Rack railway news
News about rack railways and rack-equipped trains around the world.
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NewsStadler to supply CBTC for Swiss mountain railway
SWITZERLAND: Transports Montreux-Vevey-Riviera has awarded Stadler a contract to equip the Montreux – Les Rochers-de-Naye mountain railway with its Nova Pro communications-based train control system.
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Rail Business UKSnowdon Mountain Railway orders integrated ticketing and sales system
UK: Visitor attraction ticketing and point-of-sale technology company Vennersys is to supply the Snowdon Mountain Railway with its VenposCloud software.
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NewsZentralbahn orders more trains to handle growing leisure traffic
SWITZERLAND: Metre-gauge operator Zentralbahn has awarded Stadler a contract to supply five more Adler electric multiple-units and three Fink units. These will provide additional capacity by 2030 to handle increasing leisure traffic including the growth of international tourism.
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NewsAppenzeller Bahnen applies to automate Rheineck – Walzenhausen line
SWITZERLAND: Appenzeller Bahnen has applied to the Federal Office of Transport for permission to convert its 1·96 km Rheineck –Walzenhausen rack-and-adhesion railway to fully automated operation.
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NewsBerner Oberland-Bahnen orders EMUs to accommodate growing ridership
SWITZERLAND: Berner Oberland-Bahnen has ordered five more electric multiple-units from Stadler as an option on an existing order.
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NewsMountain railway orders ‘most beautiful’ rack trains
SWITZERLAND: Transports Montreux-Vevey-Riviera has awarded Stadler a contract to supply eight rack trainsets with large panoramic windows enabling tourists to enjoy views of the Alps and Lac Léman. The order signed on May 20 marks the final phase of a programme to overhaul the 10 km ...
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NewsFranco-Swiss narrow gauge EMU deliveries begin
EUROPE: Stadler has delivered the first of seven dual-system electric multiple-units custom-designed for Mont Blanc Express services between France and Switzerland. The 55 km metre-gauge route is operated by Transports de Martigny et Régions, which is responsible for the Swiss section from Martigny to Le Châtelard, ...
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NewsEnhanced braking system raises speed on rack-and-pinion line
SWITZERLAND: Matterhorn Gotthard Railway and Stadler have unveiled a jointly-developed v+ braking system, which they say will enable operation of the ’world’s fastest’ rack-and-pinion rail service. One of MGBahn’s Stadler Orion metre-gauge electric multiple-units used on the Andermatt – Göschenen branch has been fitted with v+ ...
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NewsSwiss operator orders rack trains
SWITZERLAND: Transports Publics du Chablais has awarded Stadler a SFr140m contract to supply 13 rack-equipped Beh4/8 electric multiple-units. They are scheduled to enter service on the 6·2 km Aigle – Leysin and 17·1 km Bex – Villars – Bretaye lines from September 2028. The 1 000 ...
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Metro Report InternationalDolderbahn rack railcar unveiled
SWITZERLAND: Stadler has delivered the first of two railcars which it is supplying to re-equip the Dolderbahn rack railway in Zürich.
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NewsRack line track renewals
CZECH REPUBLIC: Infrastructure manager Správa Železnic has called tenders for track renewals on its steepest section of line and its only rack railway, between Tanvald and Kořenov on the Liberec – Jelenia Góra cross-border route to Poland. Ordinary services do not use the Abt rack and ...
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NewsPanoramique des Dômes mountain railway trains to be refurbished
FRANCE: Suppler Stadler and local company ACC M are to undertake the mid-life refurbishment of the four GTW2/8 trainsets used on the Panoramique des Dômes mountain railway. The 5 km metre-gauge line equipped with the Strub rack system opened in 2012 to provide access to the ...
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NewsJade Dragon Snow Mountain railway opens
CHINA: A new railway has been opened to connect the UNESCO World Heritage listed Old Town of Lijiang with the Jade Dragon Snow Mountain, offering a less congested and polluting alternative to the existing road. The 20·8 km Lijiang sightseeing railway was designed and ...
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NewsChinese panoramic rack train rolled out
CHINA: CRRC Ziyang has unveiled a rack trainset for a 129 km metre-gauge railway being built to link Dujiangyan with a panda reserve and the Mount Siguniang scenic tourist area in Sichuan province. The four-car 1·5 kV DC electric multiple-unit which was rolled out on November ...
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Metro Report InternationalStuttgart places LRV order as rack railcar enters service
GERMANY: Stuttgarter Strassenbahnen has awarded Stadler a contract to supply a further 40 light rail vehicles from 2025. The order announced on October 5 will take SSB’s fleet of Stadler LRVs to 100 vehicles of various types supplied since 2009, plus three rack railcars. There are ...
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NewsRack railway to be converted to driverless operation
SWITZERLAND: Stadler is to supply what it says will be the first fully automated adhesion and rack-and-pinion railcar for use on in an open overland railway environment, rather than in a tunnel or closed network where there is little risk of an obstacle on the line. ...
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Metro Report InternationalDolderbahn rack railcar design unveiled
SWITZERLAND: City transport operator Verkehrsbetriebe Zürich has unveiled the design of two railcars ordered for the Dolderbahn, which climbs 162 m in 1 328 m using the von Roll rack system. In June 2021 VBZ awarded Stadler Bussnang a SFr10·6m contract to supply two Bhe 1/2 ...
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NewsOrion narrow gauge rack EMU unveiled
SWITZERLAND: The first of the Orion metre-gauge rack electric multiple-units ordered by Matterhorn Gotthard Bahn has been unveiled at Stadler’s Bussnang factory. In March 2020 MGB placed a SFr148·5m order for 12 EMUs to replace locomotive-hauled stock as part of its 2030 fleet strategy. It has ...
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NewsMont-Blanc Express trains ordered
EUROPE: Stadler is to supply seven rack-equipped electric multiple-units for Mont-Blanc Express services on the 1 000 mm gauge line between Martigny in Switzerland and Saint-Gervais-les-Bains-Le Fayet in France. The two-car EMUs will be equipped for 850 V DC overhead and third rail power supplies. They ...
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NewsMountain railway trains enter service
SWITZERLAND: Mountain railway and cable car operator Rigi Bahnen officially unveiled its new Stadler rack EMUs on April 7, with the first train entering passenger service the following day. Equipped with the Riggenbach rack technology, the 1·5 kV DC Bhe 4/6 EMUs will initially be used ...
