Passenger rail news – Page 238
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NewsSlaskie goes it alone
POLAND: A new passenger operator was launched on October 1 when Koleje Slaskie began Czestochowa - Katowice - Gliwice local services, plus a weekend train to Wisla. KS is owned by Slaskie voivodship, which was unhappy at its share of the subsidy for Polish regional train operator PR increasing from ...
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NewsWest Coast franchise extended
UK: On October 27 the Department for Transport announced an eight-month extension of the franchise to operate InterCity West Coast services which is held by Virgin Trains. Virgin Trains is a joint venture of Virgin Group and Stagecoach, and its franchise will now run to December 9 2012, rather ...
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NewsPPP model to fund Moscow – St Petersburg high speed line
RUSSIA: The Russian government has confirmed its support for a public-private partnership backed by Russian Railways to construct a 658 km high speed line between Moscow and St Petersburg. Speaking in London on October 20, Denis Muratov, Chief Executive of RZD’s high speed rail agency Skorostnye Magistrali, ...
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NewsAbellio awarded Greater Anglia franchise
UK: The Department for Transport named Abellio Greater Anglia Ltd as the winner of the Greater Anglia (Short) passenger train operating franchise on October 20. Following the required procurement standstill period, the Nederlandse Spoorwegen subsidiary will be formally appointed on November 1. The short franchise runs for ...
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NewsIndia to increase LHB coach production
INDIA: Indian Railways plans to switch its entire coach production to the LHB design by the end of the 2012-17 five year plan, according to Minister of State for Railways KH Muniyappa. Approval has been given for upgrading the Kapurthala Rail Coach Factory and the Integral Coach Factory in ...
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NewsMadrid - Barcelona at 310 km/h with ETCS Level 2
SPAIN: The journey times of four high speed services between Madrid and Barcelona are to be cut to 2 h 30 min from October 24, following the commissioning of ETCS Level 2 signalling between Madrid and Lleida. Commissioning between Lleida and Barcelona is scheduled for December, when more services will ...
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NewsIR launches air-conditioned double-deck stock
INDIA: The first Indian Railways double-deck rolling stock to feature air-conditioning was officially launched by Minister of Railways Dinesh Trivedi at Howrah station on October 1. The Ministry of Railways said the successful development of an air-conditioned version of the double-deck stock by the Research Development & Standard Organisation and ...
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NewsProgressive Pesa pushes into new markets
POLAND: Rolling stock supplier Pesa Bydgoszcz has won a contract to build a self-propelled infrastructure inspection vehicle for use by Russian Railways. The deal was signed at the Trako trade fair in Gdansk on October 12 by Pesa’s President & Director General Tomas Zaboklicki and RZD Vice-President Valentin Gapanovich. Zabolicki ...
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NewsDB Regio wins Dieselnetz Nordthüringen tender
GERMANY: The Land of Thüringen's transport ministry awarded DB Regio the Dieselnetz Nordthüringen passenger operating contract on October 7, saying the bid was selected on the basis of quality and efficiency. Running for 12 years from December 2013, the contract covers the operation of 2·6 million train-km/year on routes ...
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NewsThello brings open access to France
EUROPE: From October 17 customers will be able to book berths on the first open-access passenger service to operate on the French network, an overnight train from Paris to Venezia that is to be introduced on December 11 by the Thello joint venture of Veolia Transdev and Trenitalia. Announcing the ...
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NewsFederal funding to upgrade Chicago – Detroit
USA: Federal Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood announced on October 5 the award of a US$196·5m grant to Michigan Department of Transportation for track and signalling improvements on the Kalamazoo – Dearborn section of the Chicago – Detroit line, which are intended to cut Amtrak journey times between the two cities ...
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NewsRishon Le-Ziyyon West line opens
ISRAEL: Revenue services began running on the new suburban line between Tel Aviv Ha'agana and Rishon Le-Ziyyon Moshe Dayan on September 26, after industrial action over plans to outsource rolling stock maintenance disrupted the formal inauguration scheduled for the previous day. Transport Minister Yisrael Katz and ISR General Manager Boaz ...
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NewsC4Ks start running to Larne
UK: Northern Ireland’s Transport Minister Danny Kennedy joined the celebrations on October 3 to mark the entry into service on the Belfast – Larne route of the first of Translink’s new Class 4000 DMUs. The 20 three-car units are being supplied by CAF under the operator’s £150m New Trains Programme, ...
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NewsEMD to produce passenger demonstrator loco
USA: Electro-Motive Diesel announced the development of a 200 km/h ‘next generation’ diesel passenger locomotive for the North American market at APTA Expo 2011 in New Orleans on October 3. The design is being produced on a speculative basis, and a prototype is to be rolled out during 2014. The ...
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NewsČD closes Railjet deal
CZECH REPUBLIC: State-owned operator ČD finally signed a €200m deal with Austrian Federal Railways and Siemens Mobility on September 30 under which it will acquire 16 Viaggio Comfort (Railjet) push-pull trainsets using an option on ÖBB’s original contract with Siemens which was no longer required by the Austrians. Announced in ...
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NewsSkoda 109 E2 ready for trials
SLOVAKIA: This month Skoda Transportation will begin trials with the first of two Type 109 E2 three-voltage electric locomotives ordered by ZSSK for €4·8m. It is expected to enter regular service in December, with the second to follow in June 2012. The 6·4 MW Class 381 is derived from the ...
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NewsCeremony launches Tanger – Casablanca high speed project
MOROCCO: A foundation stone was laid in Tanger on September 29 to mark the start of construction of a high speed line to Casablanca. The ceremony was attended by King Mohammed VI and French President Nicolas Sarkozy, reflecting the close relationship between the two countries which has underpinned the project ...
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NewsRegioJet launch brings inter-city competition
CZECH REPUBLIC: Open access operator RegioJet launched services between Praha and Havírov on September 26, breaking Czech Railways' monopoly on long-distance passenger services by competing directly with CD's premium Pendolino service. RegioJet is initially running three trains each way per day, calling at nine intermediate stations including Ostrava-Hlavní, Olomouc and ...
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NewsCameroon orders Chinese coaches
CAMEROON: CSR Nanjing Puzhen Rolling Stock has won a contract to supply 38 metre-gauge coaches including sleeping, dining and baggage cars to Cameroon. Announcing the deal on September 20, the manufacturer said it was its third passenger rolling stock order from Africa, after contracts to supply coaches to Guinea and ...
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NewsSt Gallen upgrade agreement signed
SWITZERLAND: A letter of intent to go ahead with the Durchmesserlinie Appenzell - St Gallen - Trogen project to upgrade and connect the Trogen and Appenzell railways in St Gallen was signed by operator Appenzeller Bahnen and three cantons on September 12. The metre-gauge lines are both operated by Appenzeller ...