Passenger rail news – Page 259
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NewsKeolis confirmed for Virginia Railway Express contract
USA: The two transportation commissions which administer Virginia Railway Express gave final approval on November 5 to a $85·7m contract under which Keolis Rail Services America will operate VRE commuter rail services into Washington DC for five years from July 1 2010. A VRE spokesman said Keolis' bid ...
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NewsJoint bid wins Italian joint order
ITALY: Two regional operators which co-operated to issue a joint invitation to tender in January have chosen a consortium of Stadler and AnsaldoBreda to supply a total of 34 multiple-units. The €200m order from Sistemi Territoriali of Veneto and Ferrovie Emilia Romagna was announced on November 6. It covers ...
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NewsBarcelona suburban train order
SPAIN: On November 3 the board of Ferrocarrils de la Generalitat de Catalunya approved a €155m contract with Alstom and CAF for 24 Class 113 four-car electric multiple-units. They will enter service on the Vallès suburban network in Barcelona from the second half of 2013. The 1 435 mm ...
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NewsHamburg-Köln Express to launch
GERMANY: A joint venture of US-based Railroad Development Corp, Locomore Rail GmbH and London-based investor Michael Schabas has announced that they have established an open-access inter-city passenger operation in Germany. Branded Hamburg-Köln Express, the venture will launch three train pairs between the two cities on August 15 2010. The trains ...
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NewsTrain lessor looking east
EUROPE: The Railpool leasing joint venture of HSH Nordbank and KfW IPEX-Bank is aiming to expand its presence in eastern Europe, according to Account Director Torsten Lehnert, who was speaking during the Nordic Rail 2009 event. ‘Our focus is to go east, perhaps into Hungary or Romania’, said Lehnert. ...
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NewsRefurbishment to take Canadian cars upmarket
CANADA: National passenger operator VIA Rail has awarded US firm Avalon Rail a C$19·5m contract to provide higher-grade accommodation on 12 coaches used on the Toronto - Vancouver Canadian service. The refurbishment is being funded from C$407m allocated to passenger rail under the government's Economic Action Plan. ...
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NewsEurostar prepares for competition
EUROPE: 'Hopefully very soon, we will be a single Eurostar train operating company' in the UK, France and Belgium', Eurostar Chief Executive Richard Brown told the UK's Railway Study Association on October 14. 'At the moment, actually, in France I have no authority, I have no accountability. I ...
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NewsPortland buys more RDCs
USA: Portland operator TriMet has purchased two additional DMU cars to provide backup for its existing four cars, whose reliability has been unpredictable on the 23·7 km Wilsonville-Beaverton Westside Express Service. Instead of new vehicles to match those manufactured by now-defunct Colorado Railcar, the transit agency has acquired a ...
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NewsThrough services vital for high-speed success
EUROPE: Eurostar's share of the rail+air market from London to Paris, Brussels and Lille is now nearly 85%, Commercial Director Nick Mercer told a Railway Forum seminar in London on October 15, and even on routes with 4 h journey times other Railteam members 'take more than 50% market share'. ...
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NewsAlstom out of Thameslink bidding
UK: Alstom Transport was informed late on October 22 that its bid to supply the new Thameslink EMU fleet had been eliminated from the final stage of the contest. This leaves Bombardier Transportation and Siemens Mobility in the running for the major order to be placed by the Department for ...
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NewsRegions confirm €7bn framework TER contract
FRANCE: A framework contract for the supply of up to 1 000 low-floor trainsets to operate regional services was signed in Paris on October 27 by SNCF President Guillaume Pepy and the President of Alstom Transport Philippe Mellier. Within the overall package, orders were confirmed for an initial build of ...
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NewsBangkok Airport Rail Link handover imminent
With trials of Bangkok's Airport Rail Link continuing on a daily basis, Railway Gazette International's Urban Editor Jane Pearce took a ride on an Airport Express train to Suvarnabhumi Airport on October 22.
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NewsMantena awarded Coradia Nordic maintenance
SWEDEN: Alstom Transport has awarded Norwegian train maintenance company Mantena a seven-year contract worth €22m to maintain the 49 Coradia Nordic electric multiple-units which will be delivered to Skånetrafiken from next month. Under the contract announced on October 22 Alstom will supply Mantena with spare parts for the units, ...
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News€10bn rail spend for 2010
SPAIN: Investment in new rolling stock as well as the infrastructure of the national network is set to total €10·2bn next year, according to the Ministry of Development's draft budget. Appearing before a parliamentary committee on October 6, Secretary of State for Transport Concepción Gutiérrez said the ministry was ...
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NewsTGV Sud Est refurbishment deal
FRANCE: SNCF has selected Compin Group to supply interior fittings for the refurbishment of its original fleet of TGV Sud Est trainsets. Under a contract signed on October 6, the interiors specialist will supply complete kits for 60 trains, with options for a further 47. Each trainset has two power ...
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NewsChina strengthens Russian ties
INTERNATIONAL: China’s Ministry of Railways has signed a memorandum of understanding to work with Russian Railways on the development and introduction of high speed trains in the Russian Federation. The MoU covers both the upgrading of existing lines for faster speeds and the construction of dedicated high speed lines. The ...
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NewsTrenitalia orders more Class E464s
ITALY: Trenitalia has awarded a further contract to Bombardier Transportation for an additional 100 Class E464 electric locomotives, to be delivered in 2010-12. Valued at approximately €258m, the contract announced on October 14 includes options for a further 50 locos. Rated at 3·5 MW, the single-ended Class E464 was developed ...
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NewsSNCF outlines TGV growth strategies
FRANCE: SNCF is planning to call tenders shortly for the supply of up to 100 new-generation high speed trainsets, equipped to operate cross-border services following the liberalisation of international passenger services in the European Union. President Guillaume Pepy confirmed on October 11 that SNCF is planning a firm order for ...
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NewsTREM project launched in San José
COSTA RICA: At a meeting in San José on October 7 Transport and Public Works Minister Karla González launched the government’s draft TREM rail concession which is to be tendered by the end of the month.Bids for the right to operate three routes connecting San José to Heredia province, San ...
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NewsPassenger reforms take shape
RUSSIA: Proposals for the reform of Russian Railways’ long-distance passenger business and the creation of a new operating company have been agreed in principle by the RZD management team. The detailed proposals will now be presented to the board of directors for formal approval. Restructuring of the long-distance passenger business ...