Passenger rail news – Page 189
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NewsManchester Victoria station modernisation completed
UK: Secretary of State for Transport Patrick McLoughlin unveiled a plaque on October 6 to mark the completion of a £44m modernisation of Manchester Victoria station, which is used by more than 7 million passengers/year. The three-year project was managed by Network Rail, with BDP as architects and Morgan Sindall ...
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NewsOpen access operator NTV to order Pendolinos
ITALY: The board of open access high speed train operator NTV has approved the award of a contract for Alstom Transport to supply and maintain a further eight trainsets. Branded EVO, the new trainsets would be part of Alstom’s Pendolino family which NTV said offers ‘a brilliant mixture of reliability ...
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NewsModernised EMU presented to Przewozy Regionalne
POLAND: The first of 21 EN57 electric multiple-units modernised by Pesa subsidiary ZNTK Mińsk Mazowiecki was presented to national regional train operator Przewozy Regionalne at the Trako trade fair in Gdańsk on September 22. The three-car EN57AL-2102 has a new livery, as well as a reconfigured interior. it has ...
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NewsFinnish passenger market to be opened to competition
FINLAND: Proposals for opening the passenger rail market to competition are to be published in spring next year, Minister of Transport & Communications Anne Berner announced on October 1. The ministry is to study the possible options for competition, aiming to identify the most viable model for Finnish conditions ...
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NewsUpgraded Kraków Airport rail link reopens
POLAND: A new station at Kraków Airport was inaugurated on September 28, marking the return of rail services to the airport after modernisation of the line. The 11·9 km route from Kraków Główny station closed on February 1 2014 for upgrade work. Until then, services had been operated by ...
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NewsHigh speed line to Essaouira planned
MOROCCO: The government has issued a Declaration of Public Utility for the development of a second high speed line, which would link Marrakech with the coastal city of Essaouira. National railway ONCF has been tasked with leading the planning and design of the railway, including assessing land acquisition requirements. Covering ...
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NewsValladolid – León high speed line opens
SPAIN: Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy joined Development Minister Ana Pastor and Juan Vicente Herrera, President of the Castilla y León regional government, to officially open the 162⋅7 km high speed line between Valladolid and León on September 29. Built at a cost of €1⋅62bn for operation at up to 350 ...
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NewsThales to update Gautrain ticketing
SOUTH AFRICA: Gautrain concessionaire Bombela has awarded Thales a contract to upgrade the Johannesburg – Pretoria line’s fare collection system to offer a wider range of ticketing options. The current system was installed by Thales in 2010 for the FIFA World Cup. As well as the current Gold Card smart ...
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NewsUK Railcards to be available as mobile apps
UK: The Association of Train Operating Companies has invited tenders for a contract to develop a mobile phone app which can store the range of Railcards which offer discounts on National Rail passenger services. ATOC said it aims to introduce the app in April 2016, making applying for and ...
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NewsTilting E353 to serve Chuo Main Line
JAPAN: A pre-series Series E353 tilting EMU to operate Azusa limited express services on the eastern portion of the 1 067 mm gauge Chuo Main Line between Tokyo and Nagano has been unveiled by East Japan Railway. The Series E353 sets are being built by the railway’s rolling stock subsidiary ...
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NewsICx test running begins
GERMANY: Test running of an ICx trainset on the public rail network began on September 25, Siemens has announced. In May 2011 Deutsche Bahn signed a framework agreement for up to 300 ICx trainsets, with an initial order for 130 to replace its locomotive-hauled inter-city fleet. Entry into service ...
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NewsEFE unveils US$7∙5bn masterplan
CHILE: Grupo EFE President Jorge Inostroza unveiled a US$7⋅5bn investment masterplan on September 23, which aims to increase traffic on the state railway from 30 million to 100 million passenger-journeys a year by 2022. ‘No predecessor of mine has ever presented a plan like this’, said Inostroza, noting that EFE ...
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NewsMaryland approves Siemens locomotive order
USA: Maryland’s Board of Public Works has approved the Department of Transportation’s planned $58·1m purchase of eight Siemens Charger diesel-electric locomotives to replace electric locomotives currently used on MARC commuter services. The approval granted on September 16 enables Maryland Transit Administration to enter into a ‘cost-effective co-operative purchasing agreement’ ...
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NewsAshkelon – Be’er Sheva’ railway completed
ISRAEL: Israel Railways launched passenger services from Netivot to Be’er Sheva’ on September 19, two days after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Transport Minister Israel Katz joined VIPs on an inaugural train marking the completion of the through route between Ashkelon and Be’er Sheva’. There are 25 ...
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NewsNorth–South passenger trainset arrives in Riyadh
SAUDI ARABIA: The first of six trainsets being supplied by CAF for passenger services on Saudi Railway Co’s North–South line is undergoing trials on the 1 130 km route between Na’ariyah and Riyadh, with entry into service planned for early 2016. The passenger fleet is being supplied under a 533m ...
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NewsCourt orders review of Nürnberg S-Bahn contract award
GERMANY: On September 17 the Higher Regional Court in München instructed Bayern railway authority BEG to undertake a review of the planned award of two Nürnberg S-Bahn operating contracts to National Express Rail. On February 2 BEG had named the German subsidiary of UK-based National Express Group as its preferred ...
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NewsNew East Midlands direct award franchise agreed
UK: The Department for Transport and incumbent operator Stagecoach Group announced the agreement of a new directly-awarded East Midlands franchise on September 16. The current franchise covering inter-city services on the Midland Main Line and regional services across the East Midlands has been operated by Stagecoach subsidiary East Midlands Trains ...
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NewsQuality improvements in new Rurtalbahn contract
GERMANY: Following the first competitive tender for the route, on September 9 transport authority Nahverkehr Rheinland selected incumbent Rurtalbahn GmbH for a contract to operate hourly local passenger service RB21 on the 26 km Düren – Linnich northern branch of the Rurtalbahn network for four years from 2016. The ...
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NewsCommuter prognosticator avoids delays which haven’t happened yet
SWEDEN: Mathematician Wilhelm Landerholm of Queue AB and Stockholm commuter train operator Stockholmståg have developed an algorithm which can be used to forecast potential delays, helping network control staff to make decisions which will minimise the potential impact and also prevent ripple effects before they would have occurred. Real-time feeds ...
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NewsDfT seeks ideas to secure Island Line’s future
UK: The Department for Transport announced on September 11 that it would undertake public consultation on proposals to secure the future of the 13·5 km isolated line on the Isle of Wight by turning it into ‘a separate and self-sustaining business’ during the life of the next South Western franchise, ...