All open access articles – Page 6
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News
Barraqueiro forms Portuguese open access operator
PORTUGAL: Bus and coach group Barraqueiro has established B-Rail as a subsidiary to run open access passenger train services along the Atlantic corridor linking cities in the north and south of the country as part of an integrated multi-modal transport strategy. B-Rail has applied to national ...
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News
RENFE to take stake in Leo Express in support of internationalisation strategy
EUROPE: Spanish national operator RENFE has announced its intention to acquire a 50% stake in central European open access operator Leo Express. RENFE said it sees a strategic opportunity to develop international business activities as Spain’s domestic market opens to competition. The proposed acquisition announced on ...
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Rail Business UK
Grand Union’s London – Cardiff open access plan rejected
UK: The Office of Rail & Road has rejected Grand Union Trains Ltd’s application to introduce an open access passenger service between London Paddington and Cardiff Central. Grand Union had hoped to operate seven return services a day from December 2021 using Class 91 electric locomotives, ...
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News
Westbahn cutbacks in prospect as public service contract ends
AUSTRIA: More than half of Westbahn’s inter-city passenger services between Wien and Salzburg may be withdrawn within the next few days, unless agreement is reached to continue the interim support provided by the government for operations during the Covid-19 pandemic. Affecting both Austrian Federal Railways and ...
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News
RegioJet extends Croatian summer holiday trains to Split
EUROPE: RegioJet is to add the city of Split as a destination for its summer overnight trains between Praha and Croatia, building on the success of the Praha – Rijeka service which was launched last year and carried more than 60 000 passengers on 120 trains. ...
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News
Call for Eurostar trains to be made available to support on-rail competition
EUROPE: The ALLRAIL association of new entrants to the rail market has said any government support which might be offered to Eurostar during the coronavirus pandemic should be accompanied by conditions designed to facilitate cross-Channel competition.
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News
Railcoop plans freight launch this year ahead of passenger market entry
FRANCE: Start-up open access operator Railcoop aims to launch its first freight services later this year. If the co-operative’s plans come to fruition, Railcoop would follow up in 2022 with the launch of inter-city passenger services on the Bordeaux – Lyon via Périgueux route.
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Rail Business UK
Grand Central suspends services until March 1
UK: Following the government’s announcement of a third national lockdown in England, London to West Yorkshire and Sunderland open access operator Grand Central said it would be suspending all its services from January 9 until March 1. ‘It is hugely disappointing for us to be starting 2021 ...
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Rail Business UK
Hull Trains suspends services for a third time
UK: East Yorkshire to London open access operator Hull Trains is to temporarily suspend all services from 00.01 on January 9, following the government’s announcement of a third coronavirus lockdown in England. As an open access operator, FirstGroup subsidiary Hull Trains is not eligible for the financial ...
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News
Night train strategy should include open access operators, says RegioJet
VIEWPOINT: The vision for an expansion of night train services presented by state railways DB, SBB, ÖBB and SNCF should be expanded to include other operators, says Aleš Ondrůj, Director of Communications & Sales at open access operator RegioJet.
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Rail Business UK
Grand Central to restart services
UK: Grand Central is to restart services on December 3 as the lockdown restrictions in England change, but the open access operator warned that it would only be offering a reduced and reservation-only timetable and no onboard catering. ‘While it’s great to be back, we can’t emphasise ...
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Rail Business UK
Hull Trains and Grand Central to suspend services again
UK: Open access operators Hull Trains and Grand Central are to suspend services again as England enters a second period of coronavirus lockdown running for four weeks from November 5. The open access companies operate on a purely commercial basis, and were not entitled to the government ...
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News
Thello to withdraw Milano – Marseille inter-city trains
EUROPE: Thello’s open access EuroCity service between Milano, Nice and Marseille is to be withdrawn next year, according to local reports. Launched in 2014, the locomotive-hauled service consisted of up to three return workings a day. First and second class seating was available, and a small bar ...
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News
RegioJet’s train to Croatia is a sell-out summer success
EUROPE: Open access operator RegioJet’s summer service linking the Czech Republic and Slovakia with Croatia’s Adriatic coast carried more than 60 000 passengers on 120 trains during its first season of operation. RegioJet announced the summer-only overnight service on June 1, and 30 000 tickets had been ...
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News
Ouigo España sets date to launch Falbalá
SPAIN: High speed open access services between Madrid and Barcelona under the Falbalá brand are now expected to be launched on March 15 2021. The launch had originally been planned for December this year, but was delayed by the Covid-19 pandemic. Announcing the new date on September ...
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Rail Business UK
Grand Central drops plans for Blackpool – London open access service
Rail Business UK understands that after months of work exploring all options, it had become clear that the service would not be financially viable until at least 2024.
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News
RegioJet takes on MÁV-Start by offering intra-Hungarian fares
RegioJet’s Hungarian service links Budapest with Wien twice daily. HUNGARY: RegioJet has begun selling tickets for journeys within Hungary on its Praha – Wien – Budapest services, becoming the first private operator to challenge incumbent MÁV-Start on domestic journeys. On August 26 the open access operator began ...
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News
ILSA high speed trains ordered
SPAIN: Trenitalia has signed an €797m contract for a partnership of Hitachi Rail (60%) and Bombardier Transportation (40%) to supply 23 ETR1000 high speed trainsets for use by Intermodalidad de Levante, the future Spanish open access operator which is owned by the Italian national operator (45%) and ...
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News
ILSA-Trenitalia aims to launch Spanish high speed service from March 2022
Photo: Christophe Masse Trenitalia is planning to launch high speed services in both France and Spain; some testing of its Frecciarossa 1000 trainsets has already been undertaken in France. SPAIN: The ILSA-Trenitalia joint venture has pinpointed March 1 2022 as the start date for its Spanish open ...
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Rail Business UK
Hull Trains announces date for service restart
UK: Open access operator Hull Trains has announced plans to restart its East Yorkshire to London inter-city services during August. As a non-franchised operator Hull Trains must survive on a purely commercial basis. It did not qualify for the emergency support which the Department of Transport has ...