Passenger rail news – Page 102
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Rail Business UKVivarail D-Train enters passenger service
UK: West Midlands Trains put its first Class 230 ‘D-Train’ DMU into passenger service on April 23, working the Marston Vale route between Bletchley and Bedford, which forms part of its London Northwestern Railway business unit. The Abellio-led franchise operator ordered the three two-car units from Vivarail to provide extra ...
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NewsStadler awarded Ottawa DMU contract
CANADA: The City of Ottawa and TransitNEXT consortium leader SNC Lavalin have formally declared Stadler the winner of a contract to supply seven four-car Flirt diesel-electric multiple-units. The C$106m order confirmed on April 23 has been placed as part of the Trillium Line extension project. Forming part of the city’s ...
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Rail Business UKTravel information and adverts at Stansted Airport
UK: The baggage reclaim area at Stansted Airport now has digital screens which show live car, coach and rail journey time comparisons for travel to London Liverpool Street station. The project was jointly devised and created by train operator Greater Anglia, creative agency LIDA and DOOH.com, with ads appearing on ...
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NewsMontréal increases CRRC coach order
CANADA: Montréal metropolitan region transport authority EXO has placed a firm order for CRRC Tangshan to supply a further 20 double-deck coaches. The deal announced this month is an option on a contract for an initial 24 coaches which was placed in November 2017· It takes the total order to ...
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NewsCosts rise as Auckland City Rail Link contract awarded
NEW ZEALAND: Project promoter CRL Ltd has selected the Link Alliance as preferred bidder for the main works package to construct the City Rail Link loop line under central Auckland. Awarded both the C3 contract to build the twin-bore tunnels and three stations and a separate NZ$75m early works contract, ...
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NewsEurostar aims to reduce paper ticket use with Google Pay
EUROPE: Eurostar passengers can now save paperless tickets on Google Pay, in what the cross-Channel high speed train operator says is a ‘first for any international rail company’. Travellers using Google Pay on mobile devices with Android L or higher can save their mobile tickets to Google Pay from the ...
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News‘National Train’ EMUs on course for delivery this year
TURKEY: State-owned passenger train manufacturer Tüvasaş expects to begin construction of the first of 21 five-car electric multiple-units under the National Train programme ‘within the next two months’. The first trains should be handed to operator TCDD Tasımacılık before the end of the year, the company told Railway Gazette at ...
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NewsLänderbahn awarded first Czech operating contract
CZECH REPUBLIC: The Ústí nad Labem regional authority has awarded Netinera subsidiary Länderbahn its first passenger train operating contract entirely within the Czech Republic. The contract runs for 10 years from December 2019. It covers the operation of local passenger services on routes U12 RB Osek – Most – Louny ...
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NewsWarri line cleared for passenger operation
NIGERIA: Federal Transport Minister Rotimi Amaechi has instructed Nigerian Railway Corp to start full-scale commercial passenger operations on the 1 435 mm gauge Itakpe – Ajaokuta – Warri railway, following a three month trial of free services. The announcement followed his inspection of the railway on April 11. Instructing NRC ...
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NewsCapricorn EMU unveiled by Rhätische Bahn and Stadler
SWITZERLAND: Rhätische Bahn’s first Capricorn electric multiple-unit was unveiled at Stadler’s Altenrhein factory on April 15. The metre-gauge EMUs are branded with the Romansh name for the Alpine ibex which appears on the arms of canton Graubünden. They are scheduled to be delivered in 2019-22. The SFr361m order ...
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NewsDB Regio awarded Elektronetz Ost contract
GERMANY: The Land of Schleswig-Holstein has awarded sole bidder DB Regio the Elektronetz Ost passenger operating contract. Running from December 2022 to December 2035, the contract covers services RB86 Lübeck – Travemünde, RE8/80 Lübeck Hbf – Hamburg Hbf and RB85 Lübeck Hbf – Puttgarden, a total of 175 route-km. There ...
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NewsNordWestBahn retains Niedersachsen contract
GERMANY: Transdev-owned incumbent NordWestBahn has been confirmed as the winner of the next contract to operate Regio-S-Bahn Bremen/Niedersachsen passenger services, following an international tender called by the two Länder. The contract runs from December 2021 until December 2036. It covers routes: RS1: Bremen-Farge – Bremen Hbf – Verden/Aller; RS2: ...
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NewsBrisbane Cross River contractors selected
AUSTRALIA: The Queensland government’s Cross River Rail Delivery Authority has selected preferred bidders for the three main works packages to build and equip Brisbane’s A$5·4bn cross-city rail link. Enabling works are already underway for the 10·2 km line linking Bowen Hills with Dutton Park, and major construction ...
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NewsLéman Express cross-border EMU unveiled
EUROPE: The first completed Alstom electric multiple-unit for the Léman Express cross-border regional passenger service between Genève in Switzerland and destinations in France was unveiled at the manufacturer's Reichshoffen factory on April 10. SNCF has ordered 17 EMUs from Alstom’s Coradia Polyvalent family, known as Régiolis by the operator. The ...
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Rail Business UKSouth Eastern franchise award delayed
UK: The start of the next South Eastern passenger franchise has been delayed ‘while we make a decision on the competition’, Secretary of State for Transport Chris Grayling confirmed to parliament on April 9. The Department for Transport is negotiating a short-term extension to its current agreement with Govia. This ...
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Rail Business UKStagecoach disqualified from three franchises in pension dispute
UK: Stagecoach Group has been disqualified from the Department for Transport’s three current passenger franchise competitions, the company announced on April 10. Incumbent Stagecoach had been shortlisted for the East Midlands franchise, which the DfT announced on April 10 had been won by Abellio, and for the West Coast Partnership ...
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Rail Business UKBimode and hydrogen trains as Abellio wins next East Midlands franchise
UK: The Department for Transport named Abellio as the winner of the next East Midlands passenger franchise on April 10. Formal award is subject to a regulatory standstill period. The contract is due to begin on August 18 2019 and run until at least August 21 2027, with DfT having ...
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NewsOrlando bonds approved as Brightline becomes Virgin Trains USA
USA: Virgin Trains USA was granted approval by the Florida Development Finance Corp on April 5 to raise a further $950m in Private Activity Bond sales to fund the second phase of the inter-city passenger project formerly branded as Brightline. The announcement followed an initial sale of $1·75bn in tax-exempt ...
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NewsDB tests talking robot head
GERMANY: A robot head which smiles at passengers and greets them with ‘My name is FRAnny. How can I help you?’ is being tested by Deutsche Bahn’s information technology arm DB Systel and airport operator Fraport. The initial trial is at Frankfurt airport, with trials at Berlin Hbf planned for ...
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NewsENR orders 160 km/h Talgo trainsets
EGYPT: Egyptian National Railways has selected Talgo to supply and maintain a fleet of six 160 km/h trainsets at a total cost of around €158m, the manufacturer announced on April 7. Intended to operate inter-city services on ENR’s principal routes linking Alexandria, Cairo and Aswan, the trains ...