Passenger rail news – Page 204
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NewsNordWestBahn wins new Weser-Ems-Netz contract
GERMANY: Following a procurement process which attracted ‘strong competition’, the Niedersachsen, Westfalen-Lippe and Bremen transport authorities announced on October 30 that they had selected incumbent NordWestBahn as preferred bidder for a new contract to operate West-Ems-Netz regional services linking Oldenburg, Esens, Wilhelmshaven, Bremen, Vechta and Osnabrück. NWB is owned by ...
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NewsNS selects CAF for Sprinter New Generation train contract
NETHERLANDS: National passenger operator NS named CAF as preferred bidder to supply its Sprinter New Generation electric multiple-unit fleet on October 30. The Spanish firm beat a rival offer from Alstom. Expected to be finalised in December, the contract would cover approximately 120 EMUs worth €510m, with options for more. ...
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NewsIndian Railways begins wi-fi roll-out
INDIA: Minister of Railways D V Sadananda Gowda has inaugurated Indian Railways’ first station wi-fi installation at Bangalore City, which has been equipped as the pilot for a programme to provide wi-fi at all category A and A1 stations. The RailWire wi-fi programme is being undertaken by the Ministry of ...
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NewsRhein-Ruhr-Express procurement objection rejected
GERMANY: The Münster procurement tribunal has rejected DB Regio’s objections to the decision to call separate passenger service operating and rolling stock provision contracts for the Rhine-Ruhr Express project. A group of four transport authorities led by Rhein-Ruhr body VRR is seeking to award three contracts for the operation ...
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NewsTicket app offers dynamic pricing and tickets for children
UK: Mobile ticketing specialist Corethree has announced its first rail deployment, developing an updated multimodal rail and bus app for Northern Ireland transport body Translink. The app offers bespoke dynamic pricing, enabling Translink to offer short-time promotional fares as well as standard tickets through mobile devices. A purchase delegation or ...
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NewsReal-time train positions from multiple data sources
FRANCE: HaCon has implemented a version of its HAFAS Live Maps real-time train location mapping software for French national passenger operator SNCF which for the first time integrates positioning information from both trackside equipment and GPS. ‘The combination of the two data sources results in the highest possible precision that ...
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News10 expressions of interest in California high speed fleet
USA: By the ‘soft deadline’ of October 22, California High Speed Rail Authority had received 10 responses to its request for expressions of interest in a contract to supply trainsets and a maintenance facility. Responses were submitted by: Alstom Transportation;AnsaldoBreda;Bombardier Transit Corp;CSR Corp;Hyundai Rotem;Marnell Transportation;Kawasaki Rail Car;Siemens Industry;SunGroup USA & ...
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NewsGauge-changing Free Gauge Train on test in Kyushu
JAPAN: JR Kyushu and the Japan Railway Construction Transport & Technology Agency officially launched test running with the gauge-changing Free Gauge Train prototype in a ceremony at Yatsushiro on October 19. Designated Series 9000 by JR Kyushu, the four-car trainset is being tested between Kagoshima-Chuo and Shin-Yatsushiro on the 1 ...
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NewsFirst MTR Express inter-city Flirt on test
SWEDEN: Ahead of the launch of MTR Express Stockholm – Göteborg open access services in March 2015, guests including Railway Gazette joined MTR Nordic and Stadler staff on a test run of the operator’s first Flirt Intercity EMU in Switzerland on October 17. MTR Express is part of the Nordic ...
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NewsAgreement to cut Praha - Linz journey times
EUROPE: Czech infrastructure manager SŽDC and its Austrian counterpart ÖBB Infrastruktur have signed an agreement to cut journey times on the Praha – Linz corridor. Both parties agree that the frequencies and timings are uncompetitive and unsustainable, with a fastest journey time of 4 h 51 min for the 294 ...
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NewsSJ wins Västtågen passenger operating contract
SWEDEN: The Västtrafik, Hallandstrafiken and Länstrafiken transport authorities have awarded national passenger operator SJ a nine-year contract to provide Västtågen commuter and regional services in Göteborg and western Sweden from December 2015 to December 2024. The SKr5bn contract announced on October 14 includes an option for a three-year extension. The ...
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NewsInternational interest in NSW train contract
AUSTRALIA: Seven companies or groups have expressed interest in a A$2·8bn contract to supply and maintain a fleet of electric multiple-units for NSW TrainLink Intercity services, New South Wales Minister for Transport Gladys Berejiklian has announced. They are: Alstom Transport Australia;Bombardier Transportation Australia;CAF;Downer EDI Rail and CNR Changchun Railway Vehicles;Hyundai ...
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NewsVeolia to close InterConnex open access service
GERMANY: The InterConnex open access service between Leipzig, Berlin, Rostock and Warnemünde is to end with the December 14 2014 timetable change, Veolia Verkehr announced on October 14. The first open-access long distance service in Germany was launched in 2002. Veolia Verkehr said the decision to cease operations has ...
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NewsFirst Series H5 Shinkansen trainset arrives in Hokkaido
JAPAN: The first Series H5 trainset for the Hokkaido Shinkansen was delivered to the island on October 13. A welcoming ceremony was held at Haldane Harbour before the vehicles were transferred by road to JR Hokkaido’s Nanae depot. Built by Kawasaki Heavy Industries in Kobe, the trainset had been ...
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NewsUK invites interest in buying 40% stake in Eurostar
EUROPE: The British government formally invited expressions of interest in buying its 40% stake in cross-Channel high speed train operator Eurostar International Ltd on October 13. Potential bidders have until October 31 to respond, with the government saying its key objective is to ‘maximise value for money for the ...
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NewsZSSK seeks locomotives and coaches
SLOVAKIA: National passenger operator ZSSK has called separate tenders for the supply of multi-voltage electric locomotives and coaches. Six four-axle 6·0 MW electric locomotives with a maximum speed of 200 km/h are required to replace ageing Škoda Class 350 locomotives on EC and IC services on the Praha – ...
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NewsWien Hauptbahnhof officially inaugurated
AUSTRIA: Wien Hauptbahnhof was formally inaugurated by President Heinz Fischer when he launched two days of celebrations at the capital's new main station at 10.00 on October 10. The through station integrates north–south and east–west routes including three TEN corridors by replacing the former Südbahnhof and Ostbahnhof termini which ...
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NewsHitachi to build ScotRail EMUs
UK: Hitachi Rail Europe confirmed on October 9 that it has been selected as preferred bidder to supply and maintain a fleet of electric multiple-units for the next ScotRail franchise, which had been awarded to Abellio by Transport Scotland the previous day. Subject to the successful conclusion of negotiations, Hitachi ...
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NewsRDC bids to upgrade the Sylt shuttle
GERMANY: Open access operator RDC Deutschland has submitted proposals to DB Netz for upgrading of the car-carrier shuttle service between Niebüll and Westerland on the island of Sylt. In return for higher access fees that would pay for upgrading of terminals and other infrastructure improvements, RDC Deutschland, the German ...
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NewsAbellio awarded ScotRail franchise
UK: The Abellio subsidiary of Dutch national passenger operator NS has been awarded the next ScotRail franchise, the Scottish Government announced on October 8. Abellio is to take over from current franchisee FirstGroup on April 1 2015. The franchise covers almost all internal passenger services within Scotland, and will run ...