Passenger rail news – Page 91
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NewsKarachi Circular Railway section revived
PAKISTAN: The long-proposed resumption of services on part of the Karachi Circular Railway was celebrated with an inaugural train on November 19. Pakistan Railways has reinstated a passenger service on an initial 14 km of the 55 km orbital route around the city, with was developed ...
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NewsBST to supply 250 km/h CR300AF trainsets
CHINA: China Railway has awarded the Bombardier Sifang (Qingdao) Transportation joint venture a 1·6bn yuan contract to supply 14 eight-car CR300AF trainsets by January 2021. The 50:50 joint venture of Bombardier Transportation and CRRC Sifang Rolling Stock was first chosen to supply China Standard high speed trains ...
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NewsPikes Peak rack railway coach ready for commissioning
USA: The first of the coaches which Stadler’s Bussnang plant in Switzerland is building for the Broadmoor Manitou & Pikes Peak Cog Railway in Colorado has been handed over to the commissioning team. The 14·3 km standard gauge mountain railway opened in 1891. Following a review ...
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NewsPKP Intercity restaurant cars refurbished
POLAND: PKP Intercity has taken delivery of 10 restaurant cars which have been refurbished and modernised at the H Cegielski FPS plant in Poznań. Forming part of a mid-life heavy maintenance programme which also included the modernisation of Type 145Ab compartment coaches, the work has been undertaken ...
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NewsState budget backs Melbourne ring line
AUSTRALIA: Prequalification will start by the end of 2020 for work on Melbourne’s orbital Suburban Rail Loop, Victoria state Premier Daniel Andrews announced on November 16. The 90 km underground line will run from Cheltenham in the south to Werribee in the west via the northern ...
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NewsAmtrak welcomes FRA rule on passenger train performance
USA: After a hotly contested process lasting more than a decade, the Federal Railroad Administration published a Final Rule on November 16 establishing metrics and minimum standards to measure the performance and service quality of inter-city passenger trains.
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Rail Business UKFranchise termination negotiations in turmoil
UK: Passenger franchise owning groups are reportedly considering legal options including judicial review over the process being followed by the Department for Transport for termination of their existing franchise agreements and the transition to directly awarded contracts.
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Metro Report InternationalSydney travel app adds social distancing information
AUSTRALIA: Transport for New South Wales has worked with Amazon Web Services, digital services company Tigerspike and transport software developer AppJourney to add physical distancing and passenger occupancy notifications for Sydney Trains and metro services to the Opal Travel app. Passengers can receive real time alerts about ...
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NewsHit Rail to provide interoperable European rail ticketing platform
EUROPE: The International Union of Railways has awarded railway IT specialist Hit Rail a contract to supply an Open Sales & Distribution Model platform to replace its existing PRIFIS international tariff distribution tool. Developed jointly by UIC, train operators and ticket vendors, OSDM provides a European industry ...
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NewsFramework agreement for up to 60 EMUs signed
CZECH REPUBLIC: National operator ČD has signed a framework agreement with Škoda Transportation and Škoda Vagonka covering the supply of up to 60 RegioPanter regional electric multiple-units with a potential value of almost KC9·6bn. One other bid was submitted. Firm orders are to be placed as and ...
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NewsKenyatta inaugurates Nairobi commuter DMU service
KENYA: The five diesel multiple-units procured by Kenya Railways Corp to expand its Nairobi commuter operations were formally launched into service on November 10. The first train was flagged off at Nairobi Central Station by President Uhuru Kenyatta, who was joined at the ...
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NewsPublic funds to save Italo-NTV
ITALY: From November 10, high speed open access operator Italo-NTV will cut back its services to a bare minimum because a second national lockdown needed to combat Covid-19 has caused demand to collapse.
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NewsMireo Smart to speed EMU deliveries
GERMANY: Siemens Mobility has announced plans to offer a standardised version of its Mireo articulated multiple-unit family, in a bid to reduce costs and shorten delivery times.
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NewsAmtrak quick to welcome Biden win
USA: National passenger rail corporation Amtrak was one of the first organisations to welcome the news on November 7 that Joe Biden had won the US presidential election.
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In depthRolling stock: Olympic deadline governs TGV M rollout
The first of 100 next-generation TGV sets is due to enter service with French national operator SNCF in time to carry passengers during the 2024 Olympic Games. Murray Hughes investigates.
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NewsBrightline West construction delayed as bond sale fails
USA: Construction of the privately-funded Brightline West passenger line between Southern California and Las Vegas in Nevada has been delayed indefinitely after a $2·4bn bond offering failed to attract buyers. It had been hoped that construction of the electrified line designed for 200 km/h operation could start ...
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NewsBoard appointed at ‘too big to fail’ Prasa
SOUTH AFRICA: The government has appointed a permanent management board for national operator Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa for the first time since 2017.
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NewsDesiro HC EMUs en route to Tel Aviv
ISRAEL: The first two of 24 partly double-deck electric multiple-units being built for Israel Railways by Siemens Mobility have been shipped from Hamburg and are due to arrive in Israel towards the end of November.
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NewsErmstalbahn modernisation programme gets underway
GERMANY: Erms-Neckar-Bahn AG has begun work to modernise and electrify the 10 km Ermstalbahn between Metzingen and Bad Urach in Baden-Württemberg. This forms part of the Regionalstadtbahn Neckar-Alb programme to develop a Karlsruhe-style tram-train network.
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Rail Business UKHull Trains and Grand Central to suspend services again
UK: Open access operators Hull Trains and Grand Central are to suspend services again as England enters a second period of coronavirus lockdown running for four weeks from November 5. The open access companies operate on a purely commercial basis, and were not entitled to the government ...