Passenger rail news – Page 140
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NewsDB deploys heat protection film in heatwave
GERMANY: In response to the ongoing heatwave, DB Regio is applying heat protection film to the windows of Type DBuz non-air-conditioned double-deck coaches used on the Frankenbahn route between Stuttgart and Würzburg. It is hoped that this will reduce the onboard temperatures by 4°C. Passengers on the Frankenbahn, Stuttgart ...
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NewsEifel-Bördebahn contract awarded
GERMANY: Local transport authority NVR has awarded incumbent and sole bidder Rurtalbahn GmbH a contract to continue to operate Eifel-Bördebahn service RB28. The passenger service on the 30 km route between Düren and Euskirchen in Nordrhein-Westfalen currently operates on weekends and public holidays only, totalling around 28 000 train-km/year. ...
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NewsMoscow commuter EMU order
RUSSIA: Moscow commuter operator Central Suburban Passenger Co has awarded Transmashholding’s Demikhovsky Engineering Plant a contract to supply 10 Type EP2D electric multiple-units by the end of the year This follows from an order for 10 units delivered earlier this year for use on the routes from Moscow’s Kursk, Riga ...
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NewsSprinter Lighttrain returns to service following accessibility upgrade
NETHERLANDS: National passenger operator NS has returned to service the first of its 131 Sprinter Lighttrain electric multiple-units which are being refurbished and ungraded to meet modern accessibility standards. An initial three refurbished SLT units will operate in service until the end of the year to gather passenger feedback on ...
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Rail Business UKWales & Borders electric train order confirmed
UK: Stadler Rail has been confirmed as preferred bidder to supply a total of 71 trainsets for use on the next Wales & Borders franchise from 2022. The Swiss company is to supply 36 three-car Citylink tram-train vehicles for use on South Wales Metro services from Cardiff to Treherbert, ...
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NewsČD modernises catering fleet
CZECH REPUBLIC: National operator ČD is to produce 27 Type Armpee bistro cars by modernising existing WRmee816, WRmee814 and ARmpee832 dining cars. The work is to be undertaken by ČD subsidiary DPOV in two phases, with nine vehicles to be rebuilt in 2018-19 and 18 in 2020-21. The design developed ...
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NewsStation modernisation programme agreed
GERMANY: Framework agreements for the construction of seven new stations and the modernisation of 41 others over the next seven years were signed by DB Station&Service and Schleswig-Holstein transport authority Nah.SH on August 1. New stations are planned at Bad Oldesloe-Ost, Eckernförde Süd, Lübeck-Moisling, Preetz Krankenhaus, Preetz Nord, Raisdorf Ostseepark ...
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NewsFirst crowd-sourced Stadler EMU arrives in Bern
SWITZERLAND: Metre-gauge inter-urban operator Regionalverkehr Bern-Solothurn took delivery of the first of 14 Worbla EMUs at its Worblaufen depot north of Bern on August 7. RBS ordered the trains from Stadler in May 2016 under a contract worth SFr134m including spares. The highly customised design was influenced by ideas ...
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NewsNJ Transit to invest more as PTC pressure prompts service cuts
USA: On August 8 New Jersey Transit announced that it would be spending $3·8bn in the 2019 financial year as the commuter railroad seeks to address an urgent shortfall in investment. NJT is one of the largest commuter rail operations in the USA, running an extensive network of services which ...
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NewsUS policymakers seek to restrict procurement from Chinese suppliers
USA: In the clearest sign yet that US policymakers are seeking to clamp down on Chinese involvement in the transport sector, the Senate on July 31 formally adopted measures which would see a one-year ban on any procurement from Chinese state-owned companies using Federal Transit Administration funding. The ban is ...
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NewsPesa to supply more DMUs to Trenitalia
ITALY: National passenger operator Trenitalia has exercised an option to buy 14 ATR220 three-car diesel multiple-units from Polish supplier Pesa for 200m złoty. Deliveries are due in September 2019. The order is part of a framework contract signed in December 2013 for a base order of 40 ATR220 DMUs, with ...
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NewsValle d’Aosta operating contract awarded
ITALY: The Valle d’Aosta Autonomous Region has selected incumbent Trenitalia as the winner of the next contract to operate its regional passenger services between Aosta, Ivrea and Torino. Trenitalia said it beat second-ranked Arriva to win the contract, which was awarded on the basis of the most economically advantageous offer. ...
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NewsGo-Ahead wins E-Netz Allgäu operating contract
GERMANY: Bayern railway authority BEG and Baden-Württemberg’s Ministry of Transport have jointly selected Go-Ahead as the winner of the E-Netz Allgäu operating contract. The contract award announced on August 3 following a European tender covers the operation of around 2·6 million train-km/year on the München – Buchloe – Memmingen – ...
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NewsLEO Express announces Lint DMU fleet
CZECH REPUBLIC: LEO Express announced on August 2 that it had secured a portfolio of 15 Alstom Lint diesel multiple-units for use from December 2019 or earlier on routes which it hopes to operate under public service contracts with local authorities. LEO Express said it was in negotiations to agree ...
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NewsRussian passenger fleet renewal continues
RUSSIA: National railway RZD has updated the details of its passenger rolling stock procurement for 2018. Pavel Burtsev, Head of Passenger Transport at RZD, told Railway Gazette in July that a total of 686 vehicles would be acquired for long-distance traffic. These would comprise 611 single-deck hauled coaches (589 couchette ...
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Rail Business UKSouthampton – London open access proposal rejected
UK: The Office of Rail & Road has rejected Alliance Rail Holdings’ application for track access rights which would enable it to launch an open access passenger service between London Waterloo and Southampton Central. Arriva subsidiary Alliance had applied to operate nine trains each way per day under the Grand ...
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NewsSunRail heads south
USA: Orlando commuter rail operator SunRail began revenue operations on its 27·4 km southern extension from Sand Lake to Poinciana on July 30. Serving central Florida’s Orange and Osceola counties, the extension adds a further four stations to the 51·5 km route with 12 stations which opened in May ...
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NewsTrenitalia signs Umbria operating contract
ITALY: Umbria’s regional government has agreed a contract for Trenitalia to continue to operate local passenger services until 2032. The deal signed in Perugia on July 27 includes investment of more than €236m in improvements to service quality and the replacement of around 80% of the rolling stock used in ...
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NewsCoastal Pacific service to restart in December
NEW ZEALAND: KiwiRail’s tourist-focused Coastal Pacific service from Christchurch to Picton is to restart on December 1, two years after being suspended as a result of damage to the line caused by the 7·8 magnitude Kaikoura earthquake of November 14 2016. Infrastructure repairs allowed the Main North Line to be ...
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NewsItalo-NTV orders more high speed trainsets
ITALY: A €330m firm order for Alstom to supply a further five Pendolino Evo high speed trainsets and maintain them for 30 years was signed by Italo-NTV on July 31. The open access operator has previously ordered a total of 17 Pendolino Evo trainsets under a framework agreement reached in ...