Latest news – Page 4
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NewsZillertalbahn hydrogen plan dropped in favour of battery traction
AUSTRIA: Plans to replace diesel traction on the narrow gauge Zillertalbahn with hydrogen have been dropped in favour of battery operation. Decarbonisation is planned as part of the railway’s medium-term investment programme for 2025-30, and could save an estimated 900 000 litres of diesel per year. ...
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NewsEuropean Rail Timetable business for sale
INTERNATIONAL: Director and Editor-in-Chief John Potter has decided to sell European Rail Timetable Ltd, publisher of the famous red book which contains almost 600 pages of detailed schedule information for 50 000 trains, as well as maps and useful travel information for Europe and beyond. The ...
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Rail Business UKArmitt criticises ‘blurred picture’ for rail development in wake of HS2 axe
UK: ‘It hasn’t been a great six months for rail’, suggested Sir John Armitt, Chair of the National Infrastructure Commission, in his keynote address to the Northern Transport Summit on March 21. Armitt was among a raft of policymakers and transport officials at the event who ...
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NewsBulgarian operator buys DB coaches
BULGARIA: National passenger operator BDZ-Putnicheski Prevozi has bought 76 second-hand coaches from Germany’s Deutsche Bahn for use on services from Sofia to Varna, Burgas and Ruse. The €15·7m contract signed on March 29 covers 60 second class open saloon coaches, six second class cars for passengers ...
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NewsAmazon to shift goods from road to rail
EUROPE: Amazon has awarded FS Group’s Mercitalia Logistics a contract to transport goods between its fulfilment centres in Germany and Italy. This aims to cut road traffic pollution and congestion on key European routes, while optimising inventory handling and reducing delivery times. There will be ...
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NewsFirst C-Series EMU enters service in Perth
AUSTRALIA: The first Alstom C-Series electric multiple-unit has entered service on the Perth suburban network’s Joondalup and Mandurah lines. More than 10 000 people entered a competition to win around 150 tickets for the inaugural ride on April 7, ahead of start of regular operation the following day.
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NewsFirst Mireo Plus B battery-electric multiple-units enter service
GERMANY: An initial four Siemens Mobility Mireo Plus B battery-electric multiple-units entered passenger service on Netz 8 Ortenau routes in Baden-Württemberg on April 8. ‘We are writing a new chapter in railway history’, said the Land‘s transport minister Winfried Hermann. ’Trains operating in the Ortenau region ...
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NewsAs elections loom, rail advocates press for EU funding boost
EUROPE: Amid pressure on member states’ budgets and ongoing geopolitical instability, the rail sector used the Connecting Europe Days event in Brussels to urge EU policymakers to ensure investment is maintained in the next legislative period.
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NewsAmtrak appoints contractor for $53m Unified Operations Center
tn_us-amtrak–baltimore-penn.jpg USA: Amtrak has selected Wohlsen Construction to build its Unified Operations Center in Wilmington, Delaware. The $53m UOC will provide integrated 24/7 monitoring and management of national operations, as well as dispatching for the mid-Atlantic Division covering the Washington – Philadelphia – Harrisburg corridor. It ...
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NewsČD and RegioJet competition dispute settled
CZECH REPUBLIC: National operator ČD and Open access company RegioJet have agreed to end all legal proceedings relating to a dispute about competition on the Praha – Ostrava line Under the so-called Falcon Case, RegioJet had sought damages of up to KC717m, alleging that ČD had ...
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NewsManila passenger services suspended to accelerate commuter rail construction
PHILIPPINES: March 27 marked the last operation of passenger services for five years in the Manila metropolitan area in order to accelerate construction of the North-South Commuter Railway. Philippine National Railways suspended its diesel-worked operations on the Governor Pascual – Manila Tutuban and Tutuban – Alabang ...
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NewsMoldova applies to join OTIF
MOLDOVA: An application for accession to the Convention Concerning International Carriage by Rail has been submitted by Moldova. Unless five Intergovernmental Organisation for International Carriage by Rail member states object, the application will be deemed to be accepted three months after notification, which will be on ...
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NewsNext-generation Multi-Purpose Vehicle on test
SWEDEN: Railcare is testing its second-generation Multi-Purpose Vehicle, which has been developed with ABB and can both operate and charge its batteries via overhead electrification. ‘Combining electric power with the possibility of switching to battery power is an advantage on sites where there is no overhead ...
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NewsAmtrak adopts Delivery Partner model to deliver Baltimore tunnel project
USA: Amtrak has awarded its first Delivery Partner contract, covering the $6bn Frederick Douglass Tunnel programme which it says is its single largest capital project. This covers the rebuilding of 6 km of the Northeast Corridor through central Baltimore, with the central element being two new bores ...
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Rail Business UKFreightliner to explore synthetic locomotive fuel
UK: Freightliner and synthetic fuel developer Zero Petroleum have announced a partnership which aims to achieve fossil-free locomotive operation by 2040 and overall net zero by 2050. They are also looking at non-road mobile machinery and other vehicles. Zero has developed proprietary Fischer-Tropsch process technology to ...
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NewsSiemens Mobility awarded Toronto infrastructure maintenance contract
CANADA: Greater Toronto area transport agency Metrolinx has awarded Siemens Mobility a contract to provide track, signalling and right-of-way maintenance services for its Central Region. The contract starts this summer. It builds on existing contracts covering the provision of similar services for the West Region, and ...
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In depthInterview: ‘Digital pioneers must prioritise simplicity’
Swedish start-up Strainlabs is one of the founding participants in the Vossloh Connect digital ecosystem. Vossloh’s Head of Digital Pierre-Henri Bougeant and Strainlabs’ CEO Csaba Madru explain the partnership and why in rail digitalisation, simplicity is key.
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In depthComment: Multilateral initiatives still matter
Globalisation is facing a challenge in the railway industry as countries prioritise domestic production of trains. Nick Kingsley explores the drawbacks of this approach and the continued importance of international co-operation.