Passenger rail news – Page 4
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Rail Business UKTransPennine Express confirms plans to ‘build back’ its timetable
UK: TransPennine Express has confirmed that it expects to begin reinstating services to meet commitments it made when it announced temporary timetable reductions in December 2023. Good progress has been made with crew training which will allow the operator to begin to restore services from June ...
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NewsSwiss railway collaboration to continue
SWITZERLAND: Collaboration between Swiss Federal Railways and the independent BLS is set to continue with the introduction of an additional longer distance service in December 2025. Taking advantage of the doubling of the 4 km Grellingen – Duggingen section in late 2025, BLS will introduce service ...
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Rail Business UKTransPennine Express refreshes ‘diluted and confused’ onboard catering
UK: TransPennine Express is to relaunch its onboard catering proposition from February 26 after a review concluded that its existing offering had become ‘diluted and confused’. The operator told stakeholders that this is partly the result of timetable enhancements which have not been matched by budget ...
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NewsProcurement of Portugal’s broad gauge high speed line begins
PORTUGAL: Tenders have been called for the starter section of the proposed high speed corridor between Lisboa and Porto. The first tenders covers Stage 1 between Porto and Oiã near Aveiro. Infrastructure manager Infraestruturas de Portugal held a ceremony at its headquarters at Almada on January ...
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NewsFour-pronged strategy to develop Pakistan Railways
PAKISTAN: A four-pronged strategy for financial autonomy, governance and growth, private sector participation and leveraging technology at Pakistan Railways has been set out by Railways Board Chairman Syed Mazhar Ali Shah. Financial Autonomy Shah said Pakistan Railways’ statutory position as a government ...
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NewsTrainline targets airport users during Super Bowl
USA: Ticket retailer Trainline is to show an advertisement for European rail travel on TV screens at US international airport terminals during Super Bowl LVIII commercial breaks, while on-screen adverts will appear during the game. ‘The Super Bowl has a near-mythical status in US culture and ...
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NewsCRRC electro-diesel multiple-units enter service in Chile
CHILE: The six four-car electro-diesel multiple-units that CRRC Sifang supplied for regional operator EFE Central have entered revenue services on the Santiago Estación Central – Curicó route. A ceremony on January 19 has been attended by Minister Secretary General of the Government, Camila Vallejo, Minister of ...
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NewsFinland’s VR to acquire Swedish open access operator
SWEDEN: Finnish national train operator VR Group has agreed to acquire MTR Nordic’s Swedish open access passenger business MTR Express. MTRX launched open access services between Stockholm and Göteborg in 2015. It now runs 18 services a day using six Stadler Flirt X74 EMUs and with ...
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Rail Business UKClass 730 EMU arrives in the West Midlands
UK: ‘Customers will have their breath taken away’ said West Midlands Mayor Andy Street when West Midlands Railway presented its Alstom Aventra Class 730 EMUs in Wolverhampton on February 8. As part of a £700m investment in new rolling stock, operator West Midlands Trains is introducing ...
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NewsMetronom to hand back operating contract
Source: Metronom/Jan Sieg GERMANY: Metronom is negotiating with Niedersachsen transport authority LNVG to terminate its contract to operate Hansenetz regional passenger services in June 2026 rather than in December 2033. In recent months Metronom has faced a series of problems including rising costs and a shortage ...
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NewsOurense station remodelling contract awarded
SPAIN: High speed infrastructure manager ADIF Alta Velocidad announced on February 1 that it had awarded Copasa, Constructora San José and Syneox Rail a €112m contract to remodel Ourense station as a hub for rail and bus transport in northwestern Spain. The ...
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NewsTransdev awarded Swedish train operating contract
SWEDEN: Östergötland transport authority Östgötatrafiken has selected Transdev for the next contract to operate Östgötapendeln passenger services. The regional services between Norrköping, Motala and Tranås are currently operated by Finland’s VR, which acquired Arriva’s Swedish activities. They use 18 Alstom Coradia Nordic X61 electric multiple-units, and carry ...
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NewsSaudi Arabia Railways orders its next generation of inter-city trains
SAUDI ARABIA: Saudi Arabia Railways has signed contracts for Stadler to supply its next generation of passenger trains. The Swiss manufacturer said these would ‘elevate train travel in the kingdom to the next level in terms of passenger comfort, travel experience and reliability’. The contracts signed ...
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NewsMadrid Atocha through platforms contract awarded
SPAIN: High speed rail infrastructure manager ADIF Alta Velocidad has awarded Dragados, Tecsa, San José and Puentes y Calzadas an 83-month contract worth €451·6 m to build low-level platforms at Madrid Atocha station The two island platforms on the 1 435 mm gauge cross-city route from ...
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Rail Business UKTrain operator launches British Sign Language interpretation service
UK: East Midlands Railway has signed up to a British Sign Language service to help deaf passengers communicate with staff. The service operated by InterpretersLive is accessed via an app or link which puts users in touch with an BSL interpreter. The interpreter finds out the ...
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Rail Business UKBattery traction trial ahead as TransPennine Express fortunes improve
UK: Overcrowding and short-notice cancellations at state-owned TransPennine Express have declined since the December timetable change, prompting Managing Director Chris Jackson to suggest the operator is in a ‘better place’.
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NewsDanish railway ready for 200 km/h operation
DENMARK: The railway between København and Ringsted via Køge Nord is now ready for 200 km/h running, infrastructure manager Banedanmark has announced.
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NewsAmtrak sets out 2024 plans as it aims to double ridership by 2040
USA: Amtrak has announced the steps it will take this year in support of its ‘ambitious’ plans to double annual ridership to 66 million passengers in 2040. On February 1, the national passenger operator’s President Roger Harris said Amtrak has two overarching objectives for 2024: ‘improving ...
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NewsConstruction of Seoul express Line C starts as part of the ‘first year of the GTX era’
SOUTH KOREA: Construction of Line C of the Great Train Express commuter rail network in Seoul started on January 25 with a groundbreaking ceremony at Uijeongbu attended by President Yoon Seok-yeol. The 86·5 km Line C will link Suwon in the south with Uijeongbu and Deokjeong ...
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NewsAustrian Federal Railways completes purchase of Go-Ahead’s German rail operations
GERMANY: Austrian Federal Railways’ purchase of The Go-Ahead Group’s rail activities in Germany was completed on February 1. This follows the European Commission’s approval of the deal announced in October. ÖBB told Railway Gazette International that ‘with this acquisition, ÖBB is pursuing its long-term goal of ...