Latest news – Page 279
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News€353m Rail Baltica grant agreement signed
EUROPE: A grant agreement which will see the EU’s Connecting Europe Facility provide €353·9m for the Rail Baltica project has been signed by the European Climate, Infrastructure & Environment Executive Agency, ministries from the three countries and tri-national implementation agency RB Rail. This will fund the ...
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NewsCalifornia high speed rail station design contract awarded
USA: The California High-Speed Rail Authority has awarded Foster+Partners and Arup a $35m contract to provide design services for Merced, Fresno, Kings/Tulare and Bakersfield stations on the initial 275 route-km segment of the line. The 30-month contract includes identifying right-of-way and utility relocation requirements. A separately ...
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Metro Report InternationalCádiz Trambahía tram-train line opens
SPAIN: The Trambahía tram-train line in Cádiz has opened as the country’s first 1 668 mm gauge tram-train line. It includes 13·7 km of new tramway between Pelagatos and Río Arillo, from where services run 10·3 km into Cádiz over RENFE main line tracks shared with ...
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In depthBelgium: Double-deck power cars enter service
SNCB has put into operation the first of 90 double-deck power cars ordered to operate with its M7 push-pull coaches. Dr Harry Hondius reports.
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NewsPop-up workshops to retrofit digital automatic couplers
EUROPE: With around 500 000 European wagons needing to be equipped with digital automatic couplers by 2030, Deutsche Bahn is to deploy ‘pop-up’ mobile workshop tents where the work can be undertaken quickly and near where wagons are used, for example at industrial customers’ sites. From ...
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Metro Report InternationalUrban transport industry news round-up
This week’s round-up of news from the urban transport sector.
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Rail Business UKBristol Temple Meads to host Station Innovation Zone
UK: Bristol Temple Meads station has been selected as a Station Innovation Zone which will host trials of technology to improve the passenger experience. The five-year partnership between Network Rail and the Connected Places Catapult innovation accelerator will select start-ups to test ideas such as smarter ...
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NewsArrow commuter service launched in California
USA: San Bernardino County Transportation Authority’s Arrow passenger service has launched, providing an hourly link between San Bernardino-Downtown station on the Los Angeles region’s Metrolink commuter network and the University of Redlands. Revenue services on the 14·5 km line began on October 24 following a ribbon ...
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Metro Report InternationalThree rail schemes in Hong Kong plan
CHINA: Plans to undertake three rail projects which were recommended in the Strategic Studies on Railways & Major Roads Beyond 2030 study were announced by Hong Kong SAR Chief Executive John Lee in his first Policy Address on October 19. The priority is the Tseung Kwan ...
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NewsFrench open access passenger service postponed
FRANCE: Three factors have led Le Train to postpone the launch of its planned open access high speed services in southwest France from mid-2023 until early 2024.
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NewsEuropean Sleeper now targets 2023 launch
EUROPE: Night train start-up European Sleeper now expects to launch its first service on the Brussels – Amsterdam – Berlin – Praha route in 2023. The Dutch company announced a year ago that infrastructure managers Infrabel, ProRail, DB Netz and Správa Železnic had allocated capacity for ...
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NewsLong-term strategy to address rail sector skills shortages
EUROPE: Rail, education and policy stakeholders met in Brussels to discuss a long-term action plan to address the sector’s growing skills shortage, including the need for reskilling and upskilling to support the green and digital transition. The event on October 13 marked the half way point ...
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Metro Report InternationalNational public transport ticketing contract awarded
NEW ZEALAND: Waka Kotahi New Zealand Transport Agency has awarded Cubic Transportation Systems the National Ticketing Solution contract to supply an account-based ticketing platform for rail, bus and ferry services. Local transport authorities will decide on travel products and fares for their regions and control the ...
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In depthEastern Europe: Adding capacity in Poland’s capital
Modernisation of the busy east-west cross-city route and construction of a second cross-city tunnel in the Polish capital during 2023-27 will generate much-needed capacity. Elsewhere in the Mazowieckie voivodship surrounding Warszawa, there are plans to build new lines and reopen old ones. Benjámin Zelki reports.
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NewsElectric train sale-and-leaseback deal finalised
GERMANY: Northrail has structured a sale-and-lease-back transaction for 29 Alstom Coradia Stream High-Capacity electric multiple-units which DB Regio ordered in April. The EMUs are to be used from December 2025 on Kinzigtal services on the Frankfurt – Wächtersbach – Fulda – Bebra route. The investment is ...
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NewsJoint vision for international rail capacity management
EUROPE: A common vision for capacity management, process harmonisation and IT support to create a ‘European, digital, flexible and secure’ system enabling train operators to book capacity in line with their business models and customer needs has been set out by three industry associations. Forum Train ...
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Metro Report InternationalTransport for London power purchase procurement paused again
UK: Transport for London has once again postponed plans to source 10% of its power needs from new-build wind or solar farms through a Corporate Power Purchase Agreement. The initial procurement, codenamed PPA Comet, had been withdrawn after what TfL told Metro Report International was ’a ...
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NewsWeight saving and connectivity are key
INNOTRANS: ‘We are seeing a greater focus on energy efficiency and digitalisation’, reported Ralf Klein, Managing Director of Harting Technology Group, talking to Railway Gazette International in Berlin. Outlining the company’s latest connector developments for the rail sector, he emphasised that ‘weight ...
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NewsPKP reborn as a holding company
POLAND: Polish State Railways has been formally restructured as a holding company under a programme to make the railway more competitive as the European rail market continues to open up. PKP Group is formed of 18 companies led by PKP SA, which is 100% owned by ...