High speed rail industry news – Page 46
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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 ...
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NewsContractors inch towards deal on Haramain delay
SAUDI ARABIA: An agreement to end the dispute over delays and cost over-runs affecting the Haramain High Speed Rail Line could be reached in the next few weeks, following a visit by Saudi Railways Organization President Dr Rumaih Mohammed Al-Rumaih to Madrid on October 25-26. During his visit to ...
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NewsFinnish firm wins TGV lighting contract
FRANCE: SNCF has selected Finnish company Teknoware to supply LED interior lighting for the refurbishment of its Alstom-built TGV Duplex double-deck high speed train fleet. The contract covers the supply of main lighting elements housed in opening ceiling frames on both sides of the aisles, as well as indirect mood ...
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NewsHigh speed rail hub opens in Ankara
TURKEY: National railway TCDD opened a dedicated high speed station in Ankara on October 29, with the inauguration celebrations attended by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Prime Minister Binali Yıldırım, a former transport minister.Comprising three island platforms with six running lines, the station has been built adjacent to the capital’s ...
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NewsDB and Siemens launch predictive maintenance pilot
GERMANY: Deutsche Bahn and Siemens have launched a 12-month pilot project to provide data to support predictive maintenance of the Class 407 Velaro D high speed train fleet. Data received from moving Velaro D trainsets will be systematically analysed at the Siemens Mobility Data Services Centre in München, complementing diagnostic ...
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NewsEurostar to cut services and jobs
EUROPE: Cross-Channel high speed train operator Eurostar is to reduce the number of services it operates by 8% and intends to cut 80 jobs. ‘This is a challenging environment for all travel companies and we need to manage our costs very carefully’, Eurostar told Railway Gazette. ‘That’s why we are ...
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NewsHokkaido Shinkansen inaugurated
JAPAN: High speed services reached Japan’s third main island on March 26, with the inauguration of the first phase of the Hokkaido Shinkansen. Connecting Shin-Aomori in Honshu with Shin-Hakodate-Hokuto in the south of Hokkaido, the 149 km line uses mixed-gauge tracks in the 54 km Seikan Tunnel under the Tsugaru ...
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NewsHS2 Ltd appoints delivery partner
UK: HS2 Ltd announced on March 18 that it had appointed a team of CH2M, Atkins and Sener as engineering delivery partner for Phase 1 of the high speed line project. The engineering delivery partner will provide engineering and construction management support, and assist with preparations for the procurement ...
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NewsJakarta – Bandung DBOM concession agreed
INDONESIA: A 50-year design build operate maintain concession was signed in Jakarta on March 16 between the government and the Sino-Indonesian consortium promoting a 142 km fast passenger line between the capital and Bandung.The concession held by the Kerata Cepat Indonesia Cina consortium takes effect on May 31 2019, when ...
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NewsEurostar passenger numbers steady but profit down
EUROPE: Cross-Channel high speed train operator Eurostar reports that it carried 10·4 million passengers in 2015, the same total as 2014. Sales revenue was impacted by the strength of sterling, being flat year-on-year at constant exchange rates but down 5% at actual exchange rates from £867m in 2014 to ...
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NewsLyon - Torino ‘a priority’, say France and Italy
EUROPE: Construction of the new railway between Lyon and Torino via a base tunnel under Mont Cenis is ‘a priority’ for France and Italy, the two governments stressed on March 8 as they held a summit in Venezia. During the summit, Italian Minister of Infrastructure & Transport Graziano Delrio and ...
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NewsSoftware for Izy low-cost high speed train launch
SALES: Dutch company Sqills has supplied Thalys with the sales and distribution software for the Izy low cost service which it plans to launch in April. The S3 Passenger platform includes revenue management, pricing and booking engines, seat reservations, inventory management, a customer relationship management front-end and station and ...
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NewsIzy budget Paris – Brussels train service to offer €10 standing tickets
EUROPE: Plans to launch a low-cost train service between Paris Nord and Brussels Midi were revealed by high speed operator Thalys on March 1. Branded Izy, it is due to launch on April 3 using Thalys staff and two green and purple liveried trainsets. Izy will operate on conventional rather ...