News – Page 72
-
NewsPassenger services resume on two lines in Piemonte after 12-year hiatus
ITALY: Following 12 years without passenger services, trains have started running again on two regional railways in the Piemonte region. The regional government will subsidise each service by €3m annually, says Marco Gabusi, portfolio holder for transport. Trains are to be run by national operator Trenitalia; ...
-
-
Rail Business UKZero on-site emission overhead line renewals
UK: Infrastructure manager Network Rail has completed a four-night overhead line equipment renewal project at Royston which, for the first time in its Eastern Region, was undertaken with the worksite producing no carbon emissions. Hybrid engineering vehicles operated solely in battery mode, welfare facilities were powered ...
-
NewsMetra awarded funding to buy battery trains
USA: Chicago commuter operator Metra has been awarded a $169·3m federal Congestion Mitigation & Air Quality Improvement grant for the purchase of up to 16 battery multiple-units. Metra said the zero-emission trainsets are ‘likely’ to be used on its Rock Island Line, benefiting the air quality ...
-
NewsFranken-Thüringen-Express EMUs ready for service
GERMANY: The first of 26 Desiro HC partly double-deck electric multiple-units ordered for use on Franken-Thüringen-Express services has been unveiled by Bayern railway agency BEG, train operator DB Regio Bayern and manufacturer Siemens Mobility. The Länder of Bayern and Thüringen have awarded the DB subsidiary a ...
-
NewsThree Kiss EMUs ordered for use on Wien airport express
CAT order photo CAT and Stadler AUSTRIA: City Airport Train announced on October 13 the order of three Kiss double-deck electric multiple-units from Stadler for use on the CAT service in Wien. The order is an option on ÖBB’s €3bn framework agreement with Stadler for the ...
-
NewsDeutsche Bahn to sell Arriva Group to I Squared
EUROPE: German national railway Deutsche Bahn has signed an agreement to sell the whole of Arriva Group to infrastructure investment manager I Squared Capital. The transaction announced on October 19 is expected to complete in 2024, subject to customary closing conditions including the approval of the ...
-
NewsPrasa reopens Durban suburban line using X’Trapolis EMUs
SOUTH AFRICA: Passenger Agency of South Africa has restarted a limited passenger service on the 17 km Durban – KwaMashu suburban rail line. A reopening ceremony on September 12 was attended by Minister of Transport Sindisiwe Chikunga and CEO of the Prasa Group Hishaam Emeran. While ...
-
NewsTesting starts on next phase of Hokuriku Shinkansen
JAPAN: Trial running has started on the next section of the Hokuriku Shinkansen, which is scheduled to open for revenue service on March 16 2024.
-
Rail Business UKClass 37 solid oxide fuel cell demonstration
UK: Colas Rail has collaborated with G-Volution to demonstrate the use of solid oxide fuel cells running on biofuel to generate power for the auxiliary systems on a Class 37 locomotive, reducing the load on the main engine. SOFCs use bio-fuels such as Bio-LPG, Bio-LNG and ...
-
In depthResearch: Developing a data interface standard
The IDX4rail research initiative aims to create an open-source data converter to mitigate the challenge of differing interface standards for data transfer in the German urban and main line rail sectors.
-
Rail Business UKNetwork Rail to study composite sleeper profiles
UK: Network Rail has awarded Dutch company Lankhorst Rail a contract to assist with the development of the next generation of railway sleeper. The infrastructure manager plans to use Lankhorst’s KLP composite sleepers manufactured from recycled plastic reinforced with steel to investigate the bending stiffness, flexibility ...
-
NewsLuxury cruise train to link Uzbekistan’s Silk Road cities
UZBEKISTAN: Italian luxury hospitality company Arsenale has announced plans to launch a luxury cruise train to take tourists between Toshkent, Samarkand, Bukhara and Khiva from late 2026. A memorandum of understanding for the project was signed with national railway UTY and the government’s Tourism Committee in ...
-
NewsDhaka – Bhanga railway across the Padma Bridge opens
BANGLADESH: The 82 km line from Dhaka to Bhanga via the 6·2 km Padma Bridge was inaugurated by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on October 10, ahead of the start of commercial services on November 1. The Prime Minister said the inauguration of the line marks a ...
-
NewsBrandenburg operating contract awarded
GERMANY: Berlin-Brandenburg transport authority VBB has awarded incumbent Hanseatische Eisenbahn a contract to operate two local passenger services. The contract covers the operation of 0·256 million train-km/year on services RB73 Neustadt (Dosse) – Pritzwalk and RB74 Meyenburg – Pritzwalk West. Following a call for tenders, the ...
-
Rail Business UKReadypower acquires Total Rail Solutions
UK: Rail and infrastructure services company Readypower Group Ltd has acquired 100% of the share capital of plant hire, subcontracting and labour provision company Total Rail Solutions. RGL said TRS needed additional investment as it had been ‘struggling financially for some time in a difficult market’, with ...
-
NewsCanada’s High Frequency Rail programme moves to RFP stage
CANADA: National transport minister Pablo Rodriguez has formally launched the Request for Proposals for the planned High Frequency Rail project to create a Québec City to Toronto rail corridor with dedicated passenger tracks. The RFP process will last until summer 2024, the government announced on October ...
-
NewsNew entrant seeks to launch passenger trains on seven routes in Italy
ITALY: Privately owned new entrant Longitude Holding has submitted requests to operate passenger services on one international and six domestic routes, rail regulator ART has confirmed to Railway Gazette International.
-
Rail Business UKAmcoGiffen to offer HyperTunnel tunnelling technology
UK: Contractor AmcoGiffen has signed an exclusive distributor agreement to use HyperTunnel’s robot underground construction technology in the UK rail sector. This includes digital twins, robotics, 3D printing and digital underground surveying, supported by AI and VR. Applications could included the enhancement, repair, rehabilitation and monitoring ...
-
In depthGermany: A digital platform to manage freight flows
Having raised €3·6m in an investment round earlier this year, German company Rail-Flow is growing its range of digital tools to ease access to rail freight services.