Passenger rail news – Page 27
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NewsStrikes, weather and ageing infrastructure hold back DB’s first half performance
GERMANY: Hopes that the flow of investment in the Deutsche Bahn network would lead to a rapid improvement in operational and financial performance were dashed on July 25 when DB published its half-year results. One highlight was a 4∙9% rise in the total number of passengers ...
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NewsNew York East River Tunnel rehabilitation contract awarded
USA: Amtrak has appointed a joint venture of Skanska and E-J Electric Installation Co to undertake the East River Tunnel Rehabilitation Project to modernise the four bores connecting New York Penn Station with Queens. Two of the four single-track tubes require significant repairs to damage caused ...
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NewsElectro-diesel trains ordered for Zagreb – Split route
CROATIA: National passenger operator HŽPP has awarded Končar KEV a contract to supply six electro-diesel multiple-units for the 429 km Zagreb – Split route, which is electrified at 25 kV 50 Hz as far as Oštarije. The €57·3m contract signed on July 23 is being financed ...
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Rail Business UKGovernment introduces bill to take passenger train operations into the public sector
UK: The legislation envisages that the direct award of a contract to a public sector operator would become the default, rather than a last resort.
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Rail Business UKTrain operator says WhatsApp service has saved 1 277 h of employee time
UK: Train operator Northern says its entirely AI-operated Whatsapp enquiry service has received 8 000 messages from customers in the first year of operation, which has freed-up 1 277 h of employee time. People can ask for live train times, service updates and disruption information, as well ...
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NewsGuardian of the Nile luxury cruise train planned
EGYPT: Italian high-end hospitality company Arsenale and Egyptian National Railways have signed heads of terms for the launch of a Guardian of the Nile luxury cruise train in 2027. It is Arsenale’s fourth international rail cruise project, following announcements in Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Uzbekistan. ...
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NewsPorto – Lisboa high speed project and Rail Baltica lead latest Connecting Europe Facility grant allocations
EUROPE: Rail projects are to receive 80% of the €7bn of Connecting Europe Facility co-financing grant funding announced by the European Commission on July 17. Schemes covered include Rail Baltica, the Lyon – Torino and Brenner tunnel corridors, numerous ERTMS deployments and work to better integrate ...
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Rail Business UKNationalisation, Great British Railways and devolution plans included in King’s Speech
UK: A package of rail reforms including taking the remaining private train operators into state ownership was unveiled at the state opening of parliament on July 17.
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NewsBayern to award electric-hydrogen-battery tilting train operating contract
GERMANY: Bayern railway authority BEG has launched the process of selecting a company to operate Allgäu regional passenger services using a future fleet of emission-free tilting multiple units which would be able to use overhead electric, hydrogen and battery power. The services are currently operated by ...
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NewsStudy looks at how to increase international capacity at London St Pancras
EUROPE: High speed line concessionaire HS1 Ltd has appointed ‘experience design’ agency Active Thinking to undertake an in-depth study into expanding passenger capacity at London St Pancras International station to cope with increased demand for international travel and the potential arrival of competitors to Eurostar. Eurostar ...
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NewsVIA Rail fleet renewal funding confirmed
CANADA: National passenger operator VIA Rail is to begin the competitive procurement of ‘new, comfortable and accessible trains’ for use across the country following the confirmation of government funding. The latest funding under the 2024 budget follows from that announced in 2018 which enabled the procurement ...
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NewsUS federal funding available for inter-city rail services
USA: The Federal Railroad Administration has issued a notice of funding opportunity, making $153m available from the Restoration & Enhancement grant programme. The grants are intended to assist with covering operating costs for projects to establish new inter-city passenger services, restore withdrawn routes and enhance existing ...
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NewsSJ to replace Vy Tåg as night train operator
SWEDEN: National transport agency Trafikverket has directly awarded state operator SJ a contract to operate Stockholm – Narvik overnight trains for one year from December 15 2024, with an option for a further year. SJ operated the services until December 2020, when the Vy Tåg subsidiary ...
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NewsInvestors take stake in Flix
INTERNATIONAL: Investors EQT Future and Kühne Holding have agreed to acquire a 35% minority stake in Flix, which manages the commercial side of open access train and coach services that are operated by partner companies. In addition to a primary investment, the investors will acquire shares ...
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Rail Business UKRail and tram-train in Manchester’s Bee Network expansion plans
UK: Local rail services around Manchester are to be brought into the region’s expanding Bee Network by 2028 as part of a public transport development strategy unveiled by Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham on July 10.
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NewsJoint border crossing to accelerate Serbia – Montenegro train services
EUROPE: Montenegro and Serbia opened a joint rail border crossing at Bijelo Polje on the Beograd – Bar line on July 8. All border checks will be undertaken at the Montenegrin station where locomotives are changed, eliminating the separate checks at Vrbnica station on the Serbian ...
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NewsLiège – Maastricht – Aachen regional services finally launched
EUROPE: A through regional passenger train service linking Liège in Belgium with Aachen in Germany via Maastricht in the Netherlands was finally launched on June 30. Branded as LIMAX for the cities served, the so-called Three Countries Service was originally expected to start running in 2018. ...
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In depthRomania: New rolling stock to support rail market reforms
Romania’s Railway Reform Authority is procuring new multiple-units to operate regional and inter-regional services under competitively tendered PSO contracts, but this is only part of a wider market opening strategy, ARF President Ștefan Roșeanu explains to Benjámin Zelki.
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NewsGo-Ahead Deutschland renamed Arverio as ÖBB targets growth in southern Germany
GERMANY: The Go-Ahead Deutschland business which Austrian Federal Railways acquired from The Go-Ahead Group in February has been rebranded as Arverio Deutschland, a name derived from the Gallo-Roman ‘god of the roads’ Arvernus. Announcing the new name on July 10, Arverio said ...
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Rail Business UKScottish transport ticketing goes digital
UK: Unicard has migrated paper-based ZoneCard tickets valid on ScotRail, Glasgow Subway and bus services in the west of Scotland to its ITSO-compliant smart ticketing platform. Strathclyde Partnership for Transport awarded the contract with the aim of improving the passenger experience and reducing the complexity of ...