Passenger rail news – Page 284
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NewsGNER internet link
SWEDISH supplier Icomera AB announced on April 7 that it had been appointed to install its Wireless Onboard Internet technology on 10 refurbished Mk IV trainsets (RG 11.03 p698) used by British inter-city operator GNER. The deal follows successful trials with an initial three trains (RG 9.03 p550). Users ...
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SBB ticket machines
LATER this year SBB will begin replacing portable ticket machines used for on-train sales with 2000 almex.mobile portable ticket machines from Höft & Wessel. Up to 1GB of data on available tickets and fares can be stored in the almex.mobile terminals, and a radio link can be used to obtain ...
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President Goh inaugurates KTX
'ON APRIL 1 Korea will speed up with KTX' announced the huge banners decking Seoul station on March 30. Hundreds of invited guests from across the world joined in the celebrations when South Korea's Acting President Goh Kun formally inaugurated the world's eighth high speed railway. Following the inauguration ceremony ...
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NewsEurostar abandons Project Jupiter
Plans to form a single company tentatively called Eurostar International that would have managed the train service between London, Paris and Brussels as a unified operation were formally abandoned by the Boards of SNCF, SNCB and London & Continental Railways on March 12. Originally SNCB had intended to take a ...
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Learning lessons from tilting trains
DB's failure to meet promised performance improvements where tilting trains were introduced led inevitably to strong media criticism. Murray Hughes finds that many of the difficulties can be blamed on too much innovation pushed through too quickly
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NewsCzech station lease signed
AN AGREEMENT has been signed for Grandi Stazioni SpA to manage commercial and retail space at three major Czech stations. Under the terms of the 30-year lease the Italian firm will carry out refurbishment work at Praha Hlavni, Karlovy Vary and Marianske Lazne. It is to spend KC658m upgrading ...
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NEG wins Greater Anglia
LATE DECEMBER saw the UK Strategic Rail Authority make significant progress with negotiating replacements for several passenger train franchises. On December 22 SRA named National Express Group as preferred bidder for Greater Anglia. This combines the Anglia and Great Eastern franchises with the West Anglia portion of WAGN, bringing almost ...
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Speed record foreshadows opening of UK's first high speed line
On July 30 a Eurostar trainset streaked through Kent on Section 1 of the Channel Tunnel Rail Link to set a UK rail speed record of 334·7 km/h. Murray Hughes rode the record-breaker
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Pendeltåg X60 EMU takes shape
Harry Hondius MSc reports from Salzgitter NOW UNDER construction at the Alstom LHB plant in Salzgitter are the first cars for a fleet of innovative articulated low-floor cars to operate Pendeltåg suburban services in Stockholm. Ordered last year by Storstockholms Lokaltrafik AB, they are derived from the Lirex experimental multiple-unit ...
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NewsConnex loses second UK franchise
UK: For the first time since privatisation in the 1990s, a franchise to operate passenger services in Britain has been terminated through default. On June 27, Strategic Rail Authority Chairman Richard Bowker announced that ‘we have given notice to Connex South Eastern that their franchise will terminate ...
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Refurbishment drives demand for seats
CARRIAGE body shells can outlive their interior furnishings by many years, making refurbishment the key to providing a quality travelling environment throughout the life of the vehicle. Seating is one of the most noticeable interfaces between passengers and trains, and the selection of appropriate designs and materials is critical. Eurostar's ...
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Caribbean luxury on two decks
ST KITTS Scenic Railway has put into service five custom-built double-deck luxury coaches. Probably amongst the largest 762mm gauge vehicles ever built, the Island Series cars are 12m long, 2·4m wide and 5·3m high measured over the canvas canopies. Each coach weighs 22 tonnes, and has four-wheel fully-sprung bogies. The ...
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NewsRailbuses exploit Polish regional potential
HIGH operating costs and short, obsolete locomotive-hauled trains are features of many of the local and regional lines which form an important part of Poland's rail network. In an effort to reduce expenditure PKP announced plans to withdraw over 1000 services, but in March the threat of widespread strikes brought ...
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Three-system Pendolino emerges at last
Next month is due to see the roll-out of the first Class 680 tilting inter-city trainset for Czech Railways, after a decade of chequered progress which saw production switched from Praha to Savigliano. Chris Jackson spoke to Alstom Ferroviaria's Projects & Marketing Director Pier Prina Mello and Project Manager Federico ...
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Swedes test high speed on-board internet access
ON JANUARY 30, a Swedish high speed train will become the first in the world to offer passengers real-time internet access on the move. One Linx X2000 tilting trainset operating between Göteborg, Malmö and København has been fitted with a wireless communications network which can also support passenger information and ...
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Passenger Portfolio
Ticketing change in Germany GERMAN RAILWAY is now selling all long-distance tickets priced at €21 or more online, with credit card payment. The launch was timed to coincide with the introduction of market-priced fares on December 15 (RG 2.02 p98). Tickets are sent by post at no extra charge to ...
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Diesel light rail rolls at last in North America
A short route in Ottawa has pioneered diesel light rail operation in Canada, and New Jersey Transit is close behind with a 51·5 km line between Camden and Trenton. William D Middleton reports
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Lounge upgrade unveiled
EUROSTAR opened its refurbished first class lounge at London Waterloo International station (right) on June 20. Branded as Le Salon, refurbishment of the eight-year-old lounge was overseen by French designer Philippe Starck as part of the company's £35m 'Welcome to the new Eurostar' project. Starck said he based his 'unique ...
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‘There are no quick fixes or short-term solutions’
Last month we reported David Gunn’s warning on June 20 that Amtrak was ’near the point of no return’. His blunt speaking secured a $100m short-term federal loan that will keep the trains running until September, but the long term is another matter. Murray Hughes asked Gunn what lies ahead
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Köln - Frankfurt shuttles launch 300 km/h running
Ralf Roman Rossberg reports on service plans for German Railway's high speed line between Köln and Frankfurt