Passenger rail news – Page 256
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NewsRussia to announce high speed line plan
RUSSIA: Next month Russian Railways will unveil detailed proposals for a 'European standard' high speed line, RZD Vice-President Avtandil Gorgiladze told the EurasiaRail 2010 conference in Istanbul on February 10. The Siemens Velaro RUS trains which have been operating Sapsan services between Moscow and St Petersburg since December were designed ...
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NewsEurostar accepts multiple failings
EUROPE: The findings of the independent review commissioned to look into the collapse of Eurostar cross-Channel services during the severe snowstorms on December 18-19 were announced in London on February 12. Following pressure from the French transport minister Dominique Bussereau, Eurostar had asked former GNER Chief Executive ...
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NewsKTX-II ready to enter service
SOUTH KOREA: Following a successful passenger-carrying preview run with its first KTX-II high speed trainset, Korail announced on February 10 that the trains will enter revenue service on March 2. Tickets for the new services are due to go on sale from February 23. The state-owned operator plans to introduce ...
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NewsHigh speed line opens to the west
CHINA: The first Passenger-Dedicated Line between central and western China opened on February 6, with 456 km of new high speed line cutting the 505 km journey between Zhengzhou in Henan province and Xi'an in Shaanxi from around 6 h to less than 2 h. Construction was launched in September ...
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NewsLimerick – Galway reopens in March
IRELAND: Iarnród Eíreann confirmed on February 8 that passenger services on the Western Rail Corridor between Limerick and Galway line will resume on March 30, following an inauguration ceremony on the previous day. Through services between the two west coast cities were withdrawn more than 30 years ago, although a ...
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NewsMachu Picchu railway rebuilding begins
PERU: Engineers from Ferrocarril Transandino have begun repairs to the 914 mm gauge railway between Cusco and Machu Picchu which was cut by landslides after exceptional rain on January 23. No trains have run on the 42 km section between Ollantaytambo and Machu Picchu since then, but on February 3 ...
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NewsCrossing removed
AUSTRALIA: On January 11 Metro Trains Melbourne services began calling at the new Nunawading station which has been relocated as part of the A$140m Springvale Road Separation project to eliminate one of the busiest level crossings in Melbourne. The track has been lowered 8 m and a road bridge built ...
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NewsFirst GE locomotives arrive in Nigeria
NIGERIA: The first five of 25 GE Transportation diesel locomotives have been delivered to Nigerian Railway Corp, the supplier announced on February 5. The rest will arrive in the second half of the year. The order for the C25 EMPD locomotives to haul both freight and passenger trains was placed ...
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NewsTilting trains for Sardinia
ITALY: The Sardinia region has awarded its first rolling stock order, with CAF of Spain to supply up to eight diesel multiple-units equipped with the SIBI tilt system. Worth €58m according to the region, the contract covers the supply of five units and maintenance for a period of five ...
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NewsSena Line trains return to Moatize
MOZAMBIQUE: The first train in more than two decades reached Moatize in the Tete province of western Mozambique on January 30. The train was received by members of the provincial and district governments and a large crowd of local residents. Moatize District Administrator Adelino Andissene said that the rehabilitated Sena ...
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NewsMoscow airport rail passengers take off
RUSSIA: Business class seating will be introduced on the shuttle trains to Moscow Sheremetyevo Airport this month, under an improvement programme which has seen traffic at airport rail link operator Aeroexpress grow by 4% to 6·8 million passenger-journeys over the past year, despite a 6% drop in airport passengers and ...
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NewsTargeted adverts to support free train wi-fi
WI-FI: 'Transport operators want to attract more people to use train and bus services, and offering free wi-fi during a journey is compelling proposition', according to Dave Palmer of Icomera, which has launched a service offering train operators a path for switching from paid to advertising-supported onboard wi-fi services. MoovManage ...
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NewsWork starts on Stuttgart 21
GERMANY. Federal Transport Minister Dr Peter Ramsauer and Deutsche Bahn Chairman Dr Rüdiger Grube officiated at an event on February 2 launching the huge Stuttgart 21 project. Together with Baden-Württemburg Ministerpräsident Günther Oettinger, Mayor of Stuttgart Dr Wolfgang Schuster and Director of the Verband Region Stuttgart Jeannette Wopperer, they ...
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NewsVesuvio Est high speed station approved
ITALY: Infrastructure manager RFI announced on January 22 that it had selected the Italian-Belgian group Phlippe Samyn & Partners to design and build the proposed Vesuvio Est high speed station on the Napoli - Salerno route. To be financed entirely with European funding, the new station is expected to ...
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NewsBilbao rebuilding plan
SPAIN: The Ministry of Development has unveiled plans to rebuild Bilbao Abando station for high speed services, placing tracks underground in order to free up 85000 m2 of land for redevelopment in the city centre. There would be eight 1435 mm gauge tracks on the lowest level of the ...
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NewsObama names inter-city rail projects to share $8bn
USA: President Obama announced the high speed and inter-city rail projects which will share $8bn of federal funding during a visit to Tampa, Florida, on January 28. States and local communities were able to compete for the money which was announced in April 2009 as part of the American Recovery ...
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NewsFujian gets to work
CHINA: A 275 km railway paralleling the coast between Fuzhou and Xiamen in Fujian province opened for freight traffic on December 31, and 200 km/h passenger services are expected to follow in April. The line has 18 stations and has been designed for speeds of up to 250 km/h. Fujian ...
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NewsVR keeps monopoly for now
FINLAND: The Ministry of Transport has signed an agreement giving state railway VR a 10-year monopoly on long-distance passenger services. Local trains are covered by a separate agreement which runs for one year, as liberalisation of this market has not been ruled out. The contracts followed a review of the ...
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NewsSiemens preferred bidder for ICx inter-city train deal
GERMANY: The high-profile ICx programme to renew DB's inter-city fleet took a decisive step forward on January 25, when DB Chairman Rüdige Grube announced the selection of Siemens as preferred bidder for a framework agreement. Detailed negotiations will now begin, with the aim of signing a firm contract this summer. ...
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NewsMÁV orders passenger Traxx
HUNGARY: On January 21 Bombardier Transportation announced an €80m order to supply MÁV with 25 Traxx P160AC electric locomotives for use on passenger trains within Hungary and on cross-border services to Austria and Germany. The national railway has an option for 25 more. The locomotives will be assembled at Bombardier's ...