Passenger rail news – Page 94
-
NewsNorth Carolina to buy line for proposed passenger service
USA: North Carolina Department of Transportation has been awarded a $47·5m Consolidated Rail Infrastructure & Safety Improvements federal grant to support the acquisition of a CSX corridor between Raleigh and Ridgeway near the border with Virginia. The former Seaboard Air Line main line has been partially disused ...
-
NewsBrazilian passenger rail revival agreement
BRAZIL: An agreement intended to pave the way for the eventual introduction of more passenger services on the national rail network has been signed by the ANPTrilhos association of passenger operators and the Ministry of Infrastructure. The technical co-operation agreement was signed on September 14 by ANPTrilhos ...
-
Rail Business UKDfT clarifies ERMA end dates as next steps negotiated
UK: The Department for Transport has confirmed the timescales for the Emergency Recovery Measures Agreements which were signed with franchised train operating companies earlier this month. Industry insiders note that the staggered end dates reflect a sensible approach to the situation, and create a ‘manageable pipeline’ for ...
-
NewsRail Broadcast Week reaches a global audience
INTERNATIONAL: Around 1 700 registered viewers across the globe participated in Railway Gazette Group’s inaugural Rail Broadcast Week from September 21 to 25 2020. Supported by headline sponsor Siemens Mobility, Rail Broadcast Week brought together a wide mix of industry leaders, decision-makers and academics from around the ...
-
NewsBordeaux RER plans take shape
FRANCE: Nouvelle-Aquitaine region has announced the first tentative steps towards the development of a proposed regional express network around Bordeaux. Bordeaux Métropole and Nouvelle-Aquitaine signed an accord in December 2018 to work on the development of an RER network to serve the Bordeaux metropolitan area over the ...
-
NewsRegioJet’s train to Croatia is a sell-out summer success
EUROPE: Open access operator RegioJet’s summer service linking the Czech Republic and Slovakia with Croatia’s Adriatic coast carried more than 60 000 passengers on 120 trains during its first season of operation. RegioJet announced the summer-only overnight service on June 1, and 30 000 tickets had been ...
-
NewsLotus Temple inspired styling for Delhi – Meerut RRTS commuter trains
INDIA: The design of the trainsets ordered for the 82 km Delhi – Ghaziabad – Meerut Regional Rapid Transit System commuter line was unveiled on September 25. Bombardier Transportation said the ‘fresh, modern and advanced’ design had been inspired by Delhi’s Lotus Temple, ‘resonating a unique amalgamation ...
-
NewsShort Line Safety Institute offers assessment model to commuter operators
USA: The Short Line Safety Institute says its FRA-recognised multi-method Safety Culture Assessment process for freight railways could be easily transferable to commuter train operators. The institute said on September 17 that a recently-published study looking at the methodology and results of a safety assessment for a ...
-
NewsJR Hokkaido unveils updated Series 261 DMU
JAPAN: The first of two Series 261-5000 DMUs being built for JR Hokkaido by Kawasaki Heavy Industries was unveiled on September 20, ahead of a public launch in Sapporo on September 26. Being built at a cost of around ¥4bn, the two five-car DMUs will be used ...
-
NewsVectron locomotives approved for operation in Denmark
DENMARK: The first three of 42 Siemens Mobility Vectron AC electric locomotives ordered by national passenger operator DSB are expected to be delivered this month, after the Transport, Construction & Housing Authority granted approval for operation in Denmark on September 15. The 6·4 ...
-
NewsFRA approvals pave way for Texas high speed line construction
USA: Construction of the Texas Central high speed line linking Houston with Dallas is expected to start in the coming months following completion of the regulatory approval process. This concluded on September 21 when the Federal Railroad Administration released a pre-publication version of its final Rule ...
-
NewsOuigo España sets date to launch Falbalá
SPAIN: High speed open access services between Madrid and Barcelona under the Falbalá brand are now expected to be launched on March 15 2021. The launch had originally been planned for December this year, but was delayed by the Covid-19 pandemic. Announcing the new date on September ...
-
Metro Report InternationalDenver opens North Metro Rail
USA: Denver’s Regional Transportation District formally inaugurated the first phase of its North Metro Rail commuter service to Thornton on September 21, with a ceremony attended by RTD General Manager & CEO Paul Ballard, Chair Angie Rivera-Malpiede and local authority representatives. Developed by ...
-
NewsTrans-Europ-Express renaissance proposed
EUROPE: A network of international long-distance high speed passenger services spanning much of western Europe could be launched by 2025 if proposals announced by Germany’s Federal Minister for Transport Andreas Scheuer at a virtual conference of Europe’s transport ministers on September 21 are taken forward. The proposals ...
-
NewsStaff invited to design TGV M livery
FRANCE: With the first SNCF’s next-generation TGV M power cars and trailers taking shape at Alstom’s factories in Belfort and La Rochelle respectively, the operator and its supplier have invited their staff to come up with a design for the livery of the two test trains.
-
Rail Business UKUK government announces the end of rail franchising
UK:·The government has announced the end of rail franchising, with Secretary of State for Transport Grant Shapps saying ‘the model of privatisation adopted 25 years ago has seen significant rises in passenger numbers, but this pandemic has proven that it is no longer working’.
-
NewsKeolis Downer to run Adelaide suburban network
AUSTRALIA: Keolis Downer has been awarded an A$2·1bn contract to operate the 122 km Adelaide Metro suburban rail network for eight years from the end of January 2021, with an optional four-year extension.
-
NewsWarszawa – Vilnius passenger service to launch next year
EUROPE: A letter of intent for the launch of a Warszawa – Vilnius passenger service was signed by the Lithuanian national railway’s passenger business LTG Link and its Polish counterpart PKP Intercity on September 17. The service is expected to start in late 2021, offering a journey ...
-
NewsMonterrey commuter rail study
MEXICO: The state of Nuevo León’s strategic projects agency FIDEPROES has awarded SENER Engineering a contract to undertake technical studies for a proposed commuter rail service linking Mariano Escobedo Airport and García in the Monterrey area. This would use 62 km of existing tracks and serve 27 ...
-
In depthNGOs propose five policies for climate-friendly European rail renaissance
A group of European climate NGOs has proposed five policies to encourage modal shift to rail in support of EU greenhouse gas reduction targets. Lena Donat, Policy Advisor Low-Carbon Mobility at development and environment organisation Germanwatch, explains what is needed