Passenger rail news – Page 129
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NewsČD to test battery-equipped EMUs
CZECH REPUBLIC: National passenger operator ČD and Škoda Transportation are to retrofit two Class 650 RegioPanter electric multiple-units with battery packs to enable operation on non-electrified tracks. The two units will be tested on regional services around Brno from late 2019. The lithium-titanate batteries and a BMS control unit ...
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NewsDB orders Talgo 230 inter-city trainsets
GERMANY: Deutsche Bahn has selected Talgo to supply a new generation of push-pull trainsets to operate long-distance inter-city and international services, the national operator announced on February 5. Following an international tender, DB Fernverkehr has awarded Talgo a framework contract for up to 100 trainsets, placing a firm order for ...
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NewsFyra V250 trainset on test in Italy
ITALY: Trenitalia has begun test running with one of the 17 AnsaldoBreda V250 trainsets which it acquired cheaply following their short and troubled life on Fyra services in the Netherlands and Belgium. The first test run left Milano Centrale for Bologna Centrale at 20:30 on February 4. The trainsets are ...
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NewsLittle change in Indian railway results
INDIA: With parliamentary elections due to be held in around three months, the national budget presented on February 1 offered little prospect of significant steps being taken to address the structural deficiencies afflicting the national railway, reports Raghu Dayal. Presented by Railways Minister Piyush Goyal in the absence of ...
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NewsEl-Qantas tunnel to cut east-west journey times
ALGERIA: Trains have started running through the El-Qantas tunnel, which has been built as part of an ongoing programme to upgrade the Alger – Oran main line for faster speeds. Under construction since 2011, the 7·3 km twin-bore tunnel has been built for railway infrastructure authority ANESRIF by China Railway ...
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NewsProject company to support Finnish rail reforms
FINLAND: New line development, transparent access to infrastructure services and the provision of rolling stock for on-rail competition are to be facilitated by a state-owned special purpose company to be formed under plans unveiled by Minister of Transport & Communications Anne Berner on February 1. The Cabinet Committee on Economic ...
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NewsPT Inka exports coaches to Bangladesh
BANGLADESH:· The first 15 of 250 coaches which Bangladesh Railway has ordered from Indonesian rolling stock manufacturer PT Inka were shipped from the Port of Tanjung Perak in Surabaya on January 20. The US$101m order placed in 2017 with financing from Indonesia Eximbank includes 50 coaches for BR’s 1 676 ...
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NewsPesa Link DMUs presented in Frankfurt
GERMANY: Pesa officially presented the first Link diesel multiple-units for use on Dreieichbahn services around Frankfurt to Deutsche Bahn at Frankfurt Hauptbahnhof on January 31, ahead of their planned entry into passenger service on February 2. In March 2014 DB awarded Pesa a contract to supply two two-car and ...
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NewsExtra Stuttgart S-Bahn EMUs will support ATO project
GERMANY: The Stuttgart regional government has approved the purchase of 58 four-car Class 430 electric multiple-units and the installation of ETCS Level 2 and automatic train operation on the entire S-Bahn fleet. Trains from the €421·8m order are to be delivered by 2022. The Land of Baden-Württemberg is providing ...
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NewsGo-Ahead orders 56 EMUs for Augsburg services
GERMANY: Go-Ahead has awarded Siemens Mobility a contract to supply 56 electric multiple-units for use on services around Augsburg from the December 2022 timetable change. The €400m order announced on January 31 covers 44 three-car Mireo single-deck EMUs and 12 five-car Desiro HC partly double-deck EMUs. The double-deck EMUs will ...
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Rail Business UKRail at heart of £70bn northern England investment plan
UK: A transport investment programme worth up to £70bn over the next three decades was unveiled by Transport for the North on January 31. Rail spending features prominently in the multi-modal plan, which is intended to support the creation of around 850 000 jobs and deliver economic benefits worth around ...
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NewsVirgin Trains USA launches IPO
USA: Private sector inter-city rail project promoter Virgin Trains USA announced an initial public offering of 28·3 million shares of common stock on January 30. The expected price is between $17 and $19 per share. The shares are to be listed on the Nasdaq Global Select Market. Prior to the ...
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NewsRed look for refurbished TGV-Lyria Euroduplex
EUROPE: Franco-Swiss high speed operator TGV-Lyria has unveiled the first of 15 multi-system Euroduplex trainsets which are destined to operate all Lyria services from the December 15 2019 timetable change. Being repainted into a predominantly red livery at the PSA works in Rouen, at a rate of two or three ...
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NewsUITP publishes updated passenger charter
EUROPE: The International Association of Public Transport has published a new version of its Passenger Charter, which has been updated from the 2006 version in partnership with the European Passengers Federation to take account of regulatory changes and technical developments including the growth of e-ticketing and real-time information. The charter ...
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NewsBanedanmark settles with Alstom over ETCS delays
DENMARK: Infrastructure manager Banedanmark has reached a settlement with Alstom over revisions to the 2012 contract to supply and install ETCS onboard equipment for the national Signalling Programme. Under the ambitious timescale approved in 2009, the installation of both lineside and onboard equipment had been due for completion by 2021, ...
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NewsPrototype bistro car conversion completed
CZECH REPUBLIC: The DPOV rolling stock repair and maintenance subsidiary of national passenger operator ČD has completed the prototype rebuilding of a Type WRmee dining car into a Type ARmpee first class and bistro car. ČD plans to produce 27 ARmpee bistro cars by modernising existing WRmee816, WRmee814 and ARmpee832 ...
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NewsSeries 2700s to refresh Shikoku express services
JAPAN: Regional operator JR Shikoku unveiled its two pre-series Series 2700 diesel multiple-units on January 23. Now undergoing test running, the two-car units are expected to enter service later this year, working Limited Express services on the island’s principal non-electrified main lines. Serving Japan’s fourth-largest island, the JR Shikoku network ...
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NewsAcciona cleared to take stake in Spanish open access company ILSA
SPAIN: Competition authority CNMC has granted approval for infrastructure construction group Acciona to acquire a controlling stake in open access passenger service promoter Intermodalidad de Levante, which was founded by Valencia-based regional airline Air Nostrum. ISLA is developing plans to launch a passenger service between Madrid in Spain and Montpellier ...
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NewsBogies ordered for Sakhalin gauge conversion
RUSSIA: Transmashholding’s Tver plant has been awarded a contract to supply 138 broad gauge bogies to Sakhalin to facilitate the regauging of passenger rolling stock. This forms part of the programme to convert the island’s rail network from 1 067 mm narrow gauge to the 1 520 mm broad gauge ...
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NewsAmtrak seeks Amfleet I replacements
USA: Amtrak has issued a Request for Proposals for the supply of single-deck coaches to replace its 470 Amfleet I and ex-Metroliner vehicles, which are more than 40 years old. This follows a request for information issued last July. Requests to participate should be submitted by February 13. The base ...