Passenger rail news – Page 166
-
NewsSNCF to rebrand TGV services as ‘inOui’
FRANCE: On May 26 SNCF confirmed local media reports that its TGV network of high speed passenger services is to be rebranded as ‘inOui’. SNCF will progressively introduce the inOui brand across its legacy TGV services by 2020, starting with those on the Paris – Bordeaux route from July 2, ...
-
NewsKiwiRail and CRL funded in NZ$1bn budget allocation
NEW ZEALAND: The government has allocated almost NZ$1bn for rail investment as part of its annual budget unveiled by Finance Minister Steven Joyce on May 25, including support for national operator KiwiRail and a first tranche of capital investment for construction of Auckland's City Rail Link. The government has agreed ...
-
NewsGreat Western Class 802s take shape
UK: Series production of the Class 802 electro-diesel trainsets for Great Western Railway’s West of England inter-city services between London, Devon and Cornwall is now getting underway at the Hitachi Rail Italy plant at Pistoia. Hitachi is supplying 22 five-car and 14 nine-car AT300 units to the FirstGroup franchise under ...
-
NewsSeeking future rail megatrends
EUROPE: Late May saw the launch of an interactive forum on the Near 2050 project website aimed at enabling rail users, operators and specifying organisations to comment on their experience of the sector and predict how the rail mode might evolve over the next 35 years.Near2050 is being co-ordinated under ...
-
NewsHohenzollerische Landesbahn orders Coradia DMUs
GERMANY: Alstom announced on May 24 that it had received an order worth €50m from Hohenzollerische Landesbahn for the supply of 10 Coradia Lint 54 diesel multiple-units. Scheduled for delivery by May 2019, they will operate on the routes from Ulm to Aalen, Langnau and Munderkingen. To be manufactured at ...
-
NewsSTIF to fund €1∙1bn Paris suburban fleet
FRANCE: Ile-de-France transport authority STIF announced on May 23 that it will be providing 100% of the funding for an order for 83 Bombardier Régio2N double-deck EMUs, worth €1∙1bn. Of the new fleet, 69 trainsets will be deployed between the end of 2019 and 2021 to replace locomotive-hauled VB2N coaches ...
-
NewsBridge works reflect progress on RFI’s Adriatic Corridor upgrading
ITALY: The weekend of May 20-21 saw two bridges replaced on the Bologna – Rimini line at Prati and Sabbioso as part of infrastructure manager RFI’s ongoing route modernisation programme on the Adriatic Corridor.Running for three years from 2015, the upgrading works cover the north-south line between Bologna and Lecce ...
-
NewsCaltrain electrification funding confirmed
USA: The Federal Transit Administration confirmed on May 22 that it would execute a Full Funding Grant Agreement worth $647m for electrification of the Caltrain commuter rail corridor between San Francisco and San Jose.Caltrain had agreed contracts in July last year with Balfour Beatty and Stadler for electrification work and ...
-
NewsIarnród Éireann deploys ticket sales software
IRELAND: Iarnród Éireann has deployed a Sqills S3 Passenger sales, distribution and revenue management software platform to replace legacy systems and introduce dynamic pricing capabilities.S3 Passenger enables fares to be set from a single source and updated in real-time across all sales channels, helping operators to optimise train occupancy ...
-
NewsMÁV begins manufacturing coaches for international services
HUNGARY: National railway holding group MÁV has started series production of locally designed inter-city coaches for international services. The Hungarian government decided in April 2016 that it would provide financial assistance for MÁV to manufacture 20 hauled passenger coaches for international traffic plus a further 100 for domestic use. The ...
-
NewsTrump urged to intervene in ‘emergency’ at New York Penn Station
USA: Andrew Cuomo, Governor of New York State, wrote to President Donald Trump on May 21 requesting that the federal government treat the ongoing infrastructure and operational difficulties at New York Penn Station ‘as an emergency situation’ and provide funding for short- and long-term enhancements of the station.Two derailments within ...
-
NewsWork starts on ‘metropolitan’ high speed link in Beijing
CHINA: Construction work started on May 21 on a Passenger-Dedicated Line linking Beijing with Bazhou, 80 km to the south. The route is one of several ‘metropolitan’ high speed railways planned around the conurbations of Beijing and Tianjin. With a view to future extensions to the south which would relieve ...
-
NewsArriva operating contract to be extended
NETHERLANDS: The Province of Gelderland is to exercise an option for Arriva to continue to operate the Achterhoek – Rivierenland package of rail and bus services for a further five years. The extension will run from 2020 until December 2025. The Achterhoek – Rivierenland contract covers regional passenger services ...
-
News250 km/h low-floor trainset for the Gotthard Base Tunnel rolled out
SWITZERLAND: President of the Swiss Confederation Doris Leuthard joined 500 guests at the official roll-out of the first compete EC250 Giruno 250 km/h inter-city trainset at Stadler’s Bussnang plant on May 18. ‘The Giruno sets a new standard, just like Switzerland did with the Gotthard Base Tunnel’, said Leuthard ‘This ...
-
NewsLocomore shows the need to remove barriers to market entry, says ALLRAIL
GERMANY: Locomore filing for insolvency highlights the crippling cost challenges and entry barriers' in the rail sector which are 'limiting the growth of eco-friendly transport', according to the Alliance of Rail New Entrants. ALLRAIL said Locomore was the fourth start-up in recent years to 'fall flat' when trying to ...
-
NewsCzech open access fleet certified for Poland
POLAND: Rail regulator UTK has awarded Czech open access operator LEO Express certification enabling it to operate its five Stadler Flirt electric multiple-units on the PKP-PLK network. This follows modifications to the units undertaken in early January under a €1·5m programme which was 85% funded by the European Union. On ...
-
NewsBelmond Andean Explorer launched
PERU: Hotel and cruise train operator Belmond launched what it describes as ‘South America’s first luxury sleeper train’ on May 4. Operating on the PeruRail network between Cusco and Arequipa, the Belmond Andean Explorer offers a two-night journey through ‘some of the most breathtaking scenery in the world’, its large ...
-
NewsAlexa 'Skill' for train times and fares released
UK: Independent ticket retailer RedSpottedHanky.com can now be accessed via Amazon Echo and Echo Dot smart devices using an Alexa intelligent personal assistant add-on 'Skill' developed by Atos company Worldline. Worldline says the personal assistant functionality is a first for the UK rail industry, and claims it will help travellers ...
-
NewsRENFE plans for profit in 2017
SPAIN: The national operator is expecting to make a pre-tax profit of €39∙2m in 2017, RENFE President Juan Alfaro has told MPs. For the first time since the present corporate structure was adopted in 2005, this positive result would be due to income generated by the group’s own activities. At ...
-
NewsTwilight Express Mizukaze to launch next month
JAPAN: West Japan Railway is to launch the Twilight Express Mizukaze (fresh breeze) luxury cruise train in June, adopting a similar concept to JR East’s Train Suite Shiki-Shima. With five one night or two-night itineraries, the luxury 10-car train will give up to 30 passengers the opportunity to travel to ...