News – Page 51
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NewsEast Japan Railway to work with University of Birmingham
INTERNATIONAL: East Japan Railway has signed a memorandum of understanding to work with the UK’s University of Birmingham on innovative technology and staff skills development. Shunzo Miyake, Director General of International Affairs at JR East, said the partnership announced on February 19 aims to ‘develop railway ...
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Rail Business UKUK urged to join Eurofima to facilitate access to cheaper rolling stock finance
UK: Eurofima is urging British policymakers to sign its convention, which would facilitate UK rail organisations’ access to cheaper funding for rolling stock and other equipment.
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In depthIran: International connections take shape slowly
Work is progressing on various cross-border rail links as Iranian Railways seeks to strengthen its role as a Eurasian rail hub. Toma Bačić investigates.
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NewsFootbath train launched to serve hot springs resort
JAPAN: Private train operator Kintetsu has modified one of its electric multiple-units to operate luxury tourist services between Nagoya and Yunoyama-Onsen, a hot springs resort in the Suzuka area of outstanding natural beauty.
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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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Rail Business UKTokyo Metro amongst bidders for Elizabeth Line operating contract
UK: Transport for London has shortlisted four bidders for the next concession to operate services on the cross-city Elizabeth Line. They are: Arriva UK Trains; First Keolis Elizabeth Line, a joint venture of FirstGroup and Keolis; GTS Rail Operations, a joint venture of Go-Ahead Group, ...
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NewsCalifornia orders more hydrogen trainsets
USA: California’s Department of Transportation has ordered six more Stadler Flirt H2 hydrogen fuel cell multiple-units. The $127m order announced on February 15 has been placed using an October 2023 framework contract which included an $80m firm order for four trains with options for up to ...
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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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NewsViewpoint: Faster freight trains are needed to save southeast Europe’s industry
Investment to raise the speeds of freight trains is needed to prevent deindustrialisation in the Balkans, says Philippe Rombaut, owner of Bulgarian fertiliser manufacturer Agropolychim which is investing in its own fleet of wagons
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In depthMiddle East: Visions of an inter-continental corridor
Proposals for the development of an India – Middle East – Europe ‘economic corridor’ were announced at the G20 summit in September 2023, but many questions remain about how the project might be implemented. Raghu Dayal investigates.
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Metro Report InternationalSecondment scheme to develop tram talent
UK: Light rail industry body UKTram is developing a framework for staff secondments with the aim of helping the sector retain top talent and to provide additional experience for young managers, engineers and other key personnel. More than half of UK light rail operators have already ...
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NewsProgress Rail to supply locomotives to Sumatra
INDONESIA: National railway PT KAI has awarded Progress Rail a contract to supply 54 EMD GT38AC locomotives from 2025 for use hauling freight in south Sumatra. The order announced on February 15 will add to the 91 GT38AC locomotives delivered since 2011. The 1 067 mm ...
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NewsSmart Train Lease aims ‘to make renting trains as easy and simple as renting a car’
GERMANY: Siemens Mobility has established a leasing subsidiary that would enable train operators to use its Mireo Smart battery, hydrogen and electric multiple-units without needing to make long-term investment commitments. Smart Train Lease GmbH would make available at short notice multiple-units already approved for operation. These ...
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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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NewsSBB orders more Giruno trains to boost Italian services
SWITZERLAND: Swiss Federal Railways has ordered five more Stadler Giruno 250 km/h inter-city trainsets to support a planned expansion of cross-border services to Italy. The SFr170m firm order announced on February 14 has been placed as an option on a SFr970m order for an initial 29 ...
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NewsPrototype Portuguese national train under development
PORTUGAL: A prototype national train is being developed under the Producing Railway Rolling Stock in Portugal initiative. Three inter-city coaches are to be manufactured by 2025, formed as a push-pull set including a first class car with driving cab and two standard class cars, one with ...
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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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Metro Report InternationalYouth representatives to join Transport for London meetings
UK: Members of Transport for London’s Youth Panel will represent the views of young Londoners at the quarterly Safety, Sustainability & Human Resources and Customer Service & Operational Performance panel meetings from February 21. TfL’s independent Youth Panel was established in 2009 and consists of around ...