Passenger rail news – Page 132
-
NewsCFL orders EMUs with ‘a concentration of the latest innovations’
LUXEMBOURG: National railway CFL has awarded Alstom a €360m contract to supply 34 Coradia regional high-capacity double-deck electric multiple-units from December 2021. The order announced on December 18 includes 80 m and 160 m long units with a maximum speed of 160 km/h. Designed for 25 kV 50 Hz operation, ...
-
NewsBayerische Oberlandbahn wins Chiemgau-Berchtesgaden operating contract
GERMANY: Following an open tender, Bayern railway agency BEG has awarded the Chiemgau-Berchtesgaden passenger operating contract to Transdev company Bayerische Oberlandbahn. The contract covers operations on the 19 km Freilassing – Berchtesgaden line for 15 years from December 2021, and on the 13 km Traunstein – Ruhpolding branch for 14 ...
-
NewsFerlemann demands ‘fundamental reform’ of DB
GERMANY: State Secretary for Transport Enak Ferlemann has instructed Deutsche Bahn to come up with a proposal for a revised business structure that would deliver a higher level of performance. Calling for initial proposals to be made available in January, he told Welt am Sonntag that he expected the DB ...
-
NewsAcciona backs open access high speed project
SPAIN: Prospects for on-rail competition in the high speed market have increased, with Madrid-based international construction group Acciona expected to take a majority stake in open-access promoter Intermodalidad de Levante SA. Founded by Valencia-based regional airline Air Nostrum, ILSA has applied to launch a twice-daily Madrid – Montpellier service, calling ...
-
NewsLVMH buys luxury train operator
INTERNATIONAL: High-end wine, fashion, cosmetics, hotel and retail group LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Belmond, which owns or manages 46 hotel, restaurant, train and cruise brands including the Venice-Simplon Orient Express, British Pullman, Royal Scotsman, Grand Hibernian, Andean Explorer, Hiram Bingham and ...
-
NewsRussian Railways presents platskartny modernisation concept
RUSSIA: The future look of Russian Railways’ platskartny coaches which offer the cheapest and most basic accommodation on very long-distance services was unveiled at the Transport Week exhibition and conference in Moscow last month. On show was two-window mock-up of part of a coach for visitors to inspect and comment ...
-
NewsMÁV-Start signs EMU order
HUNGARY: A firm order for Stadler to supply a further eight Kiss double-deck electric multiple-units was signed by national passenger operator MÁV-Start on December 17. The six-car EMUs are to be used on the Budapest – Vác – Szob and Budapest – Cegléd – Szolnok routes from the first ...
-
NewsPresident launches Yucatan rail project
MEXICO: The Tren Maya project to develop two rail corridors serving the Yucatan Peninsula was formally launched on December 16 by recently-elected President Andrés Manuel López Obrador with a ceremony near the ancient Mayan ruins at Palenque. Expected to take four years to build, the project envisages the development of ...
-
NewsCzech long-distance operating contracts announced
CZECH REPUBLIC: Liberalisation of the Czech long-distance passenger market took a major step forward on November 30 when the Ministry of Transport selected operators to run subsidised services on three routes from December 2019, when the current 10-year contract with state incumbent ČD expires. RegioJet has won an eight-year contract ...
-
NewsLeo Express wins regional contract
CZECH REPUBLIC: The Pardubice region has selected Leo Express to run subsidised services on the 024 Ústí nad Orlicí–Mlýnický Dvůr and 025 Dolní Lipka – Hanušovice routes currently operated by ČD. Leo Express’s first subsidised public service contract is to run for 10 years from December 2019. It plans ...
-
NewsSOB orders more Flirts
SWITZERLAND: A firm order for Stadler to supply Schweizerische Südostbahn with a further 12 Flirt electric multiple-units was signed in St Gallen on December 13. The latest option to be exercised covers seven eight-car Flirt Traverso long-distance units with a copper-coloured livery, and five four-car silver-coloured Flirt regional EMUs. ...
-
NewsNJ Transit orders double-deck EMUs from Bombardier
USA: A firm order for 113 double-deck EMU cars was approved by the NJ Transit board on December 12. A base contract will be placed with Bombardier Transportation for what the commuter rail operator claims will be ‘the first self-propelled multilevel railcars in the USA’. The contract ...
-
NewsJR East unveils first ALFA-X driving car
JAPAN: The first driving car bodyshell for East Japan Railway’s Series 956 high speed test train was unveiled in Kobe on December 12. Being manufactured by Kawasaki Heavy Industries, the 10-car trainset is expected to begin test running in May. Designated ALFA-X for Advanced Labs for Frontline Activity in rail ...
-
NewsVIA Rail selects Siemens to replace Québec - Windsor corridor fleet
CANADA: Siemens has been awarded a C$989m contract to supply a fleet of 32 push-pull inter-city trainsets to enter service on the Québec City - Montréal - Toronto - Windsor corridor from 2022, national passenger operator VIA Rail announced on December 12. Each trainset will be formed of one locomotive ...
-
NewsArriva wins expanded Danish regional operating contract
DENMARK: Incumbent Arriva has beaten off two rival bids to win the next contract to operate regional passenger services in western and central Jylland, in a deal which includes the transfer of two routes currently operated by national passenger operator DSB. The DKr1·6bn contract awarded by the Ministry of Transport, ...
-
NewsCRRC wins Egyptian EMU order
EGYPT: CRRC Qingdao Sifang has won an order to supply 22 six-car electric multiple-units to operate on a railway linking Cairo to 10th of Ramadan City. The 120 km/h EMUs will be designed with wind- and sand-resistant components to cope with conditions on the 68 km route with 11 ...
-
NewsVictoria to fund The Overland in 2019
AUSTRALIA: The government of Victoria is to increase its financial support for The Overland passenger service between Melbourne and Adelaide to ensure that it can continue to run until the end of 2019. Operator Great Southern Rail is also to undertake a full review of the service in early 2019 ...
-
NewsFSE orders EMUs
ITALY: A €24·2m firm order for Polish manufacturer Newag to supply regional operator Ferrovie del Sud Est with six more three-car Impuls II electric multiple-units was finalised on December 7. In December 2015 FSE ordered an initial five of the Impuls II EMUs, designated ETR.322 in Italy, with an option ...
-
NewsGo-Ahead and Transdev selected for Bayern operating contracts
GERMANY: Bayern railway authority BEG named the preferred bidders for two Augsburger Netze passenger operating contracts on December 7. Award of the contracts is subject to no objections being received during the 10-day regulatory standstill period. Go-Ahead is preferred bidder for Lot 1, which is to be awarded by ...
-
NewsICF prepares to launch next-generation MEMU
INDIA: A prototype for the next generation of Mainline Electric Multiple-Unit for Indian Railways is expected to be rolled out for test running on December 15, according to Integral Coach Factory General Manager Sudhanshu Mani. Developed at the ICF plant in Chennai, the MEMU family is designed to cater for ...