Passenger rail news – Page 106
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Rail Business UKAlexa skill enables passengers to book travel assistance
UK: Virgin Trains has launched a ‘skill’ for Amazon Alexa virtual assistants which enables passengers with disabilities to book assistance for their journey using simple voice commands. The JourneyCare service usually requires users to fill in an online form or call a helpline after booking, which involves repeating information which ...
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Rail Business UKDigital technology aims to improve rail accessibility
ACCESSIBILITY: The TOC Ability consortium has published a report into the use of digital technology to improve the accessibility of the UK rail network by enabling disabled passengers to share their journey requirements with train operators while protecting their privacy. The consortium comprises Atkins, Arriva, Enable iD, Goss Consultancy, Loughborough ...
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NewsThird rail route to Tokyo Haneda Airport finalised
JAPAN: East Japan Railway expects to start work in May on its Haneda Airport Access Line, which would provide a third rail link to Tokyo’s largest airport. This is currently served by the Tokyo Monorail from Hamamatsucho and the independent Keikyu Airport Line. Announcing the project on February 15, ...
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NewsMetra orders rebuilt freight locomotives
USA: A $70·9m contract for Progress Rail to supply 15 rebuilt EMD SD70MAC freight locomotives to haul its commuter trains was approved by the board of Chicago operator Metra on February 20. There are options for up to 27 more if funding is made available. The remanufactured locomotives will be ...
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NewsPACA launches TER tendering process
FRANCE: President of Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur, Renaud Muselier has announced the start of tendering for the operation of local rail services from the end of 2022. Speaking in Marseille on February 19, alongside Vice-President for Transport & Intermobility Philippe Tabarot, Muselier said the quality of service being provided to around 100 ...
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NewsSNCF registers Rielsfera brand for Spanish passenger business
SPAIN: French national passenger operator Voyages SNCF has registered the Rielsfera trademark and appointed a legal practice in Barcelona with a view to establishing a train operating business in Spain. The EU trademark registration for the Rielsfera brand was lodged by SNCF Voyages Développement last November, and is currently listed ...
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NewsFRA pulls funds from California high speed project
USA: The Federal Railroad Administration announced on February 19 that it intended to cancel $929m of federal grant destined for the high speed rail project in California. In addition, FRA ‘is actively exploring every legal option to seek the return from California of $2·5bn in Federal funds FRA previously granted ...
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NewsInterCity New Generation EMU prepared for testing
NETHERLANDS: The first of the Coradia Stream electric multiple-units which national passenger operator NS has ordered from Alstom under the Intercity New Generation programme has been moved from the manufacturer’s factory at Katowice in Poland to its Salzgitter plant in Germany for static testing. This will be followed by dynamic ...
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Rail Business UKUK rail ticketing reform proposals published
UK: Outline proposals for a ‘radical’ reform of the rail ticketing system in Great Britain were published by the Rail Delivery Group on February 18. Branded ‘Easier Fares for All’, the proposals are designed to bring about major changes to the existing national ticketing rules, sweeping away accumulated layers of ...
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NewsŠkoda replaces Talgo after Latvian EMU appeal
LATVIA: Škoda Vagonka has replaced Talgo as the preferred bidder for a contract to supply 32 electric multiple-units, Rodžers Jānis Grigulis, CEO of national passenger operator Pasažieru Vilciens, announced on February 15. The procurement process was launched in September 2015, and in 2017 CAF, Škoda Vagonka, Stadler and Talgo were ...
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NewsRussian Railways awards long-term coach contract
RUSSIA: An agreement for the supply of up to 3 730 coaches worth 237bn roubles by 2025 was signed by Russian Railways’ long-distance subsidiary Federal Passenger Co and Transmashholding on February 14. This includes a firm order for 2 644 coaches, with the rest as options. The order covers ...
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NewsMore trains ordered for Poznań regional network
POLAND: Wielkopolskie voivodship signed a contract with Pesa for the supply of five five-car Elf2 electric multiple-units on February 14. Pesa beat bids from Newag and Stadler, and will work with its subsidiary ZNTK Mińsk Mazowiecki to supply the EMUs between June and December 2020. The EU is providing ...
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NewsIrish implementation plan focuses six-year rail spend
Substantial investment in heavy and light rail is envisaged under the National Transport Authority’s Draft Integrated Implementation Plan for 2019-24. Tony Miles investigates
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NewsModi launches Vande Bharat Express and orders 130 more
INDIA: IR’s prototype Train 18 semi-high speed EMU was formally launched into revenue service by Prime Minister Narendra Modi with a ceremony at New Delhi station on February 15. Now branded as Vande Bharat Express, the 16-car EMU was developed by the Integral Coach Factory to operate medium-distance inter-city routes ...
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NewsLaview EMUs are ready to roll
JAPAN: The first of seven Laview luxury EMUs which will operate Seibu Railway’s premier Limited Express services between Tokyo’s Ikebukuro station and Seibu-Chichibu from March 16 was formally presented at the operator’s Kotesashi depot on February 14. Intended as the railway’s flagship, the 1 067 mm gauge Series 001 trainsets ...
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NewsSNCF to reshape TER operations
FRANCE: Radical changes to the operations management and customer relations activities for SNCF’s regional passenger services were announced by General Manager, TER, Frank Lacroix on February 14. Providing an update on the CAP TER 2020 transformation strategy launched at the end of 2016, Lacroix said the first two years had ...
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NewsCAF to replace New South Wales regional train fleet
AUSTRALIA: The New South Wales government signed a contract for 117 multiple-unit cars to replace its entire regional train fleet on February 14. The Momentum Trains consortium of CAF, Pacific Partnership and DIF Infrastructure V has been awarded an availability-based PPP contract to design, build, finance and maintain the ...
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News‘Battle plan’ to save France’s rural railways
FRANCE: A report into the condition, usage and prospects of almost 9 000 route-km of secondary railway is to be handed to government before the end of March. According to Transport Minister Elisabeth Borne, the report will form part of a ‘battle plan’ to save a broad swathe of the ...
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NewsSantiago – Valparaíso proposal submitted
CHILE: Proposals to build a high-performance railway between the capital Santiago and the port of Valparaíso have been formally submitted to the Ministry of Public Works by the Tren Valparaíso Santiago consortium of local firm of Sigdo Koppers and China Railway Engineering Corp. According to the promoters, the US$2·5bn project ...
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Rail Business UKInterim East Midlands franchise awarded
UK: The Department for Transport has directly awarded incumbent Stagecoach Group subsidiary East Midlands Trains an interim contract to continue to operate the East Midlands passenger franchise. The new short-term contract announced on February 12 will start when the most recent extension of the current franchise expires on March 3 ...