Passenger rail news – Page 148
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NewsAccessibility upgrade for VIA Rail long-distance fleet
CANADA: National passenger operator VIA Rail has awarded Bombardier Transportation a C$54m contract to upgrade 17 coaches used on long-distance services to bring them into line with current and planned accessibility standards. The stainless steel bodied coaches dating from the 1950s will be equipped with two wheelchair lifts, two accessible ...
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NewsAlstom awarded two DMU contracts
GERMANY: Alstom announced two orders to supply a total of 25 Coradia Lint regional diesel multiple-units from its Salzgitter factory on March 29. DB Regio Bayern has placed a €93m order for eight Coradia Lint 41 DMUs with 125 seats and 12 of the longer Coradia Lint 54 units with ...
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NewsRhätische Bahn replaces ticket machines
SWITZERLAND: Scheidt & Bachmann is supplying Rhätische Bahn with 97 replacement ticket vending machines offering similar functionality to those used by Swiss Federal Railways. Passengers can select German, French, Italian and English language options. The TVMs can provide bank notes as well as coins in change for cash payments, and ...
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NewsEurostar selects Sqills distribution and reservation software
EUROPE: Dutch ticketing software company Sqills is providing its S3 Passenger sales, distribution and reservation suite for international high speed train operator Eurostar. ‘As Eurostar grows beyond 10 million passengers per year and we expand our reach further into Europe, having a flexible reservation system is critical’, said the operator’s ...
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NewsAppenzeller Bahnen takes deliveries of EMU and LRV
SWITZERLAND: Metre-gauge operator Appenzeller Bahnen recently took delivery of two vehicles ordered as part of the St Gallen Durchmesserlinie project. On March 27 Appenzeller Bahnen took delivery of the first of five ABe4/12 electric multiple-units ordered from Stadler for SFr40m in 2016. This is due to enter revenue service ...
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NewsGo-Ahead prepares for German launch
GERMANY: The first of 45 Flirt3 electric multiple units ordered by UK-based transport group Go-Ahead as part of its entry into the German passenger market has been completed at Stadler’s Pankow factory in Berlin. In November 2015 the Land of Baden-Württemberg selected Go-Ahead for the Stuttgart Netz Lot 1b (Rems–Fils) ...
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NewsGWR to manage Heathrow Express service
UK: The Heathrow Express premium airport service between London Paddington and Heathrow Airport is to continue running until at least 2028 under a new agreement announced on March 28. The non-franchised service is currently operated in-house by Heathrow Airport Ltd, which will continue to own the service and be responsible ...
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NewsWest Coast Partnership invitations to tender issued
UK: The Department for Transport issued invitations to tender for the West Coast Partnership franchise on March 27. The contract will cover the operation of InterCity West Coast services from September 15 2019 until 2031, and the planning of the initial service on High Speed 2 in partnership with project ...
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NewsAtocha Phase 2 unveiled
SPAIN: Development Minister Íñigo de la Serna has unveiled plans for the second phase of a capacity expansion programme at Madrid Atocha station, designed by architect Rafael Moneo. In preparation for the opening of the 1 435 mm gauge tunnel under Madrid to Chamartín, built at a cost of €322m ...
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NewsWaratah Series 2 EMU delivered
AUSTRALIA: The first of 24 eight-car Waratah Series 2 double-deck suburban electric multiple-units has been delivered to Sydney. The new fleet is expected to be in service by early 2019. Ordered from Downer EDI in December 2016 under the New South Wales government’s A$1·5bn ‘More Trains, More Services’ programme, the ...
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NewsVästtrafik selects Bombardier to supply EMUs
SWEDEN: Västra Götaland transport authority Västtrafik has selected Bombardier Transportation as the winner of a SKr3·8bn contract to supply 40 three-car electric multiple-units for regional passenger services. The order is intended to support an increase in ridership to 130 000 passengers/day by 2035, triple the number carried in 2006. The ...
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NewsMARC operating contract extended
USA: Maryland Transit Administration has awarded Bombardier Transportation a $288m five-year extension to its contract to operate the Maryland Area Regional Commuter network’s Brunswick and Camden lines. The existing contract awarded in 2012 covers the operation and maintenance of the fleet of diesel locomotives and coaches, including Bombardier vehicles, as ...
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NewsTrenitalia orders regional EMUs
ITALY: National passenger operator Trenitalia has awarded Alstom four contracts to supply a total of 54 electric multiple-units for use in the Abruzzo (four EMUs), Liguria (15), Marche (four) and Veneto (31) regions. The orders with a total value of around €330m have been placed within a August 2016 framework ...
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NewsCeremony marks completion of XRL main works
CHINA: The substantial completion of main construction works for the 26 km Hong Kong section of the 142 km Guangzhou – Shenzhen – Hong Kong Express Rail Link was marked with a ceremony at Hong Kong West Kowloon Station on March 23. MTR Corp Chairman Professor Frederick Ma said construction ...
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NewsHopes rise on Gateway tunnel funding despite Trump opposition
USA: Hopes of progress in the Gateway Programme to build new tunnels between New York and New Jersey were raised on March 22 when $650m of federal funding was directed to Amtrak’s Northeast Corridor. The Gateway Programme covers a series of enhancements worth approximately $30bn to the busiest section ...
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NewsFlixTrain launches on Hamburg – Köln route
GERMANY: FlixMobility’s first FlixTrain open access passenger service left Hamburg’s Altona station for Köln on the morning of March 23. Services run from Thursday to Tuesday, with market-based prices starting at a headline fare of €9·99. FlixMobility has launched FlixTrain to build on its FlixBus long-distance coach network, using a ...
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NewsFrench government to order 100 ‘TGVs of the future’
FRANCE: Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire has said that the government is to place a firm order with Alstom ‘by the end of June’ for 100 TGV trainsets. He was addressing a press conference on March 22 to update progress on the merger of Siemens Mobility and Alstom. These would ...
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NewsSzczecin suburban expansion funded
POLAND: The EU has agreed to meet 85% of the cost of a 741m złoty project to increase passenger services around the city of Szczecin. The project includes upgrading the lines radiating from Szczecin towards Stardard, Gryfino, Gileniów airport, Swinoujście and Police to accommodate an increase in services, and the ...
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NewsThameslink first with ATO over ETCS
UK: Working with Network Rail and Siemens,commuter operator Govia Thameslink Railway has successfully operated its first passenger-carrying train using ATO over ETCS Level 2. On March 17 a southbound eight-car Thameslink train to Three Bridges operated automatically through the cross-city core between St Pancras, Farringdon, City Thameslink and London Blackfriars, ...
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NewsShift2Rail launches fuel cell research
EUROPE: Recognising growing interest around the world in the use of fuel cells and hydrogen as an alternative to railway electrification, the Shift2Rail joint undertaking announced on March 19 that it had decided to commission research into the technology. Noting that ‘electrifying the transport system is a major priority to ...