Passenger rail news – Page 53
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NewsKinshasa Urban Train aims to improve transport in fast-growing city
DR CONGO: Plans for the development of a 300 route-km urban rail network in the rapidly growing city of Kinshasa have been announced by Africa Finance Corp and Trans Connexion Congo.
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Rail Business UKAvanti West Coast launches instant accessibility help channel
UK: Avanti West Coast has launched a WhatsApp channel providing instant access to specialist support for passengers with disabilities. Travel Companion is staffed by members of the inter-city operator’s social media team who have ‘passion and empathy for accessibility’, as well as specialist knowledge. AWC said ...
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Rail Business UKScottish Rail Holdings to take over Caledonian Sleeper
UK: The operation of Caledonian Sleeper is to be taken over by Scottish Rail Holdings, an arm’s length company owned by the Scottish government, from June 25. In 2014 Transport Scotland awarded Serco a contract to operate the night train services between London and Scotland for ...
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News€100bn rail investment pledge in French long-term transport plan
FRANCE: Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne has pledged up to €100bn of investment in the rail network as part of efforts to improve the provision of train services, reduce regional inequalities and support ecological transition goals.
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NewsEuropean funding to support Beograd – Niš route modernisation
SERBIA: The European Bank for Reconstruction & Development, the European Union and the European Investment Bank have agreed to provide a joint financing package worth €2·2bn towards the modernisation of the 230 km Beograd – Niš main line.
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Rail Business UKAbellio UK becomes Transport UK Group as buy-out concludes
UK: Dutch national train operator NS announced on March 1 that its international operating arm Abellio had formally completed the divestiture of its UK subsidiary through a management buy-out.
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NewsIntegrated transport passes announced in Hungary
HUNGARY: Integrated monthly bus and rail passes for travel within one of the 19 vármegyék (counties) or nationally are to be introduced from May 1, state railway group MÁV announced on February 18. The monthly passes will be for valid on all national and regional bus ...
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Rail Business UKRail needs to get out of a pickle, says Minister in Gherkin
UK: ‘The perception that passengers cannot rely on rail is too close to the truth’, Rail Minister Huw Merriman told representatives of the passenger industry.
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NewsInterim operating contract awarded pending battery train deployment
GERMANY: Incumbent DB Regio has been directly awarded an interim passenger train operating contract while battery trains and charging equipment are procured to replace diesel multiple-units on the routes. The interim contract awarded by transport authorities in Baden-Württemberg, Saarland and Rheinland-Pfalz covers the West & Südpfalz ...
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NewsMadrid airport high speed rail link contract awarded
SPAIN: Infrastructure manager ADIF has awarded a consortium of Lantania and ASCH Infraestructuras y Servicios a €21·3m contract to undertake works for an 8·8 km long 1 435 mm gauge line which will enable high speed trains to access Barajas Airport in Madrid.
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NewsStadler to supply Norwegian long distance trains making the journey an ‘experience in itself’
NORWAY: State-owned rolling stock company Norske Tog has selected Stadler as the winner of a contract to supply 17 long distance trainsets to be branded as Flirtnex, with options for 100 more. ‘This is a big day’, said Norske Tog CEO Øystein Risan on February 17. ...
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NewsBayern operating contracts awarded
GERMANY: Incumbent Netinera’s Länderbahn subsidiary has won two contracts tendered by Bayern railway agency BEG for the operation of regional passenger services. The Lot 1 Oberpfalz contract includes services RB23 Regensburg – Marktredwitz, RB27 Schwandorf – Furth im Wald, RB28 Cham – Lam and RB 29 ...
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Rail Business UKArriva calls for open access summit
UK: Arriva has called for an ‘open access summit’ to enable the rail industry to ’collectively work through the barriers and agree practical steps for unleashing more of these innovative services, including through making best use of unused capacity on the network’. In the George Bradshaw ...
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In depthFrance: Developing concepts to revive rural lines
France’s policy of abandoning rural lines has been halted and the stage is set for a revival of lightly used or closed routes. Driven partly by efforts to decarbonise the economy, several low-cost operating and maintenance concepts are being developed with state support, reports Reinhard Christeller.
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NewsErfurter Bahn DMU refurbishment financed
GERMANY: Commercial bank Helaba Landesbank Hessen-Thüringen has arranged financing for the overhaul and refurbishment of 29 Erfurter Bahn RegioShuttle diesel multiple-units. Following an international tender, in November 2022, the Land of Thüringen awarded incumbent Erfurter Bahn the Ostthüringennetz contract to operate passenger services around Erfurt, Weimar, ...
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Rail Business UKSouth Western Railway operating contract extended
UK: The Department for Transport has exercised an option to extend South Western Railway’s National Rail Contract for a further two years. Directly-awarded NRCs are intended as an interim step between the Emergency Recovery Measures Agreements which were put in place during the pandemic, and the ...
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In depthFrance: Start-ups energise the passenger market
Open access passenger operators have so far had limited success in penetrating the French market, but a medley of ambitious entrepreneurs is now tackling the task. Jérémie Anne reports.
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NewsRENFE to create French subsidiary
FRANCE: The board of Spain’s national operator RENFE is to seek Spanish government approval for the formation of a French subsidiary to take advantage of the ongoing liberalisation of that market. Announcing its plan to set up a French business on February 2, RENFE said it ...
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NewsDowner selected for Queensland rolling stock contract
AUSTRALIA: Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk has announced the selection of Downer as preferred bidder for a contract to supply 65 six-car trains for use in the southeast of the state as part of the Queensland Train Manufacturing Programme. The 1 067 mm gauge trains are to ...
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NewsFranco-Swiss TGV partnership extended for five more years
EUROPE: The TGV Lyria cross-border passenger train partnership of France’s SNCF Voyageurs (74%) and Switzerland’s SBB (26%) has been extended for a further five years. The co-operation dates back 30 years. There are 17 return trips per day across the Genève – Paris, Lausanne – Paris ...