Passenger rail news – Page 190
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NewsMerseyrail EMU fleet to be replaced
UK: Liverpool regional transport authority Merseytravel is to procure a new fleet of electric multiple-units to replace the 59 three-car Class 507 and 508 EMUs used on Merseyrail services which are now approaching 40 years old. The higher availability and improved reliability of modern EMUs is expected to enabling a ...
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NewsSun International to revitalise The Blue Train
SOUTH AFRICA: Following an open tender, national freight operator Transnet has selected tourism, leisure and gaming group Sun International to develop and implement a marketing strategy for The Blue Train luxury train service. The agreement with Sun International was signed on September 8 and will run for up to ...
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NewsPassenger trains return to the Scottish borders
UK: The first public passenger trains for 46 years ran between Edinburgh and Tweedbank on September 6, when revenue services began over the 48 route-km Borders Railway. The launch of revenue service comes amid a week of celebrations marking the reopening of approximately a third of the former Edinburgh – ...
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NewsOuigo to expand as SNCF rethinks low-cost services
FRANCE: Ouigo low-cost TGV services are to be expanded to a further eight stations in the north and west of the country in 2016, SNCF announced on September 3. Faced with increasing competition from the liberalisation of long-distance bus services and the growth of ride-sharing, SNCF has unveiled a new ...
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NewsHull Trains to order Hitachi electro-diesel trainsets
UK: East Yorkshire to London open access inter-city operator Hull Trains announced a £68m plan to order five Hitachi electro-diesel multiple-units on September 3. These would enter service in 2020, subject to the successful completion of negotiations with infrastructure manager Network Rail and regulator ORR for a ...
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NewsRefurbished ScotRail DMU rolled out
UK: The first of 40 Class 158 diesel multiple-units to be refurbished at Knorr-Bremse RailServices' Springburn facility was unveiled by ScotRail on September 1. The £14m modernisation of the units built in 1989-92 includes seating improvements, better lighting, modern carpets, improved accessibility, new CCTV, automated passenger-counting systems and at-seat power ...
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NewsChina Railway Corp orders Zefiro380 high speed trains
CHINA: China Railway Corp has ordered a further 15 eight-car CRH380D high speed trainsets from Bombardier Sifang (Qingdao) Transportation for 2·4bn yuan. Announcing the order on September 2, the BST joint venture of Bombardier and CSR Sifang Rolling Stock Co said it had begun delivering an initial batch of 70 ...
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NewsPomeranian Metropolitan Railway opens
POLAND: Revenue services on the Pomorska Kolej Metropolitalna line serving Gdańsk airport began on September 1, following inauguration celebrations including steam-hauled trains on August 30. The new line is owned by PKM, a dedicated company established by Pomorskie voivodship. Branching from the existing network at Gdańsk Wrzeszcz, it uses ...
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NewsDB Regio retains Euregiobahn contract
GERMANY: Transport authority Nahverkehr Rheinland announced on August 27 that incumbent DB Regio had submitted the most economically advantageous bid for the next contract to operate RB20 Euregiobahn services. Radiating out from Aachen to Stolberg, Düren, Herzogenrath and Alsdorf in Germany and Heerlen in the Netherlands, the service carries around ...
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NewsGermany studies feasibility of a national clockface timetable
GERMANY: A detailed study of the feasibility of introducing of a national clock-face timetable based a 30 min and 60 min cycle of long distance trains with optimised connections has been published. The study was commissioned by the Federal Ministry of Transport from the IGES Institut and TU Braunschweig, with ...
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NewsSprinter Lighttrain upgrade contract awarded
NETHERLANDS: The consortium of Bombardier and Siemens which supplied NS Reizigers’ fleet of 131 Sprinter Lighttrain electric multiple-units has been awarded a contract to install toilets and fit slide-out steps to improve accessibility by mid-2021. The modifications were not foreseen when first orders for the EMUs were placed in 2005, ...
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NewsFreight line passenger revival
GERMANY: Local freight railway Bentheimer Eisenbahn has called tenders for a contract to provide planning and engineering services for the reintroduction of passenger services on the 30 km Bad Bentheim – Neuenhaus line in Niedersachsen. Passenger trains on the route were replaced by railway-operated bus services in 1974. The ...
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NewsBudapest – Esztergom line reopens after modernisation
HUNGARY: National passenger operator MÁV-Start restarted services on the modernised Budapest – Esztergom line on August 20. Renovation of the 53 km route lasted more than three years and cost HF44·5bn, of which 85% was funded from EU sources. Electrification is around 18 months behind schedule and is expected ...
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NewsFunding to upgrade Ottawa – Montréal passenger service
CANADA: The national government has announced an additional C$102m of funding for VIA Rail in 2015-17 to support upgrading works on the Ottawa – Montréal route. This includes work to enable VIA Rail’s Renaissance coaches to be used on the route instead of older rolling stock, thereby enhancing accessibility; track ...
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NewsDublin commuter line upgrade launched
IRELAND: Work on a €13·7m project to upgrade the 4·4 km line through the Phoenix Park Tunnel in Dublin was officially launched by Minister for Transport, Tourism & Sport Paschal Donohoe on August 18. From autumn 2016 commuter services from Kildare west of Dublin will be able to use the ...
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NewsNorthernmost PDL opens in Heilongjiang
CHINA: The country’s most northerly passenger-dedicated line opened for revenue service on August 17, connecting the two principal cities in Heilongjiang province, Harbin and Qiqihar. Operating at up to 250 km/h, the high speed trains have cut the fastest journey time between the cities from 3 h to 85 ...
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NewsCameras to detect drunken behaviour
JAPAN: West Japan Railway has installed cameras that can automatically identify drunken behaviour and alert platform staff, in an attempt to reduce the number of accidents at stations. So far 46 cameras have been implemented on the Osaka Loop Line platforms of Koybashi station in Osaka. JR West is ...
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NewsDecember deadline for Greek rail asset offers
GREECE: The Hellenic Republic Asset Development Fund announced on August 13 that a deadline of December 2015 has been agreed for binding offers to take over state-owned operator TrainOSE and rolling stock maintenance contractor Rosco. The announcement follows the conclusion of negotiations between the privatisation agency, the government and the ...
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NewsSulawesi railway works to start in October
INDONESIA: Civil works for construction of the first section of the planned trans-Sulawesi railway are expected to start in October with an inauguration ceremony to be attended by President Joko Widodo. A groundbreaking ceremony took place in Siawung in August 2014 to launch the 145 km Makassar – Pare Pare ...
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NewsPKP Intercity Flirt presented
POLAND: The first of 20 Flirt 3 electric multiple-units being supplied to PKP Intercity by a Stadler-Newag consortium has been presented to the public at Katowice station, following the completion of testing at the Railway Institute in July. ‘To ensure the safest and most comfortable journey for passengers, we ...