Passenger rail news – Page 260
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NewsTurn up and go trial
NETHERLANDS: Metro passengers take it for granted that they can turn up when they like and simply board the next train. There is no need to plan the trip or look at a timetable. From the passenger’s point of view, turn up and go applies to some main line ...
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NewsItino clean diesel unveiled
SWEDEN: Bombardier Transportation unveiled its first Itino diesel railcar equipped with C.L.E.A.N. diesel technology at the Elmia Nordic Rail exhibition in Jönköping on October 7, conducting a series of demonstration runs with the prototype train at Jönköping station. The first production trainsets equipped with the Catalyst based Low Emission ApplicatioN ...
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NewsAll aboard the I-Bullet
JAPAN: JR Central is stepping up efforts to sell Shinkansen technology to other countries. Announcing details of an export version of the Series N700 trainset called the N700-I Bullet at the HSR Summit in London last month, JR Central’s Senior Executive Director Tsutomu Morimura emphasised the need to consider Shinkansen ...
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NewsFurther firm orders for Talent 2
GERMANY: Deutsche Bahn has placed further firm orders for Bombardier Talent 2 electric multiple -units within the terms of a framework agreement for up to 321 of the modular trainsets. The latest order announced on October 2 is worth €35m. It covers four three-car and four five-car Class 442 ...
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NewsCzech regional passenger franchising agreed
CZECH REPUBLIC: A key agreement paving the way for regional services to be operated under long-term contracts has been signed by the government and 14 regional authorities. The intention is that the contract system will be opened to competition, however practical constraints are likely to mean that CD will be ...
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NewsPrototype train for Bosnia nears completion
CROATIA: A prototype electric multiple-unit developed by Koncar and ordered by Bosnian railway ZFBH was displayed to members of the Croatian government at the manufacturer's Zagreb plant on September 28. The 25 kV 50 Hz EMU is intended for inter-city and regional services at up to 160 km/h. It ...
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NewsChina orders 380 km/h Zefiro high speed trains
CHINA: The Ministry of Railways has awarded a contract for 80 more high speed trains to the Qingdao-based Bombardier Sifang joint venture. The 27·4bn yuan order covers 20 eight-car and 60 16-car trainsets, designated Zefiro 380. Deliveries are expected to start in 2012 and run until 2014. With a ...
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NewsCisalpino to be disbanded
EUROPE: Swiss Federal Railways and Trenitalia are to disband their jointly -owned Cisalpino AG subsidiary and take direct responsibility for cross-border inter-city services with effect from the December 13 timetable change. Announcing the move on September 25, SBB said the 40 staff and the rolling stock will be allocated ...
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NewsPrima II arrives in Casablanca
MOROCCO: The first of 20 Prima II electric locomotives ordered by national railway ONCFM has arrived in Casablanca after being shipped via Antwerpen. It will now undergo endurance tests before entering service next year. The rest of the locomotives will follow by March 2010. ONCFM placed a €75m ...
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NewsZentralbahn orders inter-regional trains
SWITZERLAND: Metre-gauge operator Zentralbahn has awarded Stadler a SFr141m contract to supply 10 inter-regional electric multiple-units as part of a double-tracking and modernisation programme which will see the timetable recast in December 2013. Six three-car trains will be used on Brünig services. These will be 54 m long with ...
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News200 km/h on Czech tracks
CZECH REPUBLIC: Infrastructure manager SZDC has launched a programme to raise speed limits on its main lines from 160 km/h to 200 km/h. The main limitation is the presence of level crossings and need for upgraded signalling. A pilot project will take place on the 77 km Brno - ...
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NewsThe hare and the tortoise
VIETNAM: We reported last month on the plethora of nascent inter-city rail projects emerging in the USA on the back of President Obama’s decision to dedicate US$13bn in funding, thus raising the prospect of the country being catapulted up the rankings in the ‘hare and tortoise’ race to develop high ...
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NewsGreengauge 21 proposes UK high speed network
UK: High speed rail lobby group Greengauge 21 published a report on September 16 calling for a 1 550 km network of high speed lines. GG 21 Director Jim Steer said that the message was simple: 'what Britain needs today is a high speed network, not a single line'. ...
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NewsAlstom unveils X'trapolis UK
UK: Alstom formally presented X’trapolis UK, its contender for the Thameslink electric multiple-unit contract, on September 15. Alongside Bombardier and Siemens, Alstom had submitted its bid to the Department for Transport on June 25. An exhibition accompanying the presentation included models of ...
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NewsLow cost coaches developed by RCF Kapurthala
INDIA: RCF Kapurthala has developed a range of stainless steel coaches which it says are 40% cheaper than the previous designs offered under a 2001 technology transfer agreement with LHB. The high cost of stainless steel cars has previously limited their use to the main Shatabdi and Rajdhani Express services. ...
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NewsRail industry has cause for optimism, survey suggests
GLOBAL: A survey of 961 respondents across the rail, aviation and shipping industries by law firm Norton Rose has indicated that the rail industry is best placed to withstand the impact of the recession. Norton Rose launched its report detailing the results, entitled The Way Ahead for Transport, at ...
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NewsAdonis builds momentum at UK’s High Speed Rail Summit
UK: Fresh from visits to China and South Korea where he had been looking at high speed rail developments, Secretary of State for Transport Lord Andrew Adonis told an audience of around 250 delegates at the HSR Summit in London on September 9 that the issue of high speed rail ...
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NewsCab signalling to bring 200 km/h to Poland
POLAND: The CMK fast line linking Warszawa with Silesia is to be equipped with ETCS Level 1 under a 50·1m zloty contract signed by infrastructure manager PKP PLK and Thales Rail Signalling Solutions on August 29. The work is being funded by PKP PLK and the state, but as ...
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NewsNS Hispeed launches HSL-Zuid services
NETHERLANDS: NS Hispeed launched Amsterdam - Rotterdam passenger services over HSL-Zuid on September 7, following a formal inauguration by the Dutch Transport Minister Camiel Eurlings and the mayors of Amsterdam, Haarlemmermeer and Rotterdam the previous day. The interim service comprises 17 weekday return trips, with Bombardier Traxx electric locomotives ...
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NewsCisalpino II in service at last
EUROPE: While Dutch and Danish engineers continue to wrestle with the V250 and IC4 trainsets respectively, another challenging procurement saga appears to be drawing to a close. With a palpable sense of relief, the Cisalpino joint venture operator announced on July 20 that the first of its Class 610 tilting ...