Main line rail industry news – Page 393
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NewsWork begins on Gebze metro
TURKEY: Construction of the first metro line in Gebze started at Cumhuriyet Meydanı on September 29. The 15·7 km driverless line will link Gebze and Darıca, serving 12 stations. Construction is expected be completed in early 2023 at an estimated cost of TL2·8bn. It is envisaged that ...
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NewsInterim CEO sets out Rail Baltica priorities
EUROPE: Ignas Degutis has set out his priorities for the Rail Baltica project, having been appointed Interim CEO of tri-national project promoter RB Rail following the resignation of Baiba Rubesa. Rubesa held a personal press conference immediately after resigning on September 27, during which she strongly criticised the way the ...
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NewsRailway supply industry news round-up
Toyota Motor Corp and East Japan Railway have agreed to work together to develop hydrogen fuel cell technology for trains and cars. This could include establishing hydrogen fuelling stations on land owned by JR East and introducing fuel-cell powered road and rail vehicles. Bombardier Transportation has launched a new corporate ...
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NewsRotherham tram-train to launch this month
UK: Tram-train services from Sheffield to Rotherham are to be launched on October 25, operator Stagecoach Supertram, infrastructure manager Network Rail and the South Yorkshire Passenger Transport Executive announced on October 4. There will be three services an hour from Sheffield Cathedral to Rotherham Central station and Parkgate Retail ...
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NewsFirst section of Moscow – Kazan high speed line to open in 2024
RUSSIA: A construction agreement covering the first section of the Moscow – Kazan high speed line was announced by RZD First Deputy Director Alexander Misharin at the ProMotion 1520 conference in Sochi on October 2. The agreement calls for work to start next year on a 301 km alignment between ...
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News400 km/h ALFA-X experimental train to roll in 2019
JAPAN: East Japan Railway's ALFA-X experimental Shinkansen trainset is on course to start test running in May 2019, the railway announced on October 3. Designated Series 956, the ALFA-X is intended to pave the way for a new fleet of high speed trains as part of the railway’s Transform 2027 ...
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NewsIzmit tram extensions approved
TURKEY: Kocaeli Metropolitan Municipality Mayor İbrahim Karaosmanoğlu announced three extensions of the Izmit tramway on October 3. These have been approved by Izmit Municipality. The first phase of the city’s tram network opened in June 2017. The 7·4 km line runs from Otogar in the east and Sekapark in ...
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NewsIowa Interstate Railroad orders locomotives
USA: Railroad Development Corp’s Iowa Interstate Railroad has ordered three GE Transportation Evolution Series diesel locomotives, which are to be supplied in early 2020 and will be used to haul grain, ethanol, metals and other freight between Chicago and Omaha. The locomotives will be equipped with GE Transportation’s GoLINC networking ...
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NewsPassenger service reinstated
URUGUAY: Regular passenger services from Montevideo to Pando and Sudriers were reinstated on October 1, having been withdraw in May 2012. The service initially runs once a day, towards Montevideo in the morning and retuning in the evening. A second round trip is to be added in November, and a ...
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NewsFour-storey Bangkok Bang Sue station takes shape
THAILAND: Construction of a new passenger hub for Bangkok is around 70% complete and on course for opening towards the end of 2020, according to municipal officials. Bang Sue Grand Station will be a four-storey structure covering 300 000 m2 and would replace Hua Lamphong as the city’s principal main ...
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NewsRATP opens Singapore office
SINGAPORE: RATP Group has opened an office in Singapore that will serve as its headquarters for the Asia-Pacific region. Shaun Tan heads the RATP Dev Asia Pacific subsidiary. RATP Group said that it intends build strong co-operation with Singapore’s public transport authorities and operators through partnerships. ‘Throughout its ...
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NewsFlixTrain: ‘We want to make sustainable mobility accessible to everyone’
Having grown from a tech startup to an international coach company in just five years, FlixMobility has now entered the rail market. The e-commerce platform seeks to become a multimodal provider of sustainable transport, CEO & Co-Founder André Schwämmlein tells Railway Gazette International
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NewsOpen access operator's competition complaint upheld
FINLAND: Transport regulator Trafi has instructued state operator VR to make its charges for handling cross-border freight more transparent, following a complaint from the country’s only private operator. Fenniarail has been hauling trains between the Russia-Finland border and UPM’s paper mills since January. Its complaint related to VR’s pricing of ...
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NewsFilzenexpress electrification agreement
GERMANY: An agreement to finance electrification of the 19 km route between Ebersberg and Wasserburg am Inn was signed on September 28 by Bayern Transport Minister Ilse Aigner and Südostbayernbahn’s infrastructure director Christian Kubasch. A feasibility study in 2016 put the cost of electrification at around €22m, including associated station ...
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NewsDB expands international ticket purchase options
EUROPE: Deutsche Bahn has expanded the range of cross-border and foreign rail tickets which can be booked through its website and mobile app. Passengers can now book travel on SNCF and Thalys services, and Eurostar is to be added from October 8. Until now only selected connections were offered ...
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NewsNurminen Logistics plans to sell wagon fleet
RUSSIA: Nurminen Logistics announced on October 2 that it was considering selling the wagons owned by its Russian subsidiary OOO Nurminen Logistics, saying this would free up capital to support a strategy of focusing on its rail operations and freight forwarding activities in the Russian rail market. The Russian wagon ...
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NewsPacific Surfliner Charger locomotive unveiled
USA: The first Siemens Charger locomotive for Pacific Surfliner services between San Luis Obispo, Los Angeles and San Diego was officially unveiled by Amtrak and Caltrans at Los Angeles Union station on October 1. Caltrans has ordered a total of 22 Charger locomotives, using about $100m of state, federal and ...
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NewsVeolia to sell Transdev stake to Rethmann Group
TRANSDEV: Veolia has signed a draft agreement to sell its 30% stake in transport group Transdev to German family-owned water, recycling, logistics and public transport business Rethmann Group for €340m. The deal announced on October 2 is subject to regulatory approval, which is expected by the end of the ...
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NewsWascosa and Aves One acquire 4 400 wagons
EUROPE: A consortium of wagon leasing company Wascosa and Hamburg-based logistics assets investor Aves One completed the acquisition of 4 400 wagons from the Nacco subsidiary of CIT Group on October 1. Wascosa has also taken over Nacco’s operations in Hamburg. VTG announced plans for the acquisition of Nacco in ...
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NewsArriva wins Praha suburban rail operating contract
CZECH REPUBLIC: Praha transport authority ROPID has selected DB’s Czech subsidiary Arriva Vlaky to operate suburban train services on route S41 between Roztoky u Prahy and Hostivař via Holešovice and Libeň. Arriva’s first subsidised train operating contract in the Czech Republic will initially run for three years from the December ...