Passenger rail news – Page 228
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NewsCoaches designed for a long and cold run
CHINA: Drawing on vehicles developed for the Lhasa route, CSR Qingdao Sifang is building a family of 120 km/h passenger coaches to replace K3 and K4 cars operated on services from Beijing to Ulaanbaatar and Moscow. The 13-day round trip requires vehicles able to cope with sandstorms as well as ...
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NewsRail motorway, electrification and passenger plans announced
FRANCE: Visiting Boulogne-sur-Mer on November 12, Transport Minister Frédéric Cuvillier announced that a third piggyback service is to be launched to connect Bayonne near the Spanish border with Dourges south of Lille. Expected to start operations around 2015, the Autoroute Ferroviairie Atlantique would run via Bordeaux and Longueau. Cuvillier also ...
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NewsNSB orders more Stadler Flirts
NORWAY: Government guarantees which will allow national passenger operator NSB to purchase a further 16 Stadler Flirt electric multiple-units were announced by Transport Minister Marit Arnstad on November 15. The new EMUs will be the Class 75 commuter version of the NSB Flirt family, and are to replace older Class ...
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NewsLEO Express carries first passengers
CZECH REPUBLIC: Open access inter-city operator LEO Express launched its first passenger-carrying services between Praha and Ostrava on November 13. The trial service of two round trips a day runs until November 16, as part of the final stage of the approvals process for its fleet of five Stadler Flirt ...
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NewsSouthern plans EMU order to support rolling stock cascade programme
UK: Southern announced on November 14 that is developing proposals in conjunction with the Department for Transport to procure 116 electric multiple-unit cars, with an option for a further 100. Procurement would be undertaken through the Link-Up system. An order for new vehicles would assist DfT in the rolling stock ...
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NewsEuroMaint Rail expands to undertake coach project
SWEDEN: This month EuroMaint is to begin work on a contract to refurbish 55 second class coaches for national passenger operator SJ. The project will run until the first quarter of 2014, and is an option on a deal for the refurbishment of 160 coaches undertaken in 2009-11. Seats and ...
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NewsFirst Vectron handed over to Railpool
GERMANY: The first of six Vectron electric locomotives ordered by leasing company Railpool was formally handed over by Siemens Rail Systems Division CEO Dr Jochen Eickholt on November 7. The Railpool joint venture of HSH Nordbank and KfW IPEX-Bank was the first customer for the Vectron modular locomotive family, placing ...
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NewsAlstom to maintain Turkish high speed train fleet
TURKEY: State railway TCDD has awarded Alstom a €22·3m two-year contract to service and maintain its fleet of 12 six-car CAF high speed trains. The 250 km/h trainsets entered service from 2009, and are deployed on the 245 km Ankara - Eskisehir and 310 km Ankara - Konya routes. They ...
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NewsAlstom to refit Boston fleets
USA: Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority has awarded Alstom Transport two rolling stock modernisation contracts with a total value of €170m. The work is to be undertaken at Alstom's plant in Hornell, New York, with at least 80% US content. The first of the contracts announced on November 1 covers the ...
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NewsFrench reforms will focus on streamlining infrastructure management
FRANCE: Speaking at celebrations in Paris on October 30 to mark the 75th anniversary of SNCF, Transport Minister Frédéric Cuvillier outlined his thinking on the forthcoming reform of the rail sector, following the ‘national debate’ held last year. Structural reforms to create ‘a French model’ are explored in a ...
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NewsSuperVia orders 60 suburban EMUs
BRAZIL: The governor of Rio de Janeiro state signed a US$306·5m firm order for 60 four-car electric multiple-units on October 24. The 3 kV DC air-conditioned units are scheduled to be delivered from June 2014 for use SuperVia suburban services. The contract was signed with a consortium of China National ...
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NewsIndia plans inter-city EMUs to raise speeds
INDIA: The Ministry of Railways is developing plans to procure electric multiple-units to raise average speeds on Indian Railways' premium inter-city routes under a strategy to provide 'safer, faster, cleaner and comfortable' passenger trains The EMUs would be suitable for running at speeds of 130 to 160 km/h on Shatabdi ...
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NewsPrivate passenger operators in six years
UKRAINE: Private companies could be involved in the Ukrainian passenger rail market within six years, according to Minister of Infrastructure Borys Kolesnikov. Speaking at the inauguration of the renovated Slavyansk station on the Donetsk Railway on October 22, Kolesnikov said current passenger operations are not profitable, and it would not ...
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NewsChiltern Railways gets powers for Oxford to London project
UK: The Secretary of State for Transport has granted legal powers under the Transport & Works Act for the £130m Evergreen 3 project to provide a new route between London and Oxford, Chiltern Railways announced on October 18. A short chord linking the London - Bicester North - Banbury and ...
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NewsBombardier to operate Maryland commuter services
USA: Bombardier has been awarded a contract to operate Maryland Transit Administration's MARC Train commuter services on the Camden and Brunswick lines into Washington DC. Bombardier's tender of $204·7m for the five year eight month contract undercut rival bids from Keolis and Veolia. The handover period is expected to take ...
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NewsAlstom to supply EFE’s new train fleet
CHILE: State railway EFE announced on October 18 that it has selected Alstom to supply 12 EMUs for its Santiago – Rancagua route. Representing an investment of US$68m, the five-year contract includes maintenance and an option for the supply of a further eight trainsets, and can be extended up to ...
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NewsBengbu - Hefei high speed line opens
CHINA: The 132 km Bengbu - Hefei high speed line entered service on October 16, with the departure at 08.10 of trains G263 from Beijing South and G262 from Hefei. The north-south line links Bengbu on the Beijing - Shanghai Passenger-Dedicated Line with Hefei and the east-west high speed line ...
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NewsUpdate on new Eurostar trains
EUROPE: Eurostar provided an update on its £700m fleet investment programme on October 18, saying production of the 10 new Siemens Velaro e320 trainsets at Krefeld which began last year was progressing well. The first of its existing fleet of high speed trainsets is now undergoing a ...
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NewsJapan to fund four-tracking in West Java
INDONESIA: Work is expected to begin by the end of the month to increase capacity on a congested mixed-traffic corridor in the suburbs of Jakarta. Central to the project is the four tracking and resignalling of the current 32 route-km double-track alignment between Manggarai and Cikarang. State ...
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NewsDfT plans interim West Coast franchise
UK: The Department for Transport announced on October 15 that it intended to launch a competition for an interim franchise to operate the Inter-City West Coast franchise, following Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin’s decision on October 3 to cancel the previous refranchising round due to ‘significant technical flaws’. Open to ‘all ...