Passenger rail news – Page 203
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NewsGovernment mulls more airport rail links
THAILAND: Two more airport rail links are being evaluated by the government, Transport Minister Prajin Juntong announced on November 20. The two proposed lines would complement the 1 435 mm gauge line which has linked Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi Airport with a city centre terminus at Makkasan since 2010. One would ...
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NewsSouth Wales electrification funding agreement
UK: Agreements to fund electrification in south Wales and devolve the award of the next Wales & Borders rail franchise from the Department for Transport to the Welsh government were announced by Prime Minister David Cameron on November 21. This brings to an end a dispute about which government should ...
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NewsSBB gets free trains following double-deck delays
SWITZERLAND: A revised schedule for the delivery of Twindexx Express long distance double-deck electric multiple-units ordered in 2010 has been agreed with Bombardier Transportation, Swiss Federal Railways announced on November 19. In compensation for a further one-year delay to deliveries, Bombardier will supply SBB with three additional EMUs and spare ...
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NewsXinjiang high speed line opens
CHINA: The Passenger-Dedicated Line between Urumqi and Hami in the Xinjiang Uyghur autonomous region of western China opened on November 16. The 530 km route serves stations at Urumqi South, Turpan North, Shanshan North, Tuha and Hami. Construction of the line began in January 2010. The alignment through the Gobi ...
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NewsGovia and Bombardier sign Gatwick Express train contract
UK: Passenger franchisee Govia Thameslink Railway announced on November 18 that it had signed a £145·2m order for 27 four-car Bombardier Electrostar Class 387/2 electric multiple-units for use on Gatwick Express services. The EMUs are scheduled to enter service between London Victoria and Gatwick Airport in 2016, with some ...
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NewsStockholm deploys interlocking software
SWEDEN: Stockholm transport authority SL has licensed iLock software from local company Prover Technology to use when creating its interlocking requirements. Running on a standard PC with a drag-and-drop editor or by using imported files, iLock draws on a formal specification library defining the general principles for Swedish interlocking ...
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NewsEurostar orders seven more e320s
EUROPE: Marking the 20th anniversary of the launch of passenger services through the Channel Tunnel with a celebration at London St Pancras on November 13, Eurostar announced that it had signed Heads of Agreement with Siemens for seven more e320 trainsets. On display in Platform 5 was one of ...
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NewsFirst Hitachi Class 800 trainset unveiled
UK: The first of 122 trainsets for inter-city services on the East Coast and Great Western main lines was unveiled at Hitachi’s factory at Kasado in southwest Japan on November 13. The trains are being supplied by Hitachi under the Department for Transport’s Intercity Express Programme. Hitachi is building ...
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NewsSlovakia funds free rail travel
SLOVAKIA: With effect from November 17, around 46% of the population will be eligible for free travel on subsidised train services, under a proposal endorsed by the government of Prime Minister Robert Fico on October 22. The provision is part of a €250m national economic stimulus package approved by the ...
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NewsSiemens unveils ÖBB’s Desiro cityjet
AUSTRIA: The first of 101 three-car Desiro EMUs which Siemens is building for ÖBB was unveiled at the company’s Uerdingen plant on November 10, in a ceremony attended by Federal Minister of Infrastructure Alois Stöger, ÖBB Chief Executive Christan Kern and Siemens Mobility CEO Jochen Eickholt, along with the provincial ...
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NewsMinsk National Airport rail link launched
BELARUS: A passenger service between Minsk Pasažyrski station and Minsk National Airport was launched by Belarus Railways on November 7. The trains call at Smaliavičy to provide interchange opportunities for passengers from regional destinations. There is an initial service of five trains per day with a total journey time ...
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NewsHigh speed contract award cancelled
MEXICO: President Enrique Peña Nieto has instructed the Secretariat of Communications & Transport to run a new competition for the contract to build a 210 km high speed line between Mexico City and Querétaro, citing the ‘doubt and disquiet’ that had arisen from the decision to award a 50∙8bn pesos ...
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NewsSuriname railway plan announced
SURINAME: Detailed proposals for a rail link between the capital Paramaribo and Onverwacht were announced by the government on November 5. Strukton Systems has completed a feasibility study and preliminary designs for the project and is a possible construction contractor, although there is no date as yet for the award ...
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NewsKeolis wins Teutoburger Wald operating contract
GERMANY: Keolis subsidiary Eurobahn was named as the preferred bidder for the next Teutoburger Wald passenger operating contract on November 6. The new contract is being awarded by Westfalen-Lippe transport authority NWL, in co-operation with Niedersachsen's LNVG and the Netherlands' Regio Twente and Overijssel province. It will run for ...
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NewsKeolis signs Wuhan commuter rail letter of intent
CHINA: Keolis signed a letter of intent to participate in the operation of the future Greater Wuhan commuter rail network when a delegation from Hubei province visited Lille in France on November 3. The province is developing a network of six commuter lines up 80 km long to link Wuhan ...
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NewsBelmond to launch Irish land cruise train
IRELAND: Luxury hotel, river cruise and train operator Belmond has announced plans to launch a land cruise train in Ireland in summer 2016. The company said Belmond Grand Hibernian would be ‘the first luxury overnight rail experience of its kind in Ireland’, with two, four and six-night trips visiting destinations ...
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NewsContract awarded for Mexico City – Querétaro high speed line
MEXICO: On November 3 the federal Secretariat of Communications & Transport announced that a consortium including China Railway Construction Corp and CSR had been selected for the turnkey contract to build, operate and maintain a high speed line between Mexico City and Querétaro. Including rolling stock and other railway equipment, ...
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Newsc2c expands ITSO smart card ticketing
UK: Commuter operator c2c began offering season tickets on its c2c Smart card from November 3, including Travelcards valid for travel on the National Rail and Transport for London networks within Greater London. c2c Smart is the government’s pilot for the South East Flexible Ticketing programme to introduce smart ticketing ...
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NewsZwolle passenger operating tender called
NETHERLANDS: Regio Twente and Overijssel province have invited expressions of interest in a contract to operate the 13 km Zwolle – Kampen and 67 km Zwolle – Enschede routes for 15 years from December 2017. Services are currently provided by NS Reizigers. The deadline for applications is March 5 2015, ...
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NewsPassenger trains return to Rosario in 2015
ARGENTINA: Minister of the Interior & Transport Florencio Randazzo visited the city of Rosario in Santa Fe province on October 30 to inspect progress with infrastructure works being undertaken to reintroduce passenger services to Buenos Aires next year. As well as 517 km of track renewals, the programme has involved ...