Passenger rail news – Page 85
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NewsInternational rail travel revival endorsed by European stakeholders
EUROPE: Stakeholders from across the rail sector have endorsed political proposals for the revitalisation and expansion of international passenger services, and committed to assist with future development to make rail ‘the preferred mode’ for international travel.
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NewsYear of Rail must focus on modal shift
EUROPE: ‘We need to have a medium and long-term vision for rail’, emphasised Portugal’s Minister for Infrastructure & Housing Pedro Nuno Santos on March 29, officially launching the European Union Year of Rail with a virtual conference hosted from Lisboa.
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NewsItalian support packages approved
ITALY: Two packages of Italian government support provided to the rail sector during the coronavirus crisis have been approved by the European Commission under EU state aid rules. One was a €270m measure to reduce track access costs for freight and commercial passenger operators between March ...
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NewsBarraqueiro forms Portuguese open access operator
PORTUGAL: Bus and coach group Barraqueiro has established B-Rail as a subsidiary to run open access passenger train services along the Atlantic corridor linking cities in the north and south of the country as part of an integrated multi-modal transport strategy. B-Rail has applied to national ...
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NewsGippsland upgrading contract awarded
AUSTRALIA: Rail Projects Victoria has finalised an A$300m contract with the VicConnect Alliance of Decmil, UGL and Arup to undertake the Gippsland Rail Upgrade project, which will improve the regional line between Melbourne, Traralgon and Bairnsdale, southeast of Melbourne.
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NewsStadler awarded Circumvesuviana EMU contract
ITALY: Napoli regional transport operator EAV has awarded Stadler an eight-year framework agreement for the supply of up to 40 electric multiple-units for use the on the 950 mm gauge Circumvesuviana lines. EAV aims to improve the travel experience by progressively replacing the oldest trainsets in ...
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NewsArmenian operator updates its fleet
ARMENIA: Transmashholding has been awarded a contract to supply 27 coaches and two electric multiple-units to South Caucasus Railway, a Russian Railways subsidiary which operates the Armenian network under a long-term concession agreement. The order includes 21 Type 61-4517 sleeping cars with ...
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NewsIndian Railways updates its premium sleeping car fleet
INDIA: A fleet of 500 sleeping cars is to be rolled out to refresh Indian Railways’ premium long distance trains during the 2021-22 financial year starting on April 1. According to the Ministry of Railways, the Tejas Sleepers will offer ‘a paradigm shift in the travel ...
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NewsMetra to install enhanced air filters on Chicago commuter fleet
USA: Chicago commuter operator Metra has selected Transitair Systems for a $6·6m contract to provide new air filtration and purification systems for nearly 700 coaches which are not due to be replaced by the Alstom cars which it has recently ordered. The equipment is designed to ...
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NewsTurkey extends rail subsidies to the end of 2023
TURKEY: Parliament has passed legislation extending state support for infrastructure manager TCDD and national train operator TCDD Taşımcılık until at least the end of 2023, with a clause allowing the President to extend subsidies for up to a further 10 years without recourse to parliament. The ...
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NewsJR East’s driver-only Series 131 EMUs enter traffic on the Boso peninsula
JAPAN: East Japan Railway has put into service its fleet of Series E131 EMUs on the relatively lightly used lines serving the Boso peninsula in Chiba Prefecture with effect from the March 13 timetable change.
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Rail Business UKScottish Government to take over ScotRail in March 2022
UK: The ScotRail franchise is to be taken over by the Scottish Government on the expiry of the current contract with Abellio in March 2022, Transport Secretary Michael Matheson has confirmed. Services are to be operated by an arm’s length Operator of Last Resort, wholly owned ...
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NewsSGR operating contract to be terminated
KENYA: The government has given notice that it intend to transfer control of operations on the country’s standard-gauge railway to Kenya Railway Corp from May 2022.
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NewsAmerica Rescue Plan funding foreshadows Amtrak’s return to growth
USA: The passage through both houses of Congress of the America Rescue Plan Act in early March has been welcomed by Amtrak CEO Bill Flynn, with the national passenger rail company set to receive $1∙7bn in recovery funding.
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NewsRENFE to take stake in Leo Express in support of internationalisation strategy
EUROPE: Spanish national operator RENFE has announced its intention to acquire a 50% stake in central European open access operator Leo Express. RENFE said it sees a strategic opportunity to develop international business activities as Spain’s domestic market opens to competition. The proposed acquisition announced on ...
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NewsAlstom and Stadler to renew RENFE commuter train fleets
SPAIN: National operator RENFE has confirmed Alstom and Stadler as the winners of two contracts to supply and maintain 1 668 mm gauge high capacity electric multiple-units to replace existing stock on the Madrid and Barcelona commuter networks. The new trains will have a 20% greater ...
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NewsDB to launch Lufthansa SuperSprinters
GERMANY: Non-stop inter-city trains linking Köln with München and Berlin in less than 4 h are to be introduced from the December 2021 timetable change, as part of an expansion of air-rail links announced by DB Fernverkehr and Lufthansa on March 8.
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News‘Relieve, refresh, reload’ concept for station toilets
SPAIN: One Hundred Restrooms has won a tender to lease and operate public toilets at ADIF Alta Velocidad’s most important stations, and says its ‘relieve, refresh, reload’ concept for high quality facilities will ’turn a toilet visit from a necessary evil into a reviving micro break’. ...
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NewsVilnius Connect to create an ‘iconic and globally recognisable’ station for the future
LITHUANIA: The city of Vilnius and national railway LTG have launched an international architectural competition seeking ‘radical’ proposals to create an ‘iconic and globally recognisable’ multi-modal transport terminal and public realm for the capital. ‘Our goal is that any person who arrives in Vilnius by train ...
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NewsRailcoop reaches initial funding target
FRANCE: Not-for-profit co-operative Railcoop confirmed on March 4 that it had achieved its target of raising initial capital of €1∙5m to fund the establishment of an open access freight and passenger operator.