Main line rail industry news – Page 8
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NewsChicago’s Metra thinks outside the box with Stadler battery train order
USA: Chicago commuter agency Metra has awarded Stadler a contract to supply eight battery multiple-units. The $154m deal announced on February 21 includes staff training and spare parts. The first of the units are expected to be delivered from Stadler’s Salt Lake City plant in 2027-28. ...
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NewsMetrans acquires Adria Rail
EUROPE: The Metrans rail freight subsidiary of Hamburger Hafen & Logistik has expanded in southeast Europe with the acquisition of 100% of Adria Rail Group. Adria Rail offers rail services from Serbia and Croatia, and manages an inland terminal in Indija near Beograd which has daily ...
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NewsStrait of Messina bridge design approved
ITALY: The final design for a long-proposed rail and road bridge to link Sicily with the mainland has been approved by the board of project company Stretto di Messina. The company’s work was suspended for 10 years until it was reconstituted by the government in March ...
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NewsSlovakian Kiss EMUs enter service
SLOVAKIA: National operator ZSSK has put the first of its Stadler Kiss double-deck electric multiple-units into passenger service. ‘Today is an important milestone’, State Secretary at the Ministry of Transport Denisa Žiláková said at the launch at Nové Zámky station on February 15. ’For the first ...
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NewsEuropean Commission investigates whether CRRC received market-distorting subsidy
BULGARIA: The European Commission has launched an in-depth investigation into whether a subsidiary of Chinese state-owned rolling stock group CRRC received unfair subsidy enabling it to submit a low bid for a contract. The investigation announced on February 16 is the first under the Foreign Subsidies ...
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NewsBoard of Latvian operator quits over problems with new trains
LATVIA: The supervisory board of national passenger operator Pasažieru Vilciens, now branded Vivi, resigned at the end of January, saying they lacked the powers needed to address disruption resulting from faults with new trains. Sandis Šteins had headed the board since 2016, and resigned along with ...
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NewsRailpool signs 250-loco framework agreement
EUROPE: Leasing company Railpool and Siemens Mobility have signed a framework agreement for the supply of up to 250 Vectron locomotives. This covers variants that can operate in up to 16 countries and on north-south and east-west corridors in Europe. Depending on the variant, the 6·4 ...
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NewsEast Japan Railway to work with University of Birmingham
INTERNATIONAL: East Japan Railway has signed a memorandum of understanding to work with the UK’s University of Birmingham on innovative technology and staff skills development. Shunzo Miyake, Director General of International Affairs at JR East, said the partnership announced on February 19 aims to ‘develop railway ...
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NewsFootbath train launched to serve hot springs resort
JAPAN: Private train operator Kintetsu has modified one of its electric multiple-units to operate luxury tourist services between Nagoya and Yunoyama-Onsen, a hot springs resort in the Suzuka area of outstanding natural beauty.
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NewsRack line track renewals
CZECH REPUBLIC: Infrastructure manager Správa Železnic has called tenders for track renewals on its steepest section of line and its only rack railway, between Tanvald and Kořenov on the Liberec – Jelenia Góra cross-border route to Poland. Ordinary services do not use the Abt rack and ...
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NewsCalifornia orders more hydrogen trainsets
USA: California’s Department of Transportation has ordered six more Stadler Flirt H2 hydrogen fuel cell multiple-units. The $127m order announced on February 15 has been placed using an October 2023 framework contract which included an $80m firm order for four trains with options for up to ...
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NewsViewpoint: Faster freight trains are needed to save southeast Europe’s industry
Investment to raise the speeds of freight trains is needed to prevent deindustrialisation in the Balkans, says Philippe Rombaut, owner of Bulgarian fertiliser manufacturer Agropolychim which is investing in its own fleet of wagons
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NewsProgress Rail to supply locomotives to Sumatra
INDONESIA: National railway PT KAI has awarded Progress Rail a contract to supply 54 EMD GT38AC locomotives from 2025 for use hauling freight in south Sumatra. The order announced on February 15 will add to the 91 GT38AC locomotives delivered since 2011. The 1 067 mm ...
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NewsSmart Train Lease aims ‘to make renting trains as easy and simple as renting a car’
GERMANY: Siemens Mobility has established a leasing subsidiary that would enable train operators to use its Mireo Smart battery, hydrogen and electric multiple-units without needing to make long-term investment commitments. Smart Train Lease GmbH would make available at short notice multiple-units already approved for operation. These ...
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NewsSwiss railway collaboration to continue
SWITZERLAND: Collaboration between Swiss Federal Railways and the independent BLS is set to continue with the introduction of an additional longer distance service in December 2025. Taking advantage of the doubling of the 4 km Grellingen – Duggingen section in late 2025, BLS will introduce service ...
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NewsSBB orders more Giruno trains to boost Italian services
SWITZERLAND: Swiss Federal Railways has ordered five more Stadler Giruno 250 km/h inter-city trainsets to support a planned expansion of cross-border services to Italy. The SFr170m firm order announced on February 14 has been placed as an option on a SFr970m order for an initial 29 ...
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NewsPrototype Portuguese national train under development
PORTUGAL: A prototype national train is being developed under the Producing Railway Rolling Stock in Portugal initiative. Three inter-city coaches are to be manufactured by 2025, formed as a push-pull set including a first class car with driving cab and two standard class cars, one with ...