Passenger rail news – Page 174
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NewsSNCF awards €3·75bn Paris RER fleet renewal contract
FRANCE: The SNCF board has formally selected a consortium of Alstom and Bombardier Transportation for a deal to supply up to 355 custom-designed X'Trapolis Cityduplex double-deck trainsets worth €3·75bn for use on Paris RER lines D and E. The order announced on January 11 is the largest-ever contract to be ...
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NewsDB and Vlexx win Saarland passenger contracts
GERMANY: The Saarland and Rheinland-Pfalz south and north transport authorities have jointly awarded two contracts for the operation of regional passenger services for 15 years from December 2019. Incumbent DB Regio has won the SaarRB Lot 1 contract to operate 3·2 million train-km/year on the Schweich – Trier – Saarbrücken ...
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NewsTrenitalia buys c2c to enter UK rail market
UK: An agreement in principle for National Express Group to sell its c2c passenger franchisee to the Trenitalia subsidiary of Italian state railway group FS for £70m was announced on January 11. NEG’s c2c holds the Essex Thameside franchise to operate commuter-focused services into London Fenchurch Street, carrying around ...
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NewsNS completes green energy transition
NETHERLANDS: National passenger operator NS is now operating all of its electric trains using wind-generated power, following a three-year transition in association with natural gas, electricity and heat supplier Eneco. According to a personal video message from CEO Roger van Boxtel, NS is the first railway in the world to ...
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NewsChangsha – Zhuzhou – Xiangtan Intercity Railway opens
CHINA: The Changsha – Zhuzhou – Xiangtan Intercity Railway in Hunan Province opened for passenger services on December 26. There are 21 stations on the 95·5 km Y-shared route from Changsha to the two termini. Services are operated using eight-car CRH6F electric trainsets from CRRC Qingdao Sifang. The alignment ...
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NewsPassenger locomotives for Nigeria unveiled
NIGERIA: The first two diesel locomotives built to haul passenger trains on the Abuja – Kaduna line have been rolled out at the CRRC Dalian factory in China. The 1 435 mm gauge Type CDD3B1 locomotives have a maximum speed of 150 km/h, and are designed to cope with local ...
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NewsAmtrak streamlines management structure
USA: Federal passenger company Amtrak announced on January 5 that it would be rationalising its senior management structure as part of efforts to ‘position itself for an even more competitive future’.President & CEO Wick Moorman has reduced by half the senior management team to create six reporting lines. These are: ...
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NewsRevised ERTMS Deployment Plan adopted
EUROPE: A new timetable for the roll-out of the European Rail Traffic Management System has been put in place by the European Commission, with the adoption on January 5 of an implementing regulation. The revised ERTMS European Deployment Plan has been drawn up over the past two years by ERTMS ...
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NewsDSB seeks smoother border checks to halt slump in Øresund traffic
EUROPE: Identity checks for rail passengers travelling across the Øresund fixed link between Denmark and Sweden are to be simplified with effect from January 30, Danish national operator DSB has announced. In response to the European migrant crisis, with effect from January 4 2016 the Swedish government brought in a ...
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NewsDonghae Line opens
SOUTH KOREA: The first phase of the Donghae Line opened on December 30, linking Busan with Ilgwang. Services use an existing alignment north from Bujeon station in Busan, serving 14 stations along a 28·5 km route. Interchanges are provided with the Busan metro at Geoje, Busan National University of ...
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NewsDB Regio wins operating contract
GERMANY: Following a European tender, the Länder of Sachsen-Anhalt and Thüringen have awarded DB Regio a contract to operate the new RE18 passenger service from December 2018 until December 2023. To be launched as the final element of the Saale-Thüringen-Südharz network, service RE18 will provide a fast link between Jena-Göschwitz ...
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NewsBane NOR launched to manage Norwegian network
NORWAY: Celebrations at Oslo Sentral station on January 2 marked the launch of Bane NOR as the country’s railway infrastructure manager, replacing Jernbaneverket.The move is part of a wider railway reform programme that has seen the creation by the government of a Railway Directorate to specify and manage the provision ...
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NewsKorail orders fleet of 260 km/h EMUs
SOUTH KOREA: National operator Korail announced a 269bn won order for 84 Hyundai Rotem EMU-250 electric multiple-unit cars on December 30. Deliveries are scheduled by the by the end of 2020. Derived from the HEMU-430 experimental high speed design unveiled in 2012, the EMU-250 has distributed traction giving a maximum ...
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NewsTrain interior celebrates nature and culture
FRANCE: To promote the architectural and natural heritage of the region they serve, SNCF is decorating the interiors of five trainsets deployed on Line N of the Transilien suburban network, running from Paris Montparnasse to Mantes-la-Jolie, Dreux and Rambouillet. The programme being undertaken in conjunction with CMN, the government ...
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NewsÖBB orders Talent 3 multiple-units
AUSTRIA: National railway ÖBB has ordered an initial build of 21 Talent 3 multiple-units from Bombardier Transportation under a framework agreement signed on December 27 which covers the supply of up to 300 trainsets for regional and suburban services. The company had been selected in September as preferred bidder for ...
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NewsShanghai – Kunming high speed line completed
CHINA: Ceremonies were held at the new Kunming Nan station on December 28 to mark the opening for revenue service of the Guiyang – Kunming Passenger-Dedicated Line. The link is the final stage in the 2 252 km Shanghai – Kunming corridor, one of the four east-west and four north-south ...
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NewsConstruction starts on China – Laos railway
LAOS: Ceremonies were held in the northern city of Luang Prabang on December 25 to mark the launch of construction of the 414·3 km rail link from the Chinese border to Vientiane. Prime Minister Thongloun Sisoulith formally turned the first sod and struck a gong to mark the start ...
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NewsNetwork Rail plans Bolton station expansion
UK: As part of the electrification and modernisation of the Manchester – Preston corridor, a fifth platform is to be opened at Bolton next year, Network Rail has announced.A series of enhancements to Bolton station are being taken forward by NR and the local council, which is co-ordinating construction of ...
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NewsShiki-Shima luxury cruise train on test
JAPAN: East Japan Railway is testing a luxury cruise train ahead of its planned launch on May 1. Known as the Train Suite Shiki-Shima (Island of Four Seasons), and bearing the designation Series E001, the 10-car set has an observation car at each end offering passengers unobstructed panoramic views. Three ...
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NewsEMUs enter service in Kazakhstan
KAZAKHSTAN: Four Type EP3D electric multiple-units supplied by Transmashholding’s Demikhovsky Engineering Plant entered service with national railway KTZ this month. They are being used on the 240 km route from Astana south to Karaganda and the 300 km route north from Astana to Kokshetau. The order for the EMUs placed ...