Passenger rail news – Page 179
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NewsUkraine to create stand-alone passenger business
UKRAINE: Next year Ukrainian Railways is to begin a five-step process to form a separate passenger business. This would more clearly separate the costs of its loss-making passenger activities from the profitable freight operations, providing greater clarity in the allocation of subsidy. UZ envisages that the assets and liabilities of ...
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NewsAutozug Sylt car-carrying service launched
GERMANY: RDC Deutschland launched its Autozug Sylt car-carrying shuttle train service over the Hindenburgdamm causeway between the North Frisian island of Sylt and the mainland on October 18. Passengers on the maiden journey which left Westerland at 09.40 included RDC founder and owner Henry Posner III, who said he was ...
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NewsBayern signs IR 25 operating contracts
GERMANY: Two contracts for the operation of long-distance regional passenger services were signed by Bayern railway agency BEG and preferred bidder Die Länderbahn on October 17. The services, which Netinera subsidiary Die Länderbahn currently operates under the Alex brand, were tendered as two lots, designed as transitional contracts ...
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NewsEast Anglia franchise is ‘deliberately ambitious’
UK: ‘This is a deliberately ambitious franchise’, insisted Rail Minister Paul Maynard, speaking at London Liverpool Street station on October 17 to mark the launch of Abellio’s nine year contract to operate the East Anglia franchise. ‘We are using the franchise system to deliver a step change ...
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NewsWales & Borders bidders asked to propose Metro options
UK: The four bidders shortlisted for the contract to be the 'Operator & Development Partner' holding the next Wales & Borders franchise were announced by the Welsh Government's Economy & Infrastructure Secretary Ken Skates on October 13. They are: Abellio Rail Cymru; Arriva Rail Wales/Rheilffyrdd Arriva Cymru Ltd; KeolisAmey; ...
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NewsEurostar to cut services and jobs
EUROPE: Cross-Channel high speed train operator Eurostar is to reduce the number of services it operates by 8% and intends to cut 80 jobs. ‘This is a challenging environment for all travel companies and we need to manage our costs very carefully’, Eurostar told Railway Gazette. ‘That’s why we are ...
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NewsJakarta commuter operator receives Tokyo EMUs
INDONESIA: Two 10-car Series 6000 electric multiple-units previously used on Tokyo Metro’s Chiyoda Line arrived at the Port of Tanjung Priok in Jakarta from Japan on October 9, and a further batch is scheduled to be delivered later this month. Earlier this year the KA Commuter Jabodetabek subsidiary of national ...
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NewsHector Rail to operate Blå Tåget
SWEDEN: Skandinaviska Jernbanor has appointed Hector Rail to provide traction for and manage the operation of its Stockholm – Göteborg Blå Tåget passenger service, leaving the promoter to focus on customer service aspects. Skandinaviska Jernbanor launched its open access Blå Tåget service between Göteborg, Stockholm and Uppsala in December 2011, ...
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NewsCrowd-funded Locomore has the freedom to do things differently
INNOTRANS: Locomore describes itself as the ‘world’s first crowd-funded railway’, but the innovative approach to financing the planned launch of an open access inter-city service between Berlin and Stuttgart is only one of the things it is doing differently, according to Managing Director Nicolas Dietrich. ...
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NewsEvolution Rail to supply Melbourne high capacity EMUs
AUSTRALIA: The Evolution Rail consortium of Downer, CRRC Changchun Railway Vehicles and Plenary Group announced on September 12 that it had been selected as preferred bidder to supply 65 High Capacity Metro Trains for use on the Melbourne suburban network. Downer Group is acting as delivery and maintenance lead ...
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NewsThree countries agree 1 500 km corridor plan
AFRICA: The governments of Botswana, Mozambique and Zimbabwe have agreed to develop a 1 500 km mixed-traffic rail corridor to serve an expanded port at Techobanine, 70 km south of Maputo.Starting at Francistown in northern Botswana, the route would cross northwards into Zimbabwe, serving Bulawayo, before running ...
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NewsDSB to order electric locomotives
DENMARK: Meeting on August 23, DSB’s Board of Directors approved proposals to purchase 26 electric locomotives for regional passenger services on Sjaelland. The locomotives are intended to replace the Class ME diesels that currently power the double-deck push-pull trainsets on services from København to Ringsted and Helsingør, as well as ...
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NewsStadler and Bombardier to supply trains for Abellio East Anglia franchise
UK: The Department for Transport named Abellio as preferred bidder for the new East Anglia franchise on August 10. The franchise is due to start on October 16 2016 and run until October 2025, replacing the current Greater Anglia franchise which is also held by Abellio. A £1·4bn investment programme ...
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NewsHull Trains rolls-out KeTech onboard information screens
UK: ‘Hull Trains passengers are now the most well informed on the UK rail network’, claims Mike Dixon, Technical Manager at KeTech which has supplied its Keinform500 onboard information screens for the open access operator’s fleet of Alstom diesel multiple-units. The fleet-wide roll-out follows a successful trial ...
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NewsTEX Rail commuter rail link to Dallas Fort Worth airport finalised
USA: TEX Rail commuter rail services are to serve two stations within the boundary of Dallas-Fort Worth airport under an agreement between the airport and Fort Worth Transportation Authority reached on June 30.DFW airport is already served from the east by the DART light rail network ...
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NewsAlpha Trains buys multiple-unit fleets
GERMANY: Leasing company Alpha Trains Luxembourg has acquired 89 regional multiple-units from Société Générale subsidiaries Société Anonyme de Crédit à l’Industrie Française and SNC Vindelica. The transaction covers three fleets of multiple-units which are operated by Transdev subsidiaries: 18 three-car and 17 five-car Alstom Coradia Continental EMUs used by NordWestBahn ...
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NewsEuropean Commission adopts new rules to widen access to rail infrastructure
EUROPE: New rules designed to create fairer conditions for access to rail infrastructure were adopted by the European Commission on April 7, and will come into force on December 1. The Commission is concerned that EU rail markets are currently ‘characterised’ by dominant operators which may have close ties with ...
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NewsEast Japan Railway on West Midlands franchise shortlist
UK: Three bidders have been shortlisted for the next West Midlands passenger franchise, the Department for Transport announced on April 7. DfT is expected to issue the invitation to tender in July, with bids to be submitted in November. It expects to award the contract in June 2017, ready for ...
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NewsCummins QSK95 achieves Tier 4 certification
USA: Cummins received Tier 4 certification for its QSK95 diesel engine from the Environmental Protection Agency on March 31, ‘making it the first single prime power engine’ certified by EPA as meeting the Tier 4 emissions standards for use on locomotives. According to Cummins, the 3 281 kW QSK95 has ...
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NewsNew-generation Stockholm commuter EMU inaugurated
SWEDEN: Stockholm County Council’s transport authority Stockholms Läns Landsting and Alstom inaugurated the first Coradia Nordic X60B commuter electric multiple-unit at Stockholm Central on April 4. SLL ordered 46 six-car electric multiple-units in June 2012 for €440m under a framework agreement signed in 2002. Deliveries from Alstom’s Salzgitter plant ...