Passenger rail news – Page 15
-
NewsSchleswig-Holstein orders ‘more comfortable, more connected and more accessible’ trains
GERMANY: Schleswig-Holstein transport authority NAH.SH has awarded Alstom a €900m contract to supply 40 Coradia Stream high-capacity electric multiple-units and provide 30 years of maintenance.
-
Rail Business UKViewpoint: Passenger experience must be protected if ticket offices close
If the proposed closure of station ticket offices in England is not purely about cost-cutting, then carefully considered customer-centric interventions will be needed to make it work, argues David Watts, Managing Director of human-centred design agency Mima.
-
NewsÖBB unveils Tirol Cityjet EMU
AUSTRIA: The first of 20 Cityjet Class 4748 electric multiple-units for use by Austrian Federal Railways in Tirol has been completed. The EMUs from Siemens Mobility’s Desiro ML family are scheduled to enter service on the route between Innsbruck and Kufstein from October, with other routes ...
-
NewsRailpool orders 50 Traxx Universal locomotives
EUROPE: Leasing company Railpool has awarded Alstom a €260m contract to supply 50 Traxx Universal multi-system electric locomotives suitable for cross-border freight and passenger operation in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, France, Italy, Belgium, Luxembourg and Poland. The locomotives will be fitted with Alstom’s Atlas onboard equipment for ...
-
NewsCommission says Dutch train operating contract would not comply with EU rules
NETHERLANDS: The European Commission says Dutch government plans to directly award state incumbent NS a 10-year public service contract to operate most passenger train services are not compliant with EU rules. The Commission has opened an infringement procedure, saying the Netherlands has failed to correctly apply ...
-
NewsMitteldeutschen S-Bahn operating contracts awarded
GERMANY: Transport authority ZVNL has awarded DB Regio and Die Länderbahn contracts to operate Mitteldeutschen S-Bahn services centred on Leipzig, which it said form one of the largest and most complex tendered networks in Germany.
-
NewsThe Overland to continue for a further three years
AUSTRALIA: The Victoria state government has agreed an A$11·5m three-year package to support the operation of The Overland long-distance passenger trains.
-
Rail Business UK‘Fully staffed’ TransPennine Express ‘needs to become simpler’
Recently appointed interim Managing Director of state-owned TransPennine Express, Chris Jackson tells Rail Business UK about his plans to revive the fortunes of the struggling operator.
-
NewsAkiem signs 100-loco framework agreement
EUROPE: Alstom and leasing company Akiem have signed a €500m framework contract for up to 100 Traxx Universal MS3 locomotives, with a firm order for 65. The locomotives will be suitable for freight and inter-city passenger operations at up to 160 km/h in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, ...
-
NewsEurostar check-in biometric verification goes live
The SmartCheck biometric check-in and UK border exit system has gone live at Eurostar’s London St Pancras station; Railway Gazette International tries it out and speaks to the high speed train operator and supplier iProov.
-
NewsService enhancements announced as Vy signs Østlandet operating contract
NORWAY: Enhanced services are to be rolled out in eastern Norway following the signing of contracts for state-owned operator Vy to run the Østlandet network for 10 years from December 2023.
-
NewsEurobahn contract extended to match battery train delivery
GERMANY: Westfalen-Lippe transport authority NWL has directly awarded Eurobahn a three-year extension to its contract to operate Ostwestfalen-Lippe Nord diesel-worked passenger services. The contract started on December 2013 and was due to run to December 2025. It has been extended so that the next tendered contract ...
-
NewsSBB unveils inter-regional double-deck trainsets
SWITZERLAND: The first of 60 Stadler RABe512 double deck electric multiple-units for use on Interregio services was unveiled by Swiss Federal Railways at Zürich’s main station on July 7. SBB awarded Stadler a SFr1·3bn contract to supply the EMUs in 2021, having ordered similar units from ...
-
NewsDB Regio awarded E-Netz Oberelbe operating contract
GERMANY: Oberelbe transport authority VVO has awarded DB Regio a contract to operate E-Netz Oberelbe passenger services from 14 years from December 2026. The contract covers services from Dresden to Leipzig, Cottbus and Hoyerswerda totalling 3·1 million train-km/year. The scope will be expanded in 2035 with ...
-
In depthIreland: Building confidence to secure a positive future
After five years as Chief Executive of Iarnród Eireann, Jim Meade sees bright prospects for Ireland’s national railway. Passengers are returning after the coronavirus pandemic, and the government has identified a valuable role for rail in its move to a more sustainable transport mix, he tells Tony Miles.
-
NewsSpanish narrow gauge fares integrated
SPAIN: Fares on the metre gauge routes formerly operated by FEVE will be integrated with the rest of national operator RENFE’s fare structure from July 17. FEVE was merged with RENFE in January 2013, but the separate fare structures were retained, including a lack of through ...
-
In depthPoland: Making the strategic case for the CPK rail programme
The Centralny Port Komunikacyjny transport investment programme will improve connectivity in Poland and beyond, Marcin Horała, Secretary of State at the Ministry of Infrastructure, tells Railway Gazette International.
-
In depthIndia: Vande Bharat fleet can take on the airlines
A high tax burden and challenging macroeconomic conditions mean that India’s domestic aviation market has not seen the boom expected a decade ago. Indian Railways‘ investment in a new generation of premium inter-city trains can help rail to seize the advantage, as Chitresh Shrivastva* explains.
-
NewsDB’s Start to replace Abellio on Sachsen-Anhalt passenger services
GERMANY: Deutsche Bahn subsidiary Regionalverkehre Start Deutschland has been named preferred bidder for a contract to operate diesel-worked local passenger services in Sachsen-Anhalt. The Dieselnetz Sachsen-Anhalt II contract covering 9·3 million train-km/year will run for eight years from the December 2024 timetable change. It was tendered ...
-
NewsÖBB orders first double-deck Railjet trains as passenger traffic booms
AUSTRIA: Austrian Federal Railways has awarded Stadler a firm order to supply the first double-deck vehicles for its Railjet long-distance fleet, along with additional electric multiple-units for Cityjet local services. The €600m firm order for 35 Kiss EMUs signed on July 6 has been placed as ...