Passenger rail news – Page 175
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NewsPorterbrook and Northern to develop electro-diesel MU
UK: Faced with an ongoing shortage of diesel multiple-units and delays to Network Rail’s electrification programme, rolling stock company Porterbrook Leasing and Northern franchise operator Arriva announced on December 22 that they are to develop an electro-diesel multiple unit by converting former Thameslink dual-system Class 319 EMUs. Northern has already ...
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NewsMore Cityjets for Wien
AUSTRIA: Transport Minister Jörg Leichtfried announced on December 15 that national operator ÖBB is to order a further 64 three-car Desiro ML trainsets from Siemens. To be deployed mainly on S-Bahn services in eastern Austria, the trains will be delivered between February 2018 and the end of 2019. Worth €400m, ...
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NewsKenyan standard gauge locomotives unveiled
KENYA: The three types of 1 435 mm gauge diesel locomotives which CRRC Qishuyan is supplying for the 473 km Mombasa – Nairobi Standard Gauge Railway were unveiled at the factory in China on December 16. The company is supplying a total of 56 locomotives. There will be 43 DF8B ...
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NewsGerman operating contracts awarded
GERMANY: A series of passenger operating contracts has been awarded by transport authorities in Nordrhein-Westfalen. DB Regio will continue to operate service RE8 Mönchengladbach – Köln – Koblenz for 15 years from December 2019, and RB33 Aachen – Lindern – Heinsberg/Mönchengladbach – Duisburg – Essen for 14 years from December ...
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NewsDB Regio wins latest round of Nürnberg S-Bahn tendering
GERMANY: The protracted tendering of the operation of Nürnberg S-Bahn services came closer to reaching a conclusion on December 19, when Bayern transport authority BEG announced that DB Regio had submitted the best offers for the two parallel contracts running for 12 years from December 2018. Subject to any further ...
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NewsPassengers ride first Renatus EMUs
UK: Wabtec Faiveley UK has completed refurbishment of the first two of 30 Class 321 electric multiple-units owned by Eversholt Rail, which are being upgraded for train operator Greater Anglia under the Renatus programme. With the first unit now receiving an AC traction package under a parallel programme being undertaken ...
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NewsJoint company to manage Ethiopia – Djibouti railway
AFRICA: Ethiopia's Minister of Transport Ahmed Shide and his Djiboutian counterpart Mohammed Abdulkadir Musa have signed an agreement to establish a joint company to manage the new railway linking the countries. The company will be have its headquarters in Addis Ababa, and be responsible for the provision of passenger, freight ...
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NewsCoradia Liner inter-city multiple-unit on test
FRANCE: Testing of the first Alstom Coradia Liner inter-city electro-diesel multiple unit has begun on the Paris Est – Troyes – Belfort line. SNCF awarded Alstom a €346m contract in October 2013 covering the supply 34 six-car Coradia Liner multiple-units to replace locomotive-hauled stock on trains d'équilibre du territoire inter-city ...
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NewsFRA recommends $120bn investment in Northeast Corridor
USA: A 30-year programme of route modernisation, including four-tracking and some new alignment, has been recommended by the Federal Railroad Administration under its proposal to develop the Northeast Corridor linking Boston, New York and Washington DC. A four-year consultation and market testing exercise known as NEC Future was launched ...
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NewsStadler selected to supply bespoke Merseyrail train fleet
UK: The leaders of the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority gave the go-ahead on December 16 for a £460m project to replace the Merseyrail suburban electric multiple-unit fleet. This includes the selection of Stadler to supply a fleet of 52 trainsets for entry into service from the end of 2020. ...
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NewsChina Railway Corp and MTR co-operate to go global
CHINA: State railway group China Railway Corp and Hong Kong-based international transport operator MTR Corp signed a letter of intent to explore strategic co-operation ‘within and outside of’ China on December 16, aiming to support the Chinese rail industry’s ‘Go-Global’ strategy. CRC and MTR are to form a strategic partnership ...
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NewsDSB sets IC4 withdrawal date to close an ‘unhappy chapter’
DENMARK: DSB’s trouble-plagued fleet of IC4 diesel multiple-units must be kept going for the time being, but will be phased out from 2024, according to an evaluation report presented to the Parliamentary Transport Committee by the state-owned operator on December 15. Under an agreement with the previous government setting out ...
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NewsWork starts on Dakar airport rail link
SENEGAL: A ceremony was held in Dakar on December 14 to mark the launch of preparatory works for construction of a 55 km regional express railway, which is intended to link the city centre with a new airport.Among the guests at the ceremony were Senegalese President Macky Sall and representatives ...
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NewsLocomore launches crowd-funded open access service
GERMANY: Crowd-funded open access passenger operator Locomore launched its inter-city service between Stuttgart and Berlin on December 14. Leaving the southern city 39 min behind its scheduled 06.21 departure time, the inaugural train arrived at Berlin Hbf 5 min early. Test running for the service began on December 5. The ...
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NewsNTV’s first Pendolino Italo car unveiled
ITALY: Alstom unveiled the first vehicle from a fleet of 12 Pendolino trainsets it is supplying to private high speed operator NTV at its Savigliano works on December 15. The driving car is the first vehicle to be completed under a €460m contract initially finalised in October 2015. This covered ...
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NewsSNCF launches free wi-fi on TGVs
FRANCE: SNCF began offering passengers free wi-fi on some TGV trainsets on the Paris – Lyon route with effect from December 15. This is the first phase of a wider roll-out which aims to provide wi-fi coverage for around 80% of TGV passengers on high speed and conventional lines by ...
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NewsFirst Brightline trainset delivered
USA: The first of five trainsets which Siemens is building for the privately-financed Brightline inter-city project has arrived in Florida following a 4 900 km journey by rail from the manufacturer’s Sacramento plant. The trainsets will each comprise four stainless-steel coaches, top-and-tailed by diesel-electric locomotives. The initial trainset carries ...
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NewsFourth Railway Package market pillar adopted by European Parliament
EUROPE: The European Parliament voted on December 14 to adopt the final wording for the market pillar of the Fourth Railway Package, concluding ‘almost five years of intense negotiations’ over the European Commission’s proposals. The market pillar will come into force once the texts have been published in the Official ...
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NewsRégiolis enters service in Clermont-Ferrand
FRANCE: The first of 29 Alstom Régiolis multiple-units which SNCF has ordered on behalf of the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region entered service with the December 11 timetable change. The order placed under a national framework agreement between SNCF and Alstom includes 12 dual-voltage electro-diesel sets for use on routes from Clermont-Ferrand to ...
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NewsKuala Lumpur – Singapore high speed rail agreement signed
ASIA: A bilateral agreement for the development of the 350 km Kuala Lumpur – Singapore high speed rail project was signed on December 13, when the two countries’ Prime Ministers took part in their annual retreat, which was this year was held at Putrajaya in Malaysia. The agreement was signed ...