Passenger rail news – Page 150
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NewsSydney to get second airport rail link
AUSTRALIA: The federal and New South Wales state governments have agreed to build a rail link to serve the planned Western Sydney Airport at Badgerys Creek, which is expected to open in 2026. Launching the Western Sydney City Deal on March 4, Prime Minister Malcom Turnbull and NSW Premier Gladys ...
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First Coradia trainset in Africa enters service
ALGERIA: Minister of Public Works & Transport Abdelghani Zalene attended a ceremony on March 2 to open buildings at Alger’s Agha station and mark the entry into service of national railway SNTF’s first Alstom Coradia Polyvalent electro-diesel multiple-unit. Public services between Alger and Oran were scheduled to start the following ...
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NewsElectrification envisaged in Ireland's 10-year transport plan
IRELAND: Suburban electrification, main line upgrading and new rolling stock are among the transport improvements envisaged in the government’s 2018-27 National Development Plan published on February 16. The €2bn DART Expansion Programme proposes a series of enhancements to the Dublin suburban network, ahead of the construction of the long-planned cross-city ...
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NewsD-Trains ordered for Bedford – Bletchley
UK: Vivarail has reached an agreement to supply three two-car Class 230 D-Train diesel-electric multiple-units to West Midlands Trains for operation from December on the Marston Vale Line between Bedford and Bletchley. Vivarail’s D-Train uses aluminium bodyshells and bogies from former D78 metro trainsets withdrawn from service by London Underground. ...
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News'Passengers want to be able to download an app and travel'
It is an ‘exciting time’ for smart ticketing, Rambus Ticketing Managing Director Russell McCullagh told Railway Gazette International at the Transport Ticketing Global 2018 conference in London.
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NewsSBB’s Twindexx EMUs enter service
SWITZERLAND: Swiss Federal Railways ran the first of its fleet of Bombardier Transportation Twindexx double-deck electric multiple-units in commercial service on February 26. The first train was IR2368, the 11.55 from Zürich to Olten and Bern. When SBB signed a contract with Bombardier on May 12 2010 for 59 double-deck ...
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NewsDebt burden tempers SNCF growth in 2017
FRANCE: Announcing its results for 2017 on February 27, SNCF Group reported revenue of €33∙5bn, up 4∙2% on the year before ‘thanks to commercial momentum’ driving strong growth in passenger and freight traffic. Combined with ‘strict financial discipline’ and a cost-cutting programme that generated €830m of savings in 2017, this ...
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NewsEurostar reports a £58m profit
EUROPE: Eurostar International Ltd has reported a preliminary unaudited operating profit of £57∙6m for 2017, with sales revenue up 11% at £880m from £794m the year before. Passenger-journeys were up 3% at 10∙3 million from 10 million in 2016. 'Last year we saw a real revival in the US market ...
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NewsFootbridges to reduce station congestion
INDIA: Three new footbridges intended to reduce congestion at key stations on the Mumbai suburban network were formally commissioned on February 27, at a ceremony attended by Minister of Railways Piyush Goyal and the Chief Minister of Maharashtra Devendra Fadnavis. The bridges at Elphinstone Road, Currey Road and Ambivili have ...
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NewsQbuzz awarded Dutch bus and rail operating contact
NETHERLANDS: The Qbuzz subsidiary of FS Group company Busitalia has been formally awarded its first combined main line rail and bus operating contract in the Netherlands. The concession covers bus services in Drechtsteden, Alblasserwaard and Vijfheerenlanden municipalities in the area between Utrecht and Rotterdam, as well as the MerwedeLingelijn regional ...
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NewsDB Rail Academy starts Brazilian training programme
BRAZIL: Working with local sector organisations, DB Engineering & Consulting has launched the country’s first internationally certified training programme for rail and logistics managers. Under the DB Rail Academy programme, an initial tranche of 35 managers from rail freight and passenger operators began an 18-month course in Brasilia on February ...
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NewsDB opens carbon-neutral ICE depot
GERMANY: DB inaugurated a carbon-neutral ICE depot in the Nippes area of Köln on February 23. The 23 ha site is expected to reduce energy equivalent to 1 000 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions per year through various features, including geothermal heating and cooling. A 180 m2 solar heating ...
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NewsRSSB calls for a more scientific approach to train seat comfort
UK: The Rail Safety & Standards Board has called for a more scientific approach to measuring train seat comfort, with the aim of developing specifications which manufacturers could use alongside requirements for crashworthiness and fire safety. This would take into account factors including shape, cushioning, material choice, lumbar support, vibration, ...
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NewsAbellio pulls out of Wales & Borders bidding
UK: Abellio Rail Cymru withdrew from bidding for the next Wales & Borders franchise on February 22, leaving KeolisAmey and MTR Corp (Cymru) Ltd as the two remaining bidders. NS subsidiary Abellio had been bidding for the Wales & Borders Operator & Development Partner contract in consortium with Carillion. Franchising ...
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NewsSagaRail targets low-cost weekend market
SWEDEN: Private open access company SagaRail ran its first service on February 23. The company is initially offering one return service between Stockholm and Linköping on Fridays and Sundays, running via Nyköping and Norrköping with a journey time of around 2 h. SagaRail is the ‘traffic organiser’, and has awarded ...
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NewsGWR leads the pack at 20th Rail Business Awards
UK: Great Western Railway was announced as Rail Business of the Year and ScotRail Alliance Managing Director Alex Hynes was named Industry Leader of the Year at the 20th Rail Business Awards. Hosted by Railway Gazette at London’s Hilton hotel on Park Lane on February 22, the event bought together ...
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NewsFive consortia shortlisted for Cross River Rail
AUSTRALIA: The Queensland state government has shortlisted ‘a strong field of national and multinational companies’ to bid for the two main works packages to build and equip the A$5·4bn Cross River Rail link in Brisbane, Deputy Premier Jackie Trad announced on February 20. The Cross River Rail Delivery Authority invited ...
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NewsBaku suburban railway planned
AZERBAIJAN: Funding is to be provided for the development of a circular suburban rail service on the Abşeron Peninsula from 2019, President Ilham Aliyev announced on January 29. The 100m manat project will include upgrading the existing railway between Baku and Sumqayıt via Biläcarı, as well as bringing back into ...
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NewsSagami Railway Series 20000 enters service
JAPAN: Sagami Railway put into service on February 11 the first of its Series 20000 EMUs, which have been designed for future through running to Tokyo. Sotetsu Corp has ordered a fleet of six 10-car and nine eight-car Series 20000 EMUs to replace its older Series 7000 units. Built at ...
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NewsEurostar runs Amsterdam preview service to mark start of ticket sales
EUROPE: Cross-Channel high speed train operator Eurostar ran a preview service between London St Pancras and Amsterdam Centraal on February 20, to mark the opening of ticket sales for the regular twice-daily service which is scheduled to begin on April 4. Conveying invited guests and travel industry representatives, the 08.31 ...