Passenger rail news – Page 5
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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 ...
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NewsFrench regions warn track access charge increase would hurt rail growth
FRANCE: Transport authorities from seven régions and the Greater Paris area’s Ile-de-France-Mobilités have asked the Conseil d’Etat, the supreme court for administrative matters, to reduce a planned increase in track access charges. Infrastructure manager SNCF Réseau’s access charges are calculated on a three-year cycle. Its proposal ...
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NewsToronto passenger train Operations & Maintenance contract finalised
CANADA: Transport agency Metrolinx has finalised the Operations & Maintenance contract for GO Transit passenger rail services in the Greater Toronto & Hamilton Area. The contract has been agreed with the ONxpress Operations Inc partnership of Deutsche Bahn International Operations (72%) and Aecon Group (28%), which ...
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NewsTorino – Ceres line reconnected to national network
ITALY: Services restarted on the Torino – Ceres regional line between central Torino, Caselle airport and Cirié on January 20 following the completion of the first phase of remodelling and reconstruction works. An opening ceremony on the previous day was attended by Minister of Infrastructure and ...
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NewsConstruction of Western Attica suburban line begins
GREECE: Work has begin the build the Western Attica suburban line to the west of Athens. The route will run 34·6 km from Ano Liosia to Megara on the alignment of an abandoned metre gauge line. There will be seven stations serving communities and industries which ...
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NewsChicago commuter operator allows bikes on all trains
USA: Chicago commuter operator Metra is making permanent a Covid-era policy allowing bicycles on all trains from February 1, and has begun manufacturing and installing bike racks on its coaches.
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NewsConcerns over PSO contracts directly awarded before tendering rule change
EUROPE: Concerns have been raised over the signing of directly awarded train operating contracts in several countries, shortly before the expiry of a provision in the Fourth Railway Package regulation on competitive tendering.
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NewsRail projects awarded EU military mobility funding
EUROPE: Rail freight facility development and capacity enhancement projects are included in 38 schemes to upgrade transport infrastructure for dual civilian and defence purposes which have been selected to receive €807m of Connecting Europe Facility funding.
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Rail Business UKConstruction of Birmingham Curzon Street HS2 station begins
UK: Main construction works for Birmingham Curzon Street High Speed 2 station were officially launched on January 24. The station has been designed by WSP and Grimshaw Architects, and according to HS2 Ltd is inspired by ‘the great arched roofs built by the Victorian railway pioneers’. ...
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NewsLimerick commuter rail station and upgrading studies commissioned
IRELAND: National railway Iarnród Éireann has appointed AtkinsRéalis to support the development of plans for three stations in Limerick and Dublin and an expansion of capacity on the line to Ennis. The Limerick Shannon Metropolitan Area Transport Strategy includes a proposal for the development of a ...
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Rail Business UKCapacity increase future-proofs Birmingham’s University station
UK: A three-year project to increase passenger capacity at University station on Birmingham’s Cross City Line was completed with the opening of two buildings on January 28. The station was designed for 500 000 passengers/year when it opened in 1978, but expansion of the university and ...
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NewsDSB unveils Talgo 230 for Denmark – Hamburg services
DENMARK: The first of the Talgo 230 trainsets for national passenger operator DSB’s long-distance and international EuroCity services was unveiled in København in January 25.
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Rail Business UKInterview: Avanti West Coast navigates complex path to recovery
UK: Avanti West Coast Managing Director Andy Mellors sets out how the operator intends to restore resilient operations and develop services further, explaining that there will be no return to the pre-Covid operating plan on Europe’s busiest mixed-use railway.
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NewsWien S-Bahn ring plans announced
AUSTRIA: The Wien municipality has announced plans to create an S-Bahn ring from 2032 by combining two services and upgrading a freight-only line for passenger use. The orbital service would be formed from the existing S80 and S45 services; S45 trains would be extended from Handelskai ...
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NewsBari – Bitritto railway opens
ITALY: Revenue passenger services on the newly-built Bari – Bitritto line began on January 9, following an inauguration ceremony the previous day. The standard gauge electrified single-track line is 11·9 km long, with 2·5 km running parallel to the existing Bari – Taranto main line and ...