Main line rail industry news
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NewsChuo Shinkansen completion delayed until 2034
JR Central tested the maglev technology in Yamanashi prefecture (Photo: Kazumiki Miura). JAPAN: Central Japan Railway announced at the end of March that it no longer expects to start operating high speed superconducting maglev services over the Chuo Shinkansen between Tokyo and Nagoya in 2027. Speaking ...
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NewsNext-generation Railjets enter service to link three countries
EUROPE: Austrian Federal Railways has put into service the first of its updated Railjet trainsets on services linking Germany, Austria and Italy. Toma Bačić rode on a preview run between München and Verona on April 5.
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NewsIR launches low-cost expresses
INDIA: Indian Railways has introduced a new category of loco-hauled trains, which is intended to provide an enhanced travel experience for its ‘lower class’ passengers who account for the majority of its long-distance traffic. Branded as Amrit Bharat, the trains will offer slightly less basic accommodation ...
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NewsChinese consortium starts work on Algeria’s Western Mining Railway
ALGERIA: Work has started on construction of a Heavy haul railway in the southwest of the country which will extend the national network by 575 km. On April 9, lead contractor China Railway Construction Corp and local partner Cosider Travaux Publics began civil works on the ...
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NewsCeremony launches Brightline West’s high speed link to Las Vegas
USA: Project promoter Brightline West held a groundbreaking ceremony on April 22 in Las Vegas to launch its project to build a high speed line from the city to southern California.
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News‘Price dumping’ row mars Ouigo’s latest expansion
SPAIN: SNCF’s low-cost subsidiary Ouigo has further expanded its operations in Spain, launching Madrid – Valladolid services on April 19, consisting of two return trips per day. Single fares start at €9, and initially 14 000 tickets per week have been made available. The operator could ...
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NewsElectrification of two Dutch regional railways funded
NETHERLANDS: The government has confirmed co-funding for the electrification for two regional lines in the provinces of Overijssel and Gelderland.
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NewsKnorr-Bremse enters signalling market with North American acquisition
NORTH AMERICA: Knorr-Bremse announced on April 19 that it had agreed to buy Alstom’s North American conventional signalling business, with a deal that is expected to be formally concluded ‘in summer 2024’. The former General Railway Signal Co was established in 1904 through the merger of ...
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NewsStadler’s Spanish suburban EMUs on test
SPAIN: The first of 44 double-deck EMUs which Stadler is supplying to RENFE are now being tested at the manufacturer’s plant at Albuixech near València. In March 2021, RENFE placed a contract which covered an initial 24 EMUs 100 m long and 25 sets 200 m ...
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NewsParis Line C investment plan outlined
Photos: Jérémie Anne FRANCE: Paris regional transport authority Ile-de-France-Mobilités has set out revised plans to develop RER Line C, one of the busiest and most operationally challenging in the conurbation. Line C is 176 route-km long and features six branches; it carries up to 540 000 ...
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NewsStars align for night train service
BELGIUM: Support for overnight train services from Belgium is coming from an unexpected source, according to one of the more unusual missives to reach the Railway Gazette International inbox. According to a Verdic astrologer from India, the recent extension of European Sleeper’s Brussels – Berlin service ...
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NewsShining a light on Dutch depots
NETHERLANDS: Local company Raillighting has developed a low-cost lighting assembly for illuminating walkways and other work zones which can be rapidly installed by hand. Branded Railpuck Luminaire, the lights are primarily intended to illuminate the paths and walkways used by staff to access depot buildings and ...
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NewsPrasa restores more suburban rail services
SOUTH AFRICA: Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa has restarted its Metrorail suburban rail services on five sections of the networks in the provinces of Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal and Western Cape. Local rail services across the country had been disrupted by a spate of vandalism and cable ...
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NewsRZD orders high speed trains for revived Moscow – St Petersburg project
RUSSIA: Russian Railways has signed a contract with Ural Locomotives for the supply of two pre-series high speed trainsets to operate its planned Moscow – St Petersburg high speed line. RZD is making a further attempt to develop a new line between its two most strategically ...
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NewsTalgo Avril high speed trainsets to enter service in May
SPAIN: National operator RENFE has taken delivery of its first 10 Talgo S106 Avril wide-bodied high speed trainsets. The trains are to be deployed from May 21 on services to Galicia and Asturias where gauge-changing is necessary., allowing the existing S130 sets to be cascaded to ...
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NewsRebuilt Ferrocarril Central inaugurated
Photos: Marcelo Benoit URUGUAY: The modernised Ferrocarril Central railway linking Montevideo with Paso de los Toros was formally inaugurated with a ceremony on April 16. The ribbon cutting at Cardal station, 76 km north of the capital, was attended by Uruguayan President Luis Lacalle, Transport Minister ...
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NewsA1 rail link extension in Jerusalem approved
ISRAEL: The National Committee for Design & Construction of Infrastructure has approved proposals for an extension of Israel Railways’ direct A1 line under the centre of Jerusalem.
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NewsTrenitalia seeks more business in France
EUROPE: Italian national operator Trenitalia is seeking to expand its presence in the French market by growing both its domestic high speed services and by providing more international links.