Passenger rail news – Page 216
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NewsGySEV Flirts to enter service early
HUNGARY: The first of four Flirt electric multiple-units ordered by cross-border operator GySEV was handed over by Stadler Rail at a ceremony in Sopron on December 6. The European Union's Cohesion Fund met 85% of the €20·3m cost of the order, which was signed on April 13 2012. The first ...
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NewsICE-T fleet refurbishment underway
GERMANY: The first of 42 tilting inter-city trainsets operated by DB has entered DB Fahrzeuginstandhaltung’s Nürnberg workshops under a €30m refurbishment programme running to 2015. The fleet of 11 five-car and 31 seven-car ICE-T trainsets is to receive a series of exterior and internal enhancements, including an external repaint, seat ...
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NewsFleet renewal funded
FRANCE: Transport Minister Frédéric Cuvillier confirmed on December 4 that the government had agreed a funding package allowing SNCF to proceed with an order of 34 inter-city multiple-units. Funding worth €510m, with an option for further investment worth €100m, has been provided for the procurement of 34 Coradia Liner electro-diesel ...
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NewsVeolia wins replacement Öresundståg operating contract
SWEDEN: Veolia Transport Sverige has been awarded the contract to operate Øresund regional passenger services in southern Sweden for five years from December 2014, beating rival bids submitted by Arriva Tåg and SJ. The SKr530m/year contract awarded by the Öresundståg group of six local authorities covers the operation of around ...
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NewsSpanish passenger market to open up in 2014
SPAIN: High speed and other long-distance passenger services on the national network are to be opened up to competition during the first half of 2014, Development Minister Ana Pastor announced on December 3. 'It cannot be done overnight because it would be inefficient for the new entrant and for ...
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NewsUK government contemplates sale of LCR assets and Eurostar stake
UK: The possibility of the UK government selling London & Continental Railways' property assets and its stake in Eurostar International Ltd is raised in the National Infrastructure Plan 2013 published by the Treasury on December 4. Currently wholly-owned by the Department for Transport, LCR is included in the assets which ...
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NewsTianjin - Qinhuangdao high speed line opens
CHINA: The latest section of Passenger-Dedicated Line opened on December 1, linking the city of Tianjin east of Beijing with Qinhuangdao on the coast of the Bohai Sea to the northeast. The 287 km line cuts travel times between the cities by around a half to 1 h 11 min, ...
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NewsNetwork Rail to launch station parcel shops
UK: Infrastructure manager Network Rail is to test the concept of providing parcel collection and dispatch facilities at main stations to capitalise on the growing online retail market. The dedicated parcel shops would be open seven days a week, with customers notified by a mobile app, SMS and e-mail. The ...
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NewsJR East unveils first Series E7 high speed train
JAPAN: The first Series E7 high speed trainset built by Kawasaki Heavy Industries and JR East subsidiary J-TREC was unveiled on November 29. JR East has ordered 17 of the 260 km/h trainsets, while JR West has ordered 10 which it will designate Series W7. Following testing, the first trainsets ...
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News‘MoKaKi’ project breaks ground in Mombasa
KENYA: A ceremony led by President Uhuru Kenyatta in Mombasa on November 28 marked the start of construction of the first phase of the planned 2 937 km standard gauge cross-border corridor linking the Kenyan port city with Kampala in Uganda and the Rwandan capital Kigali. The initial phase of ...
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NewsNew Sarmiento fleet to arrive in February
ARGENTINA: Presenting images of the first of 25 nine-car EMUs to be completed by Chinese supplier CSR for the Sarmiento commuter route in Buenos Aires, Minister of the Interior & Transport Florencio Randazzo confirmed that shipments would start on January 5. ‘In mid-February they are going to be in Argentina’, ...
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NewsRe-engineered EMU offers new train for less
UK: On November 28 leasing company Angel Trains unveiled a re-engineered four-car Class 317 EMU at Bombardier Transportation’s Ilford facility in east London. The concepts demonstrated on the pre-series train, including modernised traction equipment and new interiors, would offer operators the performance, maintenance and passenger ambience benefits of new rolling ...
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NewsBridge boosts capacity in Missouri
USA: Union Pacific Railroad opened a bridge over the Osage River at Jefferson City, Missouri, on November 25 as part of a capacity enhancement programme on the 455 km Kansas City – St Louis route. The 365 m structure carries a double-track alignment and removes one of the most significant ...
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NewsTGVs to Barcelona from December 15
EUROPE: With rolling stock approvals for both national networks now completed under a cross-acceptance regime, RENFE and SNCF are due to start joint international high speed operations on December 15, including a direct service from Paris to Barcelona. Bookings for the new services opened on November 28. There will be ...
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NewsVossloh to supply fastenings to Haramain high speed project
SAUDI ARABIA: Vossloh Fastening Systems announced on November 28 that it had won a €30m contract to supply rail fastenings for the 444 km Haramain high speed line that is to run from Madinah to Jeddah and Makkah. Deliveries are due to start before the end of the year, ...
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NewsCalifornian high speed programme hits funding hurdle
USA: California’s high speed rail programme is facing potentially significant delays following a series of rulings on funding issues by the Sacramento County Supreme Court. The rulings centre on the California High Speed Rail Authority’s plan to use so-called Proposition 1A bonds to part-fund an Initial Operating Segment through the ...
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NewsAbellio unveils Coradia Lint for Wuppertal - Solingen route
GERMANY: The first of nine Coradia Lint 41/H diesel multiple-units which Alstom is supplying for use on the Wuppertal - Solingen route S7 was unveiled in front of 100 invited guests on November 22. 'The new Lints are the right choice for the Bergischen Land', said Ronald Lünser, Director of ...
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NewsMoscow - Kyiv Talgo services to start next year
EUROPE: The Federal Passenger Co business of Russia Railways and Ukrainian national railway UZ have agreed to introduce Talgo rolling stock on two daily Moscow - Kyiv services from the fourth quarter of 2014. Patentes Talgo is currently finishing production of the first 20-car rake of coaches for RZD. This ...
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NewsFresh start for TGV catering
FRANCE: SNCF has embarked upon a progressive renewal of the catering offer on board its TGV services, following the start on November 1 of a new contract awarded to a joint venture of Newrest and Elior. According to Barbara Dalibard, Director General of the long-distance passenger business unit, SNCF ...
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NewsBombardier consortium wins Queensland's New Generation Rollingstock PPP contract
AUSTRALIA: Queensland's Department of Transport & Main Roads has selected the Bombardier NGR Consortium as preferred bidder to supply and maintain 75 six-car electric multiple-units under the New Generation Rollingstock public-private partnership. The EMUs will be used to cater for an increase in passenger services in southeast Queensland and to ...