Passenger rail news – Page 177
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NewsMelbourne High Capacity Metro Trains contract close
AUSTRALIA: Infrastructure investor Plenary Group announced on November 22 that it had reached contractual close on the Victorian government’s A$2bn High Capacity Metro Trains project. The PPP contract will see the Evolution Rail consortium of investor Plenary, design and technology lead CRRC Changchun Railway Vehicles and delivery and maintenance lead ...
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NewsQingdao – Rongcheng PDL opened
CHINA: The final 32 km section of the Qingdao – Rongcheng Intercity Railway opened on November 16. The Passenger-Dedicated Line starts from the Qingdao Bei station in the north of the city and runs to Yantai, Weihai and Rongcheng. Construction of the line on the Shandong peninsula was approved in ...
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NewsGrand Est agrees TET transfer
FRANCE: Meeting in plenary session on November 18, the Grand Est regional council approved an agreement that will see it become responsible for three routes within the loss-making Trains d’Equilibre du Territoire network of conventional passenger services operated by SNCF. Grand Est, formerly the Alsace, Champagne-Ardenne and Lorraine regions, is ...
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NewsGolden Phoenix and Blue Dolphin trainsets complete test programme
CHINA: The two prototype China Standard high speed EMUs being tested by China Railway Corp have successfully completed more that 600 000 km of trial running, under a programme that began in June 2015. The 350 km/h China Standard EMUs have been developed using purely domestic technology, unlike the 23 ...
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NewsSouth Bohemia operating contract award approved
CZECH REPUBLIC: GW Train Regio subsidiary GW Jihotrans expects to take over the operation of subsidised regional passenger services on three lines in the Šumava mountains in December 2017, after the Brno supreme court ruled on November 4 that the regional authority can proceed with signing the contract. The Jihočeský ...
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NewsSuseo open access operator poised to launch
SOUTH KOREA: High speed open access services will commence on December 8 with the launch of trains operated by Supreme Railways. Owned 41% by national operator Korail, SR will use a new line from Suseo in the southern district of Seoul which joins the Gyongbu high speed line to Busan ...
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NewsETCS Level 2 tested in Poland
POLAND: The Railway Institute carried out certification tests for ETCS Level 2 using a Pesa Dart electric multiple-unit on the nights of November 14-15 and 15-16. The tests were undertaken on the Miłkowice – Chojnów route in Dolnośląskie voivodship using Siemens onboard equipment. TUV, infrastructure manager PKP PLK and ...
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NewsHigh speed rail forum addresses challenges of a changing society
INTERNATIONAL: The ability of high speed railways to generate economic benefits and transform society was one of the themes underpinning the International High Speed Rail Association Forum, which brought together 286 participants from more than 20 countries in Kyoto on November 17. Describing high speed rail as 'a game changer', ...
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NewsGauge-changing train decision next year
JAPAN: JR Kyushu, which was successfully listed on the stock market on October 26, expects to decide whether or not to continue with plans for a gauge-changing Shinkansen train next year. The latest test train is undergoing endurance trials following modifications made after cracks were found in the axles two ...
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NewsMore Kawasaki EMU cars for MTA Metro-North
USA: An order for 60 more Kawasaki Rail Car Type M8 electric multiple-unit cars to increase capacity on Metro-North Railroad’s New Haven Line was approved by the New York MTA board on November 16. There is an option for a further 34 cars, and the base order ...
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NewsFunding approved for Paris EMU order
FRANCE: The board of Ile-de-France transport authority STIF approved on November 15 the provision of €500m to fund the purchase by SNCF of a further 52 Francilien electric multiple-units from Bombardier Transportation. The EMUs are scheduled to be delivered from March 2018 to operate on suburban lines J and L ...
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NewsHS2 contracts let as government confirms northern routes
UK: The government announced on November 15 that it had awarded contracts worth £900m for enabling work on the first phase of the High Speed 2 project linking London with the West Midlands. In addition, the government also confirmed its preferred route for Phase 2b of the scheme, taking the ...
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Metro Report InternationalComparing suburban rail best practice
INTERNATIONAL: Catalunya regional operator FGC hosted the annual meeting of the International Suburban Rail Benchmarking Group on November 9-11. The event in Barcelona brought together 15 rail operators as part of an international project which aims to identify synergies and drive continuous improvement by providing a confidential ...
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NewsIndependent transport regulator to be established
CZECH REPUBLIC: The government has approved an act paving the way for the creation of an independent transport infrastructure access regulator Úřad pro přístup k dopravní infrastruktuře with effect from April 1 2017. ÚPDI is to have 20 to 30 staff, and will be led by a chairman appointed by ...
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NewsAFE buys Swedish railcars
URUGUAY: National railway AFE has purchased seven Fiat Y1 diesel railcars from Swedish rolling stock leasing and maintenance company NetRail. One is to be used to provide spare parts, while the others are to be deployed to improve services from Montevideo to 25 de Agosto. AFE also plans to reinstate ...
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NewsEuropean Commission investigates claims of anti-competitive rail fares
CZECH REPUBLIC: The European Commission has begun an investigation into whether national operator ČD has breached EU competition rules by charging fares below its costs with the aim of excluding competitors from the passenger market. The Commission said ČD had ‘significantly decreased’ fares on the Praha – ...
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NewsWelsh Government sets out rolling stock aspirations
UK: The Welsh Government’s key priorities for the new rolling stock which is to be procured under the Wales & Borders Operator & Development Partner contract have been set out by Cabinet Secretary for Economy & Infrastructure Ken Skates. The Welsh Government says that passengers’ perception of the quality of ...
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NewsPodkarpackie orders multiple-units
POLAND: Podkarpackie voivodship has selected Pesa to supply seven electric multiple-units and Newag to provide two diesel multiple-units. The 124·66m złoty contract for five three-car and two four-car Elf 2 EMUs units is second order for the second generation of Pesa’s Elf family. Deliveries are scheduled between June 30 ...
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NewsTransdev chooses IVU.rail software
SWEDEN: Transdev Sverige is to use IVU.rail software for service planning across all its Swedish rail operations from December. IVU.rail can be used to develop efficient timetables and rolling stock diagrams, offering automatic suggestions and incorporating configurable planning rules which take into account service intervals, track and depot capacity and ...
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NewsSouthampton – London open access service proposed
UK: Alliance Rail Holdings has started industry consultation on proposals to launch an open access passenger service on the Southampton - London Waterloo route in December 2017. Managing Director Ian Yeowart told Railway Gazette on November 8 that Alliance aims is to increase capacity on the intensively-used route and make ...