Passenger rail news – Page 13
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NewsConcerns over PSO contracts directly awarded before tendering rule change
EUROPE: Concerns have been raised over the signing of directly awarded train operating contracts in several countries, shortly before the expiry of a provision in the Fourth Railway Package regulation on competitive tendering.
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NewsRail projects awarded EU military mobility funding
EUROPE: Rail freight facility development and capacity enhancement projects are included in 38 schemes to upgrade transport infrastructure for dual civilian and defence purposes which have been selected to receive €807m of Connecting Europe Facility funding.
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Rail Business UKConstruction of Birmingham Curzon Street HS2 station begins
UK: Main construction works for Birmingham Curzon Street High Speed 2 station were officially launched on January 24. The station has been designed by WSP and Grimshaw Architects, and according to HS2 Ltd is inspired by ‘the great arched roofs built by the Victorian railway pioneers’. ...
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NewsLimerick commuter rail station and upgrading studies commissioned
IRELAND: National railway Iarnród Éireann has appointed AtkinsRéalis to support the development of plans for three stations in Limerick and Dublin and an expansion of capacity on the line to Ennis. The Limerick Shannon Metropolitan Area Transport Strategy includes a proposal for the development of a ...
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Rail Business UKCapacity increase future-proofs Birmingham’s University station
UK: A three-year project to increase passenger capacity at University station on Birmingham’s Cross City Line was completed with the opening of two buildings on January 28. The station was designed for 500 000 passengers/year when it opened in 1978, but expansion of the university and ...
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NewsDSB unveils Talgo 230 for Denmark – Hamburg services
DENMARK: The first of the Talgo 230 trainsets for national passenger operator DSB’s long-distance and international EuroCity services was unveiled in København in January 25.
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Rail Business UKInterview: Avanti West Coast navigates complex path to recovery
UK: Avanti West Coast Managing Director Andy Mellors sets out how the operator intends to restore resilient operations and develop services further, explaining that there will be no return to the pre-Covid operating plan on Europe’s busiest mixed-use railway.
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NewsWien S-Bahn ring plans announced
AUSTRIA: The Wien municipality has announced plans to create an S-Bahn ring from 2032 by combining two services and upgrading a freight-only line for passenger use. The orbital service would be formed from the existing S80 and S45 services; S45 trains would be extended from Handelskai ...
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NewsBari – Bitritto railway opens
ITALY: Revenue passenger services on the newly-built Bari – Bitritto line began on January 9, following an inauguration ceremony the previous day. The standard gauge electrified single-track line is 11·9 km long, with 2·5 km running parallel to the existing Bari – Taranto main line and ...
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NewsÖBB orders the latest evolution of the Mireo EMU family
AUSTRIA: Austrian Federal Railways has placed a firm order for 70 electric multiple-units based on a development of Siemens Mobility’s established Mireo design. The €800m order announced on January 19 is the first to be placed under a €5bn 10-year framework agreement covering up to 540 ...
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NewsNarrow gauge hydrogen trains ordered as operator aims to be ‘modern and sustainable‘
ITALY: Reginal operator Ferrovie della Calabria has awarded Stadler a firm order to supply and maintain a further three 950 mm gauge hydrogen multiple-units. The order announced on January 18 has been placed under a June 2023 framework agreement awarded jointly by FdC and Sardinian transport ...
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NewsAlstom selected for Romanian loco order
ROMANIA: Railway reform authority ARF has named Alstom preferred bidder for a contract to supply 16 four-axle electric locomotives. The announcement was made on January 16, with formal award of the contract subject to a 10-day standstill period. The order worth 767·5m lei+VAT, including 20 ...
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NewsRENFE ticket sales competition commitments made legally binding
SPAIN: Commitments which national train operator RENFE made to address the European Commission’s concerns regarding the supply of data to rival ticketing retailers have been made legally binding under EU antitrust rules. ‘Today’s decision opens up competition in online rail ticketing services in Spain’, said Margrethe ...
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NewsDB Regio places order as Coradia Stream high capacity becomes Coradia Max
GERMANY: DB Regio has ordered nine three-car and nine five-car Alstom Coradia Max partly double-deck electric multiple-units. The announcement of the order on January 18 comes after the Länder of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Schleswig-Holstein and Hamburg awarded DB Regio the contract to operate Ostsee-Alster service RE1 between Hamburg ...
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NewsDutch-German cross-border rail connection approved
EUROPE: The German Land of Niedersachsen has approved the start of preliminary works paving the way for the reintroduction of a passenger service on the freight-only line from Neuenhaus to Coevorden in the Netherlands. The Land has applied for federal funding to cover 90% of the ...
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Rail Business UKLNER scraps off-peak fares with 70min Flex ticket pilot scheme
UK: East Coast Main Line inter-city operator LNER has launched a pilot scheme which scraps Off-Peak and Super Off-Peak fares but introduces a semi-flexible ticket which can be used up to 70 min before or after a passenger’s booked train. The trial covers travel on LNER ...
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NewsRENFE28 management strategy approved
SPAIN: Innovation, digitalisation, boosting public services, leadership in the high speed market, profitability of the freight sector and the improvement of production processes are key objectives outlined in the RENFE28 management strategy which was approved by the national operator’s board on January 12. The four-year plan ...
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NewsSlow tourism train operator launches first service
ITALY: FS Group’s recently formed tourist train business FS Treni Turistici Italiani has launched its first service. Branded Espresso Cadore, the overnight service between Roma Termini and Calalzo-Pieve di Cadore-Cortina will run every Friday night until mid-February. On arrival, a connecting bus takes passengers to Cortina ...
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Rail Business UKInformation and journey planning screens installed
UK: East Midlands Railway is undertaking a £1m project with Infotec and Thales to install 166 customer information screens across its network. These will show arrival, departure, live journey, station and local information, details of local events and safety notices. Passengers will also be able to ...
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NewsDeutsche Bahn’s financial recovery remains elusive
GERMANY: Rail services in Germany were badly disrupted by industrial action over pay by the train drivers’ trade union GD during the week commencing January 8. On January 10 Deutsche Bahn said that about 20% of long-distance passenger services were running, with the number of regional ...