All News articles – Page 3
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NewsElectrification goes live in northern Portugal
PORTUGAL: Prime Minister António Costa and Housing & Infrastructure Minister Pedro Nuno Santos attended ceremonies on July 16 to mark completion of two electrification schemes on routes north of Porto. Both projects are part of the government’s Ferrovia 2020 investment plan. A 14·2 km section of the Porto – ...
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NewsPrima H4 pre-series locos on test with SBB
SWITZERLAND: A pre-series batch of five Prima H4 shunting locomotives has now been delivered to SBB for a year of in-service trials. Designated Aem940 by SBB, the locomotives will be used mainly at marshalling yards and for engineering possessions. In line with SBB’s fleet rationalisation efforts, the four-axle loco is ...
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News‘Drone train’ completes first trial
FRANCE: National operator SNCF has successfully tested a remotely-controlled train over a distance of 4 km in the Paris suburbs. Representing a key stage in SNCF’s programme to develop automated operations, the ‘drone train’ ran from Villeneuve-Saint-Georges to Juvisy and was driven from a control centre established at Vigneux-sur-Seine. Describing ...
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NewsCPTM plans tourist service to Santos
BRAZIL: São Paulo suburban operator CPTM ran two test trains in late June on the São Paulo – Santos route as part of assessments ahead of the possible launch of a passenger service. The test trains ran on June 18 and 27, and form part of CPTM’s preparations ...
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NewsCP and EMEF to merge ahead of market opening
PORTUGAL: The government has approved a €45m capital investment programme for both national operator CP and rolling stock maintenance business EMEF. To be funded from the state budget, the 2019-22 plan approved on June 27 has two parts. The first covers investment of €9m in 2019, primarily to enable EMEF ...
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NewsRENFE seeks to take on the TGV
FRANCE: On July 1, RENFE Operadora confirmed its intention to enter the French high speed passenger market, saying it had lodged the relevant applications with regulator Arafer, safety authority EPSF and infrastructure manager SNCF Réseau. The Spanish national operator would compete with incumbent SNCF on high speed routes initially using ...
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NewsWorld rail market - June 2019
China: ST Engineering is supplying a control system for Wuxi metro Line 3. Czech Republic: On-board ticket sales were introduced across the Praha tram fleet on April 26, using Mikroelektronika onboard vending machines with payments processed by ČSOB subsidiary Banit. Poland: Agat is to supply a train washing ...
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NewsSNCF and Airbus to trial satellite geolocation technology
FRANCE: SNCF and Airbus Defence & Space signed a co-operation accord at the Paris Air Show in Le Bourget on June 19. The agreement last three years and covers the development and adaptation of satellite geolocation technology, based on the EU’s Galileo and European Geostationary Navigation Overlay Systems, for digital ...
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NewsFlixTrain seeks to enter French passenger market
FRANCE: FlixMobility GmbH has lodged an application with rail regulator Arafer to launch five inter-city routes from January 1 2021. The FlixTrain-branded services would cover four domestic routes as well as one international route. The proposed services are seven return trains per day between Paris Nord and Brussels Nord ...
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NewsNext-generation Acela trainsets take shape
USA: Alstom invited guests to its Hornell factory in New York state on June 12 to showcase the progress it is making in producing the next generation of Acela high speed trainsets for Amtrak. Amtrak says that ‘significant progress’ is being made in production of the fleet, which is expected ...
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NewsLausanne station to be rebuilt
SWITZERLAND: The Federal Office for Transport has approved plans for Swiss Federal Railways to proceed with the reconstruction of Lausanne station. Announcing the decision on June 3, BAV said that the government would contribute SFr900m towards the SFr1∙3bn cost. The main objective is to extend the platforms to a length ...
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NewsBorne backs early extension of Rhin-Rhône high speed line
FRANCE: Transport Minister Elisabeth Borne has agreed to ‘look again’ at the timescale for completing the second phase of the LGV Rhin-Rhône high speed line, serving Dijon and Mulhouse. LGV Rhin-Rhône opened with the December 2011 timetable change, covering an initial 140 route-km between Auxonne, east of Dijon, and Petit-Croix, ...
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NewsWorld rail market - May 2019
Germany: DB has begun a €30m project to install Icomera wi-fi technology across its inter-city fleet by 2021. Hamburger Hochbahn is to use a Worldline SAM server for online and app payments as part of the conversion of its tickets from UIC barcode to VDV-KA standards. Italy: Dassault ...
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NewsCDG Express delayed to 2026
FRANCE: The CDG Express project to provide a dedicated airport express between central Paris and Roissy-Charles-de-Gaulle airport is to be delayed by two years, Transport Minister Elisabeth Borne announced on May 28. Running for 32 km between Paris-Est and the LGV Interconnexion station at Charles-de-Gaulle airport Terminal 2, CDG Express ...
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NewsThai government backs ‘three airports’ rail link
THAILAND: Proposals to develop a fast passenger line between three airports in the south of the country under a PPP model were approved by the government on May 28. Covering a total distance of approximately 220 km, the 1 435 mm gauge railway would make use of the existing ...
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NewsADB’s largest ever rail loan to support Manila commuter project
PHILIPPINES: In what the organisation says is its ‘largest single infrastructure project financing’, the Asian Development Bank on May 23 agreed a loan worth US$2·75bn for construction of the Malolos – Clark suburban railway. This long-standing scheme has been revived by the current government in Manila under its ‘build, build, ...
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Rail Business UKDoncaster hub prepares to maintain Azuma fleet
UK: Hitachi Rail Ltd is ramping up maintenance activity at Agility Trains East’s new Doncaster depot as the roll-out of Class 800/801 Azuma trainsets begins on the East Coast Main Line. The first Azuma entered service on May 15, and four more were being used for driver training in late ...
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NewsVIA Rail gets buzzy
CANADA: VIA Rail is installing beehives on the rooftops of its stations in Vancouver, Winnipeg, Ottawa and Québec City in partnership with Alvéole, a company which combines beekeeping with education. The national passenger operator hopes this will help to raise awareness among urban populations of the decline of bees and ...
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NewsMore Frecciarossa trains to come as FS unveils €58bn investment plan
ITALY: State railway holding FS Group’s 2019-23 business plan envisages total investment worth €58bn across various modes, with a core focus on enhancing the conventional rail network and improving suburban passenger services. According to FS, the ‘unprecedented’ spending programme, unveiled in Roma on May 10 by Chief Executive Gianfranco Battisti, ...
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Rail Business UKYRP celebrates 10 years of success
Professional networking and educational group Young Rail Professionals has developed an important role in a fragmented UK rail sector. Nick Kingsley asks co-founder Paul Cooper and former Chair Sabrina Ihaddaden to reflect on the organisation’s achievements in its first decade.