Passenger rail news – Page 31
-
Metro Report InternationalControl centre opening marks latest stage in Paris RER modernisation
FRANCE: Paris transport operator RATP and national railway SNCF have transferred the management of RER Line A to a new control centre.
-
Rail Business UKFirstGroup’s Lumo seeks to launch Rochdale – London open access service
UK: FirstGroup has applied to operate Rochdale – London open access passenger trains, more than 20 years after a short-lived through service ran between the two destinations. On May 17 FirstGroup said that it had applied to the Office of Rail & Road to launch six ...
-
NewsEurostar plans to acquire 50 ‘fully interoperable’ trains
EUROPE: International high speed train operator Eurostar says it is ‘preparing to invest’ in up to 50 high speed trainsets, which would be fully interoperable ’across five countries and beyond’. The new trains would enter service from the early 2030s, replacing the 17 PBKA and nine ...
-
NewsOxygène next-generation French inter-city train unveiled
FRANCE: National passenger operator SNCF Voyageurs and manufacturer CAF have unveiled the first of the Z26700 Oxygène inter-city trainsets which will replace Corail locomotive-hauled coaches on 200 km/h inter-city serves on conventional lines. The Oxygène trainsets are designed to be ‘the reference inter-city train of the ...
-
NewsScenic Plus coach refurbished for New Zealand tourist train service
NEW ZEALAND: National railway KiwiRail’s tourist train business Great Journeys New Zealand has unveiled a coach which has been refurbished to provide a premium ‘immersive travel experience’ on the 223 km TranzAlpine coast-to-coast service between Greymouth and Christchurch. ‘The innovative carriage is the icing on the ...
-
NewsRegioJet orders Škoda EMUs
CZECH REPUBLIC: RegioJet has awarded Škoda Group a KC3·5bn contract to supply 23 customised 160 km/h electric multiple-units. The order announced on May covers 15 two-car and eight three-car units to be delivered by December 2026. They will be used on services in the Ústí nad ...
-
Metro Report InternationalVirtual reality to help people use public transport
BRAZIL: The Alstom Foundation and Instituto Jô Clemente have launched a Virtual Reality for Inclusion initiative which aims to help people with disabilities overcome accessibility obstacles and use urban public transport safely. This will include people with cognitive disabilities, rare diseases and autistic spectrum disorders. Simulated ...
-
NewsDB Regio orders EMUs with ski holders
GERMANY: Siemens Mobility has been awarded its first contact to supply Desiro HS electric multiple-units equipped with holders for transporting skis. DB Regio is to use the six five-car Desiro HC partly double-deck EMUs on regional services from München to Garmisch-Partenkirchen and Mittenwald. The incumbent is to ...
-
NewsImprovements to railway serving car-free village near completion
SWITZERLAND: Stadler is delivering new rolling stock as part of the final stage of a programme to increase capacity and accessibility on Bergbahn Lauterbrunnen-Mürren’s metre-gauge railway. Jungfraubahnen company BLM operates a cable car from Lauterbrunnen to Grütschalp, where passengers change to a 4 km adhesion railway ...
-
NewsAlberta to develop passenger rail master plan
CANADA: The government of Alberta has allocated C$9m for the development of a Passenger Rail Master Plan as a foundation for the development of commuter and regional services to meet the needs of the growing population. ‘World class’ consultants are to be appointed to produce the ...
-
NewsChizhou – Huangshan high speed line opens
CHINA: The 125 km Chizhou – Huangshan high speed line through the mountains and valleys of Anhui province opened on April 26. The 350 km/h route is designated as a regional connecting line within the ‘eight vertical and eight horizontal’ national high speed rail development strategy. ...
-
Rail Business UKRetailers says competition can improve train ticketing
UK: Representatives of independent ticket retailer Trainline and distribution technology company SilverRail have been questioned by the House of Commons Transport Committee as part of its scrutiny of the government’s draft Rail Reform Bill.
-
NewsParis RER Line E reaches Nanterre
FRANCE: An 8 km largely underground extension of Paris RER Line E from Magenta-Gare du Nord to Nanterre-La Folie (Hauts de Seine) has opened.
-
Rail Business UKTrain operator obtains Communication Accessible accreditation
UK: Communication Access UK has accredited East Midlands Railway as being Communication Accessible. This follows the train operator’s efforts to provide enhanced communication choices for customers, and to provide staff with the skills to utilise assistive technology effectively. EMR has introduced TALK cards for staff and ...
-
Rail Business UKAccessibility Advisory Panel outlines priority issues for disabled passengers
UK: Top priorities for disabled passengers have been set out by the accessibility Advisory Panel which East West Railway Co established to help inform the design and construction of the future Oxford to Cambridge rail corridor. The panel’s priorities include: accessible toilets on trains and ...
-
NewsXi’an – Almaty passenger train planned
ASIA: Representatives of Kazak national railway KTZ have begun discussions with Chinese regional officials over the launch of a planned passenger service between Xi’an and Almaty. The tourist-oriented service would operate via the Korgas border crossing, which is already used by regular Urumqi – Almaty-2 passenger ...
-
Rail Business UKTrain operators launch joint innovation programme
UK: Four train operators are to run a joint programme giving technology companies the opportunity to demonstrate AI, telecoms, quantum and other innovations in a real-world rail environment. The Future Labs programme is to be run by the government-owned operators LNER, Northern, Southeastern and TransPennine Express ...
-
NewsJapanese DMUs find second homes in Thailand and Cambodia
ASIA: Japan’s JR Hokkaido and JR East have sold cars of ex-Series KiHa 183 diesel multiple-units to Thailand and Cambodia. JR Hokkaido announced on April 12 that it had sold its remaining 11 cars, which had served as Series KiHa 183 diesel multiple-units, to Cambodia’s national ...
-
NewsChinese trainsets arrive in Europe
EUROPE: Subsidiaries of Chinese rolling stock group CRRC delivered passenger trainsets to two operators in southeast Europe during April. CRRC Changchun has delivered the first of five electric multiple-units ordered by Serbian national operator Srbija Voz. The €54m order was signed by Minister of Construction, Transport & ...
-
Rail Business UKOperator of last resort holds key to Labour’s rail renationalisation aspiration
UK: Rail Business UK has been speaking to industry leaders as they start to digest the rail policy proposals set out by the Labour Party ahead of the forthcoming general election.