Passenger rail news – Page 72
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NewsStart selects Stadler to supply cross-border EMU fleet
EUROPE: Regionalverkehr Start Deutschland has awarded Stadler a contract to supply 20 Flirt3XL electric multiple-units for use on Maas-Wupper-Express service RE13 between Germany and the Netherlands.
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Rail Business UKTechnology replaces hand signals at Scottish request stops
UK: Eight lightly-used stations on the Far North line in Scotland are being provided with ‘request to stop’ kiosks, removing the need for waiting passengers to give hand signals to the driver of an approaching train. The kiosks supplied by Unipart Technologies Group’s Comms Design will ...
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NewsHeidekrautbahn hydrogen trains ordered
GERMANY: Niederbarnimer Eisenbahn has awarded Siemens Mobility a contract to supply and support six hydrogen fuel cell-powered multiple-units for use on Heidekrautbahn service RB27 to the north of Berlin. Delivery is scheduled by the end of September 2024, for operation from the December 2024 timetable change. ...
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NewsBulgarian train operations reintegrated
BULGARIA: The state rail operations holding company BDZ Holding and its passenger BDZ Ptnicheski Prevozi passenger and BDZ Tovarni Prevozi freight businesses have been reunited as one organisation, Minister of Transport & Communications Nikolay Sabev announced on February 4.
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NewsMore electro-diesel trainsets ordered
POLAND: Zachodniopomorskie voivodship has placed a 100m złoty order for a further five Newag Impuls 2 36WEh electro-diesel multiple-units for use on partially electrified routes. The additional sets have been ordered using an option in an August 2020 contract which covered an initial two units worth ...
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NewsCommuter rail operations and maintenance to be brought in-house
USA: Having opted to bring the operation and maintenance of its Sprinter and Coaster commuter rail services in-house from June 26, San Diego’s North County Transit District has awarded Siemens Mobility a Technical Support & Spares Supply Agreement covering its Desiro diesel multiple-units. The deal announced ...
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In depthInterview: Turning Budapest into a European rail hub
A 20-year strategy for expanding Budapest’s regional and long-distance rail connections envisages the construction of new and upgraded cross-city links to alleviate the bottlenecks caused by the River Danube and the capital’s three termini, explains Budapest Development Agency CEO Dávid Vitézy.
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NewsSão Paulo inter-city tender delayed
BRAZIL: The government of São Paulo state has postponed the tender for a 30-year concession to operate an inter-city passenger service between São Paulo and Campinas. The state’s Transport Secretariat had been planning to publish the tender in December 2021, but it said that a delay ...
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NewsCzech passenger rail lobbying group targets bigger market share
CZECH REPUBLIC: Four passenger operators have established lobbying group SVOD Bohemia to jointly promote passenger rail transport against other modes. The group is modelled on the rail freight lobbying group Žesnad which was established in 2016. SVOD Bohemia has set a target of increasing rail’s share ...
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NewsAmtrak to order more long-distance Chargers
USA: Amtrak’s board of directors has approved the purchase of further Siemens Charger diesel locomotives, Vice-President & Chief Mechanical Officer George Hull announced on February 8.
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NewsWesel – Bocholt line electrified
GERMANY: Electric operation of Rhein-IJssel-Express service RE19 on the 20·3 km Bocholter Bahn in Nordrhein-Westfalen began on February 1, following a seven month programme to modernise and electrify the branch from Wesel to Bocholt. The trains are operated by VIAS Rail, with Bocholt services now running ...
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NewsGo-Ahead Group joins AllRail
EUROPE: Train and bus operator Go-Ahead Group has joined the AllRail alliance of new entrants to the European rail market. UK-based Go-Ahead operates rail and bus services in its home market, and since 2015 has been targeting international expansion with rail contracts in Germany and Norway ...
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NewsWork starts on Perth’s Ellenbrook interchange
AUSTRALIA: Work has started on the terminus of Perth’s northeastern suburban line, with a groundbreaking ceremony for the rail-bus interchange at Ellenbrook attended by Western Australia’s Premier Mark McGowan and Transport Minister Rita Saffioti. Being built as part of the state’s Metronet ...
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NewsIP calls tenders to restore narrow-gauge missing link
PORTUGAL: Rail and road network manager Infraestruturas de Portugal has called tenders for the renovation and reopening of the central section of the 1 000 mm gauge Vouga line between Oliveira de Azemeis and Sernada do Vouga.
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NewsFramework contract agreed for 50 passenger locomotives
BELGIUM: National passenger operator SNCB has awarded Alstom a framework contract for the supply of up to 50 third-generation Traxx electric locomotives, with a €120m firm order for an initial 24 to be delivered from 2026. The 200 km/h locomotives are be used on domestic and cross-border ...
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Metro Report InternationalViaMobilidade takes over São Paulo suburban lines 8 and 9
BRAZIL: State-owned suburban operator Companhia Paulista de Trens Metropolitanos has handed over management, operation and maintenance of Line 8 (Diamante) and Line 9 (Esmeralda) to private-sector concessionaire ViaMobilidade, a consortium owned 83% by CCR and 17% by RuasInvest. The two lines are the busiest of CPTM’s seven routes.
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NewsDB Regio to operate Netz 18 electric services
GERMANY: The Land of Baden-Wurttenberg and local authority body Zweckverband ÖPNV im Ammertal have awarded sole bidder DB Regio the Netz 18 contract to operate service RB63 between Herrenberg, Tübingen, Metzingen and Bad Urach from December 2022. The regional passenger service will use the 21 km ...
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NewsTendering ahead as Finnish operating contract signed
FINLAND: The Ministry of Transport & Communications and national operator VR have signed a directly-awarded public service obligation contract for the operation of loss-making passenger services over the next nine years, with provision for the procurement of new rolling stock and greater regional involvement in funding ...
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NewsCharger locos ordered for Montréal commuter services
CANADA: Montréal regional transport authority Exo has awarded Siemens Mobility a C$132m contract to supply 10 Charger diesel locomotives for use on its commuter services. The Chargers will be delivered from 2025 to replace F59PH locomotives which Exo acquired in 2011 from GO Transit in Toronto, ...
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In depthJapan: Kintetsu plans a post-pandemic recovery
Regional operator Kintetsu is looking to refocus its business in the Kansai region with real estate and leisure developments aimed at changing lifestyles and reflecting new working patterns. Mike Bent investigates.













