Passenger rail news – Page 164
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NewsSwiss signalling commissioned on French metre-gauge line
FRANCE: A project to install automatic signalling on the French section of the metre-gauge line linking St Gervais and Vallorcine in France with Martigny in Switzerland has been completed, with a full passenger service restarting on June 24. The 37 km between St Gervais and Vallorcine has been equipped ...
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NewsRussian Railways orders updated platskartny coaches
RUSSIA: Russian Railways has decided to order a new batch of platskartny coaches, its most basic style of long-distance rolling stock. RZD had been concerned that the open-plan dormitory-style accommodation in the third class cars was no longer attractive to passengers, and had been considering only ordering sleeping cars with ...
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NewsPassenger assistance to be stepped up as NGR EMUs enter service
AUSTRALIA: Queensland Rail is to recruit additional station staff to assist mobility-impaired passengers using the six-car EMUs being supplied to Queensland Rail under the New Generation Rollingstock PPP concession. The first of 75 sets are now expected to enter service later this year, CEO Nick Easy confirmed on June 27. ...
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NewsVirgin Trains East Coast making a loss, Stagecoach confirms
UK: New commercial terms for the InterCity East Coast franchise are being discussed with the Department for Transport, Virgin Trains East Coast’s majority owner Stagecoach Group confirmed on June 28. Announcing its preliminary results for the year to April 29 2017, Stagecoach said it expected to finalise new commercial terms ...
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NewsFuxing China standard high speed trainsets enter service
CHINA: Two designs of China Standard Electric Multiple-Unit officially entered service on the Beijing – Shanghai high speed line on June 26, following an extensive programme of test running. Services were launched when a CRRC Sifang CR400AF Blue Dolphin trainset departed from Beijing South station at 11.05 while a CRRC ...
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NewsAirline veteran Richard Anderson to head Amtrak
USA: National passenger operator Amtrak named Richard Anderson as its next President & Chief Executive on June 26. The former CEO of Delta and Northwest Airlines will take up the post on July 12, acting as co-CEO with incumbent Wick Moorman until December 31. Moorman had joined Amtrak in September ...
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News500th Vectron locomotive ordered
CZECH REPUBLIC: European Locomotive Leasing has awarded Siemens a contract to supply a further eight Vectron electric locomotives. The locomotives will be rated at 6·4 MW and have a maximum speed of 200 km/h. ELL is to lease them to České Dráhy for use hauling Praha – Berlin EuroCity passenger ...
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NewsDSB finds buyer for AnsaldoBreda IC2 DMUs
DENMARK: National operator DSB reached an agreement to sell 15 of its 23 AnsaldoBreda IC2 diesel multiple-units on June 16. The two-car DMUs were withdrawn from service last year after a troubled history. DSB is selling the DMUs ‘as is’ with no warranty. The unnamed buyer has initially acquired three ...
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NewsArriva wins Pågatåg operating contract
SWEDEN: Regional transport authority Skånetrafiken announced on June 22 that it had selected Arriva for the next contract to operate Pågatåg passenger services in the Skåne area of southern Sweden. The SKr5bn contract runs for eight years from December 9 2018, when the current contract which has been held by ...
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NewsGibb report into improving Southern performance published
UK: A report providing recommendations for improving the performance of train services across the Thameslink, Southern & Great Northern franchise was published by the Department for Transport on June 22. The report was commissioned last year from Network Rail non-executive director and career railwayman Chris Gibb, following the sustained ...
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NewsCatania upgrading progresses
ITALY: The first stage of the Passante Catania project opened on June 18. The project is being undertaken to enable the operation of frequent suburban services across the city from Taormina in the north to Letini in the south via Catania Centrale. The €100m first phase, delivered by infrastructure ...
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NewsThree shortlisted for West Coast Partnership franchise
UK: The shortlisted bidders for the West Coast Partnership franchise were announced by the Department for Transport on June 22. They are: First Trenitalia West Coast Rail Ltd, a joint venture between FirstGroup’s First Rail Holdings Ltd (70%) and Italian state operator Trenitalia SpA (30%); MTR West Coast Partnership Ltd, ...
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NewsSouth Eastern franchise bidders announced
UK: The Department for Transport announced the shortlisted bidders for the next South Eastern passenger franchise on June 22. They are: South Eastern Holdings Ltd (NS’s Abellio Transport Group, East Japan Railway and Mitsui & Co); London & South East Passenger Rail Services Ltd (Govia 65:35 joint venture of Go-Ahead ...
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NewsCRRC to supply commuter coaches to Montréal
CANADA: CRRC Tangshan has been awarded a contract to supply 24 double-deck hauled coaches to operate on commuter services serving Montréal. The coaches are to be deployed on the Deux-Montagnes line, ahead of the opening of the Réseau Électrique Métropolitain light metro. The coaches are also expected to replace ...
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NewsBombardier to supply 750 EMU cars for South Western franchise
UK: FirstGroup and MTR Corp have awarded Bombardier Transportation a £895m contract supply 90 five-car and 10-car Aventra electric multiple-units for the next South Western franchise. The contract announced on June 20 covers a total of 750 cars which are to be built at Bombardier’s Derby plant. The EMUs are ...
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NewsAlliance drops Pendolino plan as Southampton paths identified
UK: Open access passenger service promoter Alliance Rail Holdings has dropped plans to procure Alstom Pendolino trainsets for its proposed London Euston – Blackpool North service. The Arriva subsidiary reports that it is now discussing with leasing company Eversholt the use of Class 91 locomotives and MkIV coaches which are ...
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GE signs 'holistic' agreement to supply 100 locos to Egypt
EGYPT: The Ministry of Transport and Egyptian National Railways have signed a US$575m letter of intent for GE to supply 100 Evolution Series mixed-traffic locomotives. Training of more than 275 staff and the provision of 15 years of support and spare parts for the state railway’s existing and future GE ...
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NewsTwo lines open in China
CHINA: Trial services on the 40·7 km Ningbo – Yuyao Intercity Railway in Zhejiang province began on June 10. Services are operated by a fleet of eight-car CRH6F Cinova trainsets supplied by CRRC Nanjing Puzhen. These operate at a maximum speed of 160 km/h and have a high capacity of ...
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NewsSyntus Flirt3 EMU unveiled
NETHERLANDS: The first of 16 Flirt3 electric multiple-units for Syntus has been unveiled at Stadler’s commissioning centre at Erlen in Switzerland. In March 2016 Syntus ordered nine three-car and seven four-car Flirt3 units for use on services from Zwolle to Kampen and Enschede which it is to operate from December ...
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NewsIndian Railways to order 25 high speed trains
INDIA: A 10-car variant of JR East’s Series E5 Shinkansen trainset has been selected to operate the country’s first high speed line between Mumbai and Ahmedabad, according to the Ministry of Railways. Indian Railways is expected to order an initial build of 25 trains at an estimated cost Rs50bn. Construction ...