Passenger rail news – Page 183
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NewsGreece restarts Trainose privatisation
GREECE: The Hellenic Republic Asset Development Fund privatisation agency has relaunched the planned sale of national train operator Trainose, a process which began in 2013 but was suspended following a change of government last year. Announcing the restart of the process on January 27, HRADF said it planned to ...
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NewsCP to refurbish Alfa Pendular trainsets
PORTUGAL: National operator CP unveiled the interior and exterior designs for what it termed the ‘next generation Alfa Pendular’ at launch event in Lisboa on January 27.The designs showcase the planned mid-life refurbishment of CP’s 10 Alfa Pendular tilting trains which are used on premium inter-city services on the Braga ...
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NewsScotRail Class 385 EMUs under construction
UK: The first of 70 Class 385 electric multiple-units ordered by Abellio for the ScotRail franchise is now under construction at Hitachi’s factory at Kasado in Japan. The first seven of the 25 kV 50 Hz EMUs are to be built in Kasado, with the remaining 63 to be produced ...
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NewsFirst Brightline coach shell completed at Siemens plant
USA: The first stainless steel coach bodyshell for All Aboard Florida’s Brightline project has been completed at Siemens’ Sacramento plant in California. Siemens is to supply an initial five four-car trainsets with a capacity of 240 passengers, which will be top-and-tailed by Siemens Charger diesel locomotives. Siemens said it ...
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NewsOpen access operator Locomore reaches crowd-funding target
GERMANY: A crowd-funding campaign has successfully raised the minimum of €460 000 which Locomore needs to launch a Berlin – Kassel – Frankfurt – Stuttgart open access service in September, the company announced two days before the campaign ends on January 29. This will be used to cover start-up ...
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NewsSNCF studies options for 'semi high speed' trains in India
INDIA: France’s SNCF has begun working with Indian Railways on a one-year project to study the feasibility of upgrading the 245 km New Delhi – Chandigarh line to permit the operation of ‘semi high speed’ trains at up to 200 km/h, and has agreed to support the pilot projects for ...
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NewsCAF awarded Arriva Rail North rolling stock contract
UK: Spanish rolling stock manufacturer CAF is to supply 281 new vehicles worth £490m for the next Northern franchise, leasing company Eversholt Rail announced on January 22. The order comprises 31 three-car and 12 four-car electric multiple-units, and 25 two-car and 30 three-car diesel multiple-units. The 160 km/h units will ...
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NewsFirst Metrolink F125 completed
USA: The first F125 diesel locomotive for Los Angeles commuter rail operator Metrolink is nearing completion at the Electro-Motive Diesel plant in Muncie, Indiana, the operator announced on January 20. Designed for operation at up to 200 km/h, the F125 is EMD’s first new design of passenger diesel locomotive for ...
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NewsLondon Suburban Metro and local input to franchising proposed
UK: The Department for Transport and Transport for London released a consultation document on January 21 proposing the creation of a partnership to ‘provide joined-up strategic direction for the specification and management for passenger services across London and the South East’. The aim would be to increase local input ...
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NewsWorkshop upgrade targets international rolling stock market
LATVIA: International passenger train operator L-Ekspresis has completed an EU-supported €14m three-year modernisation of its coach and wagon maintenance workshop, increasing capacity by a factor of 2½ to 3 000 vehicles/year in an effort to expand in international markets. Board member Rolands Gorodeckis said the workshop modernisation would enable it ...
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NewsFour to submit best offers to supply Dutch inter-city fleet
NETHERLANDS: National passenger operator NS announced on January 19 that it had invited Alstom, Bombardier, Siemens and Stadler to submit best and final offers for the Inter-city New Generation contract to supply its next fleet of long-distance trains. It expects to award the contract this summer, with the trains ...
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NewsGTWs delivered for La Pobla de Segur route
SPAIN: This spring Catalan regional operator FGC is due to place into service two Stadler Rail GTW 2/6 diesel multiple-units on the 1 668 mm gauge Lleida — La Pobla de Segur route. Ordered at a cost of €9⋅4m and designated Class 331 by FGC, the new DMUs should ...
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NewsArriva and Schenker sell-off decision delayed
GERMANY: Plans announced last July for the possible part-privatisation of Deutsche Bahn subsidiaries DB Arriva and DB Schenker Logistics are in doubt following government indications that it is unhappy with DB’s proposals. DB had hoped to raise up to €4∙5bn from a sale that could be set against its debt ...
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NewsDouble-deck coaches presented to Koleje Mazowieckie
POLAND: A ceremony at Warszawa Wschodnia on January 13 marked the official presentation of Sundeck double-deck coaches that Pesa has supplied to Mazowieckie voivodship passenger operator Koleje Mazowieckie. The first set then made an inaugural journey to Rembertów. Deliveries of the 20 double-deck intermediate coaches, two double-deck driving cars ...
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NewsFirst order for ScreeneX glass-embedded LCD passenger information screens
EUROPE: Oran Safety Glass has won its first contract to supply its ScreeneX glass-embedded high-resolution LCD screens. The order has been placed by CN-Consult, which will incorporate ScreeneX into 170 InnoScreen overhead displays which are to be installed this year at stations in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. ScreeneX ...
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NewsIndian Railways unveils refurbished coaches
INDIA: A initial 24 coaches which have been fitted with new interiors, colour schemes and passenger amenities as a ‘model rake’ for a mid-life refurbishment programme were unveiled at Delhi’s Safdarjung station on January 11. Indian Railways said it was ‘committed with renewed vigour to improve upon the interior furnishing ...
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NewsFive shortlisted for Merseyrail train replacement
UK: Transport authority Merseytravel announced the five shortlisted bidders for a contract to supply around 50 new electric multiple-units for the Merseyrail suburban network centred on Liverpool on January 11: Bombardier;CAF;Mitsui in a consortium with Alstom and East Japan Railway’s rolling stock manufacturing business J-TREC;Siemens;Stadler. Tender documents are scheduled ...
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NewsČD to run newly-electrified Železnice Desná services
CZECH REPUBLIC: The local authorities which own the 19·3 km Železnice Desná line linking Šumperk with Kouty nad Desnou have directly awarded national operator ČD a contract to operate passenger services for 10 years from June 2016. The route was taken over by the local authorities after ČD declined to ...
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NewsGovernment approves Czech station ownership transfer
CZECH REPUBLIC: A long-planned deal which would see national operator ČD sell 1 574 station buildings and related premises to infrastructure manager SŽDC was approved by the cabinet on December 21. Transferring ownership of the stations to SŽDC would enable public and EU funding to be used for ...
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NewsPortugal's CP to lease Spanish trainsets
PORTUGAL: Subject to government approval, national operator CP plans to lease four or five CAF Class 120 four-car 250 km/h trainsets from RENFE while its fleet of Alfa Pendular trainsets undergoes a €19m half-life inspection and refurbishment programme which is to be undertaken by EMEF. CP uses the 10 ...