Passenger rail news – Page 165
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NewsSüdostbahn plans automatic train operation
SWITZERLAND: A pilot project to develop automatic train operation was unveiled by Südostbahn AG on June 15. The ultimate intention is to achieve Grade of Automation 3, full automatic train operation with no driver but retaining staff on board for customer service and to take control when necessary. SOB has ...
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NewsSNCB seeks to develop BeNeRail distribution partnership
EUROPE: Speaking on the sidelines of the Amadeus Rail Innovation Forum in Praha on June 13, SNCB’s Manager for International Sales Paul Geyssens indicated that the Belgian national operator is planning to expand its collaboration with travel software specialist Amadeus through the BeNeRail distribution joint venture of SNCB and Dutch ...
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NewsElectro-diesel Flirt unveiled
ITALY: The first electro-diesel version of the Flirt multiple-unit family was unveiled at Stadler’s Bussnang plant in Switzerland on June 15, two years after the Valle d’Aosta region awarded a €43m contract for the supply of five units and the provision of five years of maintenance. The Flirt3 units are ...
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NewsBrisbane to start work on Cross River Rail
AUSTRALIA: Enabling works to facilitate construction of the A$5·4bn Cross River Rail project in Brisbane are to start in September, Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk and Minister for Infrastructure Jackie Trad announced on June 14. The Cross River Rail Delivery Authority has approved demolition work at the GoPrint site, a former ...
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NewsSNCB does not expect DB to run to London
EUROPE: Deutsche Bahn has effectively deferred its high-profile plan to run direct high speed trains between Germany and London. Reports in the French press last week had quoted Birgit Bohle, Managing Director of DB Fernverkehr, suggesting that the German operator had no desire to compete directly with its French counterpart ...
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NewsVästtrafik awards EMU refurbishment contract
SWEDEN: Västtrafik has awarded Alstom a SKr90m contract to refurbish 18 ASEA/ABB X12 and X14 two-car electric multiple-units dating from 1991-95 which are used on Göteborg – Borås and Uddevalla – Borås – Varberg services. The refurbishment to be undertaken between autumn 2017 the end of 2020 includes ...
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NewsÖBB starts Pyhrnstrecke station upgrading
AUSTRIA: ÖBB-Infrastruktur launched a €26·9m programme to modernise three stations on the Pyhrnstrecke in Oberösterreich with a groundbreaking ceremony at Neuhofen an der Krems on June 7. Expected to take around 18 months at a cost of €9·3m, the work at Neuhofen will see the realignment of both main lines ...
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NewsGo-Ahead selected for Stuttgart – Nürnberg operating contract
GERMANY: The Länder of Baden-Württemberg and Bayern have selected Go-Ahead as preferred bidder for the Netz 3A Murrbahn contract to operate Stuttgart – Schwäbisch Hall – Hessental – Crailsheim – Nürnberg services totalling 1∙3 million train-km/year for 13 years from December 2019. Go-Ahead will procure a fleet of Stadler Flirt3XL ...
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NewsWork starts on San Martín viaduct
ARGENTINA: Transport Minister Guillermo Dietrich joined head of the city government Horacio Rodríguez Larreta on June 8 to mark the start of work on a new 5 km elevated alignment for the San Martín commuter route in Buenos Aires. Replacing a surface alignment between Palermo and La Paternal stations which ...
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NewsThalys aims for full trains and happy customers
EUROPE: High speed operator Thalys is to introduce a new fares structure and onboard service proposition on September 12. The current Comfort 1 and Comfort 2 classes of travel are to be replaced with Standard, Comfort and Premium, improving flexibility and increasing the proportion of discounted fares on offer from ...
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NewsLong-distance Lastochka agreed
RUSSIA: An agreement to develop a long-distance variant of the successful Lastochka electric multiple-unit family has been reached between Russian Railways and the Urals Locomotive joint venture of Sinara and Siemens. The accord to draft revised technical specifications was signed during the St Petersburg International Economic Forum by the head ...
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NewsGabon takes delivery of refurbished DB Regio coaches
GABON: Coaches formerly used by DB Regio in Germany are being refurbished by Electroputere VFU Pașcani in Romania for use on Libreville – Franceville overnight services operated by Sociéte d'Exploitation du Transgabonais. The first batch of nine vehicles was shipped at the end of May and is expected to arrive ...
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NewsPakistan Railways orders GE locomotives for the north
PAKISTAN: GE Transportation announced an agreement to supply 20 FDL C20EMP diesel locomotives to Pakistan Railways on June 7. The 1 676 mm gauge C20EMP locomotives are to be supplied from Erie in the USA by the end of 2018. They will be a lightweight 2 000 hp mixed ...
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NewsPrime Minister inaugurates Napoli Afragola station
ITALY: The landmark high speed station at Napoli Afragola, designed by the late Zaha Hadid, was formally inaugurated by Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni on June 6, ahead of the start of regular services on June 11. Arriving on a Freccciarossa 1000 high speed train, Gentiloni was accompanied by Minister of ...
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NewsDB Regio selected for Rhein-Neckar operating contract
GERMANY: Baden-Württemberg's Ministry of Transport and the Rhein-Neckar and Rheinland-Pfalz Süd transport authorities have jointly selected DB Regio as preferred bidder for the S-Bahn Rhein-Neckar (Netz 6b) operating contract. The contract covers the operation of passenger services on lines in Baden-Württemberg and southern Hessen from December 13 2020. The ...
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NewsCaltrain board approves operating and capital budgets
USA: Caltrain’s board approved the operating and capital budgets for the financial year starting on July 1 at its monthly meeting on June 1. The $148·2m operating budget includes $20·5m in funding contributions from San Mateo County Transit District, Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority and the City & County ...
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NewsPresident opens Astana Nurly Zhol station
KAZAKHSTAN: ‘Nurly Zhol station is unique, there is no such station in the entire post-Soviet area’, said President Nursultan Nazarbayev when he officially opened the new passenger hub in Astana on May 31. The first passenger services began using the station on June 1, and the first international service arrived ...
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NewsMombasa – Nairobi Standard Gauge Railway opened
KENYA: President Uhuru Kenyatta officially opened the 472 km Standard Gauge Railway between the Indian Ocean port of Mombasa and Nairobi on May 31, travelling on the inaugural Madaraka Express passenger service. The previous evening he had launched an inaugural freight train from Port Reitz in Mombasa, waving a giant ...
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NewsBuenos Aires suburban network gets Tetra radio
ARGENTINA: A Tetra digital radio network has been installed on the Sarmiento, Mitre, San Martín, Belgrano Sur and Roca lines of the suburban rail network serving Buenos Aires. Indra supplied the system under a US$214m contract awarded in 2014 by federal railway operating company SOFSE. It is being used ...
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NewsLEO Express looking to buy Locomore
EUROPE: LEO Express is looking to acquire German open access operator Locomore, which recently filed for insolvency. Speaking to German newspaper Handelsblatt, Leo Express CEO Peter Köhler confirmed that the Czech open access operator, not currently present in the German market, has made an offer for Locomore. In ...