao – Rongcheng PDL opened
CHINA: The final 32 km section of the Qingdao – Rongcheng Intercity Railway opened on November 16. The Passenger-Dedicated Line starts from the Qingdao Bei station in the north of the city and runs to Yantai, Weihai and Rongcheng. Construction of the line on the Shandong peninsula was approved in ...
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NewsSuseo open access operator poised to launch
SOUTH KOREA: High speed open access services will commence on December 8 with the launch of trains operated by Supreme Railways. Owned 41% by national operator Korail, SR will use a new line from Suseo in the southern district of Seoul which joins the Gyongbu high speed line to Busan ...
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NewsHigh speed rail forum addresses challenges of a changing society
INTERNATIONAL: The ability of high speed railways to generate economic benefits and transform society was one of the themes underpinning the International High Speed Rail Association Forum, which brought together 286 participants from more than 20 countries in Kyoto on November 17. Describing high speed rail as 'a game changer', ...
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NewsNokia to supply ‘first’ LTE-R network
SOUTH KOREA: Telecoms group Nokia is to supply Korea Rail Network Authority with what it says would be the ‘world’s first’ LTE-R mobile broadband network to support railway operations. The contract announced on November 14 covers the 120 km Wonju – Gangneung route which is under construction ...
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NewsHS2 contracts let as government confirms northern routes
UK: The government announced on November 15 that it had awarded contracts worth £900m for enabling work on the first phase of the High Speed 2 project linking London with the West Midlands. In addition, the government also confirmed its preferred route for Phase 2b of the scheme, taking the ...
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NewsPlayRenfe wi-fi offers live TV on the move
SPAIN: Prior to its launch on high speed services between Madrid and Sevilla on December 5, national operator RENFE is testing from November 4 a beta version of PlayRenfe, its new on-train wi-fi platform which combines satellite and 4G. As well as internet connectivity, passengers will be able to enjoy ...
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NewsEurostar 'confident' as Amsterdam plans gather pace
EUROPE: Eurostar said it was seeing ‘signs of recovery in the trading environment’ when it announced its Quarter 3 results on November 4, with passenger numbers in the previous eight weeks increasing year-on-year. This followed a ‘challenging period’ when demand had been dampened by the Nice terrorist attack in July. ...
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NewsWest Coast Partnership franchise to include HS2 launch
UK: ‘I want to be very clear that this is a new type of franchise requiring a new kind of approach to bidding’, said Transport Minister Paul Maynard said on November 4, confirming that the franchise which is to replace the current InterCity West Coast franchise from April 2019 would ...