Passenger rail news – Page 207
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NewsHSL-Zuid Traxx locomotive delivered
NETHERLANDS: The first of 19 Traxx F160 MS electric locomotives being built at Bombardier Transportation’s Kassel plant for NS Reizigers arrived in Amsterdam on August 11. The 160 km/h locomotives are to be operated with refurbished ICR coaches on domestic services from Amsterdam to Rotterdam and Eindhoven using the HSL-Zuid ...
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NewsSoftronic launches open access service with Hyperion EMU
ROMANIA: As part of a promotional campaign for its 160 km/h Hyperion electric multiple-unit, the Softrans subsidiary of rolling stock manufacturer Softronic is running a daily Craiova – București – Constanța open access return service between August 1 and September 12. This follows trials undertaken by national operator CFR ...
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NewsČD orders long-distance EMUs ahead of market opening
CZECH REPUBLIC: National passenger operator ČD announced a KC2·6bn order for 14 long-distance electric multiple-units based on Škoda Vagonka’s RegioPanter regional EMU family on August 5. Deliveries are scheduled for 2015-16. The routes the EMUs will be deployed on are still be finalised, but ČD said the order forms part ...
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NewsMetronom wins Niedersachsen-Ost operating contract
GERMANY: The Braunschweig, Niedersachsen and Hannover transport authorities have jointly selected Metronom for a contract to operate Elektro-Netz Niedersachsen-Ost passenger services for 10 years from December 2015. The ENNO contract covers the operation of 2·1 million train-km/year on the Wolfsburg – Gifhorn – Hannover and Wolfsburg – Braunschweig – Hildesheim ...
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NewsDB Regio awarded Allgäu operating contracts
GERMANY: The Länder of Bayern and Baden-Württemberg have awarded DB Regio two contracts to operate Dieselnetz Allgäu passenger services between December 2017 and December 2029. The services were tendered as two lots, with Lot 1 covering regional express services between München, Augsburg and Nürnberg which are to be operated using ...
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NewsIsrael Railways calls tenders for electric locomotives
ISRAEL: Israel Railways has called tenders for the supply of between 62 and 78 electric locomotives, with options for more. These are required as part of ISR’s 25 kV 50 Hz electrification programme. ISR is seeking mixed traffic locomotives with three-phase asynchronous traction equipment. These should be suitable for regenerative ...
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NewsAppeal court ruling provides high speed funding fillip
USA: Three judges of the State Appellate Court in Sacramento ruled on July 31 to support an appeal by California High Speed Rail Authority against a prior judgment blocking the sale of $9·95bn in so-called ‘Proposition 1A’ bonds. Judge Michael Kenny had ruled on November 25 that when Californian voters ...
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NewsÖBB orders more Railjets
AUSTRIA: Siemens announced an €145m order to supply Austrian Federal Railways with a further nine rakes of Railjet push-pull coaches on August 1. Delivery of the seven-car sets is scheduled for December 2016. ‘Thanks to the increased profitability in passenger services, we are able to make this investment on ...
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NewsSNCF orders more Francilien EMUs
FRANCE: SNCF has exercised an option for 22 additional eight-car Francilien electric multiple-units for use on Transilien suburban routes H and K around Paris, Bombardier Transportation announced on July 29. The firm order has been placed under a 2006 agreement for up to 372 units, and takes the total ...
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NewsCompete and co-operate, says HKX
GERMANY: Open access company Hamburg-Köln-Express marked the second anniversary of its operations on July 23, saying it has now carried 800 000 passengers on more than 3 000 trains. The second anniversary is ‘is longer than many observers expected’, said CEO Carsten Carstensen. ‘We’re proud of this success.’ However HKX ...
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NewsWearable journey planners
GERMANY: Scheduling and journey planning software supplier HaCon has opened a ‘Mobility Lab’ in Berlin which will focus on research and development projects. It will look at smart and wearable technologies, and ways of linking up data on different modes of transport. ‘In addition to opening new markets, we ...
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NewsNew fleet boosts Sarmiento capacity
ARGENTINA: On July 21 the first seven nine-car EMUs supplied by CSR of China entered service between Once and Moreno on the Sarmiento commuter route in Buenos Aires. Introduction of the new trainsets has enabled capacity to be increased from 241 536 to 399 233 passengers/day, with the number of ...
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NewsHitachi unveils modular EMU designs
UK: Hitachi Rail Europe unveiled full-size mock-ups of its AT100 and AT200 EMU designs in London on July 21. Aimed primarily at the UK market, the two designs are intended to augment the existing AT300 (Class 395/Class 800) design to create a family of trains. These can be configured using ...
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NewsDutch smart ticket roll-out completed
NETHERLANDS: The much-delayed national roll-out of the OV-chipkaart smart card across the rail network was completed on July 9. All passengers are now required to check in and out at station readers using a ticket with either a smart chip or a printed barcode. Testing of the multimodal smart ...
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NewsSchleswig-Holstein signs Netz Mitte contracts
GERMANY: The Land of Schleswig-Holstein signed operating contracts for Netz Mitte passenger services with DB Regio and Nordbahn on July 16. The two contracts run for 13 years from the December 2014 timetable change. DB Regio has been awarded Contract A, covering regional express services carrying 22 000 passengers/day ...
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NewsQueen opens rebuilt Reading station
UK: The rebuilt station at Reading on Network Rail’s Great Western Main Line was officially inaugurated by Queen Elizabeth II on July 17, marking the completion of a four-year project. The station reconstruction forms a key element in the £897m Reading Station Area Redevelopment programme, which is now expected to ...
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NewsFirst Roca electrification contracts awarded
ARGENTINA: The Ministry of the Interior & Transport has selected Supercemento SAIC as preferred bidder for the first two contracts to be awarded under the project to upgrade and electrify at 25 kV 50 Hz AC the 52⋅6 km between Plaza Constitución and La Plata on the Roca commuter network ...
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NewsBrno region rail development agreed
CZECH REPUBLIC: A memorandum setting out plans to increase access to rail transport in the Jihomoravský region and provide more options for commuting into Brno has been signed by the Ministry of Transport, infrastructure manager SŽDC, the regional authority, three municipalities and regional transport authority Kordis JMK. ...
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NewsNot just the ticket
TICKETS: A second screen showing real-time passenger information and advertisements is incorporated into 70 FareGo Sales ST|40 ticket vending machines which Scheidt & Bachmann has supplied to Bayerische Oberlandbahn. The TVMs also have a touch-screen interface for buying tickets, an ‘eco mode’ to reduce energy consumption and a glass ...