Main line rail industry news – Page 4
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Long-distance electric-diesel-battery trainset unveiled
ITALY: Trenitalia has unveiled its first long-distance trainset which can operate on electric, diesel or battery power. Being supplied by Hitachi Rail, the HTR412 trainsets are equipped to operate in four modes: overhead electric power only, diesel only, battery only or hybrid battery plus diesel. It ...
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Lineas seeks FAME with biofuel locomotive
BELGIUM: Lineas has unveiled a FAME locomotive, powered by fatty acid methyl ester biofuel produced from non-food raw materials such as used cooking oil. Lineas said this offers a readily available alternative to diesel, and has been used in marine engines but not yet in locomotives. ...
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Erasmus+ Interrail pass launched to encourage sustainable travel
EUROPE: A dedicated Interrail Global pass has been launched to encourage sustainable travel and exploration by participants in the Erasmus+ education scheme. The passes developed by Interrail organisation Eurail and the Erasmus Student Network have a validity of four days in six months or six days ...
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British Steel for the Suez Canal on tracks
EGYPT: British Steel has won a multi-million-pound contract to supply 9 500 tonnes of rail from its Scunthorpe plant in the UK for use on the 250 km/h Green Line railway. This corridor will link Mersa Matruh on the Mediterranean coast with Alexandria, the New Administrative ...
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Locos ordered for Poland – France corridor
EUROPE: Polish company CLIP Intermodal has awarded Alstom a contract to supply 13 third-generation Traxx multi-system electric locomotives approved for use in France, Belgium, Luxembourg, Germany, Austria and Poland. Sławomir Cyza, Managing Director of Alstom in Poland, Ukraine & the Baltic States, said the order announced ...
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Final ICE4 set delivered to Deutsche Bahn
GERMANY: At a ceremony in Berlin Hauptbahnhof on March 19 Deutsche Bahn took delivery of the final ICE4 trainset, which was named Spree to mark the occasion and ‘baptised’ with water from the river of the same name. Chairman of DB’s Management Board Dr Richard Lutz ...
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Rail skills shortage must be addressed to meet Europe’s environmental targets
EUROPE: Strategies to attract new talent to the rail sector were discussed at the Next–Gen Rail: Building The Workforce Of Tomorrow For the Rail Sector conference which was hosted by UNIFE in Brussels on March 27. Ideas discussed included retraining staff from other industries such as ...
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Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes operating contract includes rolling stock renewals
FRANCE: Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes région has signed a contract with SNCF Voyageurs to operate local passenger services from 2024 to 2033.
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Batteries provide emergency power for Kashmir railway tunnels
INDIA: Saft has supplied more than 30 sets of ReGenPro batteries to provide standby power for operational and safety systems in the tunnels on the Banihal – Sangaldan section of the Udhampur – Kashmir railway. The 48·1 km section was opened by Prime Minister Narendra Modi ...
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Metro-North Railroad to trial automated rolling stock inspection
USA: The automated inspection of commuter rolling stock is to be trialled on New York’s Metro-North Railroad, supported by a $2m grant from the federal Department of Transportation’s Strengthening Mobility & Revolutionizing Transportation programme. The automated inspection portal incorporating a suite of sensors and analytical software ...
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Software supports Lithuanian operator’s digital transformation
LITHUANIA: National passenger operator LTG Link has deployed IVU Traffic Technologies’ IVU.rail software for planning and dispatch. ‘IVU’s many years of experience and integrative approach fit in with Lithuania’s strategy to use established European standards and processes to expand rail transport across the Baltic region’, said ...
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CRRC drops Bulgarian train bid following EU investigation
BULGARIA: CRRC Qingdao Sifang Locomotive has withdrawn its bid for a contract to supply 20 push-pull trainsets, after the European Commission launched an investigation into whether the Chinese state-owned company might have benefited from an unfair subsidy. The tender from the Ministry of Transport & Communications ...
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Service increase in new Köln S-Bahn operating contract
GERMANY: Following a European tender, transport authorities go.Rheinland and VRR have selected incumbent DB Regio for a contract to operate Köln S-Bahn services until December 2032. The contract is backdated to December 10 2023 and will see operations increase from 12·3 million to 14·2 million train-km/year. ...
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Stadler to supply inter-city EMUs to GySEV
HUNGARY: Hungarian-Austrian cross-border operator GySEV has signed a contract for Stadler to supply nine inter-city electric multiple-units with an option for four more. The EMUs are intended for use on the Sopron – Győr – Budapest and Szombathely – Győr routes and would also be certified ...
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Iarnród Éireann seeks to develop start-up mindset
IRELAND: National railway Iarnród Éireann and Dogpatch Labs have launched Future Track which aims to bring a ‘start-up mindset’ to innovation in the rail sector. Iarnród Éireann staff will be mentored by entrepreneurs and engage in an annual three month programme which aims to make ideas ...
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SBB tests automated shunting without possessions
SWITZERLAND: SBB and Alstom have carried out a series of trials using a remotely controlled shunting locomotive on tracks that remained open for normal operations. As part of the research trials, 24 locomotive drivers operated a shunter in the marshalling yard at Zürich-Mülligen from a control ...
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Fitch says rolling stock lessors are resilient to economic challenges
EUROPE: Rolling stock lessors in Europe are benefiting from continued rail traffic recovery and have resilience to higher interest rates, adequate leverage and long-term funding profiles, according to a report from Fitch Ratings. Fitch says European policies favouring environmentally friendly transport will support both the passenger ...
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Record spend at DB as freight volume plummets
GERMANY: Deutsche Bahn carried more than 1∙8 billion passengers in the year to December 31 2023, up by nearly 6% on the previous year. Publishing its annual results on March 21, the national railway group reported that its long-distance services had been used by more than ...
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Passenger services to be restored on Porto orbital line
PORTUGAL: Agreement has been reached to restore passenger services on an orbital line in the northern suburbs of Porto. The first trains are expected to begin running this year, following a 13-year hiatus. A protocol to restore passenger services was signed at São Mamede de Infesta ...
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Swedish national ticketing product distribution system goes live
SWEDEN: The Samtrafiken collaboration of transport operators has a launched a neutral ticketing communications platform based on the Open Sales & Distribution Model-Online standard with the aim of streamlining ticket sales and enhancing cross-selling opportunities.