Passenger rail news – Page 104
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NewsKrasnodar suburban network proposed
RUSSIA: A framework agreement for the development of a suburban rail network in Krasnodar was signed by Russian Railways Chief Executive Oleg Belozerov and regional Governor Veniamin Kondratyev on March 12. The project has become feasible following the inauguration of a 69 km double-track freight bypass line in February, creating ...
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NewsMetra seeks commuter coach proposals
USA: Chicago commuter operator Metra has issued a request for proposals for the supply of at least 200 double-deck coaches, with options for up to 200 more if funding is available. The operator has said it will accept alternatives to the gallery cars that have been used on its routes ...
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Rail Business UKFive recommendations in Lewisham detrainment report
UK: The Rail Accident Investigation Branch has published its report into an incident on March 2 2018 when nine Southeastern trains became stranded near Lewisham in London during bad weather and passengers evacuated themselves onto third-rail electrified tracks. The report published on March 25 is separate from an action plan ...
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NewsMedvedev backs Russian high speed line
RUSSIA: Plans for the construction of a high speed line from Moscow to Nizhny Novgorod were approved by Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev on March 13, having already been backed by Deputy Prime Minister Maxim Akimov who oversees transport. The project is estimated to cost 622bn roubles, of which 200bn roubles ...
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Rail Business UKRevised punctuality measure aims to improve performance
UK: The Rail Delivery Group has announced that passenger operators and Network Rail will publish new measures of train punctuality from the beginning of April, as part of an ongoing plan to improve performance and reduce delays. The approach will see services measured to the minute at all stops, replacing ...
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Rail Business UKTrains ordered for 2021 launch of ‘high-quality, low fare’ London – Edinburgh service
UK: FirstGroup has finalised an order for five Hitachi AT300 electric trainsets which it will use to launch a London – Edinburgh open access service in autumn 2021. The £100m deal completed on March 20 is being financed by Beacon Rail Leasing and includes 10 years of maintenance by ...
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NewsProRail and Arriva launch automation trials
NETHERLANDS: ProRail, Arriva and Stadler have started a week-long trial of automatic train operation on the Groningen – Zuidhorn line in the north of the country, with a modified GTW DMU successfully undertaking a first run on the evening of March 15. Operating in Grade of Automation 2, with a ...
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NewsFTA stalls federal support for Gateway Programme
USA: The Federal Transit Administration on March 18 announced that it had ranked the Gateway Programme to increase rail capacity between New York and New Jersey with a ‘medium to low’ financing status, making it ineligible at present for federal Capital Investment Grants. The ranking applies both to the planned ...
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NewsTransdev orders the 1 000th Coradia Lint
GERMANY: Transdev’s Bayerische Regiobahn has awarded Alstom a €150m contract to supply 41 two-car Coradia Lint diesel multiple-units. The 140 km/h DMUs are scheduled to be delivered from Alstom’s Salzgitter plant by September 2022, and will be used on Augsburger Netz Lot 2 regional passenger services covering routes from ...
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NewsEMUs to increase capacity in eastern Austria
AUSTRIA: National railway ÖBB’s passenger business has awarded Siemens Mobility a firm contract to supply a further 24 Cityjet three-car Desiro ML electric multiple-units for use in Wien, Niederösterreich and Burgenland from mid-2020. These will replace older vehicles, increase capacity to accommodate rising ridership, and support upgrading of the Marchegger ...
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NewsSuburban operator orders EMUs
RUSSIA: Central Suburban Passenger Co has awarded Transmashholding’s Demikhovsky factory a contract to supply 21 Class EP2D electric multiple-units, to be financed by Sberbank Leasing. The 11-car 3kV DC EMUs will be 244 m long with a capacity of 2 866 passengers. Three will have folding steps for use at ...
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NewsModernised platskartny coach enters service
RUSSIA: The first platskartny coach to be modernised by the Vagonremmash factory in Tambov re-entered revenue service on March 18, following the completion of testing and certification. It is to be used on trains 19/20 Rostov-na-Donu – Moscow and 11/12 Anapa – Moscow. Platskartny coaches offer the most basic, and ...
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NewsTilting train service direct award planned
GERMANY: The Land of Thüringen has given advance notice of its intention to directly award incumbent DB Regio a new contract to continue to operate a group of regional passenger services which require the use of tilting diesel-multiple units to achieve the required timings. The Land said a direct award ...
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NewsStation regeneration to create a gateway to Vilnius
LITHUANIA: The Vilnius Connect programme to revitalise the capital’s main station and its surroundings has been designated as a project of regional importance by the city council. Mayor Remigijus Šimašius said the project to create a modern European gateway to the city would be inspired by the ‘best examples of ...
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NewsAlgorithm could cut high speed rail energy use
CHINA: Researchers at Xi’an Jiaotong-Liverpool University’s Suzhou campus have developed an algorithm intended to optimise the storage and reuse of braking energy. Currently, regenerative braking is used extensively across China’s 29 000 km high speed network. Typically, the energy is returned to the grid by trains under braking, and reused ...
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NewsLithuanian Railways restructuring underway
LITHUANIA: The restructuring of national railway Lietuvos Geležinkeliai into a state-owned holding company with stand-alone passenger, freight and infrastructure business is underway, with completion planned for the second quarter of this year. LG said the change was intended to increase transparency and operational efficiency and to comply with the requirements ...
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NewsMelbourne airport rail link accord
AUSTRALIA: Development of the long-planned rail link to Melbourne’s Tullamarine Airport is set to move forward following the signing of Heads of Agreement between the federal government and the state of Victoria on March 13. Announced jointly by Prime Minister Scott Morrison and Victoria Premier Daniel Andrews, the agreement sets ...
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NewsDB unveils details of ECx Talgos
GERMANY: Deutsche Bahn has announced further details of the 23 push-pull trains that it ordered from Talgo for €550m in February as part of a framework contract for up to 100 trainsets. At an event in Berlin on March 13 attended by the government’s Commissioner for Rail and Parliamentary Secretary ...
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NewsRail Baltica passenger and freight service plan unveiled
EUROPE: Rail Baltica project promoter RB Rail has unveiled details of the proposed operational plan for the future 1 435 mm gauge line running 870 km from the Polish border to Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia. The operational plan for 2026–56 has been developed by ETC Gauff Mobility, COWI and Institut ...
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NewsBuses to replace long-distance Amtrak trains under Trump budget proposal
USA: The initial budget proposal for the 2020 financial year issued by President Donald Trump on March 11 would see federal funding for Amtrak long-distance trains eliminated. While the full details of the budget are due to be released on March 18, the initial synopsis from the White House argues ...