Passenger rail news – Page 237
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NewsLGV Rhin-Rhône opens
FRANCE: The first section of LGV Rhin-Rhône entered service with the timetable change on December 11. The 140 km route between Villiers-les-Pots and Petit-Croix is France's first inter-regional high speed line (RG 10.11 p7). The stations at Besançon Franche-Comté TGV and Belfort-Montbéliard TGV had been officially opened by Minister for ...
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NewsDelhi regional express planned
INDIA: Urban Development Minister Kamal Nath has given approval in principle for a Regional Rapid Transit System in the National Capital Region surrounding Delhi. Due to be integrated with the Delhi Metro, RRTS will serve the Delhi - Gurgaon - Alwar, Delhi - Sonepat - Panipat and Delhi - Ghaziabad ...
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NewsAlstom presents first Italian AGV
ITALY: On November 30 Alstom Transport presented the first of eight AGV.italo high speed trainsets that it is building at its Savigliano works for open access operator Nuovo Trasporti Viaggiatori. NTV has ordered 25 AGV trainsets from Alstom, 17 of which have been produced at the La Rochelle plant in ...
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NewsPanoramic coaches in service at KiwiRail
NEW ZEALAND: Panoramic coaches which KiwiRail describes as 'the first carriages entirely designed and built in New Zealand since 1941' have entered service on the tourist-oriented Christchurch - Picton Coastal Pacific. A total of 17 vehicles including cafe, viewing and luggage cars are being designed and built at KiwiRail's Hillside ...
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NewsDB retained for Rhein-Main S-Bahn
GERMANY: Following a competitive tendering process, Rhein-Main transport authority RMV named DB Regio as the winner of three contracts to operate the region's S-Bahn network of local passenger services on November 16. The contract covering routes S1, S7, S8 and S9 runs for 22 years from December 14 2014, that ...
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NewsReferendum backs Stuttgart 21
GERMANY: Controversial plans to rebuild Stuttgart’s main station look set to go ahead after 59% of voters approved the project in a referendum held by the Land of Baden-Württemberg on November 27. ‘The people have spoken’, said Baden-Württemberg Minister-President Winfried Kretschmann. ‘I accept the results, even if it does not ...
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NewsUS$1bn double-tracking programme to modernise Trans-Java Railway
INDONESIA: Tenders are to be called in December for double-tracking the remaining single sections of the Trans-Java Railway between Jakarta and Surabaya, the Transportation Ministry announced on November 23. The US$1·1bn project calls for doubling of approximately 425 km of single line on the 727 route-km, 1 067 mm gauge ...
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NewsFirst RegioPanter multiple-unit rolled out
CZECH REPUBLIC: Skoda Transportation has rolled out the first of 15 three-car and four two-car Type 7Ev 'RegioPanter' single-deck regional and suburban electric multiple-units which Czech Railways ordered under a KC2·51bn contract signed in February. The partly low-floor air-conditioned vehicles have first and second class seats by Borcad, wheelchair-accessible retention ...
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NewsItalian contract takes Flirt orders to 707
ITALY: South Tirol transport authority STA has exercised a €75m option for Stadler Rail to supply eight six-car Flirt electric multiple-units plus eight intermediate cars to lengthen its four existing four-car units to six cars. Announcing the order on November 22, Stadler said this latest contract takes the total number ...
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NewsAustralia celebrates National Rail Day
AUSTRALIA: To mark the start of the AusRail Plus conference and exhibition in Brisbane, the Australasian Railway Association officially announced its first National Rail Day on November 22. ARA Chief Executive Bryan Nye launched the event at Brisbane Central station with representatives from Queensland Rail. Railway staff around the country ...
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NewsCongress axes inter-city project funding for 2012
USA: The Appropriations Bill setting 2012 funding levels for several government agencies including the Department of Transportation was ratified by both houses of Congress on November 17. The budget sets out the expected level of federal support for existing inter-city rail services run by Amtrak, and outlines funds available for ...
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NewsCEVA project launched
SWITZERLAND: Work on the SFr1·6bn CEVA cross-border regional express project in Genève was officially launched on November 15. The 16 km project will link Genève-Cornavin with Annemasse in France, via stations at Lancy-Pont Rouge, Carouge-Bachet, Champel-Hôpital, Genève Eaux-Vives and Chêne-Bourg. Swiss Transport Minister Doris Leuthard joined SBB Chief Executive ...
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NewsMumbai switches from DC to AC
INDIA: New trains have been ordered and a key section of Western Railway’s main line from Mumbai’s Churchgate terminus switched from 1·5 kV DC to 25 kV 50 Hz operation as part of a Rs5bn programme to eliminate residual DC electrification from the Western and Central Railway networks serving the ...
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NewsCAF to supply EMUs for new Montenegro passenger service
MONTENEGRO: National passenger train operator ŽPCG signed a €13m contract for CAF to supply three electric multiple-units on October 27. The 165-seat units are to be delivered by July 1 2013 and will be used to introduce a passenger service on a 56 km freight line running northwest from ...
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NewsArriva acquires open access operator Grand Central
UK: Arriva plc confirmed on November 4 it that it had acquired open access operator Grand Central Railway for an undisclosed price. Launched in late 2007, Grand Central runs inter-city passenger services from Sunderland and Bradford to London, with around 700 000 passenger-journeys a year. It is to 'remain a ...
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NewsGrowth & the Capacity Challenge: now available to watch on demand
RAILWAY GAZETTE TV: With demand for passenger and freight movement by rail projected to rise significantly over the coming 20 years, infrastructure managers and train operators across Europe are facing the challenge of squeezing extra capacity from busy networks and building new lines despite financial constraints. Railway Gazette International held ...
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NewsMarmaray railway upgrading contract awarded
TURKEY: The Transport Ministry’s Directorate of Railways, Harbours & Airports Construction, DLH, has confirmed the award of contract CR3 for the Marmaray Project in Istanbul. This covers reconstruction of the existing lines which will feed the cross-Bosporus immersed tube tunnel now being fitted out and installation of signalling and automatic ...
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NewsCalifornian high speed plans revised
USA: The California High Speed Rail Authority launched a revised ‘draft business plan’ for its proposed 832 km Phase I of a 400 km/h network connecting San Francisco with Anaheim and Los Angeles. In announcing what it described as a ‘foundation for an economically-viable high speed rail system’, CHSRA has ...
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NewsStation counter-terrorism guideline study launched
EUROPE: The EU-backed Secure Station project has been launched with the aim of producing guidelines to assist station managers, designers and the construction industry in making transport hubs safer and more resilient to terrorist attacks. The three-year project is being undertaken by a group of organisations led by Spanish defence ...
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NewsJeolla upgrade completed
SOUTH KOREA: President Lee Myung-bak joined the celebrations in Yeosu on October 5 to mark the completion of double-tracking and electrification work on KR’s Jeolla line between Iksan and Yeosu. Upgrading of the 180 km route for 180 km/h operation has been brought forward to enable Korail to run ...