Passenger rail news – Page 95
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NewsZentralbahn to take over Meiringen-Innertkirchen-Bahn
SWITZERLAND: Metre-gauge operator Zentralbahn is to purchase the 5 km Meiringen-Innertkirchen-Bahn from hydroelectric power company Kraftwerke Oberhasli, which has decided to pull out of rail operations because of growing regulatory requirements for what is not part of its core energy business. The MIB connects with the Zentralbahn ...
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Metro Report InternationalSeoul inaugurates Suin line connection
SOUTH KOREA: The Suin and Bundang lines in Seoul have been connected with the opening of an 18·8 km link between Hanyang University at Ansan and Suwon. Suwon Mayor Yeom Tae-young, Minister of Land, Infrastructure & Transport Kim Hyun-mi and Gyeonggi province Governor ...
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NewsGerman branch line reopening rejected
GERMANY: Reopening an out-of-use part of the former Gersprenztalbahn route east of Darmstadt is not economically viable, a feasibility study has concluded. Improvements to existing bus and Odenwaldbahn services have been deemed more cost effective. The study into reopening 3·1 km of the Gersprenztalbahn from Reinheim to ...
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NewsBLS unveils ‘modern, innovative, compact, all-round’ trains
SWITZERLAND: The first of 58 electric multiple-units ordered by BLS was unveiled at Stadler’s Erlen commissioning centre on September 9. The latest members of the Flirt multiple-unit family have been branded MIKA, meaning Moderner, Innovativer, Kompakter Allroundzug (modern, innovative, compact, all-round train). Two ...
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Rail Business UKGrand Central drops plans for Blackpool – London open access service
Rail Business UK understands that after months of work exploring all options, it had become clear that the service would not be financially viable until at least 2024.
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NewsGovernment told to appoint permanent Prasa board as ridership decline continues
SOUTH AFRICA: Badisa Matshego was appointed as the de facto head of Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa by the national finance ministry on September 1, joining the embattled passenger operator from airport management company ACSA. Matshego arrived as Accounting Officer following the annulment of the appointment ...
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Rail Business UKClass 730 EMU for Birmingham’s Cross-City Line revealed
UK: One of the Bombardier Transportation Class 730 Aventra electric multiple-units which West Midlands Trains has ordered for its Cross-City Line services through Birmingham has been unveiled at the manufacturer’s Derby factory. ‘Designed and built in Derby they really are made in the ...
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Rail Business UKClass 230 variants approved for passenger service
UK: The Office of Rail & Road has given authorisation for battery and diesel-battery versions of Vivarail’s Class 230 D-Train multiple-units to be used in passenger service. Battery set No 230 002 is a demonstrator trainset powered only by batteries which was completed in 2018 and is ...
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NewsBLS CEO steps down after Federal Audit Office finds flaws in accounting processes
SWITZERLAND: The country’s second largest railway has an overly complex accounting process which needs improvement, according to an investigation of flawed reporting for public funding by BLS which was published by the Federal Audit Office on September 3. Following the publication of the report, BLS announced that ...
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NewsRegioJet takes on MÁV-Start by offering intra-Hungarian fares
RegioJet’s Hungarian service links Budapest with Wien twice daily. HUNGARY: RegioJet has begun selling tickets for journeys within Hungary on its Praha – Wien – Budapest services, becoming the first private operator to challenge incumbent MÁV-Start on domestic journeys. On August 26 the open access operator began ...
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NewsAmtrak works with Reckitt Benckiser to increase cleaning
USA: Amtrak is to work with cleaning, health and household products manufacturer Reckitt Benckiser to strengthen its disinfection protocols for trains, stations and lounges. RB is to supply disinfection equipment for use across high-touch and high-traffic areas, including products which Amtrak said were proven to be effective ...
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NewsThree prequalify for large Swiss train contract
SWITZERLAND: Three manufacturers have prequalified for a contract to supply a total of 194 electric-multiple units in a procurement process which is being run by Swiss Federal Railways and its local operating joint ventures Thurbo in Thurgau and RegionAlps in Valais. The shortlisted bidders announced on September ...
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NewsVoters reject Liechtenstein S-Bahn proposal
LIECHTENSTEIN: Plans for a cross-border S-Bahn service linking Austria and Switzerland through the principality were rejected by 62·3% of voters in a referendum held on August 30. A letter of intent to go ahead with the long-planned project had been signed by Liechtenstein’s Deputy Prime Minister and ...
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Rail Business UKGWR Emergency Measures Agreement extended
UK: On September 1 the Department for Transport exercised its option to extend the Emergency Measures Agreement covering FirstGroup’s Great Western franchise until at least June 26 2021. FirstGroup Chief Executive Matthew Gregory said this ‘provides important clarity and continuity for our customers, employees and wider stakeholders’. ...
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NewsTrinity Railway Express information systems to be replaced
USA: The Dallas Area Rapid Transit board has approved a contract for MacKenzie Laboratories to replace the automated information system on the Trinity Railway Express commuter rail fleet which operates between Dallas and Fort Worth. MacKenzie Laboratories will replace the public address and intercom systems, as well ...
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Rail Business UKTrain operators resist proposed Emergency Remedial Measures Agreements
UK: With the current Emergency Measures Agreements with franchised passenger train operating companies set to expire on September 20, industry sources report that some TOCs have been ‘resistant’ to the terms of the successor Emergency Remedial Measures Agreements proposed by the Department for Transport. Rail Business ...
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NewsMassachusetts commuter rail construction contract awarded
USA: Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority’s Fiscal & Management Control Board has approved the award of the second and largest of the two principal construction packages for the South Coast Rail Phase 1 project. The $1·047bn project which is scheduled for completion in late 2023 will extend Boston’s ...
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NewsMÁV-Start seeks up to 50 battery-electric trainsets
Procurement of a battery-electric fleet would allow low-floor DMUs to redeployed. HUNGARY: National passenger operator MÁV-Start has called tenders for an initial 20 bi-mode multiple-units with an option for 30 more. The trains will have to be able to operate in 25 kV 50 Hz electric mode ...
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NewsEurostar plans to start direct Amsterdam – London trains in October
EUROPE: Cross-Channel high speed operator Eurostar has confirmed its intention to launch direct Amsterdam – London St Pancras services from October 26, complementing the London – Amsterdam trains which have run since April 2018. The announcement follows the conclusion earlier this year of negotiations between the ...
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NewsNightjet depot investment to support sleeper train network expansion
AUSTRIA: Austrian Federal Railways held a groundbreaking ceremony on August 21 to launch the construction of a €40m facility at its Wien Simmering depot for the maintenance of its Nightjet overnight train fleet. The project includes construction of a 235 m x 24 m building with two ...