Passenger rail news – Page 172
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NewsPlans to increase capacity at Warszawa Zachodnia unveiled
POLAND: Infrastructure manager PKP PLK has unveiled the design concept for an extensive modernisation of Warszawa Zachodnia station planned for 2019-21. The designs have been developed by Idom and Glebowski Studio, and aim to improve capacity to handle a predicted doubling of usage to 60 000 passengers per day by ...
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NewsDB Regio places first order for Siemens Mireo
GERMANY: DB Regio has become the first customer for Siemens’ Mireo electric multiple-unit design, placing a firm order for 24 trainsets as well as 15 Desiro HC units. The conclusion of the rolling stock contracts follows the formal award by the Land of Baden-Württemberg of agreements for DB Regio to ...
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NewsLong-distance concession talks break down
SWITZERLAND: Negotiations for a national jointly operated long-distance passenger traffic concession with services run by SBB, BLS and SOB collapsed on February 16. Discussions had been underway since autumn last year for the ‘multi-railway’ proposal. SBB issued a statement regretting the failure of the talks and noted that BLS had ...
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NewsImproving Talgo accessibility
SPAIN: Renfe has begun a €5·7m project adapt 15 Series VI Talgo coaches to improve access for passengers with reduced mobility. The seating layout of the vehicles will be modified to provide space for wheelchairs to manoeuvre. Each of the coaches will have two wheelchair spaces with securing points, as ...
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NewsBluetooth-enabled ticket gates demonstrated
UK: Railway Gazette attended a demonstration of Bluetooth Low Energy fare validation technology at Thales UK’s Crawley offices on February 9. Organised by rail standards body RSSB, this showed how Bluetooth could be used to improve the throughput of passengers through a ticket gateline at busy stations.Among the applications being ...
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NewsProduction of Devon and Cornwall trainsets begins in Italy
UK: Hitachi announced a 'milestone' in the production of electro-diesel inter-city trainsets for Great Western Railway services from London to Devon and Cornwall on February 15, with the delivery of the first AT300 bodyshell to its plant at Pistoia in Italy. Hitachi is building a total of 93 trainsets for ...
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NewsSeibu Railway unveils Series 40000 EMUs with rotating seats
JAPAN: The first of eight Series 40000 EMUs being built for Seibu Railway’s 1 067 mm gauge Tokyo suburban routes was unveiled on February 13. The 10-car sets are scheduled to enter revenue service from March 25. An evolution of the railway’s earlier Series 30000 design, the aluminium-bodied trainsets are ...
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NewsBerner Oberland-Bahn EMU enters service
SWITZERLAND: The first of six Stadler ABDeh 8/8 electric multiple-units ordered by Berner Oberland-Bahn entered revenue service on the metre-gauge route between Interlaken Ost, Lauterbrunnen and Grindelwald on February 13. This followed a ceremony on February 10 during which a depot at Zweilütschinen was formally opened and the first of ...
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NewsTrenitalia completes c2c acquisition
UK: Italian national railway FS Group has completed the first step in its plan to establish a major presence in the UK rail market, with the closing of Trenitalia UK’s acquisition of Essex Thameside franchisee c2c from National Express Group. The transaction was completed on February 10, after the Department ...
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NewsPresident opens renovated Baku station
AZERBAIJAN: President Ilham Aliyev attended a ceremony on February 10 marking the completion of a two-year project to modernise Baku station and national railway company ADY’s offices. The Moorish-style station building dating from 1884 has been restored externally, while the interior dating from a refurbishment in 1926 and the adjacent ...
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NewsMallorca electrification contract awarded
SPAIN: A joint venture of Siemens, MAN and Sampol has been awarded a €25m contract to electrify at 1∙5 kV DC the 31 km of single track between Enllaç and Manacor on the 1 000 mm gauge SFM network on Mallorca. Main works are expected to begin in March. The ...
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NewsAstra Trans Carpatic launches open access night train
ROMANIA: Open access operator Astra Trans Carpatic ran its inaugural train from Arad to Bucureşti Nord via Sighişoara and Braşov overnight on February 2. The new operator is backed by Valer Blidar, who also owns rolling stock manufacturer Astra Vagoane Călători Arad which has supplied two six-car rakes of ...
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NewsInterserve wins Network Rail station facilities management contract
UK: Network Rail has awarded Interserve a five-year contract to manage facilities at 11 major stations, the first time the infrastructure manager has awarded one large facilities management contract rather than multiple separate deals. The £65m agreement announced on February 6 covers waste management, landscaping, pest control, adverse weather ...
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NewsMeasure and act on what passengers want
UK: InterCity West Coast franchisee Virgin Trains has been able to improve passengers’ satisfaction with boarding, seating and on-board entertainment by working with customer relationship data company ITG Creator and using Qlik’s visual analytics platform. More than 200 000 responses to surveys e-mailed to people who had booked tickets ...
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NewsCoradia Liner enters service
FRANCE: SNCF’s first Alstom Coradia Liner V160 electro-diesel multiple-units entered passenger service on the Paris – Troyes – Belfort route on February 6. SNCF placed a €346m order for 34 six-car Coradia Liners in October 2013. Part of Alstom’s Coradia Polyvalent family, they are intended to replace locomotive-hauled stock on ...
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NewsEurostar lounge seeks 'the spirit of a Parisian apartment'
FRANCE: Eurostar opened its relocated Business Premier lounge at Paris-Nord on February 4. Accessed after passengers pass through an expanded security and passport control area, the lounge is intended to offer a ‘stylish, comfortable environment for both working and relaxing’. The facility on the top floor of the original 19th ...
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NewsEngines ordered for Civity UK DMUs
UK: Rolls-Royce’s MTU business is to supply 140 Series 1800 PowerPacks for use on the 55 Civity UK diesel multiple-units which Spanish rolling stock manufacturer CAF is building for use on Arriva’s Northern franchise. Announcing the order on February 3, Rolls-Royce said the 390 kW PowerPacks would have 6H 1800 ...
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NewsReforms aim to ‘blow the dust off’ UK rail ticketing system
UK: A complete overhaul of the structure of Great Britain’s fares system is being planned by the Rail Delivery Group, with the aim of reflecting changes in the way passengers now travel and enabling bidders for future franchises to put forward more innovative ideas for ticketing. ...
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NewsKenya – Uganda construction timescale agreed
AFRICA: Meeting in Nairobi on February 2, ministers from Kenya and Uganda agreed a ‘synchronised’ timescale for construction of the 1 435 mm gauge railway planned to link the two countries. Signed by Uganda’s Finance Minister Matla Kasila, Kenya’s Treasury Secretary Henry Rotich and Transport & Urban Development Secretary James ...
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NewsTrain operators to test 'radical fare changes'
UK: 'Radical changes' to fares which are intended to 'guarantee customers simpler fares and the best possible deal every time they travel' are to be tested following an agreement between train operators and the government, the Rail Delivery Group confirmed on February 1. There will be three elements to ...