Passenger rail news – Page 144
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NewsHyundai Rotem to supply 52 EMUs to Taiwan
TAIWAN: Taiwan Railways Administration has selected Hyundai Rotem to supply 52 10-car electric multiple units for suburban services on the 1 067 mm gauge national network, the manufacturer announced on June 4. The 908·9bn won contract marks the South Korean firm’s first order in Taiwan since 1999, and is ...
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NewsBourgogne-Franche-Comté agrees operating contract with SNCF
FRANCE: A target of 22% growth in TER ridership has been set by the région of Bourgogne-Franche-Comté as part of an operating agreement with SNCF Mobilités running until 2026. The contract with the incumbent operator was announced by the regional authority on May 25, although it applies retrospectively from January ...
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NewsNewag signs inter-city locomotive contract
POLAND: PKP Intercity signed a contract with Newag on May 29 for the supply and maintenance of 20 Griffin electric locomotives. PKP IC selected Newag as preferred bidder in January. Deliveries of the 160 km/h locos are due within 30 months from contract signature. The base order is ...
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NewsTransnet looks abroad
SOUTH AFRICA: State-owned transport group Transnet officially launched its international subsidiary Transnet International Holdings on May 30. Constituted as a separate legal entity, with its own Board of Directors, TIH is intended to leverage Transnet’s core skills in the operation of ports, railways and pipelines, as well as promoting intra-African ...
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NewsKuala Lumpur – Singapore high speed project faces cancellation
ASIA: Recently elected Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad vowed on May 28 to cancel the Kuala Lumpur – Singapore high speed rail project, with the Chinese-backed East Coast Rail Link also set to be dropped. Mahathir told local media that a number of major projects would come under immediate review ...
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NewsTest running begins on European Marmaray alignment
TURKEY: An inaugural diesel test train operated along part of the European section of Istanbul’s 77 km Marmaray cross-city suburban corridor on May 23. Transport Minister Ahmet Arslan was onboard the diesel locomotive that ran between Halkalı and Kazlıçeşme, a distance of 20 km. This forms part of the route ...
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NewsSBB and Trenitalia to step up cross-border services
EUROPE: Swiss and Italian national operators SBB and Trenitalia signed an agreement on May 22 to increase the number of cross-border inter-city services. In an initial step the 2020 timetable will include an extra Basel – Milano service via Bern, giving four trains a day in each direction, with a ...
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NewsOperators oppose long-distance concession plans
SWITZERLAND: Regional operator BLS is contesting the plans announced in April by the Federal Office for Transport (BAV) for the 10-year concession to run long-distance passenger services from December 2019. Under the proposals national operator SBB would run all Intercity routes and most of the so-called Basic Network, but the ...
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Rail Business UKBattery trial planned for new EMU fleet
UK: The sixth of the 52 four-car 750 V DC third rail electric multiple-units which Stadler is to supply for Merseyrail services around Liverpool is to be fitted with a 5 tonne battery to test the business case for energy storage. While all the EMUs will be equipped for regenerative ...
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NewsGraphene supercapacitor DMU fleet takes shape
MALAYSIA: The first of 13 Class 61 inter-regional diesel multiple-units for services along Malaysia’s east coast corridor has been largely completed at CRRC Zhuzhou’s plant in China. CRRC is producing two of the trains in Zhuzhou before transferring production of the remaining 11 to a local assembly plant in Perak ...
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NewsEtihad Rail awards Stage 2/3 consultancy contract
UAE: Etihad Rail has selected Egis to provide project management consultancy services for the ongoing development of the country’s rail network and connections to neighbouring GCC states. Under the contract announced on May 23, Egis will assist Etihad Rail with the development of stages 2 and 3, which are now ...
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Rail Business UKUK railway news round-up
On May 23 the Department for Transport said that ‘tackling poor performance’ at the Northern franchise was its ‘top priority’. A combination of factors, stemming largely from delays to Network Rail electrification work in northwest England, has caused a surge in delays and cancellations as Northern struggled to train drivers ...
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NewsWollongong training centre inaugurated
AUSTRALIA: The Australian Research Council’s Industrial Transformation Training Centre for Advanced Technologies in Rail Track Infrastructure at the University of Wollongong was officially opened by federal Minister for Education & Training Simon Birmingham on May 23. Intended to develop the next generation of track and infrastructure engineers, ITTC Rail will ...
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Rail Business UKKeolisAmey selected as Operating & Development Partner in Wales
UK: In a written statement issued on May 23, the Welsh government’s Cabinet Secretary for Economy & Transport Ken Skates announced the award of a contract for KeolisAmey to ‘operate and develop the Wales & Borders rail service and the South Wales Metro’. The contract will begin on June 4 ...
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NewsWunderline looks beyond replacement of the Friesen Bridge
EUROPE: Irreparable damage caused to the Friesen Bridge over the River Ems when it was hit by a freight ship in in December 2015 has disrupted the EU-backed Wunderline project’s ambitions to boost traffic on the regional railway corridor running east from Groningen in the northern Netherlands to Leer, Oldenburg ...
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Rail Business UKA ride on TransPennine Express Nova 3 coaches
UK: Railway Gazette went to the Velim test circuit in the Czech Republic for a ride on a set of the Mark 5A locomotive-hauled coaches being built by Spanish company CAF for TransPennine Express inter-city services across the north of England. The push-pull trainsets financed by Beacon Rail will ...
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Rail Business UKUniversity alliance to promote high speed rail
INTERNATIONAL: The International Union of Railways has moved to strengthen its nascent network of academic institutions which are intended to work together to promote the development of high speed rail. UIC first announced plans for its alliance of universities at the World Congress on High Speed Rail in Tokyo in ...
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NewsSKM Warszawa signs Pesa Elf2 order
POLAND: Suburban operator SKM Warszawa signed a contract with Pesa on May 21 for the supply of up to 21 Elf2 electric multiple-units. Deliveries of the base order of eight five-car and five four-car trainsets are due to be completed within two years. The contract is worth 310·5m złoty ...
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NewsTrenitalia signs Sicily operating contract
ITALY: Sicily regional President Sebastiano Musumeci and Trenitalia CEO Orazio Iacono signed an operating contract on May 17. This is the first operating agreement since the transfer of responsibility for rail transport to the region. The 10-year contract is worth €1·2bn and includes infrastructure enhancements, new rolling stock, increased ...
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NewsHigh speed line tunnel breakthrough in China
CHINA: Boring on the Qifengshan tunnel was completed on May 16. China Railway No 5 Engineering Group was responsible for boring the 5·2 km tunnel in Fangcheng county in Henan province, which forms part of the 818 km Zhengzhou – Wanzhou high speed line. The 118bn yuan project to ...