Passenger rail news – Page 109
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NewsParis RER Line A refurbishment contract awarded
FRANCE: Île-de-France Mobilités and RATP have signed a €121·3m contract for CAF to refurbish the 43 MI2N electric multiple-units operating on RER Line A. In addition to a new livery, the EMUs will gain a new interior layout, as well as CCTV and passenger information screens. The first renovated ...
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NewsNarrow gauge DMU contract signed
ITALY: Ferrovie Appulo Lucane has awarded Stadler a €22·8m contract to supply four three-car 950 mm gauge diesel multiple-units for its network around Bari, with an option for a further four. The tailor-made DMUs are to be delivered within 24 months, Stadler said when it announced the contract on January ...
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NewsExport drive expected as Chinese market loses momentum
CHINA: While the demand for railway technology is expected to continue at a high level for the next five years, the Chinese market has lost momentum and is not expected to grow, according to a new study by German consultants SCI Verkehr. This may put pressure on Chinese suppliers to ...
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NewsVeolia out of transport as Rethmann acquires Transdev stake
FRANCE: German family-owned transport, food and waste company Rethmann Group has completed the acquisition of a 34% stake in public transport operating group Transdev. The announcement on January 9 follows German, Austrian and Australian regulatory approval for the deal which had been announced on October 2. Rethmann has paid ...
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NewsTEX Rail commuter line opens
USA: The 43 km TEX Rail commuter line linking central Fort Worth with Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport opened on January 10, when the first train left North Side station at 03.38. The line developed by regional transport authority Trinity Metro starts at the Texas & Pacific Station in Fort Worth ...
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NewsFrance to tender operation of two inter-city routes
FRANCE: The government on January 9 formally launched the process of opening the French domestic main line passenger railway to competition when it announced the publication of a Prior Information Notice covering two routes. Issued by the Ministry of Environmental Transformation & Sustainability and to be published this week ...
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NewsNS to test contactless card payment
NETHERLANDS: National passenger operator NS is to test the use of contactless bank card payment as an alternative to the OV-chipkaart national multimodal transport smart card. NS said using a bank or credit card for travel was a ‘logical and easy’ choice for many people, as they would not need ...
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NewsJR Central to test N700S at 360 km/h
JAPAN: President of Central Japan Railway Shin Kaneko announced on January 6 that the N700S prototype trainset will be tested at up to 360 km/h later this year. Running trials with the 16-car N700S prototype began in March last year, and the train has since achieved a maximum speed of ...
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NewsIncomplete approvals delay TEX Rail opening
USA: The opening of the 43 km TEX Rail commuter line in Texas was postponed the evening before the planned January 5 launch date, with transport authority Trinity Metro saying it had been unable to get clearance from the Federal Railroad Administration to operate the entire route. A new opening ...
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NewsCroatia awards 10-year passenger train operating contract
CROATIA: The government has formally awarded incumbent national operator HŽPP a public service obligation contract covering the operation of all passenger services for 10 years from January 1 2019. Awarded to meet the requirement of the European Union’s Fourth Railway Package, the contract was signed by Minister of Maritime Affairs, ...
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NewsCotton Belt commuter line construction contract awarded
USA: Dallas Area Rapid Transit has awarded a joint venture of Archer Western and Herzog Contracting a $783m contract to build the 42 km Cotton Belt commuter rail line, with assistance from lead designer Jacobs Engineering. Construction is scheduled to begin this year for completion by the end of 2022. ...
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NewsChengde – Shenyang heads next tranche of PDL openings
CHINA: National operator China Railway Corp has launched passenger services on four more new lines, following on from the five routes that opened on December 25-26 and taking the total length of new line inaugurated this month to more than 2 500 route-km. December 29 saw the start of operation ...
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NewsSeoul starts work on regional express network
SOUTH KOREA: Groundbreaking ceremonies for the northwestern arm of Seoul’s planned three-line Great Train Express network were held at the Kintex exhibition centre in Goyang on December 27. According to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure & Transport, the GTX network is intended to link outlying suburbs in the north and ...
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Rail Business UKImproved passenger information
UK: West Midlands Trains is to equip 50 Siemens Class 350 Desiro EMUs with real-time passenger information systems developed by KeTech and Axion, which will include 22 inch screens. Deployment is planned between May 2019 and May 2020. ‘This new system will be a great improvement on what our customers ...
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NewsFive new lines open in two days
CHINA: Revenue services began on two more high speed lines on December 25, with another inaugurated the following day, along with two new mixed-traffic railways. First to open on December 25 was the 293 km Harbin – Mudanjiang Intercity Railway, running southeast from the capital of Heilongjiang province to a ...
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NewsParis commuter EMUs ordered
FRANCE: SNCF has awarded Bombardier Transportation a €330m firm order to supply a further 42 seven-car and five eight-car train Francilien suburban electric multiple-units. The contract announced on December 21 has been placed on behalf of Greater Paris public transport authority Île-de-France Mobilités, which is funding the order. The latest ...
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NewsNS orders 88 Sprinter EMUs
NETHERLANDS: A €400m firm order for CAF to supply a further 50 three-car and 38 four-car Civity electric multiple-units was announced by national passenger operator NS on December 27. Deliveries are scheduled to begin in 2020. The latest order builds on a 2014 contract covering 68 three-car and 50 four-car ...
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NewsAccessible narrow gauge coach
RUSSIA: Kambarka Engineering Works has launched the 750 mm gauge VP750-DITS accessible coach. The design is intended to be suitable for railways of between 600 and 1 000 mm gauge. The vehicle has two wheelchair spaces with support panels, securing belts and horizontal handrails, and carries ramps which can be ...
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NewsTacuarembó - Rivera reopens as track renewals completed
URUGUAY: Passenger services returned to AFE’s northern route between Tacuarembó and the Brazilian border at Rivera were reinstated on December 19 following an 18-year hiatus. Passenger services on this route had operated intermittently for a number of years after 1993 but were withdrawn with effect from December 13 2000. Two ...
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NewsChinese coaches to re-equip Yangon – Mandalay expresses
MYANMAR: The national parliament in Naypyitaw has approved government plans to purchase new rolling stock for Myanma Railways’ principal Yangon – Mandalay services using funding from China. The Ministry of Transport & Communications intends to procure 14 standard and 14 first class vehicles for the route, which carries more than ...