Passenger rail news – Page 113
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NewsBayerische Oberlandbahn increases DMU order
GERMANY: Bayerische Oberlandbahn has placed a €25m order for six Alstom Coradia Lint diesel multiple-units. The firm order announced on September 16 has been placed using an option on a 2018 contract for 25 DMUs. All 31 are scheduled to be delivered by 2020, and will be ...
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NewsDB to order more high speed trains as government cuts VAT on fares
Photo: DB AG/Georg Wagner GERMANY: Rail spending is to be increased significantly as part of a €54bn package of measures to mitigate the effects of climate change, which was announced by Chancellor Angela Merkel on September 20. In order to reduce the environmental impact of transport and ...
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NewsDB rejects Audit Office claims
Photo: DB AG/Volker Emersleben GERMANY: Deutsche Bahn has strongly rejected concerns raised by the Federal Audit Office that it had failed to manage federal funds effectively and that its finances were in disarray. Reports published by press agency Deutsche Presse-Agentur and subsequently in national media said that ...
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NewsKeolis operating contract terminated because of driver shortage
VRR is to directly award incumbent DB Regio a contract to continue to run the services (Photo: DB) GERMANY: Rhein-Ruhr transport VRR has decided to terminate a contract for Keolis to operate two S-Bahn services from December, and will instead directly award incumbent DB Regio an emergency ...
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NewsFrecciargento 700 to serve Bari from September 29
ITALY: Trenitalia’s Frecciargento trainsets will begin serving Bari from the end of September, working two trains a day between Milano and Bari via the Adriatic corridor. Presenting the new trains to local decision makers at Bari Centrale on September 19, Trenitalia’s Director, Long Haul, Paolo Attanasio explained ...
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NewsLong Island Rail Road M-9 cars enter service
MTA Long Island Rail Road has put the first of its Kawasaki M-9 EMUs into service (Photo: Joseph M Calisi) USA: New York commuter operator MTA Long Island Rail Road has put the first of its Kawasaki M-9 electric multiple-unit cars into service. The 750 V DC ...
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NewsNordjyske Jernbaner expands fleet
DENMARK: Local railway operator Nordjyske Jernbaner has ordered a further four Alstom Coradia Lint diesel multiple-units for delivery by mid-2021. This will expand its fleet of 13 similar units which were delivered in 2017. The two-car 140 km/h units will have 120 seats, wi-fi, air-conditioning, a passenger ...
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NewsSNCF selects CAF to supply inter-city fleet
FRANCE: SNCF Mobilités has selected CAF as preferred bidder for a €700m contract to supply 28 electric multiple-units for medium and long-distance Intercités services on the Paris – Clermont-Ferrand and Paris – Limoges – Toulouse routes. There would be options for up to 75 more trainsets, including ...
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NewsTransdev selected for emergency operating contract
GERMANY: Oberelbe transport authority VVO has selected Transdev Regio as preferred bidder for an emergency contract to operate four passenger services in the Dresden area. The services were previously provided by Städtebahn Sachsen, which ceased train operations on July 25 after a period of poor performance and ...
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NewsLeo Express takes delivery of CRRC EMU
CZECH REPUBLIC: The first of three Sirius electric-multiple-units being built for Leo Express has arrived in the Czech Republic, having been shipped from China via the port of Bremen. Tailor made for the open access operator by CRRC Zhuzhou Electric Locomotive, the multi-system EMU ...
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NewsRegioJet expands capacity on Bratislava commuter route
RegioJet SLOVAKIA: On September 16 RegioJet introduced double-deck coaches to increase morning and evening peak capacity on the Bratislava – Dunajská Streda – Komárno route, where ridership in the first half the year reached 2·3 million, a 50% increase on the same period last year. The ...
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NewsKLM replaces plane with high speed train
Thalys EUROPE: KLM Royal Dutch Airlines is to replace one of its five daily flights between Brussels and Amsterdam Schiphol with reserved seat capacity on a Thalys high speed train service from March 29 2020. This is intended as the first step in a programme to gradually ...
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Rail Business UKIsle of Wight line’s future secured with £26m investment
UK: Investment of £26m to secure the future of the 13·7 km line between Ryde and Shanklin on the Isle of Wight was announced on September 16. This includes infrastructure modernisation and replacement of the life-expired fleet of small profile ex-London Underground trains which date back to ...
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NewsEgyptian locomotive renewal programme underway
EGYPT: Egyptian National Railways has invited expressions of interest in the supply of up to 100 diesel-electric locomotives for use on long-distance passenger services, with tendering expected to get underway by the end of the year. The project is to be funded with a €290m loan from ...
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NewsMetrolinx orders double-deck coaches
CANADA: Ontario transport authority Metrolinx has ordered a further 36 double-deck coaches from Bombardier Transportation to bolster GO Transit services in the Toronto area. The 31 standard and five accessible BiLevel cars will be produced Bombardier’s Thunder Bay plant. ‘Our government is committed to building the transportation ...
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NewsUkrainian railway reform legislation introduced
UKRAINE: Bills for the reform of the railway and inland waterway sectors were introduced to parliament on September 6. The proposed changes follow on from Ukraine’s 2017 Association Agreement with the European Union. ‘These bills present a European model for the rail and inland waterway market’, said ...
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NewsNiederbarnimer Eisenbahn leases additional DMUs
GERMANY: Regional passenger operator Niederbarnimer Eisenbahn has leased four more three-car Bombardier Talent diesel multiple-units from Alpha Trains to handle growing ridership on its Ostbrandenburg and Heidekrautbahn services. The DMUs are scheduled to enter service with NEB from 2020, after a general inspection and component overhaul which ...
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NewsFirst Léman Express EMU enters service
FRANCE: The first of 17 three-system Régiolis EMUs being supplied by Alstom to operate SNCF’s share of the Léman Express RER network in Genève entered service on September 4, operating regional trains between Annemasse and Evian-les-Bains.
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NewsIcomera wins GO Transit wi-fi contract
CANADA: Transport authority Metrolinx has selected Icomera to roll-out wi-fi and an entertainment system across the GO Transit fleet of 943 rail vehicles and 532 buses in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton areas. Installation is scheduled to begin later this year, with the first wi-fi expected to ...
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NewsVictoria expands VLocity fleet
AUSTRALIA: The Victoria state government has ordered a further batch of VLocity diesel multiple-units from Bombardier Transportation, in order to meet growing demand on regional routes radiating from Melbourne. Due to enter service in 2021, the six three-car units will follow on from the nine sets ordered ...