Passenger rail news – Page 19
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Rail Business UKRelief for Southeastern passengers as train toilets to be installed
UK: Southeastern has announced that a toilet is to be retrofitted to the Class 707 City Beam electric multiple-units used on London suburban services. Agreements for the multi-million pound investment are to be finalised with leasing company Angel Trains in the coming weeks, the operator said ...
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In depthMexico: Tren Maya is up and running
Regular inter-city passenger services have returned to Mexico with the launch of Alstom’s Tren Maya fleet across five states in the Yucatán Peninsula.
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News‘Co-operation between historic operators’ sees Ouigo low-cost trains reach Brussels
EUROPE: In what the two incumbents term ‘a co-operation between historic operators’, SNCF and SNCB have launched a low-cost loco-hauled Ouigo service between Paris and Brussels.
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Rail Business UKDatabases launched to make better use of transport accessibility research
UK: The National Centre for Accessible Transport has launched a database to consolidate accessible transport research, strategy and policy-related documents, along with a transport barriers database highlighting the challenges that disabled people face. NCAT said the initiatives ‘mark a significant step forward in providing robust evidence ...
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In depthRegional Railways: A reversal of fortunes in Catalunya
Threatened with closure in the mid-1980s, Catalunya’s Lleida – La Pobla de Segur branch has been revitalised by the regional government over the past two decades. Targeted investment is paying off with steadily increasing ridership, reports Mike Bent.
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NewsRER NG trains launched on Line D as Paris fleet renewal accelerates
FRANCE: The renewal of the rolling stock fleet used on the RER suburban network around Paris is continuing, with the latest generation RER NG trainsets entering service on Line D in December. The RER NG fleet comprises two subclasses, Z58000 for Line E and Z58500 for ...
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In depthRegional Railways: Technology offers hope of secondary line revival
Around 17 000 km of abandoned or poorly used lines in France and Germany could be revived using small, frequent or on-demand vehicles as part of a decarbonisation drive. Thanks to rapidly progressing technologies with minimal investment and low operating costs, there is an opportunity to tap political support to make them a reality. Reinhard Christeller reports.
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NewsSaudi Arabian trains to blend modern aesthetics and advanced technology
SAUDI ARABIA: National operator Saudi Arabia Railways has selected Swiss design consultancy Nose Design Experience to support the development of its next-generation of inter-city trainsets. In February 2024 SAR awarded Stadler contracts worth SFr600m to supply and maintain 10 trainsets for use on the East line ...
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Metro Report InternationalDelhi RRTS extension opens as India targets second spot in world metro rankings
INDIA: The 13 km Sahibabad to New Ashok Nagar extension of the Delhi – Ghaziabad – Meerut Regional Rapid Transit System line was opened by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on January 5. The Rs46bn extension takes Namo Bharat (commuter) services into central Delhi; there is an ...
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Rail Business UKOpen access ‘at a crossroads’ as government sets out more stringent tests for approval
UK: Secretary of State for Transport Heidi Alexander has set out her expectations for how applications to run open access services should be considered as the rail industry is restructured.
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NewsVilnius, Riga and Tallinn linked by co-ordinated passenger trains
EUROPE: The national passenger train operators of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia have launched co-ordinated services to make it more practical to travel between Vilnius, Riga and Tallinn by rail.
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NewsSNCF orders 22 Oxygène trains for Bordeaux – Marseille route
FRANCE: SNCF Voyageurs has awarded CAF a firm order to supply a further 22 Oxygène trainsets for inter-city services between Bordeaux and Marseille. In 2019 the national passenger operator ordered an initial 28 10-car Z26700 trainsets for the Paris – Limoges – Toulouse and Paris – ...
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NewsService agreement ‘paves way’ for suburban rail devolution in Cape Town
SOUTH AFRICA: Following months of negotiations, the city of Cape Town and Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa have signed a Service Level Plan which Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis says will ‘lay the foundation for future rail devolution’.
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NewsRegional passenger services in Grand Est stepped up further
FRANCE: The next stage of the Réseau Express Métropolitain Européen programme to increase local passenger services in the area around Strasbourg has been launched.
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NewsBerner Oberland-Bahn train delivered
SWITZERLAND: Berner Oberland-Bahnen has taken delivery of the first of 10 ABeh 4/8 electric multiple-units being supplied by Stadler. An initial six three-car sets were ordered for SFr66m in May 2022. The first was delivered on December 12, and they are to enter service on the ...
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NewsEuroCity Direct augments Benelux push-pull services
EUROPE: A new EuroCity Direct cross-border inter-city service connecting Brussels and Amsterdam was launched with the timetable change on December 15.
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NewsTeresina suburban rail renewal makes progress
BRAZIL: The state of Piauí has reported progress on a series of investments to enhance the metre-gauge diesel suburban line in its capital, Teresina. On November 11, Governor Rafael Fonteles inaugurated a 2·5 km, one-station eastern branch from Boa Esperança to Colorado. The project included the ...
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NewsFrench night train fleet renewal tender expected
FRANCE: Tenders are to be called in early 2025 for the renewal of SNCF’s night train fleet. The plans were confirmed to local media by Pierre-Christophe Soncarrieu, the deputy director of the transport ministry’s Trains d’Équilibre du Territoire regional trains division responsible for overnight services. The ...
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NewsHungary mulls transfer of more services to GySEV
HUNGARY: The government is expected to transfer the operation of several services in the west of the country from the incumbent to GySEV in 2025 after it acquired a greater stake in the cross-border railway company earlier this year.
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NewsPortuguese border link partially reopened
PORTUGAL: Rail services have resumed on a section of the Beira Alta line in the north of the country, which provides the principal connection between the Porto – Lisboa main line and the Spanish border at Vilar Formoso. The resumption of traffic on the 38 km ...