Passenger rail news – Page 242
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NewsDesign your own ticket
SWEDEN: Passengers on Stockholm's local transport network can now design a personalised smart card ticket featuring their own choice of image, using Gemalto's AllAboutMe service on Storstockholms Lokaltrafik's website. Passengers ordering a smart card can upload a personal photo from their home computer, or select a picture from a gallery. ...
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NewsPresidential opening for Praha Hlavní
CZECH REPUBLIC: The rebuilt entrance hall at Praha Hlavní station was formally opened by the Czech and Italian presidents on April 14. A KC1·15bn modernisation of the city's main station has been undertaken by Grandi Stazioni, an FS Group company which has leased the commercial and retail spaces for 30 ...
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NewsPassenger trains return to Jamaica
JAMAICA: Passenger services are set to restart in the first week of July, following an inaugural train from May Pen to Linstead on April 16 which carried 200 guests including schoolchildren enjoying their first train ride. Transport & Works Minister Michael Henry cut a ribbon to mark ...
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NewsHigh Speed in the UK: Making the Case
UK: With the government embarked on an extensive programme of public consultation for the proposed High Speed 2 between London, Birmingham, Manchester and Leeds, Railway Gazette International will be holding a live debate on Wednesday June 8 to discuss the prospects for high speed rail development in ...
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NewsWest Yorkshire DMUs sold to Porterbrook
UK: Porterbrook Leasing announced on May 23 that it had completed the purchase of the seven two-car Class 155 diesel multiple-units and 10 Class 144 DMU centre cars from Metro, the West Yorkshire Passenger Transport Executive. The vehicles are currently leased by Northern Rail which will continue to operate them ...
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NewsPomeranian Metropolitan Railway funding agreed
POLAND: The project to introduce a local service between Gdansk, Gdansk Airport and Gdynia has received additional funding from the EU's Operational Programme Infrastructure & Environment, meaning the EU will meet 612m zloty of the 914m zloty cost of the works. The project involves a mix of reopenings and new ...
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NewsDenton – Dallas A-Train services to start in June
USA: Denton County Transportation Authority has officially designated June 20 as the start of revenue service on its 33·8 km A-Train commuter line between Denton and the DART Green Line station at Trinity Mills in Carrollton. The opening will be kicked off with community-wide celebrations on June 18. Construction is ...
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NewsNew Jersey Transit unveils first ALP-45 loco
USA: May 11 saw the unveiling at Newark Penn Station of the first of 26 ALP-45 electro-diesel locomotives ordered by New Jersey Transit nearly three years ago from Bombardier.The dual-mode locos were originally intended to optimise service through the new trans-Hudson tunnels between northern New Jersey and Manhattan then being ...
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NewsBeijing - Shanghai high speed test runs begin
CHINA: Trial running over the full length of the Beijing - Shanghai high speed line began on May 11, with CRH380A trainsets being used for a month of staff familiarisation, fault simulation and emergency drills before the opening ceremony which is planned for the end of June. The 1 ...
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NewsKTX-Sancheon trainset withdrawn over safety fears
SOUTH KOREA: One of Korail's domestically-built high speed trainsets was pulled out of service on May 11 after a faulty equipment mounting was discovered four days earlier. Fearing that a major traction component could fall off and cause a derailment, Korail decided to withdraw the trainset, which is to be ...
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NewsFirstGroup declines Greater Western franchise extension
UK: The Greater Western franchise to operate inter-city passenger trains between London, Bristol, South Wales and the West of England, plus suburban and regional services, is likely to be put out to tender next year, following confirmation that incumbent operator FirstGroup has decided not to take up its option for ...
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NewsWagons-Lits under the hammer
FRANCE: Having disposed of its remaining train catering interests to Newrest last year, the French Accor hotels group has now announced plans to dispose of the historic assets that it acquired with the takeover of the Compagnie Internationale des Wagons-Lits. The company has called in Christies to auction ...
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NewsSBB takes up Flirt option
SWITZERLAND: SBB has exercised an option with Stadler Bussnang for a further 13 Flirt electric multiple-units to be delivered in 2012-13. The SFr128m order announced on May 9 is being partly funded by the cantons of Bern, Luzern and Solothurn. Seven of the 15 kV AC units will be used ...
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NewsLaHood confirms recipients for Florida’s rejected high speed grants
USA: Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood announced further high-speed rail grants totalling US$2bn on May 9, reallocating the funding previously allocated for the Orlando – Tampa project in Florida which was rejected by the state’s governor. According to DoT, 24 states, the District of Columbia and Amtrak submitted nearly 100 applications ...
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NewsDB and Siemens sign ICx contract
GERMANY: A multi-billion euro contract for the supply of up to 300 high-speed trains was signed by DB Chief Executive Dr Rüdiger Grübe and Siemens AG CEO Peter Löscher in a ceremony on May 9. The event took place at DB’s Potsdam training centre – the former Kaiserbahnhof – and ...
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NewsEuropean Commission adopts TAP TSI timetable and fare standards
EUROPE: On May 5 the European Commission formally adopted the Telematics Applications for Passenger Services Technical Specifications for Interoperability, designed to ensure key timetable and ticketing information can be exchanged between EU rail companies and ticket vendors (RG 1.11 p61). TAP TSI requires the provision of computerised fare and timetable ...
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NewsEDI Rail-Bombardier selected for train maintenance contract
AUSTRALIA: The government of Western Australia has named EDI Rail-Bombardier Transportation (Maintenance) Pty Ltd as preferred bidder for a contract to maintain and clean Public Transport Authority's entire fleet of 1 067 mm gauge diesel and electric multiple-units. The contract covers 239 units and will replace the current arrangement whereby ...
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NewsBusiness leaders push for faster liberalisation
FRANCE: Business leaders in Nord-Pas de Calais have expressed frustration at the slow rate of progress in expanding the European high speed rail network. Speaking to Railway Gazette International on May 3, Thierry Mabille de Poncheville, Managing Director of the Lille business promotion agency APIM, said that he was ‘very ...
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NewsSecond cross-city line goes ahead
GERMANY: Preliminary works for construction of a second S-Bahn cross-city line in München are to start this year. This follows signature of an agreement on April 8 to fund the €1·77bn project which is due for completion in 2017 in time for the 2018 Olympic Winter Games, should München be ...
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NewsLombardia regional operator Trenord launched with €250m train tender
ITALY: The Trenitalia-LeNord joint venture created to run regional passenger services in Lombardia was officially branded as Trenord on April 29, marking the end of the 'experimental' phase which has seen the Lombardia division of national passenger operator Trenitalia merged with the LeNord services of long-established regional operator FNM. The ...