Passenger rail news – Page 232
-
NewsDB orders 38 Coradia Lint regional DMUs
GERMANY: Deutsche Bahn has signed a €160m contract for 38 Alstom Coradia Lint regional diesel multiple-units, which will be used on Dieselnetz Südwest services in Rheinland-Pfalz, Hesse and Baden-Württemberg from 2015. The contract announced on June 28 includes 14 DMUs with 112 seats ordered under a framework agreement signed in ...
-
NewsTrenitalia and Amadeus sign distribution agreement
ITALY: Trenitalia has signed a retail and distribution agreement with transaction processing specialist Amadeus Rail to market its inter-city services internationally using the Amadeus Global Distribution System. Initially covering the Frecce Alta Velocità suite of long-distance services using RFI’s high speed network, the agreement will give Trenitalia ...
-
NewsReforms proposed to cut SNCB losses
BELGIUM: In a bid to address the growing debts and operating losses incurred by the national railway, Minister of Public Enterprises Paul Magnette has announced proposals to abolish SNCB-Holding and split the business into two stand-alone companies, operator SNCB and infrastructure manager Infrabel. Last year the group’s accumulated debts reached ...
-
NewsPrototype 220 km/h trainset on test
UKRAINE: Testing is underway with the first of two prototype 220 km/h inter-regional electric multiple-units being built by Kriukov Car Building Works for national railway UZ. The nine-car units are rated at 4 MW, and equipped for operation on lines electrified at 3 kV DC and 25 kV 50 ...
-
NewsUse Rabbit, get Carrots
THAILAND: Bangkok Smartcard System Co has launched the 'Rabbit' smart card as a common ticketing platform for the city's public transport systems. It is also a stored-value electronic purse that can be used at more than 20 retail outlets. BSS is part of BTS Group Holdings, with Bangkok Bank as ...
-
NewsAlstom awarded Stockholm train contract
SWEDEN: Greater Stockholm transport authority Storstockholms Lokaltrafik has placed a €440m order for Alstom to supply a further 46 Coradia Nordic electric multiple-units. The contract announced on June 15 means SL has now ordered 129 Coradia Nordic EMUs under a framework agreement signed in 2002. Alstom has sold a total ...
-
NewsStadler rolls out latest Arriva Nederland multiple-units
NETHERLANDS: The first of 14 Stadler GTW electric multiple-units ordered by Arriva Nederland for use on Vechtdal Lines services was rolled out by the Swiss manufacturer on June 12. Arriva Nederland placed a €140m order for 38 diesel and electric units in June 2010, taking the total number of GTWs ...
-
NewsMacedonian Railways launches fleet renewal programme
MACEDONIA: National train operator MZ Transport has announced details of a planned fleet renewal programme. Tenders are to be called in the third quarter of 2012 for the supply of up to four three-car diesel multiple-units, two three-car electric multiple-units, 150 wagons, the rehabilitation of three electric locomotives and the ...
-
News€870m upgrade to increase RER capacity and reliability
FRANCE: Meeting on June 6, the board of Ile-de-France transport authority STIF approved a package of measures to increase capacity and improve reliability on RER Line A, which it says is 'the busiest line in Europe'. A total of €630m is to be spent on infrastructure, including bringing forward ...
-
NewsTrenord orders Alstom commuter EMUs
ITALY: Lombardia regional passenger operator Trenord announced a €67m order for 10 five-car Alstom Coradia Meridian electric multiple-units on June 11. The order is an option on a contract for 14 EMUs which Alstom supplied for Malpensa airport services, but the latest batch will have an interior configured for commuter ...
-
NewsResearching smarter transit
USA: Under a five-year programme, Cubic Transportation Systems and the University of California at San Diego are to launch a ‘collaborative partnership’ to study next-generation transport technology in cities, with a strong focus on contactless payments and passenger information systems. Cubic has underwritten the partnership with a $500000 grant to ...
-
NewsUpdated BiLevel coaches ordered for GO Transit
CANADA: Toronto regional transport agency Metrolinx has awarded Bombardier Transportation a C$200m order to supply commuter operator GO Transit with 60 double-deck coaches to an updated version of Bombardier's BiLevel design. The contract was announced by Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty on May 25 during a visit to Bombardier's Thunder Bay ...
-
NewsLeo Express recruitment campaign oversubscribed
CZECH REPUBLIC: Open access operator Leo Express reports that its recruitment campaign to find 80 staff ahead of its launch in December has been heavily oversubscribed. More than 800 people applied for the various positions on offer, many of which are customer-facing, such as call centre staff or onboard service ...
-
NewsEuroAirport station proposed in cross-border passenger plan
EUROPE: Plans for a direct rail connection to EuroAirport Basel Mulhouse Freiburg and the extension of Swiss regional services across the border to Mulhouse in France are included a memorandum of understanding which was signed by SBB, SNCF, the region of Alsace and the cantons of Aargau, Basel-Landschaft and Basel-Stadt ...
-
NewsChiltern Railways puts refurbished Mk III coaches into service
UK: On May 28 Chiltern Railways put into service the first of four rakes of Mk III coaches that are being heavily refurbished and equipped with sliding plug doors. Deployed on London Marylebone - Birmingham Moor Street services, the Mk IIIs are marshalled between a Class 67 locomotive and a ...
-
NewsSochi’s swallow starts to fly
RUSSIA: Trial running has started in Sochi with the first of 38 Lastochka EMUs being supplied by Siemens in time for the 2014 Winter Olympic & Paralympic Games. The multiple-unit was due to be presented to RZD Vice-President Valentin Gapanovich and Transport Minister Maxim Sokolov by the ...
-
NewsTaiwan High Speed Rail Corp orders more trains
TAIWAN: Taiwan High Speed Rail Corp has ordered a further four Series 700T trainsets from a consortium of Japanese firms Kawasaki Heavy Industries and Toshiba Corp. The 12-car trains designed for 300 km/h operation are scheduled to be delivered between December 2012 and November 2015. They will enable THSRC to ...
-
NewsMasabi to launch smartphone ticketing in Boston
USA: Mobile ticketing technology company Masabi is supplying Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority with what it says will be the USA’s first smartphone rail ticketing system. Masabi is to provide iPhone, Android and BlackBerry apps, back-end servers, payment integration and barcode validation software for onboard staff. A pilot will begin shortly, ...
-
NewsBuenos Aires commuter railway concession revoked
ARGENTINA: Federal Planning Minister Julio De Vido announced on May 24 that Trenes de Buenos Aires would be stripped of its concession to operate the Sarmiento and Mitre commuter networks. The decision to revoke the concession by means of a presidential decree had been taken because of inadequate rolling ...
-
NewsDonetsk station rebuild completed
UKRAINE: National railway UZ officially completed an extensive modernisation of the main station in Donetsk on May 22. The project has been undertaken to increase capacity from 15 000 to more than 35 000 passengers/day, shorten walking distances, improve links to local transport and increase accessibility for users with ...