Passenger rail news – Page 229
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NewsEngineering work from the passenger perspective
UK: The results of research published by Passenger Focus last month include the finding that 55% of respondents claimed that they would not make a journey by rail if part of it was by replacement bus. However, if the train were to be diverted around engineering work, 75% of respondents ...
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NewsTesting starts on northernmost PDL
CHINA: Test running on the Harbin – Dalian Passenger-Dedicated Line commenced on October 8, when the first train was dispatched from the new Harbin West station at 07.30. Designed for operation at up to 350 km/h, the 921 km line has been under construction since August 2007, at a cost ...
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NewsLubelskie orders Pesa DMUs
POLAND: Lubelskie voivodship has signed a contract with a consortium of Pesa and ZNTK MM for the supply of three two-car DMUs to operate the Rejowiec – Zamość/Bełżec, Lublin – Stalowa Wola and Lublin – Lubartów lines. Under the deal valued at 24m złoty, the first unit is due to ...
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NewsZhengzhou - Wuhan high speed line opens
CHINA: Completion of the latest phase of the Beijing - Guangzhou Passenger Dedicated Line was marked with simultaneous departures of 380AL trainsets from each end of the Zhengzhou - Wuhan section at 08.59 on September 28. The 536 km route links Wuhan in Hubei province with the city of Zhengzhou, ...
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NewsJR East restores Tokyo’s historic station building
JAPAN: East Japan Railway reopened the historic station building at Tokyo Station on October 1 following a five-year restoration costing ¥50bn. A formal ceremony on September 30 to mark the occasion was cancelled because of an impending typhoon. One of the Japanese capital’s most famous buildings, the 335-m long station ...
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NewsAll franchising on hold as InterCity West Coast award cancelled
UK: Secretary of State for Transport Patrick McLoughlin has commissioned an urgent review of the franchise tendering programme, following the discovery of significant failings in the bidding process for the InterCity West Coast franchise which was due to change hands on December 9. The Department of Transport had selected FirstGroup ...
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NewsReliveried TGV POS spearheads Lyria expansion
EUROPE: Franco-Swiss train operator Lyria SAS unveiled a new look on September 25, presenting in Paris the first of 19 refurbished TGV POS sets which it is acquiring to operate an expanded range of cross-border services between France and Switzerland. Originally established as a joint venture between the two state ...
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NewsDB orders more Twindexx Vario electric multiple-units
GERMANY: Deutsche Bahn announced a €50m firm order for a further five Bombardier Transportation Twindexx Vario double-deck electric multiple-units on October 1. Delivery is scheduled to start in the second half of 2014. The four and five-car 160 km/h EMUs will be used on regional services south from the ...
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NewsSumitomo selected for four-state coach contract
USA: The California, Illinois, Michigan and Missouri state departments of transportation have selected Sumitomo Corp of America for a jointly-awarded contract to supply 130 double-deck coaches. Sumitomo Corp submitted a bid of $352·3m, and was named the preferred choice on September 26. The contract is expected to be finalised in ...
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NewsJR Central unveils N700A high speed train
JAPAN: JR Central has unveiled its next generation of high speed trains to operate on the Tokaido and Sanyo Shinkansen, which is expected to enter revenue service from February 8 2013. Unveiled at the railway's Hammamatsu depot on September 18, the new trains are officially designated Series N700-1000, but are ...
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NewsIsrael Railways orders double-deck coaches
ISRAEL: Israel Railways has awarded Bombardier Transportation a firm order to supply a further 72 double-deck coaches between March 2014 and February 2015. The €122m contract announced on September 26 was placed within a framework agreement signed in October 2010. ISR has now ordered a total of 222 vehicles under ...
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NewsRebuilt Ådalsbanan officially reopened
SWEDEN: Minister for Infrastructure Catharina Elmsäter-Svärd officially opened the upgraded Ådalsbanan between Sundsvall and the southern end of the Botniabanan on September 14. The minister marked the event by inserting the last piece in a jigsaw puzzle map of the Stockholm – Umeå route. During the course of the SKr6·6bn ...
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NewsCasablanca – Kénitra upgrading starts
MOROCCO: A ceremony on September 25 attended by King Mohammed VI marked the start of modernisation of the Casablanca – Kénitra main line to increase capacity by around 50%. National railway ONCF has cited strong growth in passenger numbers on the Tanger – Marrakech axis in recent ...
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NewsDesert Hawk passenger locomotive mock-up on show
INNOTRANS: Vossloh Rail Vehicles displayed a mock-up of the front end of a 'Desert Hawk' passenger locomotive concept which it has developed in response to recent and expected future calls for tenders in the Middle East, including a reported joint venture with CAF for Saudi Arabia. The proposed locomotive would ...
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NewsPPP for new GO Transit maintenance facility
CANADA: On September 20 the federal government and the province of Ontario announced their support for a public-private partnership to build a new rolling maintenance facility for commuter operator GO Transit in Whitby. The federal government is to provide up to C$94⋅8m and Ontario 75% of the final project cost. ...
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NewsNetinera orders 63 regional trains from Alstom
GERMANY: Regional rail operator Netinera signed an order for 63 Alstom Coradia Lint diesel multiple-units at InnoTrans on September 19. The contract is worth almost €300m and includes 45 Lint 54 DMUs with 160 seats, and 18 Lint 81 units offering 270 seats. The DMUs will enter traffic from December ...
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NewsDB signs DMU framework deals with Pesa
GERMANY: Deutsche Bahn has signed two framework contracts with Polish manufacturer Pesa to build up to 470 DMUs for regional and local services. The deals were inked at the InnoTrans exhibition on September 19 by Dr Volker Kefer, DB’s Board Member for Technology & Infrastructure, Ulrich Homburg, Board Member ...
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NewsGE Transportation enters the 1520 passenger market
KAZAKHSTAN: National railway KTZ and GE Transportation signed a contract for 110 Evolution series passenger locomotives at InnoTrans on September 19. The diesel locomotives are to be based on the successful TE33A freight locomotives used in Kazakhstan. Modifications for passenger service will include raising the maximum speed to 160 km/h. ...
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NewsBombardier to supply components for Haramain High Speed Rail trains
SAUDI ARABIA: Bombardier Transportation has announced contracts worth €281m to provide Mitrac 3000 traction and control packages and Flexx Power 350 power car bogies for the 36 Talgo 350 trainsets which Talgo is to supply for the 444 km Haramain High Speed Rail project. Announcing the contracts on September 18, ...
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NewsStainless steel EMU on test
INDIA: BEML has begun delivering a development batch of 10 nine-car electric multiple-units built to a revised design which features stainless steel car bodies. Indian Railways is planning to use the new design to gradually replace existing steel EMUs in Kolkata, Delhi, Mumbai and Chennai which suffer from corrosion. The ...