Passenger rail news – Page 141
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NewsTrenitalia awards €1·6bn regional DMU framework contract
ITALY: Trenitalia has awarded Hitachi Rail Italy a framework contract for the supply of up to 135 regional diesel multiple-units. The agreement signed on July 27 includes a firm order for 70 units, and there are options for 65 more which would take the total value to €1·6bn. Trenitalia ...
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NewsMorocco’s Al Boraq high speed service to launch by year end
MOROCCO: Africa’s first high speed railway is now expected to open for traffic by the end of the year as commissioning trials continue. LGV Maroc comprises a 183 km high speed line between Tanger and Kénitra which is being built for operation at up to 320 km/h, as well as ...
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NewsSNCF orders 36 EMUs
FRANCE: Bombardier Transportation is to supply further 36 Francilien high-capacity suburban electric multiple-units to SNCF, which has placed the €261m order announced on July 30 on behalf of Greater Paris transport authority Île-de-France Mobilités. The firm order has been placed within a 2006 framework agreement covering up to 372 EMUs, ...
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Rail Business UKORR requires four actions following Network Rail timetabling failures
UK: The Office of Rail & Road has required that Network Rail immediately take four actions to improve its timetable planning, after an investigation by the regulator found systemic failings. There are two annual timetable changes, in May and December. The May 2018 change included the biggest service revisions in ...
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NewsSNCF confirms TGV of the Future order
FRANCE: SNCF Mobilités confirmed an order for Alstom to supply 100 high speed trainsets under the TGV of the Future programme at a board meeting on July 26. Branded Avelia Horizon by Alstom, the double-deck trains will be acquired at a cost of €25m per trainset, which SNCF says ...
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NewsVictoria orders more Alstom EMUs
AUSTRALIA: Transport for Victoria has awarded Alstom a €60m contract to supply a further five X’Trapolis electric multiple-units to increase capacity on Melbourne’s 1 600 mm gauge suburban network. Each of the 145 m long six-car 1·5 kV DC EMUs will have a capacity of 1 238 passengers, with ‘enhanced’ ...
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NewsFans take to the rails as RZD reports World Cup success
RUSSIA: According to statistics released by Russian Railways, no fewer than 319 000 football fans were carried on the national railway’s special free passenger trains during the 2018 FIFA World Cup. The ‘cluster’ approach adopted by Russia to group football venues in the west of the country favoured rail ...
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NewsRussian Railways orders 293 coaches
RUSSIA: An agreement for Transmashholding’s Tver Carriage Works to supply 293 coaches to Federal Passenger Co was signed on July 17. Deliveries are scheduled to start this month and run until October. The order covers 271 second class coaches and 22 cars with staff compartments and facilities for passengers with ...
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NewsÖBB chooses Siemens to build day and night fleets
AUSTRIA: National operator ÖBB has picked Siemens Mobility as the supplier of a fleet of inter-city rolling stock. Bids closed on June 29, and ÖBB said on July 20 that it had concluded its evaluation of the tenders, allowing the preferred bidder to be named. The deal is subject to ...
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NewsLEO Express launches Praha – Kraków service
EUROPE: Czech open access operator LEO Express ran its inaugural service from Praha to Kraków on July 20, saying it had become the first private operator to be certified to operate long-distance passenger services on the Polish network. ‘We are looking forward to our new customers from Poland and hope ...
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NewsSBB challenges long-distance concession split
SWITZERLAND: Insisting that ‘legal clarification is necessary’, on July 16 Swiss Federal Railways lodged a formal challenge with the Federal Administrative Court against the decision to split the concession to operate long-distance passenger services. According to SBB, the decision by the Federal Office of Transport to award two inter-regional ...
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NewsDB Netz introduces ‘green’ driver advisory functions
GERMANY: This month, infrastructure manager DB Netz has introduced ‘green wave’ train running functionality to support the use of connected driver advisory systems. Train operators seeking to improve their energy efficiency have been encouraged to sign up to the service at 0·315 euro cents per path-km. Available on all routes ...
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NewsEnvironmental approval paves way for Linha do Oeste upgrading
PORTUGAL: National environment agency APA has approved plans for the modernisation of part of the Linha do Oeste which links Lisboa with Louriçal and Figueira da Foz. Being undertaken as part of the government’s Ferrovia 2020 investment programme, the upgrading covers the 87 route-km between Meleças on the Lisboa suburban ...
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NewsFranco-Belgian passenger services to be enhanced from December
EUROPE: Amid concern from policymakers and rail advocates about the extent and quality of cross-border passenger services in Europe, SNCB is to reintroduce conventional services linking Charleroi and Mons with Maubeuge and Aulnoye in France from the December timetable change. Direct inter-city trains had linked Paris with the Wallonie region ...
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NewsRooftop running in Paris-Nord expansion plan
FRANCE: The refurbishment and expansion of Paris-Nord station took a step forward on July 9 when the management board of SNCF Mobilités selected Ceetrus as preferred partner for exclusive negotiation with Ceetrus to undertake the programme. Ceetrus is the commercial property arm of retail group Auchan, and SNCF said that ...
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NewsHydrogen fuel cell trainset approved for passenger service
GERMANY: Alstom’s Coradia iLint hydrogen fuel cell multiple-unit was formally approved for passenger service on July 11. The two prototype units are expected to enter pilot service on the Elbe-Weser network with the first scheduled services planned for late summer. ‘Hydrogen is a true low-emission and efficient alternative to diesel’, ...
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NewsCharger locos ordered for Coaster commuter services
USA: The purchase of five Siemens SC-44 Charger diesel-electric locomotives for use on Coaster commuter services into San Diego was approved by the North County Transit District board at its June meeting. The order is worth more than $37m, which will be funded by the state of California. NCTD ...
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NewsBosnian line reopens with through service from Sarajevo
BOSNIA: Railways of the Federation of Bosnia & Herzegovina reinstated passenger services on the 47 km Blatna – Bihać route on July 3, following an inaugural train the previous day. Electrification equipment which was damaged or destroyed during the 1992-95 war has been reinstated, with the €1·43m cost split between ...
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NewsFirst Pop EMU ready for testing
ITALY: The first Alstom Coradia Stream electric multiple-unit for Trenitalia is to undergo testing at the Velim circuit in the Czech Republic this month, following its unveiling at the manufacturer’s Savigliano factory. The 160 km/h single-deck 3 kV DC regional EMUs are branded Pop by Trenitalia, which names its regional ...
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NewsBeograd’s historic main station closes
SERBIA: The historic main station in Beograd closed following the departure of the 20.40 train to Budapest on June 30. Most traffic has been transferred to Beograd Centar station in the Prokop area of the capital, except the long-distance service to Bar which moved to Topčider station in the south ...