Passenger rail news – Page 249
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NewsDSB wins fifth Swedish passenger contract
SWEDEN: Upplands Lokaltrafik has awarded DSB Uppland a 10½ year contract to operate Upptåget local passenger services from June 12 2011. The new operator is a subsidiary of Danish national passenger operator DSB's Swedish business DSB Svergie. The contract announced on October 21 covers the 157 km route north from ...
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NewsSão Paulo orders Alstom suburban trains
BRAZIL: São Paulo suburban train operator CPTM has awarded Alstom Transport a €80m contract to supply nine electric multiple-units for Line 11 Expresso Leste services, the manufacturer announced on October 19. Part of Alstom's Metropolis range, the eight-car 1 600 mm gauge 3 kV DC units will be produced at ...
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NewsDB ready to link London with Amsterdam and Frankfurt
EUROPE: Deutsche Bahn expects to launch regular services from London to Frankfurt and Amsterdam in 2013, DB Chairman Rüdiger Grube confirmed on October 19, presenting an ICE3 trainset at St Pancras station for the first time. Grube was joined for the announcement by UK Minister of State ...
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News
First new Stansted Express train rolls out
UK: The first of 30 four-car Class 379 electric multiple-units ordered for National Express East Anglia services from London Liverpool Street to Stansted Airport and Cambridge was unveiled at Bombardier Transportation's Derby plant on October 14. Although part of the Electrostar family, the Class 379 incorporates a number of technical ...
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NewsMadrid - Valencia high speed line opening dates confirmed
SPAIN: High speed services are due to start running from Madrid to Cuenca and Albacete on December 15, and to Requena-Utiel and Valencia on December 18, Development Minister José Blanco has announced. On October 13 Blanco joined ADIF President Antonio González, RENFE President Teófilo Serrano and local politicians onboard ...
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NewsA DMU in Provence
FRANCE: CFD has delivered a further two AM800 DMUs for the Chemins de Fer de la Provence route between Nice and Digne, operated by Veolia. The Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region has ordered a total of four AM800s for the 1000 mm gauge line at a cost of €159m, similar to ...
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NewsDB prepares for Channel Tunnel tests
EUROPE: As part of its bid to introduce ICE services between Germany and London by the end of 2013, Deutsche Bahn is preparing to undertake evacuation trials in the Channel Tunnel over the next few days. A pair of Class 406 ICE3 sets was dispatched from the Griesheim workshops ...
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NewsISR orders more double-deckers
ISRAEL: General Manager Yitzhak Harel confirmed on October 11 that the Israel Railways’ tender committee had awarded a US$195m contract to Bombardier Transportation for a further 78 push-pull double-deck coaches. Having supplied ISR’s first generation of double-deck vehicles for the expanding suburban routes around Tel Aviv, Bombardier was selected ahead ...
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NewsLuxembourg orders Stadler double-deck trains
LUXEMBOURG: State railway CFL announced an €60m order for eight Stadler Rail double-deck electric multiple-units on October 7. CFL said they will be similar to the double-deck units ordered by Swiss operators SBB and BLS, which Stadler Rail launched under the brand name KISS during InnoTrans. The ...
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News320 km/h train order as Eurostar sets sights on expansion
EUROPE: Cross-Channel high speed train operator Eurostar announced details on October 7 of a £700m investment programme to expand the business and 'compete in an open access market' across Europe. The first major development since the former joint venture operator became an incorporated stand-alone company on September 1 includes an ...
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NewsClass 599 to Cartagena
SPAIN: National operator RENFE introduced the Class 599 DMU to the Cartagena - Murcia - Valencia route on September 28. Two services are operated each way daily with the new rolling stock, which with a maximum speed of 160 km/h has cut journey times by up to 28 min. Offering ...
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NewsHSA strengthens Fyra shuttle service
NETHERLANDS: The NS-KLM joint venture High Speed Alliance has stepped up its interim Fyra loco-hauled shuttle service between Amsterdam Centraal and Rotterdam Centraal via HSL-Zuid from one to two trains per hour with effect from October 4. Unlike most Dutch routes, the pattern of services is not a precise ...
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NewsAlstom sole bidder in Polish high speed train tender
POLAND: Alstom Transport has been named as sole bidder in the tender to supply 20 high speed trains to PKP Intercity, for which the bids were opened on September 30. Six consortia had expressed interest when the initial request for a fleet of 250 km/h trainsets was issued in August ...
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NewsDesiro RUS mock-up unveiled in Moscow
RUSSIA: A full-scale mock-up of Russian Railways' new Lastochka electric multiple-unit was unveiled for public consultation at Moscow's Kazansky station on October 1. Passengers are invited to comment on various aspects of the design, including the livery, lighting, seating layout, comfort and information displays. A derivative of the Siemens Desiro ...
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NewsEurostar picks Velaro to expand fleet
EUROPE: Recently-restructured cross-Channel operator Eurostar International is understood to have selected Siemens as preferred bidder to supply additional trainsets to operate an expanded route network, with the decision due to be confirmed at a board meeting on October 1. Eurostar has been looking for some time at introducing services to ...
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NewsTrenitalia signs V300ZEFIRO high speed train contract
ITALY: Trenitalia signed a contract for 50 V300ZEFIRO high speed trains on September 30, having selected the joint bid from Bombardier Transportation and AnsaldoBreda on August 5. Award of the contract had been delayed pending a legal challenge from losing bidder Alstom Transport. Designated ETR 1000, the trains are due ...
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NewsAmtrak proposes Northeast Corridor high speed line
USA: Amtrak has set out a vision of a 680 km 'world class' high speed line to increase capacity on its Northeast Corridor, cutting Washington - Boston journey times from more than 6½ h to around 3 h. The 'concept plan' published on September 28 would see the line ...
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NewsZürich local railway orders dual-voltage units
SWITZERLAND: Sihltal Zürich Uetlibergbahn has ordered six Stadler Rail three-section articulated electric multiple-units to increase capacity on its Zürich local services from 2013. The dual-voltage Be510 units will be equipped to run on 1·2 kV DC on route S10 and 15 kV AC on S4. They will have a top ...
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NewsDesiro RUS goes local
RUSSIA: Russian Railways President Vladimir Yakunin and Siemens Mobility CEO Hans-Jörg Grundmann signed a contract on September 21 for the German supplier to build a further 16 Desiro RUS electric multiple-units. Worth €170m, the deal follows an earlier contract for 38 trainsets valued at €410m. Whereas the first batch of ...
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NewsElves with an ELF
INNOTRANS: Polish rolling stock manufacturer Pesa celebrated the launch of its ELF electric multiple-unit for commuter and regional services on September 21. The unit on display in Berlin is one of eight ordered by the Polish voivodship of Slaskie. Its four articulated cars give a total length of 75.25 m ...