Passenger rail news – Page 2
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NewsČD and RegioJet competition dispute settled
CZECH REPUBLIC: National operator ČD and Open access company RegioJet have agreed to end all legal proceedings relating to a dispute about competition on the Praha – Ostrava line Under the so-called Falcon Case, RegioJet had sought damages of up to KC717m, alleging that ČD had ...
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NewsManila passenger services suspended to accelerate commuter rail construction
PHILIPPINES: March 27 marked the last operation of passenger services for five years in the Manila metropolitan area in order to accelerate construction of the North-South Commuter Railway. Philippine National Railways suspended its diesel-worked operations on the Governor Pascual – Manila Tutuban and Tutuban – Alabang ...
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NewsLong-distance electric-diesel-battery trainset unveiled
ITALY: Trenitalia has unveiled its first long-distance trainset which can operate on electric, diesel or battery power. Being supplied by Hitachi Rail, the HTR412 trainsets are equipped to operate in four modes: overhead electric power only, diesel only, battery only or hybrid battery plus diesel. It ...
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Rail Business UKInterCity East Coast direct award planned
UK: The Department for Transport intends to directly award incumbent London North Eastern Railway a contract to continue to operate InterCity East Coast passenger services. LNER is a brand of state-owned operator of last resort DfT OLR Holdings Ltd, which has operated services on the East ...
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NewsErasmus+ Interrail pass launched to encourage sustainable travel
EUROPE: A dedicated Interrail Global pass has been launched to encourage sustainable travel and exploration by participants in the Erasmus+ education scheme. The passes developed by Interrail organisation Eurail and the Erasmus Student Network have a validity of four days in six months or six days ...
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Rail Business UKThe right policies could increase ticket revenue without higher fares, says RIA
UK: The Railway Industry Association has published a ‘fresh blueprint’ for ticketing reform, saying a focus on customer experience and boosting ridership could drive revenue growth without needing to increase fares. The Destination: Revenue Growth report based on input from RIA’s members was launched by Innovation ...
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NewsFinal ICE4 set delivered to Deutsche Bahn
GERMANY: At a ceremony in Berlin Hauptbahnhof on March 19 Deutsche Bahn took delivery of the final ICE4 trainset, which was named Spree to mark the occasion and ‘baptised’ with water from the river of the same name. Chairman of DB’s Management Board Dr Richard Lutz ...
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Metro Report InternationalFirst section of Seoul’s GTX Line A opens
SOUTH KOREA: The initial 28 km section of the Great Train Express commuter rail network in the Seoul conurbation, linking Suseo with Dongtan has opened.
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NewsAuvergne-Rhône-Alpes operating contract includes rolling stock renewals
FRANCE: Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes région has signed a contract with SNCF Voyageurs to operate local passenger services from 2024 to 2033.
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NewsService increase in new Köln S-Bahn operating contract
GERMANY: Following a European tender, transport authorities go.Rheinland and VRR have selected incumbent DB Regio for a contract to operate Köln S-Bahn services until December 2032. The contract is backdated to December 10 2023 and will see operations increase from 12·3 million to 14·2 million train-km/year. ...
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NewsStadler to supply inter-city EMUs to GySEV
HUNGARY: Hungarian-Austrian cross-border operator GySEV has signed a contract for Stadler to supply nine inter-city electric multiple-units with an option for four more. The EMUs are intended for use on the Sopron – Győr – Budapest and Szombathely – Győr routes and would also be certified ...
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NewsRecord spend at DB as freight volume plummets
GERMANY: Deutsche Bahn carried more than 1∙8 billion passengers in the year to December 31 2023, up by nearly 6% on the previous year. Publishing its annual results on March 21, the national railway group reported that its long-distance services had been used by more than ...
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NewsPassenger services to be restored on Porto orbital line
PORTUGAL: Agreement has been reached to restore passenger services on an orbital line in the northern suburbs of Porto. The first trains are expected to begin running this year, following a 13-year hiatus. A protocol to restore passenger services was signed at São Mamede de Infesta ...
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NewsCommunication training to improve suburban train accessibility
AUSTRALIA: Adelaide suburban train operator Keolis Downer Adelaide has been accredited under the Communication Access Symbol initiative to help passengers with communication difficulties. Accreditation involved 234 front line staff completing nine months of specialised training. Tools include communication cards and vision boards showing stations and key ...
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NewsBerner Oberland-Bahnen increases EMU order
SWITZERLAND: Berner Oberland-Bahnen has awarded Stadler a SFr38.6m contract to supply a further four ABeh4/8 three-car electric multiple-units. The order confirmed in early March follows on from a May 2022 contract for six units. Each EMU will have 140 seats, with areas for ...
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Rail Business UKAvanti West Coast won’t be nationalised, says Minister
UK: The government will not terminate Avanti West Coast’s operating contract, Rail Minister Huw Merriman has told the House of Commons. At Transport Questions on March 21, Labour’s Shadow Rail Minister Stephen Morgan asked ‘a simple question to the Minister today, will he strip Avanti of ...
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NewsMoon railway concepts commissioned
MOON: The US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency has commissioned Northrop Grumman to develop a concept for a railway to transport humans, supplies and resources on the Moon. The study is to define the interfaces and resources required to build a lunar rail network; draw up ...
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Metro Report InternationalDogs and bikes added to ticketing app
TICKETING: Fairtiq has added the ability to buy tickets for dogs and bicycles to its swipe-in, swipe out rail and bus ticketing app covering Switzerland and Liechtenstein. Travellers can check in up to five dogs, five bikes or a combination of both, in addition to the ...
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NewsBasque region to take over RENFE suburban routes
SPAIN: On March 11 the Spanish government announced that management of all suburban services in the Basque region would be transferred from national operator RENFE to the Euzkadi autonomous community. The national government will set up a €400m fund to launch the project, some of which ...
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NewsRegioJet to launch night train to Ukraine
EUROPE: RegioJet has opened ticket sales for a night train service between Praha and the rail hub at Chop in western Ukraine’s Zakarpattia Oblast. The operator says this will be the first 100% commercially operated service between the European Union and Ukraine. The daily service is ...